2016 Reading List

I used to have a separate blog just to talk about books I've read, but it felt too much like homework. Then with the 2015 Reading Challenge I got in the habit of listing book titles on a blog page. Although I am not doing a reading challenge in 2016, I'm going to continue to list books as I finish them.

Here are the books I finished reading in 2016, in reverse order (most recent on top):

60) Young Frankenstein: The Story of the Making of the Film
~ by Mel Brooks, with Rebecca Keegan
[A fun book about a fun movie. If you enjoy the movie, you'll enjoy the book. I do, and I did!]

59) The Christie Curse
~ by Victoria Abbott
[This is the first novel in the "Book Collector Mystery" series. I loved this story! I enjoyed the rapport between the zany characters. I will definitely try to read more in this series soon, although I still have 54,782 books remaining in my "to read" pile.]

58) Ego Trip: Rediscovering Grace in a Culture of Self-Esteem
~ by Glynn Harrison
[I ordered this book after a "rah-rah, me" presentation I attended through work. I needed some perspective, and this book did not disappoint.]

57) 52 Little Lessons from It's a Wonderful Life
~ by Bob Welch
[Many of the lessons were similar in nature, but I still enjoyed this book based on one of my favorite movies of all time. I can't wait to watch it again and look for some of the things he pointed out!]

56) Dogwood
~ by Chris Fabry
[If I ever decide to re-read any novels, this will be toward the top of the list. I'd like to see what clues I missed, because there were some twists that I did not see coming. Really good book.]

55) The Body Tithe Devotional: Spiritual Encouragement for Your Fitness Journey
~ by Matthew Pryor
[As the title implies, this is a devotional book, not an exercise book. It is for 90 days. I really, really liked it. I will probably go through it again at some point, as my "fitness journey" is never-ending!]

54) The Solitude of Prime Numbers: A Novel
~ by Paolo Giordano
[Every now and then I read what I consider to be an "artsy" novel — that is, something that was written in another language. (I, of course, have to read the English translation.) I acknowledge that I selected this novel because I like the title. But I didn't really enjoy it. It's supposed to be a love story, I guess. Too graphic and bizarre for my tastes.]

53) Switch On Your Brain: The Key to Peak Happiness, Thinking, and Health
~ by Dr. Caroline Leaf
[I liked that this book linked Biblical principles to how our brain is designed to work — a great reminder to live by Philippians 4:8. The author includes a lot of detail about the structure of the brain itself, so I'm really glad I don't have to take a quiz on what I read! I may have to try the 21-Day Brain Detox Plan; I'm pretty sure I have a toxic thought (or two) that I can try it out on.]

52) Bad Dads of the Bible: 8 Mistakes Every Good Dad Can Avoid
~ by Roland C. Warren
[I bought this book when the author spoke at a banquet I attended last spring. He signed my book with a quote from his talk: "Truth without compassion is harsh. Compassion without truth is dangerous! Blessings, Roland C. Warren - Psalm 15" — I learned a lot from this book, even though I'm not a dad!]

51) The Things We Wish Were True
~ by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen
[A near drowning brings a neighborhood together. Everyone has a secret they are hiding. The past is starting to catch up. I really enjoyed this novel.]

50) Death Comes as the End
~ by Agatha Christie
[This story is set in Egypt in 2000 B.C., so no Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple. But it was still an intriguing story. I even figured out who the murderer was.... Well, I sort of figured it out....]

49) The Moving Finger
~ by Agatha Christie
[Oh, Miss Marple, how brilliant you were in solving the crime! Hercule Poirot would be impressed.]

48) Can I Smoke Pot?: Marijuana in Light of Scripture
~ by Tom Breeden and Mark L. Ward, Jr.
[Maine just voted to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. Tim Challies (one of my favorite online presences) mentioned this book about a week ago; it was on sale for 99 cents on Amazon. I downloaded it to my Kindle. The answer to the title question is, "No." I wasn't hoping for the opposite answer, by the way....]

47) Barefoot: A Story of Surrendering to God
~ by Sharon Garlough Brown
[This is the third novel in the Sensible Shoes trilogy. I am sad the series has come to an end. I feel like the characters are my friends — probably because I see bits and pieces of myself and others I know in the characters the author created. I loved these books.]

46) MindWar
~ by Douglas E. Richards
[This is the third novel in the Nick Hall series. Nick Hall is a character who developed ESP when used as a test subject. Although Nick Hall is a "good guy," what would happen if a "bad guy" were given ESP capabilities? The main characters in this series consider these ethical issues and do what they can to safeguard the technology, but.... I won't give the story away. I believe there will be more books in this series, and I will definitely read them.]

