2013 readings

Kerry’s books 2013

38 books

December 2013

A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains (Isabella Bird)

White Fire (Preston & Child, Pendergast #13)

every day (David Levithan) (loved it!)

Never Go Back (Jack Reacher #18)

Gods and Generals (Jeff Shaara)

November 2013

The Crack in the Wall (Claudia Pineiro)

The Art of Racing in the Rain (Garth Stein)

The Winner Stands Alone (Paulo Coelho)

October 2013

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Ann Brashares)

September 2013

Killing Kennedy (Bill O'Reilly)

August 2013

The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)

July 2013

Chasing Francis (Ian Kron)

The Wheel of Darkness (Pendergast #8) (Preston & Child)

The Cabinet of Curiosities (Pendergast #3) (Preston & Child)

June 2013

Still Life With Crows (Pendergast #4) (Preston & Child)

The Pearl (John Steinbeck)

Two Graves (Pendergast #12) (Preston & Child)

Ninth Ward (Jewell Parker Rhoads)

Cold Vengeance (Pendergast #11) (Preston & Child)

Fever Dream (Pendergast #10) (Preston & Child)

Anne of Ingleside (Anne #6) (LMMontgomery)

May 2013

Anne’s House of Dreams (Anne #5) (LMMontgomery)

Anne of Windy Poplars (Anne #4) (LMMontgomery)

Anne of the Island (Anne #3) (LMMontgomery)

A Wanted Man (Reacher#17) (Lee Child)

April 2013

Anne of Avonlea (Anne #2) (LMMontgomery)

Anne of Green Gables (Anne #1) (LMMontgomery)

Mister God, This Is Anna (Fynn)

Washed And Waiting (Wesley Hill)

March 2013

The Shack (William Paul Young)

February 2013

The Cure (Lynch, McNicol, Thrall)

Christ Life (A. B. Simpson)

How to Win Friends and Influence People (Dale Carnegie)

The Harbinger (Jonathan Cahn)

Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters (Jan Meeker)

Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore (Robin Sloan)

January 2013

The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)

The Giver (Lois Lowry)

2012 review

The post following this lists the books I read in 2012. Here is my review of the highlights:

I enjoyed very much reading Edward Tulane to my daughter, and Winn-Dixie to my daughter and my wife. I liked Edward Tulane enough to read several others of Kate DiCamillo's books, and I'll read them again.

Second, the cop-thriller books (Karin Slaughter, some of the single authors) were okay, but did not satisfy as much as last year and the year before when I blazed through Lee Child's and Lincoln Child and Doug Preston's books.

I enjoyed my little foray into the Civil War and Lincoln, and I both recommend Bill O'Reilly's book (provided it's accompanied by some other Lincoln stuff) and do NOT recommend the Foreigner's Quest, which seemed like it had too much of an axe to grind. Killer Angels was a re-read, and I would like to read some of the other books in the Shaara / Civil War series.

Girl Meets God was fabulous. Following the church calendar (Advent, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Pentecost) Lauren shares her own journey as a young adult from nominally Jewish to Orthodox Jew to Episcopalian.

The Deacon books (Joseph Lallo) are a fantasy trilogy, not available in print, only electronically, I believe (I read it on my nook). Magic, swords, dragons, other creatures, coming-of-age, good-vs-evil. Satisfying, and worth a re-read.

I thought "Why Men Hate Going to Church" offered an insightful and important diagnosis of the gender divide that exists (and has long existed) in The Church. I recommend it for men, women, and people involved in church leadership.

"The Cross in the Closet" is also a recommended read for men, women, and people involved in church leadership. A self-described "evangelical Christian" undertakes a journey of the heart, examining his assumptions about homosexuality and Christianity by living as a gay man for a year.

It has been suggested that I next read Francis Chan's "Erasing Hell" as another approach to the subject of Rob Bell's "Love Wins". I found that Bell asked compelling questions, and then answered them with other compelling questions, and subtly built a foundation on the second-and-third generation of questions. I liked where he started, I'm not sure I'm with him when he ends. I am also 'tempering' my Bell with some Adam Hamilton, who approaches things less amorphously.

