The Books of 2013

This is my favorite post each year.  It is where I reveal the many books I read this year, the good, the bad, and the downright ugly (thankfully there aren't many of those). Each of these books reflects a moment in time and the intersection between my life and the life of the author.  Sometimes those intersections produced profound results and sometimes it fell flat.  For those that produced extraordinarily profound effects I have bestowed awards...

Most Life changing in my day-to-day life - I no longer use a clothes dryer

Raising Elijah by Sandra Steingraber

The read aloud I couldn't finish because I was crying  and boy most likely to take over our hearts - 

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

Most likely to overtake my thoughts and conversations and drive all my friends crazy-

Quiet by Susan Cain

The Woman Who Stole my Admiration- 

Amy Carmichael by Sam Wellman

Most Heartbreaking- Addiction Sucks!

Beautiful Boy by David Sheff

Best Book to finish the Year With - Here's to  Whole and Holy 2014 

The Utter Relief of Holiness by John Eldredge

Gorilla most likely to be Adopted by the Braddys-

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

Mom I Most Related To - Coffee, snow, writing, boys, books, need I say more

The Gift of Ordinary Days by Katherine Kennison

Classics
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier - read with Classics Book Club
Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie
Woman in White by Wilkie Collins - read with Classics Book Club
Don Quixote by Migueal De Cervantes - read with Classics Book Club
Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

Fiction
Chocolat by Joanne Harris
Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton - read as a part of NPR SciFri Book Club
Eyes Wide Open by Ted Dekker
Liar and Spy by Rebecca Stead
Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan
Inferno by Dan Brown
Bones are Forever by Kathy Reich
Flight Behavior by Barabra Kingsolver
Gone Girl by GIllian Flynn - the ugly, maybe only fit for a burn pile
Heartbeat Away by Henry Kraus
Seeker of the Stars by Susan Fish
My Mother's Secret by J.L. Witterick
The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt

Spirituality, Marriage and Parenting
The Utter Relief of Holiness by John Eldredge
Adopted for Life by Russell Moore
Telling Yourself the Truth by William Backus and Marie Chapian
Already Gone by Ken Ham and Brett Beemer
Reading Your Male by Mary Farrar
Becoming a Titus 2 Woman by Martha Peace - read with our elder's wives at SONrise
Habits of a Child's Heart by Valerie Hess & Marti Watson Garlett
Raising a Modern Day Joseph by Larry Fowler
Touching Wonder by John Blase
Discipleship in the Home Matt Friedman

Memoir
The Gift of Ordinary Days by Katrina Kennison
Animal, Vegetable, Mineral by Barbara Kingsolver
Chief of Station, Congo by Larry Devlin
Choosing to See by Mary Beth Chapman
Beautiful Boy by David Sheff

Schooling
Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz
In Defense of Childhood by Chris Mercogliano
Leadershift by Oliver Demille

Food, Science & Psychology Non-Fiction
Raising Elijah by Sandra Steingraber
Hungry for Change by James Colquhoun & Laurentine Ten Bosch
Gorillas in the Mist by Dian Fossey - read as a part of NPR SciFri Book Club
What's the worst that could happen? by Reg Craven
Quiet by Susan Cain


Fiction Read Alouds
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
Wonder by R.J. Palacio
Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
The Little Green Frog by Beth Coombe Harris
Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko
When Will This Cruel War be Over? by Barry Denenberg
Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling

Non-Fiction Read Alouds
The Mayflower and the Pilgrim's New World by Nathaniel Philbrick
The Last Days of Lincoln by Bill O'Reilly
Amy Carmichael by Sam Wellman
The True Saint Nicholas: why he matters to Christmas by William Bennett