45) Fervent: A Woman's Battle Plan for Serious, Specific, and Strategic Prayer
~ by Priscilla Shirer
[A sticker on the cover of this book says "Inspired by the Feature Film WAR ROOM." I read the novelized version earlier this year — #31 below — so when my friend Luanne suggested we go through Fervent together, I took her up on it. Luanne had already started a prayer notebook (her version of the prayer closet), and I have since started my own. We may plan an event at our church to share this "battle plan" with other women. Oh, and I finally watched the movie!]

44) Angel of Bataan: The Life of a World War II Army Nurse in the War Zone and at Home
~ by Walter M. Macdougall
[This is the story of Alice Zwicker from Brownville, Maine. I heard about this book from a church friend; Alice is his great-aunt. I learned a lot from reading this biography. My respect for "The Greatest Generation" continues to grow.]

43) The Perfect Son
~ by Barbara Claypole White
[I have now read two novels in a row where getting into Harvard is a subplot. (Not planned on my part.) Harry is a junior in high school when his mother, Ella, suffers a life-threatening heart attack. Harry's father, Felix, needs to step it up as a dad while Ella recovers. Harry has Tourette's syndrome — a condition that has affected the family dynamics for years. Other than some foul language (which was probably realistic), I was quite taken with this book. I stayed up far too late last night to finish reading it.]

42) The Admissions: A Novel
~ by Meg Mitchell Moore
[This story about a family of five, of which each member faces their own demons, could have used a dose of Christ-inspired spiritual renewal in its resolution(s). At least truth-telling is seen as the cleanser it is. I enjoyed the book.]

41) One Perfect Spring
~ by Irene Hannon
[I would describe this book as a Christian romance novel. All of the characters were either handsome or gorgeous.... Couldn't anyone be average-looking? Despite that, it was a fine diversion.]

40) I Am Half-Sick of Shadows
~ by Alan Bradley
[This is the fourth Flavia de Luce mystery novel. Flavia is a precocious 11-year-old who loves experimenting with chemistry, torturing her two older sisters, and solving crimes. I believe that there are at least five more books in this series, so I'm a little behind. I do plan to keep reading about Flavia!]

39) The Cure
~ by Athol Dickson
[This is a novel set in Maine. A cure for alcoholism, a quest for truth, and a need for forgiveness all add up to a touching story.]

38) Spy the Lie: Former CIA Officers Teach You How to Detect Deception
~ by Philip Houston, Michael Floyd, and Susan Carnicero; with Don Tennant
[An interesting and informative book. I love reading stuff like this.]

37) Onward: Engaging the Culture Without Losing the Gospel
~ by Russell Moore
[I highlighted on page 216: "Our public witness ought never to back down in confronting injustice, especially when so much is at stake: the lives of unborn children, the freedom of conscience, the structure of the family. But we ought to always recognize that those we are arguing with, including sometimes the most vitriolic of our opponents, just may be our future brother and sister in Christ. This doesn't mute our argumentation, but it sees that these are not just arguments but persons.... We must fight for culture, yes, but we should never be such culture warriors that we cannot be evangelists first. That's not just for the sake of the lost; that's for our sake too."]

36) Spark Joy: an illustrated master class on the art of organizing and tidying up
~ by Marie Kondo
[This is the companion to The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up — see number 23 below. I saw this book a week ago at Sam's Club. It was sitting on a pile of other titles, and there was only one copy; as I was purchasing it, I told Lew that it was meant to be. I enjoyed reading this; it was very practical. The most entertaining piece of advice was on page 98: "Balling your socks and stockings, or tying them into knots, is cruel. Please put an end to this practice today."]

35) The Undomestic Goddess
~ by Sophie Kinsella
[This novel was hysterical. I laughed out loud so many times. Seriously, I LOL'd for real. There were some naughty words/behavior said/done by the characters, so I wouldn't necessarily recommend the book. But — being "undomestic" myself — I couldn't help laughing at the antics of Samantha. She got herself into some tricky predicaments!]

34) The Boomerang Clue also known as Why Didn't They Ask Evans?
~ by Agatha Christie
[No Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot in this book; it featured amateur sleuths Bobby Jones and Frankie Derwent. I enjoyed it immensely, although I am still trying to figure out why the title is The Boomerang Clue. I do understand the alternate title!]

33) Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter: A Novel
~ by Tom Franklin
[Despite some rough language, I was taken in by this story. Some predictability to it, but think about it — how many story lines are there really? Another variation on a theme, but I was interested in what happened to the characters. It kept me hooked.]

32) The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
~ by Agatha Christie
[It's by Agatha Christie. Need I say more?!]

