2019 Reading List

Here's a list of the books and stories I finished reading during 2019. 📚

69) The Tune is in the Tree
~ by Maud Hart Lovelace
~ illustrated by Eloise Wilkin
I loved reading the author's Betsy-Tacy series, so I knew I would enjoy this book as well. It was a sweet story about a little girl named Annie Jo and her bird friends. From the back of the book: "A charming fantasy that combines nature and nurture inspiring children to love and respect nature."

68) How Not to Write: The Essential Misrules of Grammar
~ by William Safire
This is a fun book. Each chapter's title is a fumblerule. I'm pretty sure I break all of the rules on my blog on a regular basis!

67) Never Mess with Mistletoe
~ by Edie Claire
The 10th book in the Leigh Koslow Mysteries series, this is what you would call a "cozy mystery." I haven't read any of the others in the series, and I probably will skip them. But I did enjoy the book and was interested in how it would be resolved. (It's nice to read murder mystery novels near Christmas, ha ha!)

66) Remembering Christmas
~ by Dan Walsh
It's nice to read inspirational and heartwarming novels near Christmas. This isn't a long book, so I read it in one day. A nice story.

65) The Case of the Slippery Dog (The Adventures of Finn & Annie # 9)
~ by Christopher Greyson
The mystery wasn't as good as the last one (see #60 below), but it was still enjoyable. And, of course, the romantic tension... well... it's picking up!

64) The Mark of the King
~ by Jocelyn Green
Seems like I've been reading a lot of historical fiction lately! This one takes place in the early 1700s. Julianne, the main character, goes from France to Louisiana for reasons I will not reveal here. An interesting storyline.

63) Bread of Angels
~ by Tessa Afshar
This is a historical novel based on Lydia, the seller of purple. (See the 16th chapter of Acts.) I enjoyed reading this novel so much that I read it over a couple days.

62) Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape
~ by Jenna Miscavige Hill, with Lisa Pulitzer
I'm not too familiar with Scientology, so I was quite taken aback by Jenna's story and her experiences in this movement (or cult, truth be told). Her uncle is the current leader of Scientology.

61) We Hope for Better Things
~ by Erin Bartels
Wow, what a great novel. I stayed in my PJ's the day after Thanksgiving in order to finish reading it. One of Emily's favorite books is To Kill a Mockingbird, so I believe she will really enjoy this one. I'm buying it for her for Christmas! (I read it on my Kindle; borrowed it through Kindle Unlimited.)

60) The Case of the Missing Gift (The Adventures of Finn & Annie # 8)
~ by Christopher Greyson
This is my favorite of the series so far! An interesting mystery and lots of relationship drama. Short story # 9 is scheduled to be released on December 3rd! (It's 11/27 as I write this, so not too many days away....)

59) The Case of a Mouse in My Soup (The Adventures of Finn & Annie # 7)
~ by Christopher Greyson
A nice solution to the mystery and a cliffhanger for Annie's relationship with Finn! (Fortunately the eighth installment of this series is already available.) I love these short stories!

58) I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life
~ by Anne Bogel
This is a delightful collection of essays. What are the author's essays about? Reading, of course! I love to read, and I enjoy reading about reading.

57) Where the Crawdads Sing
~ by Delia Owens
A lovely novel borrowed from my sister Debbie. She read it, my sister Kim read it, and even my mother read it. And now I have. 😊

56) The World's Last Night: and Other Essays
~ by C.S. Lewis
Seven essays by the brilliant C.S. Lewis:
I. The Efficacy of Prayer
II. On Obstinacy in Belief
III. Lilies that Fester
IV. Screwtape Proposes a Toast
V. Good Work and Good Works
VI. Religion and Rocketry
VII. The World's Last Night

55) The Case of Raining Nails (The Adventures of Finn & Annie # 6)
~ by Christopher Greyson
The mystery part of this short story was secondary to the budding romance between Finn and Annie. Annie made lasagna for Finn. That is true love in my opinion! 😊

54) Middlemarch
~ by George Eliot
Don't be fooled: this author is a woman. George Eliot is the pen name of Mary Ann Evans, a writer from the Victorian era. I read this book after seeing several people refer to it as one of their favorite novels. It is quite long (not War and Peace long, but it felt like that at times). Much of the book is descriptive of human nature, explaining why the characters acted the way they did and felt the way they felt. Because of the classical nature of this book, I found myself looking up the definitions of many words. I am glad that I took the time to read Middlemarch, and I am glad to have finally finished it!

