Books I Read in 2015

As is often the case with New Year’s plans, I started out this year with high hopes of reading much more than I did the year before. I started out pretty strong, but then hit an emotional slump for a few months that made it difficult for me to maintain momentum in my reading habit. But, for better or worse, here is a list of some of the books I was able to read this year (I broke my laptop where I had the list I was keeping at the beginning of the year, so a few titles escape me). I’ve made notes on the ones that impacted me the most.

1. All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
2. The Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
3. Ender’s Shadow by Orson Scott Card-The sequel to Ender’s Game and probably one of my favorite fiction books. I loved the first book, but this one was even better. Read it.
4. The Scorch Trials by James Dashner
5. Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis (a re-read)
6. Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis-I had started this when I was younger, but couldn’t get through it then. It made so much more sense to me this go-’round, and of course, was filled with wise and helpful insights (there’s a reason it’s a classic). I plan to read it again soon.
7. She is MIne: A War Orphan’s Story of Survival by Stephanie Fast-this book was very intense. I had a hard time getting through certain parts because of the heaviness of the subject matter, but couldn’t put it down at the same time. It is the story of a particular orphan girl, but offers a heartbreaking and sobering glimpse into the plight of orphans in general. It’s also a story of hope and redemption,
8. The Happiness Project by Gretchen Ruben
9. The Slight Edge: Turning SImple Decisions Into Massive Success and Happiness by Jeff Olson-Geoff and I read this together and found it to be very helpful. The author talks about how our daily habits make all the difference in whether our lives move in a positive or negative direction.
10. For the Love: Fighting for Grace in a World of Impossible Standards  by Jen Hatmaker
11. Nobody’s Cuter Than You by Melanie Shankle

1. Water from a Deep Well  by Gerald Sitzer  (I started this in 2014, but a pretty sure I finished it in 2015)
2. Notes from the Tilt-A-Whirl: Wide-Eyed Wonder in God’s Spoken World by N.D. Wilson-I loved so many parts of this book. Other parts I really didn’t care for (like the author’s tendency to oversimplify topics related to suffering and death and how they fit into God’s plan for history), but the beautiful and inspiring parts made it worth the read. Here are a few of my favorite quotes from the book:
1. “...to an infinite artist, a Creator in love with His craft, there is no unimportant corner, there is no thrown-away image, no tattered thread in the novel left untied.”
2. “Do not resent your place in the story. Do not imagine yourself elsewhere. Do not close your eyes and picture a world without thorns, without shadows, without hawks. Change this world. Use your body like a tool meant to be used up, discarded, and replaced. Better every life you touch. We will reach the final chapter. When we have eyes that can stare into the sun, eyes that only squint for the Shenikah, then we will see laughing children pulling cobras by their tails, and hawks and rabbits playing tag.”
3. “Summer has come with the loveliness of a mother. Heat, not warmth, now pours onto my face, aging me, taking me closer to death. Let it. I am here to live my story, to love my story. I will not fail to savor any gift out of a desire for self-preservation. Self-preservation is not a great virtue in this story.”

Still Reading:

1. The Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
2. Brain Rules for Babies by John Medina
3. North and South by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell

What did you read in 2015 and what’s on your list for 2016?