2023 Book List

  1. Process: the Writing Lives of Great Authors by Sarah Stodol (Interesting.)
  2. Rules of Civility by Amor Towels (beautiful writing)
  3. Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard (👍👍 There was a lot for me to love in this book. A lot.)
  4. The Life and Teachings of Jesus Christ vol 1: from Bethlehem through the Sermon on the Mount, edited by Richard Neitzel Holzapfel and Thomas A. Wayment (Excellent New Testament scholarship)
  5. In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto by Michael Pollan (Interesting journalism about the pitfalls of Western food culture and the industrialization of food.)
  6. In the Time of Our History by Susanne Pari (I liked it.)
  7. Centuries of Meditations by Thomas Traherne, 1636?-1674 (This book took me ten years to finish because it required a lot of concentration. Despite differences in theology, this book was full of meaningful passages for me.)
  8. Carol Sanchez Answers Some Questions (my mom’s personal history 👍👍)
  9. Remainders of the Day by Shaun Bythell (I don’t know why I liked this book of daily journal entries by a bookseller in Scotland.)
  10. The Royal Road to Happiness by William George Jordan (I liked it.)
  11. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (This was probably my 4th reading of this book, and I can finally say that I see its merit.)
  12. My Grandmother Cerie’s 1957 Journal (Family history research)
  13. The Life and Teachings of Jesus Christ, volume 2: From the Transfiguration through the Triumphal Entry, edited by Richard Nietzel Holzapfel and Thomas A. Wayment (This took time and a lot of effort because it was so dense in detail. I loved it.)
  14. The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland by Jim DeFede (This book chronicles good deeds done by Newfoundlanders to the thousands of stranded airline passengers that landed there on 9/11. It makes you feel good about people.)
  15. The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ ❤️
  16. From the Last Supper through the Resurrection: The Savior’s Final Hours, ed. Richard Nietzel Holzapfel and Thomas A. Wayment (Excellent, especially chapters 10-14)
  17. The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickins 😂
  18. Life in Five Senses by Gretchen Rubin
  19. A Praying Life by Paul E Miller (I liked his prayer card idea. He also had lots of good insights about scripture.)
  20. The Doctrine and Covenants ♥️
  21. The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin
  22. The Housemaid by Freida McFadden (Not recommended.)
  23. The Life and Teachings of the New Testament Apostles from the Day of Pentacost through the Apocalypse, edited by Richard Nietzel Holzapfel and Thomas A. Wayment (👍👍)
  24. David Copperfield by Charles Dickins (I love this book. It claims a place in my top five favorite books of all time.)
  25. Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage by Alice Munro (Great writing in this collection of short stories.)
  26. Becoming Better Grownups: Rediscovering What Matters and Remembering How to Fly by Brad Montague (Lots of profound things, some kind of trite things, but overall, I liked it.)
  27. North And South by Elizabeth Gaskell (This time I savored what the author wanted us to know about flawed thinking and how to reconcile with people with different ideas.)
  28. Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession by Michael Finkel (My fascination-repulsion with this story ran high.)
  29. Tracy’s Tiger by William Saroyan (mesmerizing short story)
  30. The Human Comedy by William Saroyan
  31. The New Testament ♥️
  32. Year of Wonder: Classical Music to Enjoy Day by Day by Clemency Burton-Hill