53) How Good is Good Enough?
~ by Andy Stanley
This short book provides a logical argument refuting the belief that being a good person is the way to get to Heaven. (Spoiler alert: Jesus is the only way!)

52) A Charlie Brown Religion: Exploring the Spiritual Life and Work of Charles M. Schulz
~ by Stephen J. Lind
Lew gave me this book for Christmas a few years ago. (I actually did the purchasing and said, "Give this to me for Christmas!") It was very interesting. My favorite chapter was about the making of the Christmas special for T.V.

51) Cyrus Field's Big Dream: The Daring Effort to Lay the First Transatlantic Telegraph Cable
~ by Mary Morton Cowan
I read about this book in WORLD Magazine, and I purchased it for Eli for his birthday (which isn't until October, so shhhhh, don't tell him). I decided to read it first — something I often do when I buy books for the kids. It's some history I never read about before, so I learned a lot. I admire the persistence of Cyrus Field. He did not give up! (Of note: This book is by a Maine author.)

50) The Case of the Disappearing Diamond (The Adventures of Finn & Annie # 5)
~ by Christopher Greyson
I figured this one out! Maybe the series can be renamed The Adventures of Finn & Annie and Tracy. (I promise not to interfere with the inevitable romance between Finn & Annie!)

49) The Case of the Phantom Pet (The Adventures of Finn & Annie # 4)
~ by Christopher Greyson
See #26, 46, and 47 below. These short stories really are perfect bedtime reading!

48) Do It Tomorrow and Other Secrets of Time Management
~ by Mark Forster
See #44 below. This book provides additional ideas. I think I already do some of them, although maybe not exactly as the author presents. Good stuff.

47) The Case of the Wayward Ride (The Adventures of Finn & Annie # 3)
~ by Christopher Greyson
Did I mention how much I enjoy these short stories? (LOL!) An easy read at night before bed.

46) The Case of the Dropped Groceries (The Adventures of Finn & Annie # 2)
~ by Christopher Greyson
I really enjoy this author and these short stories are fun. I borrow them through Kindle Unlimited.

45) Carrying Albert Home: The Somewhat True Story of a Woman, a Husband, and her Alligator
~ by Homer Hickam
What a fun book! I really enjoyed it. (Caution: Some salty language.) Albert is the alligator, by the way.

44) Get Everything Done and Still Have Time to Play
~ by Mark Forster
Some really helpful ideas on using time well. I have a couple other books by this author that I will read soon.

43) Bridge to Haven
~ by Francine Rivers
I enjoy reading this author's novels. A Christian perspective and engaging story lines.

42) Challenger Deep
~ by Neal Shusterman
The author states this is "by no means a work of fiction." The story's narrator, Caden, suffers from mental illness, as did the author's son Brendan. (The artwork in the book is by Brendan.) The author shares: "Our hope is that Challenger Deep will comfort those who have been there, letting them know that they are not alone. We also hope that it will help others to empathize, and to understand what it's like to sail the dark, unpredictable waters of mental illness."

41) Israel, My Beloved
~ by Kay Arthur
This novel is representative of the nation of Israel's history, personified in the character Sarah. The story begins during Old Testament times and continues right on through "the end." A fascinating book.

40) The Joke
~ by Milan Kundera
This novel was originally written in Czech. I read an English translation of it, of course. I knew the story would differ from what I usually read, but I enjoyed it more than I had anticipated. Definitely not a "light" read. I had trouble following the characters, so I may have to re-read it, now that I know how they all connect.

39) The Mystery of the Midnight Peacock
~ by Katherine Woodfine
Thus ends my reading of The Sinclair's Mysteries series! (See #36 and #38 below, as well as #66 in my 2018 Reading List.) I believe there is another series with the characters Sophie and Lil. I would start reading those now except for the big pile of books I already have that are waiting to be read.

38) The Mystery of the Painted Dragon
~ by Katherine Woodfine
This is the third book in The Sinclair's Mysteries series. (See #36 below.) These are fun. One more to go.

37) Book Girl: A Journey through the Treasures & Transforming Power of a Reading Life
~ by Sarah Clarkson
My "to read" list will grow as result of reading this book. Lots of great recommendations.

36) The Mystery of the Jeweled Moth
~ by Katherine Woodfine
This is the second book featuring some young sleuths: Sophie, Lil, Joe, Billy... and now Mei and Song! It's written for slightly younger (!) readers than myself, and it's good to have an easy read every now and then. (I've already started reading the third book.)

