The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester****
If you love history and literature, this is for you! Totally fascinating history. Also, creating a dictionary makes my head spin!
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson*****
This book is NEEDED in America right now more than ever. And the work Bryan Stevenson is doing is incredible. Stevenson’s non-profit works to challenge wrongful convictions, as well on behalf of juveniles and those with various mental handicaps in the justice system. Stevenson makes it personal by telling one main overarching story that is just makes you shake your head because you know that this stuff just can’t be made up! At once heartbreaking, somehow the book doesn’t bring you down, but makes you see the hope.
Women of the Word: How to Study the Bible with Both Our Hearts and Our Minds by Jen Wilkin****
A good book about study methods that take you from reading the Bible at the surface level or through a lens of emotion and “what it means to me” to historical context and meaning.
No Little Women: Equipping All Women in the Household of God by Aimee Byrd****
This is a great “discussion” book. I went back and forth between 3 or 4 starts but finally landed on 4 because it was so thought-provoking, although I found her tone a little condescending at times. There was much I agreed with and much I did not agree with too. A full review can be read here.
Don’t Call Me Lady: The Journey of Lady Alice Seeley Harris by Judy Pollard Smith****
I had NEVER heard of Alice Seeley Harris before this book, which is too bad. Alice was a missionary to the Congo who soon discovered the atrocities of the rubber trade, which mutilated, maimed, and murdered the indigenous people of Congo for the harvest of rubber under the rule of Belgian King Leopold. She began documenting what she saw with her Brownie Kodak camera and eventually used her slides as evidence to crusade against the Belgian government alongside her husband.
I was fascinated by Alice as a person and the tensions in her life. One of the biggest tensions was that of mother and missionary. To be an effective missionary as well as to go on a speaking tour to raise awareness to the Congo atrocities, she had to leave her own children behind for years to be cared for by others.
Alice was a woman ahead of her time and more of us should know about who had a heart for social justice.
At the Still Point: A Literary Guide to Prayer by Sarah Arthur****
A unique devotional guide literary types would appreciate.
The Wisdom of God: Seeing Jesus in the Psalms and Wisdom Literature by Nancy Guthrie****
A great study that I did over the summer with some friends.
Gracelaced: Discovering Timeless Truths Through Seasons of the Heart by Ruth Simons*****
I loved this book and it’s so unique. You can read my complete review here.
The Broken Way: A Daring Path into the Abundant Life by Ann Voskamp***
I love Ann Voskamp’s heart and writing. She is so genuine in her faith.
However, I had a hard time with this book. I had a hard time tracking with it and it felt scattered. Although each chapter holds is about the “brokenness” theme, I had a hard time following what the point was, most of the time. Each chapter seemed more like a stand alone narrative essay and I think I was looking for more of a narrative arc in the book overall. So as a whole, I found it a scattered reading that lacked cohesion.
I did find gems and nuggets of wisdom that I highlighted throughout.
Mere Motherhood: Morning Times, Nursery Rhymes, & My Journey Toward Sanctification by Cindy Rollins****
This book was a lot more fun that I imagined. It took a minute to get into the rhythm of Rollins “voice.” It reads like a conversation with lots of dry wit and sarcasm. She makes fun of herself a lot but it’s encouraging too.
A Lamp unto My Feet by Elisabeth Elliot****
This was a reread for me but perfectly timed. I read it as I experienced severe anxiety for the first time in my life over a health issue. Reading this book felt like it literally physically bolstered me each day as many a topic it came back to again and again was fear.
I felt the same about Ann’s book. And as I said, I’m hoping to read Just Mercy in the next couple of months. Don’t Call Me Lady is on my list too!
The Professor and the Madman is normally the kind of book I love, but I didn’t enjoy that one at all!
Appreciate your review of No Little Women. I bought that a long time ago and want to read it…but have not honestly been in the right place/frame of mind to dig in. So it sits on my shelf.
I didn’t read very much nonfiction last year. LOVED the Hamilton book, and I’m really into Malcolm Gladwell (the audiobooks are excellent). He’s such a great storyteller and I’m a huge nerd for that kind of psychology/neuroscience stuff. I didn’t love The Tipping Point years ago, but I loved David and Goliath last fall and I’m loving Blink right now.
My best theology/Christian living book of 2017 was Keller’s The Prodigal God. It was a reread but it’s an all-time favorite for me. I also loved Jon Bloom’s Not By Sight. Have you read any of his books? I love his writing.
I loved The Prodigal God. I read it some years ago. I have looked at/read Jon Bloom’s writing online but have refrained from reading it because that is the style I’m going for in my book. Not that I have a contract or anything, but I didn’t want his writing to influence me too much or without me realizing it. I too am going for "imaginative storytelling" to bring the stories of the women to life in a fresh gritty way. Soooo, I’d like to read his books eventually! 🙂