I love all of the book lists that come out at this time of year. People, we are so fortunate to be literate and to have such an abundance of wealth when it comes to books! (That truth deserves all the !!!!!) No surprise that my nonfiction list is slightly longer than my fiction list and I am all the richer for reading both nonfiction and fiction :).
Nonfiction I loved
Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth —What sticks with me is role in high school of being part of a group (any group! music, sports, a club) and sticking with it for at least one year and the way it fosters grittiness that can be tapped into the rest of a person’s life.
Prayer in the Night: For Those Who Work or Watch or Weep by Tish Harrison Warren — I listened to this with my ears and 2021 and plan to read it with my eyes in 2022.
Every Moment Holy, Volume 1 by Douglas Kaine McKelvey (Author), Ned Bustard (Illustrator) — I loved reading these liturgies for every day moments. This is one to pick up and read a prayer, maybe not in the moment something happens. But because you’ve marinated your soul, when a moment happens you are able to notice God in it more readily.
Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life by Nir Eyal — This was one of those “mind blown” books. Distraction is not quite what I thought it was and I have four pages of notes to prove it. Ha!
Boundaries for Your Soul: How to Turn Your Overwhelming Thoughts and Feelings into Your Greatest Allies by Alison Cook PhD and Kimberly Miller MTh LMFT — Very helpful “map” of the soul and why sometimes you might feel or act like an exile, firefighter, or manager.
Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know by Adam Grant — I took four pages of notes that start, “I need to buy a copy of this book!”
A Burning in My Bones: The Authorized Biography of Eugene H. Peterson by Winn Collier — If you like memoirs that read like novels AND you like to how others navigate being a person of faith, dedicated to ministry, and living the ups and downs of life, this book is for you.
The Preacher’s Wife: The Precarious Power of Evangelical Women Celebrities by Kate Bowler—I found this utterly fascinating. Each chapter looked at a different area: The preacher, the home maker, the talent, the counselor, and the beauty. Context baby, this book provides a-ha moments as puzzle pieces come together.
Fiction I loved
Rules of Civility: A Novel by Amor Towles — He is a master story teller and I never want the books to end!
Out of Darkness, Shining Light: A Novel by Petina Gappah – This is a well-researched story of the Africans who brought David Livingston’s body after he died out of the “heart of Africa” to the coast.
Anxious People: A Novel by Fredrik Backman — A failed bank robber bursts into an open house and takes the viewers hostage. Backman is a master at taking unlikely groups and turning them in a community.
Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger — The writing and storytelling is breath taking. This is a book you will want to own a copy!
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng — Beautifully told story of a family who didn’t communicate. As a reader, my heart ached for each character as I understood them better and wanted others in their family to know what I knew.
Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters by Mark Dunn — I first read this years ago in China (thank you Stephanie!). If you haven’t read this delightful novel, it is a “must read in 2022.” It might be a tad quirky at first, but keep going. I promise you will marvel at the word twists the author makes!
One of my goals for 2022 is to read six biographies. What reading goals do you have? What biographies would you recommend? I raise my glass, smile at you and say, “Here’s to good books for all of us in 2022.” Clink!
With love,
Amy
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