35) The Girl on the 6th Floor: Wide Awake Through the Nightmare
~ by Brian Nichols
The author shares the true story of his adult daughter's battle with a rare illness. (Spoiler alert: A mostly happy ending.)

34) Bitter Pill
~ by Richard Mabry
Whenever I see something new by this author and it's available via Kindle Unlimited, I usually read it right away! I always enjoy Dr. Mabry's stories, and I appreciate his Christian perspective. This one is a novella, so it didn't take too long to read.

33) Saving Grace (Katie & Annalise #1)
~ by Pamela Fagan Hutchins
This is the first book in the author's "A What Doesn't Kill You Romantic Mystery" series. There are currently 15 books in all, with several different title characters. I enjoyed this easy-to-read story. If I get through all of the other books on my reading list, I may read more in this series.

32) A Book of Comfort in Sickness
~ by Philip Bennett Power
I learned of this book when Tim Challies posted a review of it. (Read his post by clicking HERE.) It definitely is a powerful little book.

31) The Red Tent
~ by Anita Diamant
This is what I would call an "earthy" re-telling of the life story of Dinah. (See Genesis 34.) The author admittedly uses the Biblical account as a starting point and then loosely bases her novel on it. (That is, The Red Tent is historical fiction.) If one can get beyond the fact that it is not completely accurate according to the Bible, it is an intriguing story.

30) The Seven Storey Mountain
~ by Thomas Merton
This autobiography has been on my "to read" list for a long time, so I'm glad I finally read it. The "About the Author" section at the end of the book mentions him "choosing a life of contemplation and prayer," and he spends a lot of the book writing about his contemplation. This made the book a little too lengthy for my tastes, but I plodded through! As I said, I'm glad I finally read it.

29) You Who?: Why You Matter and How to Deal With It
~ by Rachel Jankovic
This is a relatively short book, but I will be thinking about it for a long time. Recommended reading for all Christian women. (Men would get something out of it, too.) Challenging and comforting.

28) The Miracle Season
~by Kathy Bresnahan
I first learned of this fascinating and heart-wrenching true story by reading about it in WORLD Magazine. The article I read was actually a review of the movie adaptation. (Now that I've read the book, I know where the movie took some liberties in its retelling.) I cried when I watched the movie. I cried when I read the book. After I saw the movie, I watched some videos of the real-life people... and I cried.  LIVE LIKE LINE.

27) Stratagem
~ by Robin Caroll
This is an enjoyable mystery/suspense novel. I liked the setting of the game/escape room. I also liked that some of the characters were people of faith and were guided by such.

26) The Case of the Attic Door (The Adventures of Finn & Annie # 1)
~ by Christopher Greyson
I've enjoyed reading this author in the past, so I immediately read this short story when I saw it was available via Kindle Unlimited. The second one will be coming out in May (I think); I'm looking forward to it already!

25) Thomas Merton: A Life Inspired
~ by Wyatt North
I read this short biography in anticipation of reading The Seven Storey Mountain (Merton's autobiography written when he was in his mid-30s). That's going to be one of the next books I read.

24) My Story
~ by Elizabeth Smart, with Chris Stewart
It is horrific when any child goes missing, but for some reason I followed Elizabeth's case more closely when she was first abducted. I've had this book on my Kindle for a while, and I finally read it. I'm so glad her case had a "happy" ending.

23) The Last Week: The Day-by-Day Account of Jesus's Final Week in Jerusalem
~ by Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan
The Easter message we heard last year referenced this book at one point, so I decided to read it before another Easter rolled around. (Mission accomplished!) The book brings up historical political issues that I usually don't pay attention to, so it was good in that respect. The authors fell short of definitively saying the bodily resurrection of Jesus was factually true; they instead chose to address it as a parable... albeit an awesome parable!

22) The Garden of the Gods
~ by Gerald Durrell
This is the last book in the author's Corfu Trilogy. (See #15 and #20 below.) I enjoyed reading all three of these books. The author's family was a real "hoot" and I loved some of the names they gave the animals. Gerry even had a fun name for the boat his brother made for him: The Bootle-Bumtrinket. I recommend the trilogy and the show!

21) How to Be a Perfect Christian
~ by The Babylon Bee (Adam Ford and Kyle Mann)
Lew and I both follow The Babylon Bee's facebook page. It is important to remember that it is satire. (Sometimes it does hit a little close to home!) Lew and I both enjoyed reading this book.

20) Birds, Beasts, and Relatives
~ by Gerald Durrell
This is the second book in the author's Corfu Trilogy. See #15 below.

