Reading through 2017
People who know me well, know that I love to read. This year I wanted to read 52 books and I was very close. I greatly surpassed my goal if you count all the Children's books I read this year, especially if you counted the 10 times I read The Foot Book by Dr. Seuss (but I won't). I have to admit that this quantity of books was mostly made possible by the Text-To-Speech feature on my kindle and San Jose traffic. I also want to thank my Fuller professors for making it so clear to me how much of what I was reading was by old white men, and widening my reading lists. I benefited greatly from that challenge this year, though I still have far to go.
I'm posting this mostly for my own benefit, but thought I'd recommend a few books I read this year as well. The books are listed in the order that I read them. The titles that are in bold are my top reads from this year that I highly recommend.
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”
- The Wonder by Emma Donoghue
- Legend by Marie Lu
- Love Warrior: A Memoir by Glennon Doyle
- Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis
- Rare Bird: A Memoir of Loss and Love by Anna Whiston-Donaldson
- The Faraway Nearby by Rebecca Solnit
- Soul Keeping: Caring for the most Important Part of You by John Ortberg
- Present Over Perfect by Shauna Niequist
- Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah Seriously, you just need to read this book. Trevor was born in South Africa during Apartheid to a black mother and a white father; literally his being born was a crime. He uses his humor to talk about a difficult childhood and the brokenness of the world.
- Homegoing: A Novel by Yaa Gyasi
- Falling Free: Rescued from the Life I Always Wanted by Shannan Martin
- For the Love: Fighting For Grace in a World of Imperfect People by Jen Hatmaker
- The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
- The Insanity of God by Nick Ripkin
- Give Them Grace: Dazzling Your Kids With the Love of Jesus by Elyse Fitzpatrick
- The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
- Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
- The Road Back To You by Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile
- The Problem with Forever by Jennifer Armentrout
- Calling Me Home by Julie Kibler
- One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
- Love Lives Here: Finding What You Need in a World Telling You What You Want - Maria Goff
- Yes Please by Amy Poehler
- Find Her by Lisa Gardner
- Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson Most U.S. citizens will admit that the correctional system in the U.S. is broken. But this book is mind-blowing. Bryan Stevenson's work with death row inmates, battling discrimination and prejudices in the justice system is noble and something you should know about.
- The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
- See Me by Nicholas Sparks
- Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult
- The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch A dying father writes the things he wishes he could teach his children and talks candidly about the process of dying. Great book to get a good perspective on life.
- The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics - Daniel James Brown I read this book because it was recommended to me by a good middle school friend who said it was incredible. I would have never picked it up myself, but I'm so glad he clued me in. It is just a great book about real people and the triumphs and difficulties of life.
- How to Be Here: A Guide to Creating a Life Worth Living by Rob Bell
- Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly
- We Should All Be Feminists - Chimamanda Ngozi
- A Year of Biblical Womanhood: How a Liberated Woman Found Herself Sitting on Her Roof, Covering Her Head, and Calling Her Husband Master by Rachel Held Evans
- The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
- Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- Three Little Words by Ashley Rhodes-Couter The life story of a child who spent many years in the broken foster care system in the U.S. and was adopted as a teenager. Anyone who has a heart of children in foster care and adoption should learn from this brave young woman.
- Three More Words by Ashley Rhodes-Couter
- Coming Clean by Seth Haines
- The Captain's Bride by Lisa Tawn Bergen
- Becoming Home by Jedd Medefind
- The Sanctuary by Ted Dekker
- David and Goliath: Underdos, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants by Malcolm Gladwell
- When God Says Wait: Navigating Life's Detours and Delays Without Losing Your Faith, Your Friends, or Your Mind by Elizabeth Lang Thompson
- Emotional Intelligence 2.0 by Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves
- Free of Me: Why Life is Better When Its Not Really About Me - Sharon Hodde Miller
- The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
- Tossing and Turning by John Updike
- Stronger Than You Know by Jolene Perry
