It’s time for my annual recommended reading list! I love a new pile of the best books to go through, and I especially love it when others join me. I hope you’ll take a look at my recommended reads and see if there are any that spark your interest. If so, let me know what you’re reading. I’ve got a few of my own comments on some of them, and then in italics, you’ll see just a bit of the book description from Amazon.
JANUARY
Wonderstruck: Awaken to the Nearness of God – I’ve just started reading this, and already, I am really enjoying it. It’s challenging me in new ways. “In Wonderstruck, Margaret invites you to toss back the covers, climb out of bed, and drink in the fullness of life. Learn to unearth the extraordinary moments in every day life, recognize the presence of God in the midst of your routine, and discover peace in knowing you’re wildly loved.”
FEBRUARY
To Be Told: God Invites You to Coauthor Your Future – “In this insightful and compelling book, Dr. Dan B. Allender shows you how to read the stories of your life. He helps you understand the meaning that God has written into every detail of who you are. As a result, you can share your story with others and listen to their story, revealing unique aspects of God’s hand at work.” Looks good! I’m intrigued…
MARCH
Interrupted: An Adventure in Re-Learning the Essentials of Faith – This is by Jen Hatmaker, and last year I really enjoyed her book, 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess. I’m looking forward to reading this. “What happens when Jesus interrupts the average life? Interrupted encourages believers to ask if their lives bring integrity to the gospel. Follow the faith journey of author and fellow disciplemaker Jen Hatmaker and rediscover Jesus among the least of us.”
APRIL
Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream – I’ve been wanting to read this one for a while. “In Radical, David Platt challenges you to consider with an open heart how we have manipulated the Gospel to fit our cultural preferences. He shows what Jesus actually said about being his disciple–then invites you to believe and obey what you have heard.”
MAY
Raising a Modern-Day Knight: A Father’s Role in Guiding His Son to Authentic Manhood – This was on my last year’s list and I didn’t get to it. “Beginning with a biblical perspective of manhood, Robert Lewis shares a unique approach to shaping a boy into a man by equipping him with three essential elements: a vision, a code of conduct, and a cause (Christianity) in which to invest his life.”
JUNE
The Best Advice I Ever Got on Marriage: Transforming Insights from Respected Husbands & Wives – I’ll be reading this during the month that lots of people are getting married! This looks like it would be a great gift for all those June brides too! “More than 20 of today’s Christian authors, speakers, and entertainers relay their joys and fears, their triumphs and failures-and the advice that got them through-in this inspiring collection from Focus on the Family and Worthy Publishing.”
JULY
The Best Advice I Ever Got on Parenting: Incredible Insights from Well-Known Moms and Dads – What parent couldn’t use this book? It’s got some great contributors, including Dannah Gresh, Tim Kimmel, and Gary Smalley. “Every parent has moments with their kids that they wish they’d been better prepared to handle. If they’d only known. Readers will love the upbeat, surprising, sometimes humorous stories of their toddlers, grade-schoolers, tweens and teens. All parents can relate.”
AUGUST
What’s Eating Your Child?: The Hidden Connection Between Food and Childhood Ailments – This is another one that was on my 2012 Reading List. I just wasn’t able to get to it. This year, for sure! It goes right along with all that I am learning about nutrition. “Why treat your child with drugs when you can cure your child with nutrition? Grounded in cutting-edge science and filled with case studies that read like medical thrillers, this is a book for every parent whose child suffers from mood swings, stomachaches, ear infections, eczema, anxiety, tantrums, ADD/ADHD, picky eating, asthma, lack of growth, and a host of other physical, behavioral, and developmental problems.”
SEPTEMBER
The God Box: Sharing My Mother’s Gift of Faith, Love and Letting Go – Doesn’t this look good? “After her mother passed away, Mary Lou went searching for the God Box. But rather than one box, Quinlan found 10 containers stuffed with hundreds of origami-like folded papers. Covering the last 20 years of her mother’s life, the notes contained a treasure of brief prayers for family, friends, and people she had never even met. Note by note, Quinlan discovered the greatest lesson her mother could impart: the importance of letting go in order to live…”
OCTOBER
Mended: Pieces of a Life Made Whole – This new release by my friend Angie Smith promises to be another great read. “We love to cheer for the underdog and believe to our core that every life makes a difference. And we are right. There is no one God can’t use and no one whose brokenness is too broken for God. We know this is true for our friends when we want to encourage them. Yet, when it comes to the places of our innermost sense of shame and regret, we often wonder if it is really true that God can work all things together for good for those who love Him…”
NOVEMBER
Orphan Justice: How to Care for Orphans Beyond Adopting – This books is available for pre-order but has not yet been released. However, I heard about it from my friends at Broadman & Holman, and it looks really good. Since November is National Adoption Month, I’m placing it here to read. “While the growing orphan care movement has been reduced to a focus on adoption, something few people can do, Johnny Carr shows readers how every Christian should play an active role in caring for orphans…”
DECEMBER
Unconditional: A Novel – The movie was fantastic, and I’m excited about reading this novel. Did you see the movie? “Samantha Crawford, an acclaimed storybook artist, seemingly had it all until losing the love she cherished most. Now fighting despair, she is obsessed with tracking down the murderer of her husband. With no leads and no hope, Sam prepares to take her life until providence intervenes and she is reunited with her childhood friend, Joe Bradford…”
My Readers Recommend
When I asked my readers in our Faithful Provisions Facebook Community about their favorite reads from 2012, I got lots of great answers. My readers love Christian fiction like I do–anything by Francine Rivers or Karen Kingsbury proves to be a great read! Here are a few more they recommended:
- Idol Lies by Dee Brestin
- Killing Lincoln by Bill O’Reilly
- My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers (I used this devotional last year!)
- Abba’s Child by Brennan Manning
- Forgotten God by Francis Chan
- Green for Life
Here are a few of my past year’s reading lists:
Best Books for 2012: My Recommended Reading List
My Top Reads from 2012
My 2011 Suggested Reading List
I would like to recommend that you read Undaunted by Christine Caine. It will rock your world and change your perspective on life.
I enjoyed both Undaunted and Radical. I probably won’t make time to read Hatmaker because of her Bush bashing.