19) Clear Winter Nights: A journey into truth, doubt, and what comes after
~ by Trevin Wax
I read this book on my Kindle, but I just ordered the hardback. It's a novel I will re-read to highlight and make notations regarding Scripture references. A description on the cover of the book says "Theology in Story." It does this very well.

18) Rule of Law
~ by Randy Singer
This is the author's most recent novel. I've enjoyed everything I've read by him. This is another interesting story which kept me up late at night in order to finish it.

17) Building a Story Brand: Clarify Your Message so Customers Will Listen
~ by Donald Miller
Even though I am not in marketing, it's helpful to read a good book about marketing every now and then. This is a good one.

16) Veracity
~ by Douglas E. Richards
What if the perfect lie detector could be developed? This novel explores some interesting ideas around that possibility. I've read and enjoyed books by this author previously, and Veracity did not disappoint. I've already "sent" it to Lew's Kindle so he can read it, too. It's a really engaging, thought-provoking story.

15) My Family and Other Animals
~ by Gerald Durrell
This is the first book in the author's Corfu Trilogy. Lew and I watched the first three seasons of "The Durrells in Corfu" (apparently season four is in the works), so it was fun to read this book. Some of the crazy stuff in the shows actually happened! The trilogy is available via Kindle Unlimited, so I'll be reading the next two books as well. Lots of fun.

14) Dear Evan Hansen: The Novel
~ by Val Emmich
This book is based on a musical. (Usually it's the other way around.) The main character is a socially-awkward high school boy who finds himself in the center of an elaborate lie. The story addresses the serious problem of teen suicide.

13) Unoffendable: How Just One Change Can Make All of Life Better
~ by Brant Hansen
The author knows we can only make this change through the grace of God. This is a captivating, enjoyable book that I read just when I needed its message. I highly recommend it.

12) 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos
~ by Jordan B. Peterson
I had already heard of the author when Lew and I saw him on Greg Gutfeld's show a while ago. After that appearance, I decided to get this book on my Kindle. I read most of it while using the elliptical machine. (The chapters are pretty long, so this turned out to be a good strategy on my part!) Although the author claims he is not a Christian, I wouldn't be surprised to learn of his conversion someday.

11) Unplanned
~ by Alana Terry
This is the first book in the author's Kennedy Stern Christian Suspense Series. Kennedy is a Harvard student who is asked to answer the cell phone for a newly-opened crisis pregnancy center. It was a weekend commitment that turned into something quite more than that....

10) Saving Eric (The Redeemed Side of Broken Series Book 1)
~ by Joan Deneve
Eric is a non-believing CIA operative who ends up in a remote mission hospital after being betrayed. There he meets Doc, Ellie, and — most importantly — God. I had time to read this book within a 24-hour period. It was a good read.

7, 8, & 9) If I Run Series
~ by Terri Blackstock
The books in this trilogy are If I Run, If I'm Found, and If I Live. I had been wanting to read these for a while and once I started... well, I couldn't stop. The main character, Casey Cox, is framed for a murder she didn't commit. Given the circumstances, she has no other choice but to flee. Faith, family, and friendship are all integral to Casey's story. I stayed up until 1:30am to finish reading If I Live; fortunately I could sleep in the next day!

6) As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust: A Flavia de Luce Novel
~ by Alan Bradley
I really enjoys these books about the young chemistry-wiz sleuth, Flavia. I've always pronounced her name "Flah-via" in my head, but she explains in this book that her name is pronounced "Flay-via." I had to work hard to make this adjustment! 😉

5) Crosstalk: A Novel
~ by Connie Willis
I really enjoyed this quirky story, and I was a little sad when I finished reading it. Maybe there will be a sequel...? (I am hoping the author can "hear" her readers wanting one!)

4) The Purloined Letter
~ by Edgar Allan Poe
Lew mentioned this short story to me, so I had to read it of course! I found it in a free Kindle collection called "The Works of Edgar Allan Poe - Volume 2."

3) Stranded in Ice
~ by Christina Baker Kline
This is a short story that was initially part of an early draft of A Piece of the World. It's about how Christina's father came to America and ended up living in Maine.

2) A Piece of the World: A Novel
~ by Christina Baker Kline
This is a lovely novel based on Andrew Wyeth's famous painting "Christina's World."

1) Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall-Street
~ by Herman Melville.
This is a rather bizarre short story. And it is certainly a much quicker read than Moby Dick, ha ha! Must I say more? I prefer not to. (If you read the story you'll know why I wrote that. 😉)