O Of making many books there is no end... Ecclesiastes 12. 12
And we are glad.
Looking through the list of books I read in 2023, I was so thankful that I kept a list to remind me of these savory, delicious readings. Each one was nourishing in its own way. I found myself grateful for the faithful writers who slaved over manuscripts, putting together words, like so many ingredients in a recipe not yet written down.
And on those pages, bound between covers, I was amazed at the real lives that are portrayed, even the imaginary ones. They inform us about others. They reveal so much stuff about ourselves. As I finished reading so many of these books, I couldn't wait to tell someone else, "you have to read this." This year in books was indeed a feast.
I also noticed that my books this year were almost equally divided between fiction, memoir, spiritual, and nonfiction. And how those categories infiltrated one within another, spiritual insights in a novel, extraordinary memoirs both stronger and stranger than fiction, and nonfiction with words for the wise and those who want to be. I ended the year once again with the last chapter of Revelation. Reading through the Bible each year changes me.
But some of the treasure is not just found in my list of books, but in the notes that I take, jotting down pertinent quotes, passages, images, and truths that have been translated into what I can understand. I have kept those notes in a file on my laptop since 2010. Some quotes make their way into this nightlytea blog and into my other blog Daily Scriptures for Busy People www.worddujour.blogspot.com.
And hopefully into how I live.
H Here's my list for 2023:
You Are My Sunshine: a Story of Love, Promises, and a Really Long Bike Ride by Sean Dietrich (2022)
2. How It Went: Thirteen More Stories of the Port William Membership by Wendell Berry (2022)
3. Letters From Westerbork by Etty Hillesum (1982)
4. Timothy Keller: His Spiritual and Intellectual Formation by Collin Hansen (2023)
5. Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home by Richard J. Foster (1992)
6. The Lives We Actually Have: 100 Blessings for Imperfect Days by Kate Bowler and Jessica Richie (2023)
7. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis (1950)
8. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (2021)
9. The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo (2003)
10 The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness by Timothy Keller (2012)
11 Confronting Christianity by Rebecca McLaughlin (2019)
12 Forgive: How Can I and Why Should I? by Timothy Keller (2022)
13 The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God by Timothy Keller with Kathy Keller (2011)
14. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamont (1994)
15. On Getting Out of Bed: The Burden and Gift of Living by Alan Noble (2023)
16. Stories of My Life by Katherine Paterson (2022)
17. How To Human: Three Ways To Share Life Beyond What Distracts, Divides, and Disconnects Us by Carlos Whittaker (2023)
18. Louisiana’s Way Home by Kate DiCamillo (2018)
19. The One and Only Ruby by Katherine Applegate (2023)
20. In The Garden of The Righteous: The Heroes Who Risked Their Lives to Save Jews During the Holocaust by Richard Hurowitz (2023)
21. A Praying Life: Connecting With God in a Distracting World by Paul E. Miller (2009)
22. Spilling Ink: A Young Writer’s Handbook by Anne Mazer and Ellen Potter (2010)
23. Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri (2020)
24. The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams by Daniel Nayeri (2023)
25. Prayers of St. Paul by Rev. W. H. Griffith Thomas (1914)
26. Elisabeth Elliot: A Life by Lucy S. R. Austen (2023)
27. Our Town by Thorton Wilder (1938)
28. The Third Third of Life: Preparing for Your Future by Walter C. Wright (2012)
29. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (1937)
30. Run the World by Becky Wade (2016)
31. The Puppets of Spelhorst by Kate DiCamillo (2023)
32. Prayer 101: Experiencing the Heart of God by Warren Wiersbe (2006)
33. The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride (2023)
34. Undone: A Modern Rendering of John Donne’s Devotions by Philip Yancey (2023)
35. Mystery and Manners: Occasional Prose by Flannery O’Connor (1957)
36. Flee North: A Forgotten Hero and the Fight for Freedom in Slavery’s Borderland by Scott Shane (2023)
37. How Far To The Promised Land: One Black Family’s Story of Hope and Survival in the American South by Esau McCaulley (2023)
38. The Inquisitor’s Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog by Adam Gidwitz (2016)
39. How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen by David Brooks (2023)
40. The Bible
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