Best of the Bookshelf 2018 Edition

Ahhh the end of the year. I am such a sucker for year-end lists—favorites of the past year, goals for the following 365 days—those things make my list-making heart just so happy!  I don’t often have a lot to share in most categories but every year I do love looking back over the list of books I read this past year and make some goals for the coming one.  Plus, I get asked for book recommendations all the time so I like putting my favorites in one spot to share with others who might want a good book but don’t want to simply wander the library stacks in search of one.  I’ve always been a reader, but for some reason 2018 was the year I kicked that up a notch and REALLY read obsessively.  I’m still not sure what inspired that or what caused that, maybe it was the added hours sitting in pick up lines waiting for school dismissals twice a day?  Maybe it was simply some strange sense of satisfaction I got every time I saw the number of books grow and I wanted to keep seeing that number grow?  Whatever it was, I had set my reading goal at 40 books this year and am ending the year at 62.  I definitely watched less TV this year, which I know contributed to that number, and I also have finally discovered the trick of always having 2 books going at once—one “in print” book and one on my kindle at all times.  This helped ensure I never was without a book—my phone has my kindle app on it that syncs with my actual kindle so I had zero excuse to not read while waiting in line for kids or at the post office or in doctor’s offices—my current book was always with me.  Usually one of those was fiction and one non-fiction.  So if I was reading a fun fiction book in a hard copy, I would have something like Bob Goff’s Everybody Always going on my kindle or vice versa.  Stories or plot lines never got mixed up and I always had something I was working through.  The other trick I’ve found to reading more is to track what you read.  As humans we love to see forward progress so if you start keeping track of your books—whether on Good Reads or in a notebook somewhere you will love seeing your list of finished books grow and that will inspire you to read more.  I’ve been tracking my books in my book journal (a moleskin notebook where I write books I’ve completed and books I want to read) and on Good Reads for years now and I love seeing what I’ve read in the past, and watching the number grow.  So, without further ado, here are the best books I read out of those 62 this year—5 fiction and 5 non-fiction.

Favorite Fiction

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah: Kristin Hannah is probably best known for her book The Nightingale which I actually haven’t read yet, this was my first novel of her’s and oh man, I know why people love her work. She can craft a story that will grip your heart in so many ways. The Great Alone centers around the Allbright family—Ernt, a former Vietnam POW with severe PTSD, his wife Cora, and 13 year old Leni. When Ernt loses yet another job, he makes an impulsive decision: he will move his family north, to Alaska, where they will live off the grid in America’s last true frontier. But they're utterly unprepared for the harsh reality that greets them. Alaska herself is a main character in this novel—the harsh weather, landscape, long summer days and utter darkness of the winter match Ernt’s volatile mood swings. As winter draws near and darkness closes in, Ernt’s mental health deteriorates, with disastrous consequences for the family and community. Yet Leni will survive—and maybe even thrive. A riveting coming of age story featuring a fabulous setting, amazing female leads, and ultimate redemption. This book has numerous triggers and may not be for everyone, but I was captivated by the community, the strength of the women in this book, and the descriptions of the land itself.

A Life Intercepted by Charles Martin: This was the year I fully fell in love with Charles Martin’s novels. Probably best known for his book The Mountain Between Us that became a major motion picture last year, Martin hails from Jacksonville and every book of his I’ve read seems to have some tie to the southeast—Florida or even Jacksonville specifically which is just fun! He’s a man of deep faith who writes complicated stories of broken, hurting people in search of redemption in some way, shape or form. He has about 14 novels out now and this past year I read 6 of them—usually in a weekend each because I couldn’t put them down. Two of his made my top 5 favorite books of this year. A Life Intercepted follows the story of Matthew “The Rocket” Rising, a star football player—one of the best quarterbacks in college football history. He marries his high school sweetheart, seems to have everything going for him, and on the night of the NFL draft where he was the number 1 pick, he is falsely accused of a terrible crime. In a moment everything seems to be lost. He served his 12 year sentence, and leaves prison with the main goal of finding his wife Audrey, whom hasn’t spoken to him since the trial. He returns to an unwelcoming reception from his Gardi, Georgia, hometown to learn that Audrey has taken shelter from the media with the nuns at a Catholic school. There she has discovered a young man with the talent to achieve the football career Matthew should have had. All he needs is the right coach. Although helping the boy means Matthew violates the conditions of his release and--if discovered--re incarceration for life, he'll take the chance if it means winning his wife back. It’s a story of football, faith, forgiveness, friendship and unconditional love.