31) War Room: Prayer Is a Powerful Weapon
~ by Chris Fabry
[If I'm understanding correctly, the movie — by Alex Kendrick & Stephen Kendrick — came first. When I saw a Kindle deal on this novelization, I grabbed it. (I had already read and enjoyed a couple other books by Chris Fabry.) This book is like a prayer primer, with the story providing a backdrop. I haven't seen the movie yet, but it is on my "to watch" list.]

30) Double Play
~ by Ben & Julianna Zobrist, with Mike Yorkey
[I was almost halfway through reading this before our trip to Illinois; I finished it in the middle of the night on our ride out. Ben Zobrist is from Eureka, Illinois, which is where sister Kim's family lives. Reading it on the way to Illinois seemed like the right thing to do! I enjoyed it.]

29)  The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert: an English professor's journey into Christian faith
~ by Rosaria Champagne Butterfield
[The author wrote this book for a Christian audience. Once part of the LGBT community, she is now a committed follower of Christ. I read and recommend the "expanded edition" of the book; it contains some extras at the end. Encouraging, powerful, challenging, interesting.... I'll be thinking about this book for a long time.]

28)  Cordelia Underwood, Or the Marvelous Beginnings of the Moosepath League
~ by Van Reid
[A novel set during July of 1896 in the grand state of Maine. Lots of interesting and amusing characters, multiple plot lines, storytellers telling tall tales, romance, mystery, etc. It took me a while to get through the first 300 pages, but the last 100 pages kept me hooked. This book is the first in a series. Not sure I'll read more of them yet or not. So much to read, so little time....]

27)  The Demise: A Mystery
~ by Diane Moody
[A fun murder mystery (if a murder mystery can be "fun") and there were some clever twists. I liked the two main characters in this so much that I hope there is a sequel. The author's Christian worldview was evident — I didn't mind that, of course!]

26)  Murder on the Orient Express
~ by Agatha Christie
[I've either read this before or seen a movie version of it; the ending was familiar. In any case, I enjoyed it. One of the best Christie novels I've read so far.]

25)  Learning to Swim: A Novel
~ by Sara J. Henry
[I can't remember where I read about this book, but it came up as a good Kindle deal recently — thanks for the "heads up," BookBub! — so I downloaded it and read it right away. It's a great story which is deserving of a movie adaptation. If I were a screenwriter I would be working on it!]

24)  And Then There Were None
~ by Agatha Christie
[The play adaptation of this novel has a different ending. I read the play last year, so I was looking forward to reading the novel. I was not disappointed!]

23)  The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing
~ by Marie Kondo
[I really, really, really enjoyed reading this book and am looking forward to implementing most — but not all — of her recommendations. What I won't be doing: "talking" to inanimate objects!]

22)  Mosaics of Redemption: Discovering God's Restoration in Our Broken and Shattered Lives
~ by Barry K. Gaeddert
[I knew I would read this book in one sitting. I celebrated the life of my dear friend Suzy while reading her husband's words; I mourned the loss of her; I rejoiced that God is good. And now I will put this book on my "treasured books" shelf.]

21)  The Book of Strange New Things: A Novel
~ by Michel Faber
[A sci-fi adventure, romance, and spiritual quest all-in-one. Different kind of read for me. I enjoyed it, although I would have preferred a tidier ending. I can see why WORLD Magazine selected it for the fiction Book of the Year last year.]

20)  A Sherlock Holmes Devotional: Uncovering the Mysteries of God
~ by Trisha Priebe
[I love Sherlock Holmes. I love the Bible. I loved this devotional. Sixty entries total.]

19)  I Dreamed I Married Perry Mason
~ by Susan Kandel
[This is the first book in the CeCe Caruso Mysteries series. Long-time readers of my blog know I have seen every episode of the Perry Mason television show, so it should be obvious why I wanted to read this novel! I enjoyed it okay — but probably not enough to read any more of the series.]

18)  Moms' Night Out
~ by Tricia Goyer
[The book was a quick read. I did laugh out loud a few times. I haven't seen the movie yet, but I'm guessing the story is even more entertaining on screen.]

17)  When I Married My Mother: A Daughter's Search for What Really Matters — and How She Found It Caring for Mama Jo
~ by Jo Maeder
[The title of this book intrigued me enough to download it to my Kindle and read it all the way through. It's the true story of how the author takes care of her mother, Mama Jo, toward the end of Mama Jo's life. I would like to have met Mama Jo.]

16)  Distortion: How the New Christian Left is Twisting the Gospel and Damaging the Faith
~ by Chelsen Vicari
[I'm not sure how Lew heard of this young lady, but he watched an interview online and promptly bought the Kindle version of her book. I wish I could be half as bold as she is.]

