Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Books I read in 2011

I read just 23 books in 2011, down significantly from my 39 of last year. There is still a long list of books to be read! So many of them challenged me, encouraged me, and made me think. Some made me laugh or cry (or both). Some led to great discussions with my husband and/or children.

I am currently reading The Hunger Games, partly to see what all the fuss is about, and partly to preview it for possible reading by our daughter. It is a compelling story ~ I am enjoying it ("enjoy" may not be the right word. For those of you who have read it, you'll understand what I mean!) I have always desired to teach our children to be discerning about the books they read and the movies or TV shows they watch, but I sense it urgently now. All too soon our children may be out of our home and deciding for themselves what they will allow into their minds. That is as it should be, but it will be disastrous for them if they have not learned how to be both discerning and self controlled. I had an excellent conversation with our daughter last week about this. I told her that she already knew very well the difference between things that were "good" and "bad", but I wanted her to learn the difference between "good" and "best". That elicited some great comments.

Anyway, here is the list of books I read this year. I bolded my favorites.

Shaiton's Fire, by Jake Thoene
White, by Ted Dekker
Red, by Ted Dekker
Black, by Ted Dekker
The Killer Angels, by Michael Shaara
Stowaway to the Mushroom Planet, by Eleanor Cameron)
Eagle of the Ninth, by Rosemary Sutcliffe
Men of Iron, by Howard Pyle
Lineage of Grace, by Francine Rivers
The Help, by Kathryn Stockett
Red Rock Mysteries Books 1-4, by Jerry Jenkins and Chris Fabry
Among the Gods, by Lynn Austin
Faith of My Fathers, by Lynn Austin
The Strength of His Hand, by Lynn Austin
Song of Redemption, by Lynn Austin
Gods and Kings, by Lynn Austin
Adara, by Beatrice Gormley
Eleventh Guest, by Brock and Bodie Thoene
Hittite Warrior, by Joanne Williamson
Tenth Stone, by Brock and Bodie Thoene

2 comments:

Teacher/Mom said...

I read that Lynn Austin series about two years ago and LOVED it! I couldn't put it down. Had me digging in to Scripture to compare what she had written to what is in the Bible. Looks like a neat list. I'll have to check in to some of the others. Blessings.

Dana Leeds said...

That's a lot of books! And, I read The Hunger Game series this year...to preview for my daughter. I read all 3 in about 12 days. I loved them! Well, I 'loved' the first 2 and thought the 3rd wasn't quite as good. And, yes, I let my dd read them, too.