When Crickets Cry by Charles Martin: A young boy falls in love with the girl next door, who, as it turns out, is also his soulmate. When she is still a young girl her doctors find that she has a serious heart defect, so the young boy makes it his lifelong ambition to one day become her heart doctor. His commitment pays off, however, at the pinnacle of his career misfortune and several tragedies strike at once and from then on his life, and the lives of several others, will be changed forever.

The beautiful but flawed relationships between the characters are what made this book so endearing to me. A damaged genius, a blind smart aleck, an angelic child, a homophobic ruffian, a frazzled workaholic and a mentoring restaurateur, make up this unlikely band of steadfast companions as we see the power of community, the gift of second chances and the strength of the human heart. I loved the medical information shared in this book, the intricacies of the heart, and fell in love with these characters.

Us Against You: Fredrik Backman: Backman’s novel “Beartown” was one of my very favorite books from 2017, and this year the sequel might be even better. You think it’s a novel about hockey. It’s not. It’s about so much more than hockey. It’s about the people, events, loyalties, and stories that shape our communities. It’s a coming of age story of a band of young men, forced to make difficult choices and confront the pressure of those who think differently. Us Against You is the story of a small community tucked deep in the forest of a Scandinavian country. Beartown is home to tough, hardworking people who don’t expect life to be easy or fair. No matter how difficult times get, they’ve always been able to take pride in their local ice hockey team. So it’s a cruel blow when they hear that their town’s ice hockey club might soon be disbanded. What makes it worse is the obvious satisfaction that all the former Beartown players, who now play for a rival team in the neighboring town of Hed, take in that fact. But the arrival of a newcomer gives Beartown hockey a chance at a comeback.

Soon a team starts to take shape around Amat, the fastest player you’ll ever see; Benji, the intense lone wolf; always dutiful and eager-to-please Bobo; and Vidar, a born-to-be-bad troublemaker. But bringing this team together proves to be a huge challenge, especially as the town’s enmity with Hed grows more and more acute as the big game approaches.

By the time the last goal is scored, a resident of Beartown will be dead, and the people of both towns will be forced to wonder if, after everything, the game they love can ever return to something as simple and innocent as a field of ice, two nets, and two teams. Us against you. Told through the point of view of multiple characters Us Against You captivated me from start to finish. I’d probably recommend reading Beartown first to familiarize yourself with the characters and events leading up to this story.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas: I read this book early in 2018 and it stayed with me all year. This isn’t a feel good book with a happy, nicely tied up ending. It’s a novel that I have come to believe paralells real life for so many people in various parts of our country. The Hate U Give is being called the "Black Lives Matter" novel.  I wish everyone would read this book, especially folks like myself who grew up in a mostly white suburban neighborhood.   This book kind of wrecked me.  But in a good way.  I'll warn you, it's language isn't the cleanest, so just know that going in, but I think entering into this young adult novel about a young black teen who is shot and killed while being pulled over at a traffic stop and the fall out from that event across numerous lives was such a powerful story. 

Favorite Non Fiction

Book Girl by Sarah Clarkson: I’m not sure how I came across Book Girl, I think I may have heard Anne Bogel mention it on her podcast, but it was a total impulse buy and it turned out to be one of my favorite books of the year. Sarah and her siblings were raised in an incredibly literary home and have a deep love of books and stories as things that shape our lives and our theology. Raised in the company of the lively Anne of Green Gables, the brave Pevensie children of Narnia, and the wise Austen heroines, she discovered reading early on as a daily gift, a way of encountering the world in all its wonder. But what she came to realize as an adult was just how powerfully books had shaped her as a woman to live a story within that world, to be a lifelong learner, to grasp hope in struggle, and to create and act with courage. Each chapter is a reflection on things like how story shapes our sense of identity, why and how to read some of the classics, and how reading can awaken our imagination and shape our spiritual life. Each chapter has a list of books she personally has loved along with a description of each book and WHY she loved it or was shaped by it. My to be read list tripled after this book and I love how her lists stretched me to think about higher quality literature and the importance of it.

