This year, I had hoped to up my reading to 36 books, but I didn’t quite make it. Still, I read many worthwhile reads. Here are a few of them:

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• I jumped on the Ennegram bandwagon (probably because I’m a 5 and I can never have too much information) and read these two books this year: The Road Back to You and The Path Between Us. If you like personality types and want to know what all the fuss is about, The Road Back to You is a great place to start. I had hoped The Path Between Us would give more insight into relationships between each number, but it was still a worthwhile read.
• Raising World Changers in a Changing World was the only parenting book I read this year, and I found it equal parts inspiring and convicting, reminding me that I have a lot of ideals but they’re nothing without action. I highly recommend this read if you’re wanting to shape your kids into people of compassion and action.
• I first watched the movie on Netflix, but then read the book. Both were very well done. Brain on Fire is a first-person account of a journalist losing her mind rapidly due to a rare disease. It’s well-written, interesting and harrowing. It should also make you ponder the link between mental illness and infection and inflammation.
• I’m always reading books of all kinds on suffering and theology, and this year I read Timothy Keller’s Walking With God through Pain and Suffering. (I also re-read Yancy’s books and highly recommend them.) I cannot overstate how well-done this book is. It lays out a a detailed exposition on theology of suffering and intertwines real examples from people’s lives. It is probably too dense and detailed for some, but I started reading this book from the library and by chapter 3, I ordered it because I knew I would look back on highlighted sections time and time again.
• In the same vein, but with a different approach, I read Alia Joy’s Glorious Weakness this year, too. I have read her blog and guest posts many times on sorting out her faith while living with bi-polar, and I couldn’t wait to read her book. Admittedly, I like her blog and guest posts more than I liked the book, but I’d still recommend it as a beautiful and rare read.
• Lest you think I never read fiction, I’ll mention my favorite novel from the year: Before We Were Yours. It’s a based on horrifying real-life stories of children being kidnapped and sold through an adoption agency. The book follows the story of the children and the story of a granddaughter learning of her family’s complex history.
• Educated is a memoir of a woman who grew up in a survivalist, anti-government family. It a story of surviving one’s surroundings and pursing education even in the face of opposition. It’s well-written and engaging.
• I can never get enough of Sarah Bessey’s writing style, and her new book, Miracles and Other Reasonable Things, is no exception. She writes of loss and hardship and healing and enduring.
• While I haven’t written much about what this year has been like for me and my family, it has been a year of trying to sort through Lyme disease and other infections. When Your Child Has Lyme Disease is a worthwhile read when trying to figure out how to navigate helping your child heal from these staggering infections.
• Bonus: I read aloud a handful of The Boxcar Children books to my boys this year, and I’d say our favorite was #3 The Yellow House Mystery because of it’s connection to Maine. (And because of the hermit – Oli’s goal in life, currently, is to become a hermit, so he was pretty into it.)

What’s your favorite read from this year?