This list is a personal thing for me to share, as these books were with me through all that I experienced this year. Whether I liked a book or not, I gained something from each. I will forever associate certain books with the landmarks of my year, big and small.
- The Writing Life by Annie Dillard (beautiful writing)
- On Moving by Louise DeSalvo (I didn’t enjoy most of this book, but the writing about the author saying goodbye to her house at the end was just right.)
- Tattoos on the Heart by Greg Boyle (I loved this. “Pure religion” in action.)
- Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (Hated the ending.)
- How to Meditate by Pema Chödrön (I am glad I read it, but I have no idea what I was reading a lot of the time.)
- Beloved by Toni Morrison
- Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple (Meh.)
- Saints, volume 2: No Unhallowed Hand (The vast scope of this book is staggering, and it took me a long time to read it. When I wasn’t grieving over the events, I was energized by the personal accounts of miracles, dreams, and visions. There is a lot in here, and I kept notes on the people, as I learned I had to do with the first volume of Saints.)
- The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner (It was a page-turner.)
- When Crickets Cry by Charles Martin (Good.)
- Irreversible Damage: the Transgender Craze Seducing our Daughters by Abigail Shrier
- The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (So much better to read as an adult.)
- Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell (I love this author, and this was my second reading of this book.)
- Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (So much to say about themes, but the piece I needed was its commentary about how a true Christian helps others. I collected many quotes to live by.)
- A Lion and a Lamb by Rand H. Packer (This was inspiring. This couple served a twenty-four year mission at the Smith farm in Palmyra, NY to establish good will with the community, 1915-1939. This couple is also depicted in the film, The Fighting Preacher.)
- On Juneteenth by Annette Gordon-Reed (I liked this.)
- Whistling Past the Graveyard by Susan Crandall (I did not like the narrator and was dissatisfied with the book, but could not stop reading.)
- William Tyndale, a Biography by David Daniell (This was a scholarly, academic, detailed analysis of Tyndale’s translation work on the Bible and his impact on religion and the English language. Five hundred years later, we remain familiar with his words, whether we are religious or not. This book was an accomplishment for me to finish.)
- Even This by Emily Belle Freeman (I read this because I like her insights into Bible stories and rethinking our relationship with God. This was a nice book.)
- The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy (Good.)
- Crossings by Melissa Wei-Tsing Inouye (This is a collection of essays and letters about living as a Latter-day Saint woman, scholar, cancer patient, and mother. Good.)
- My War by Andy Rooney (Good.)
- Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
- The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ ♥️
- The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan (There is no happy ending here, just a cautionary tale about environmental destruction and greed that led to Dust Bowl conditions in the 1930s. The description of the great dust storm on Black Sunday was really well written.)
- Persuasion by Jane Austen (A familiar friend)
- A Useful Woman by Darcie Wilde (fluff)
- Pachinko by Min Jin Lee (Powerful story)
- Everybody, Always by Bob Goff (It read like too much self-promotion to me.)
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (I enjoyed this more than ever this time.)
- Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
- Bomb by Steve Sheinkin (fascinating)
- The Old Testament ❤️
- Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
- The Four Agreements by N Miguel Ruiz (Okay)
- Emma by Jane Austen
- The Gift of the Magi by O Henry (a favorite)