Books I Read in Review for 2023

 This is a listing of the 25 books I read in 2023. A few additional notes at the end.

 Uncultured (Daniella Mestyanek Young) Similar to Uneducated (I loved it) but darker to me for some reason. Both authors had religious zealot parents following a false teaching that didn’t allow for educating their children. Unfortunately, when both broke free of the parents’ control, they became educated by still didn’t follow Truth. Recommend.

So Help Me God (Mike Pence) I’m a devoted Christian and understand Pence’s focus, but even I thought, “I know. You pray about everything.” I appreciated his, probably, accurate picture of Trump’s positives and negatives as well as Pence’s explanation of his actions on Jan. 6. The book is a great reference of the conservative agenda, but it reads as he talks. (Not for everyone but I liked it overall)

30 Days to Greater Love (Hua Van Dodson) This devotional details 30 lessons my dear BSF friend learned in her study of John especially as it relates to the untimely death of her husband. Everyone can use this reminder of God’s great love for everyone especially His children. (Recommend)

*The Forest of Vanishing Stars (Krisin Harmel) A WWII survival story. A good, solid read but the cynical side of me wonders how it could have happened. If you like this, I highly suggest The Child of the Forest. (Recommend if you like WWII historical fiction)

*The Only Woman in the Room (Marie Benedict) My father reference Hedy Lamarr when I was growing up, so this book interested me. Historical fiction but very revealing of the actress’ life. (Recommend if you like WWII historical fiction)

 3 BOOK SERIES:

*The Water Keeper
*The Letter Keeper
*The Record Keeper
(Charles Martin) Human trafficking is dark and evil but this book tells the story in a tasteful (can you use that term when talking about human trafficking) manner. Because of the dark topic I wanted to hold off on book 3 but realized I couldn’t wait to find out the end of the story. This series makes me want to contribute more to organizations that fight this awful evil in our world. (Recommend)

If I Were You (Lynn Austin) Several friends had recommended this book plus it was available on Libby. My review on Goodreads said 1) I’m not a big fan of the back and forth between time periods but this worked, 2) I enjoyed the storyline of women driving during WWII in England, and 3) Christan themes woven in without being a “preachy” book.

The Courage to be Free: Florida’s Blueprint for America’s Revival (Ron DeSantis) Chapters 9 and 14 were most interesting to me. Nine details what he has done right in Florida and 14 the purpose of government. Chapter 14 should be required reading for every high school student to be civic minded regardless of party affiliation. It explains a constitutional view of government. (Highly recommend the book if you have a political bent plus Chapter 14 for EVERYONE!)

From the White House to the Amish (Katrina Hoover) Historical fiction very closely based on the life of Tom Kirkman. A very quick and easy read. I don’t remember this being one that lived up to my expectations. (Meh)

Absolute Surrender (Andrew Murray) The reading is easy but the content is very thought provoking so not an easy read. I recommend reading one chapter a week to focus on applying the teaching. (Recommend)

To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee) This was a re-read from many years ago after seeing the stage version. What can I add to this classic? (Recommend)

 *The Maid (Nita Prose) This was my lowest rated book of the year as I wanted to stop but was too far in to quit. (See note at end of this.) The lead character was just too gullible for me to enjoy.

 *Defending Jacob (William Landay) My favorite fiction book of the year. Unbelievably gut-wrenching. (Highly recommend if you are into fiction and like legal topics)

Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus (Nabeel Qureshi) Excellent read—should be required for any Christian about sharing faith is willing to be challenged about faith. (Highly recommend)

Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It (Chris Voss) I picked this because I’d been reading a lot of fiction. I’ve had it on my To Read List for several years, yes years. Excellent book, and if I was in a different stage of life than fall of 2023 it would have been even more valuable. I read it on the Kindle and glad I have the notes but it would be good to re-read the physical book for underlining. (Recommend for good business learning)

The Making of  a Missionary (Loreen Ittermann) A series of very short stories (not chapters) from the life of Loreen Ittermann, and amazing servant of God who served and serves in the US and Eastern Europe.  I even made the book!!! A good read to see amazing examples of how God answers prayers. (Recommend)

Write for Your Life (Anna Quindlen) Loved this book. These are two of my favorite quotes:

“We are all made of nouns, live by verbs, enlarge and entertain ourselves with adjectives and adverbs.”
▪️I’ve been thinking what are my nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.
“Writing is the gift of your presence forever.”
▪️How much history are we losing because people don’t write letters anymore?
(Recommend)

 

*The First Ladies (Marie Benedict) Historical fiction of an unlikely friendship. A fun read. (Recommend)

The 6 Types of Working Genius (Patrick Lencioni) Again I needed to read more professional improvement books so chose this as Lencioni is always a quick read with excellent learning. Plus I needed to add some books quickly to meet my Goodreads Reading Challenge for the Year.

The Gift of the Christmas Cookie (Dandi Daley Mackall) A gift from Jayne Bartrand in 2009 after the GR Press wrote a story about the origins of springerle cookies that I make every year following in my Grandma Klopfenstein’s legacy. I found the book while unpacking after a major move. It was good to reconnect with the story and feel a connection with Jayne. Plus, how can you beat 24 pages to get a book counted towards my 2023 reading goal.

The Coffee Bean: A Simple Lesson to Create Positive Change (Jon Gordon) A Gordon fable to teach a lesson. The premise is from a 3-4 paragraph I’ve seen posted on Facebook quite often, but he stretches it (emphasis on stretches) into way too many pages. (Probably pass and read the FB post)

The Bible (ESV) Once again I followed a Bible-reading plan my mother shared with me. This completed year 2 of reading the Bible in a year. This was a rough year, and I’ll admit many times I read words without much feeling. However, the promise is that the Word never returns void so I muddled on to remind me for the need of God’s Word daily in my life.  (Highly recommend)

Notes about this year’s reading in general:

1.       It seems as if a year when I was unemployed for 9 months would make for extra reading, but I found it very difficult to focus on reading. The same was true last year while recovering from surgery.

2.       This year I read much more fiction than is typical and far fewer professional/personal growth books.

3.       Ten of the books were physical and the remainder I checked out on the Libby app and read in my Kindle.

4.       This year I also started 2-3 books but couldn’t get into them to finish. That is very surprising for me as I typically slog through a book until the end. I have just enough OCD that requires me to finish a book so not finishing is actually a good thing for me when it comes to a book.

5.       Eight of the books I read while on vacation.

6.      *My friend Tammy Haussler Cantrell recommended the books with an asterisk. She gets what I like which means I always go to her for vacation reading. FYI, I read 26 books this year; she read 155.

7.       Many of these books have a more robust review on my blog as a unique post.

8.       What for 2024? I’ve started Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Years by C.S. Lewis. I’m embarrassed that I think this is the first of his that I’ve read.

9.    I’ve upped my goal to 26 books to do more than this year but still be within reason for me.