Deep Down Dark by Hector Tobar: I feel like this is kind of a strange pick as a favorite of the year but I truly got sucked into this one and went on a huge rabbit trail of watching youtube videos of actual news coverage of the event, watching all 33 be pulled to the surface and reading everything I could get my hands on about this massive event. In August of 2010, most of us remember the collapse of the San Jose mine in Chile and hearing of the 33 men trapped below. For 2 weeks no one knew if they were alive but when all 33 were found alive the challenge became how to get them out. The entire world watched their miraculous rescue 69 days later. This is their story. When still underground the men made a pact to sell their story all together to ONE author and one film company. Hector Tobar was chosen to tell their story and he did a remarkable job. Charles listened to this on audio while running this fall and really enjoyed it too. It’s a story of survival, family, egos, pain, fear, helplessness and hope. And I guarantee you no one will want to go exploring mines or caves after reading it!

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson: Okay so here’s the honest truth. I’d been hearing how wonderful this book was but I honestly expected to not like it because I am NOT a poetry person. This is a book told in verse. It’s the story of Jacqueline’s life, growing up with one foot in South Carolina and one in New York during the 60s and 70s. Oh gosh you guys, this book. So incredible. It’s so easy to read, even if you’re not a poetry person. It reads like a story and her story is wonderful. This year some of her other works are on my reading list. A newberry honor book, this one absolutely deserves all the awards, accolades and press it’s received!

Found a story of questions, grace and everyday prayer by Micha Boyett: This is one of those books I’ve had on my bookshelf for years and started years ago but you know how sometimes you pick up a book and it’s good but it doesn’t feel like it’s the right time for you? That was what happened to me with Found 6 years ago. I picked it up again this past summer and it was 100% the right time for me to soak in Micha’s beautiful words. I related to her experience so deeply. Micha used to be a youth pastor, working at a church and “doing great things for Jesus!” Fast forward and all of a sudden she finds herself a stay at home mom in an unfamiliar city trying to figure out if what she’s doing now—cutting the crusts off sandwiches and putting kids down for naps day in and day out—matters or has any significance in her spiritual life. Is God still pleased with her when she’s no longer “doing great things” for Him? How do you structure a spiritual life when all of a sudden there is no quiet time for a sleep deprived mama whose kids are always around? Micha found solace in the benedictine monks and traditions and found that her rhythms and routines at home with her kids matched those of the monks she was reading about. Times of work, rest, play, food, over and over again. She started finding ways to incorporate prayer throughout the days, using those natural transitions in her day to mark pauses to honor God and turn to Him. I resonated with her story SO much and was so encouraged by her. (Honorable mentions here: I also read and loved Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life by Tish Harrison Warren and The Ministry of Ordinary Places: Waking Up to God’s Goodness Around You by Shannan Martin. I LOVED both of them but I felt like they were all pretty similar concepts—finding the goodness of God and God’s presence in the normal acts of loving our neighbors, making soup for a sick friend, volunteering in our kid’s classrooms etc. Obviously each woman’s story is different and powerful and I loved them all but wanted to limit my list to 5 favorites!)

Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water and Loving the Bible Again by Rachel Held Evans: I actually read this one twice this year—once on my own this summer and once this fall with my small group from church and I really loved it both times. I think Rachel is a beautiful writer and have thoroughly enjoyed all her previous books. In Inspired, Rachel examines some favorite Bible stories and possible interpretations, retelling them through memoir, original poetry, short stories, soliloquies, and even a short screenplay. She wrestles through the process of doubting, imagining, and debating Scripture's mysteries. The Bible, she discovers, is not a static work but is a living, breathing, captivating, and confounding book that is able to equip us to join God's loving and redemptive work in the world. I found her work to be encouraging and breathed a breath of fresh air into my reading of scripture.