This year I wrote up a book report on every book I read this year. As a result it has been much easier to put together my top 10. I tallied up the results last night and here's what I came up with:
I finished 31 books.
6 Biographies
11 Fiction
14 Non-fiction
I read 8687 pages in total
1) The Mourner's Comforter by C.H. Spurgeon-- "Heavy heart, this book is for you." With this Spurgeon begins this book using Isaiah 61:1-3 as his guide. The Lord Jesus came to preach to the broken, the afflicted, to those that mourn. He trades ashes for beauty. He trades the oil of joy for mourning. He clads His people in garments of praise and plants them as trees of righteousness. Book of all books! Spurgeon is such a son of consolation! He describes my brokenness perfectly. He bandages my bleeding wounds. He understands mourners perfectly and pours the compassion of Christ upon them.
2) Killing Fields, Living Fields; Faith in Cambodia Don Cormack-- A very thorough retelling of how the Cambodian church began, suffered and yet grew under the Khmer Rouge regime. She had a wondrous 5 years when the church grew by leaps and bounds. Baptisms were still being performed as the Khmer Rouge overtook the city. I found a real love for the Cambodian people through the reading of this book. Their zeal to make the gospel known to their own people is truly precious. The horrifying reign of the Khmer Rouge is startling. To think that only 3 church leaders survived this awful genocide is staggering
3) The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert Rosaria Butterfield-- A woman tells her journey from being a post modern feminist lesbian to a Reformed Christian. As a professor and popular speaker for gay activists the ripples that her conversion caused were enormous. She calls her conversion a train-wreck of a journey--her entire identity was overhauled. She asks todays Christians some hard questions. When we pray for the lost, do we really know what this means? Are we willing to shed our cloaks of self-righteousness to walk beside the lost?
4) Spurgeon, A New Biography Arnold Dallimore--A well written, easy to read account of the Prince of Preachers. We get a bit of his childhoodd, his rise to the pulpit and an excellent overview of all the projects he undertook. The book also spoke much of Mrs. Spurgeon and the work she did. I would have LOVED to hear this man preach. Better yet, I would've loved to hear this man pray.
5) The Meaning of Marriage Timothy Keller--This book is like no other book I have ever read about marriage. This book is Christ-infused. It tells us WHY we are married, why we STAY married, and why God is GLORIFIED in our marriages. The reason is God. Too often books on marriage are horizontally based. This book focuses on a purely vertical vision of marriage.
6) Tears in the Darkness Michael & Elizabeth Norman-- A true account of the Bataan Death March where the Japanese overtook the Americans in the Philippines in WW2. The Americans were treated poorly in the Japanese POW camps. Once the war was over and the Americans released, the book continues to record how the Japanese were put on trial and punished for war crimes.
7) Survivor--Sam Pivnik Sam Pivnik--Sam Pivnik tells his own story of surviving Auschwitz. He worked on the ramp--the area where people were herded off the trains. He witnessed Mengel's selections. He witnessed his entire family (aside from one brother) go straight to the ovens. He worked and he took chances. he survived Auschwitz. He survived a death march. He survived the sinking of the Cap Arcona. He survived to see his brother again.
8) Seeking the Face of God Martyn Lloyd Jones--This book is comprised of 9 sermons on select psalms. They all center on a theme of seeking God and what exactly that looks like. I really appreciated the simplicity with which he conveys huge truths. You cannot simply believe in God. the knowledge of God must deeply, deeply affect you.
9) Climbing Rosalind Goforth--Jonathan Goforth's wife writes of her experiences as a pioneer missionary in China. They had many hardships but won many fields for Christ. They uprooted and travelled often, they lost children, battled disease and lived in appalling conditions. Yet how faithful God was to them! This book prompted me to buy a book about her husband Jonathan Goforth which I read to my kids. They LOVED it!
10) Joseph-His Arms Were Made Strong David Searle--This book reads like 18 sermons on the story of Joseph. It has LOADS and LOADS of practical application. Reading this book has made Joseph my favorite Bible character. My favorite chapter was definitely chapter 9 entitled "Father and Son Re-united. It's a great exposition on Jacob's difficult life as a pilgrim.
Some thoughts:
* These numbers and this list does not take into account my daily Bible reading or the chapter books that I have read out loud to my kids.
* Interestingly, I did not finish ANY Puritans in 2013, though I am currently working my way through a longer, more complicated piece by Thomas Goodwin.
* There was a 2 month period last year when I did not finish ANY books. (This rather amazed me).
* Not one fiction book made the top 10. I tend to gravitate towards biographies. I guess I prefer reality. I certainly prefer 'soul food.'
* According to my book reports, 6 out of the 31 books I read I would NOT recommend to another.
Next post I will share what reading challenge I am taking on for 2014!
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