15)  The Next Story: Faith, Friends, Family, and the Digital World
~ by Tim Challies
[I get e-mail updates of the author's blog posts. I don't have time to read everything he writes, but I like what I do read. When he mentioned that he published an "Updated and Expanded" version of this book, I thought it sounded interesting. And it was!]

14)  Minute Mysteries
~ by Austin Ripley
[This is a collection of short "solve it yourself" mysteries that was first published in 1949. Despite the technological changes that have occurred since 1949 (do ya think there have been a few?!), I was able to figure out the solutions to most of them. And if I couldn't, all I needed to do was turn to the next page for the answer. This book was a lot of fun.]

13)  The History Lottery
~ by Kristy Gherlone
[My sister Debbie read this novel for a book club. The author is from Maine, now lives in New Hampshire, and actually came to their club meeting. Debbie got her to sign the book, which is now in my possession. Thank you, Debbie! I really enjoyed the story — a different take on time travel.]

12)  The Wide Open Spaces of God: A Journey With God Through the Landscapes of Life
~ by Beth Booram
[My friend Laura has taken a spiritual director training class with this author. She writes about eight different "landscapes of life" in this book: the Desert, the Promised Land, the Mountain of God, the Valley of Darkness, the Green Pastures, the Land of Exile, the Deep Waters, and the Land Between. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of her books.]

11)  According to Their Deeds
~ by Paul Robertson
[I "bought" this novel about a year and a half ago when it was offered for free on the Kindle. Emily just finished reading it a couple weeks ago and told me she enjoyed the story. So I downloaded it to my Kindle Voyage and read it myself. I enjoyed it, too!]

10)  Far and Near: Haven Seekers Book Four
~ by Amanda G. Stevens
[This is the final book in the series. See three entries below this for the first three titles.]

9)  Forget Me Knot
~ by Mary Marks
[This is the first in the A Quilting Mystery series. Despite the author's digs at Republicans, I enjoyed her story-telling. It was an interesting mystery. I was even intrigued by the quilting aspect of the story — which surprised me given my lack of skill in such artistic areas! I will probably read the second book at some point.]

8)  The Curious Case of the Missing Figurehead
~ by Diane Noble
[This is the first book in what I believe is to be a three-book mystery series "starring" the Professor and Mrs. Littlefield. The characters are really fun and quirky. I hope the author writes the planned second and third books; I will be watching for them!]

7)  Take and Give: Haven Seekers Book Three
~ by Amanda G. Stevens
[I read the first two books in this series last year: (1) Seek and Hide, (2) Found and Lost. The fourth book is being released on 2/15/16, and I have pre-ordered it for my Kindle. The Haven Seekers series is speculative fiction, looking at what could happen if the government takes over the church.]

6)  The Frontier Boys
~ by John Grooters
[I was pleasantly surprised by this touching story about four high school boys. When I finished reading it, I found out it is also a movie. I already ordered the DVD!]

5)  Rust: The Novel
~ by Corbin Bernsen
[A "crisis of faith" story, sort of predictable, yet very engaging. I read this book over a few mornings while I used the elliptical machine, and the time went by fast. I really want to see the movie now.]

4)  Who Murdered Mr. Malone?
~ by Hope Callaghan
[This is the first book in the Garden Girls Cozy Mysteries series. The protagonists were good church-going folks, so this really did fit the "cozy" genre! It was a quick, easy read. I enjoyed it okay. I probably won't read the second book any time soon because I have too many other books in the queue.]

3)  The Fatal Tree: A Bright Empires Novel
~ by Stephen R. Lawhead
[This is the final book in a five-book series. Fantasy, time-travel, spiritual challenges... it all made for an intriguing story. It is best to read these books in order (which I did): (1) The Skin Map, (2) The Bone House, (3) The Spirit Well, (4) The Shadow Lamp, (5) The Fatal Tree.]

2)  Two Steps Forward: A Story of Persevering in Hope
~ by Sharon Garlough Brown
[This is the sequel to Sensible Shoes. I feel like Hannah, Meg, Charissa, and Mara are my own friends. The next book in the series, Barefoot, is scheduled to come out Winter 2017. I am looking forward to finding out what happens to my friends!]

1)  Go Set a Watchman: A Novel
~ by Harper Lee
[Emily wanted to read this. Because I had just read To Kill a Mockingbird at the end of 2015, I was curious about it as well. So I got it for us to read on our Kindles. Emily hasn't gotten to it yet, but we have already had a contemplative discussion about the themes. A thought-provoking novel....]