2012 readings

26-ish books listed for 2012 ("ish" because I read all 7 books of the Chronicles of Narnia...)

December 2012

Love Wins (Rob Bell)

Because of Winn-Dixie (Kate DiCamillo)

The Tiger Rising (Kate DiCamillo)

The Magician’s Elephant (Kate DiCamillo)

November 2012

Killing Lincoln (Bill O’Reilly)

October 2012

The Cross in the Closet (Timothy Kurek)

Lincoln: A Foreigner’s Quest (Jan Morris)

Abraham Lincoln: The Man & His Faith (Frederick Owen)

September 2012

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane (Kate DiCamillo)

August 2012

Undone (Karin Slaughter)

Sixkill (Robert Parker)

Girl Meets God: A Memoir (Lauren Winner)

Broken (Karin Slaughter)

July 2012

The Killer Angels (Michael Shaara)

Fallen (Karin Slaughter)

June 2012

The Battle of Verril (Joseph Lallo)

The Great Convergence (Joseph Lallo)

The Book of Deacon (Joseph Lallo)

May 2012

Bloodwork (Michael Connelly)

Lost Memory of Skin (Russell Banks)

The Gates (John Connolly)

March 2012

The Chronicles of Narnia (C.S. Lewis)

February 2012

The Midnight Special: A Novel About Leadbelly (Edmund Addeo)

Heaven Is For Real (Todd Burpo)

January 2012

Why Men Hate Going to Church (David Murrow)

Collision (Jeff Abbott)

For One More Day

For One More Day

by Mitch Albom

This book was recommended by a friend. I've read a few other Mitch Albom books (Five People, Have A Little Faith, Tuesdays) and have found them enjoyable... light and deep at the same time, and this was similar. I think Albom has a way of doing that, gently speaking to a hole in your soul that you didn't know was there, and filling it with comfort food. You can read it once and years later remember how it touched you, even if much of the content is forgettable. That's a good thing.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

(book 7)

by J. K. Rowling

A satisfying end to the series, one that keeps my interest and invites me to read the series again (or watch the movies, which I shall do). Again, I find nothing objectionable to Harry Potter from a Christian point of view... there's much in the storyline to be lauded, actually. The power of love, the sacrifice of self, it's there, very much.

Harry Potter 6: and the Half-Blood Prince

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

How about that... an image and a link. I hope you like it. Ha.


As I said, I read HP books 1-4 when they came out, and lost interest, never finished the series.

In April 2011 or so my daughter asked about reading HP, so I started reading #1 to her. Well, she lost interest, but I didn't.

I liked #1 (Sorcerer's Stone). I liked #2 (Chamber of Secrets) a little less (it got a little convoluted for my tastes) and #3 (Prisoner of Azkaban) a little less than that (same...).

#4 (Goblet of Fire) piqued my interest again, #5 (Order of the Phoenix) was okay, and... ...


#6 (Half-Blood Prince) was my favorite of the series so far.

I liked the depth of character we get with Harry and Dumbledore, and the character development with Snape, which had been disappointing in the previous books.

And if someone ever says Christians shouldn't read Harry Potter because it's about witchcraft, read #6 and tell me it has nothing in common with Christ-like love.

On to #7, and then the movies!

First Half of 2011

28 books listed for the first half of 2011. I read the Hunger Games trilogy, and the chilling Battle Royale. I read a series from childhood -- The Chronicles of Prydain. And I started Harry Potter. I read the first four when they came out and then stopped. I'm on book six now.

June 2011
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (HP4)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (HP3)

May 2011
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (HP2)
The Alchemist -- Paulo Coelho
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter series #1) -- J.K. Rowling
The Next 100 Years: A Forecast for the 21st Century -- George Friedman
The Faith Club -- Suzanne Oliver
The Shack -- William P. Young

April 2011
Into the Wild -- Jon Krakauer
Battle Royale -- Koushun Takami
The High King (Prydain 5)
Taran Wanderer (Prydain 4)
The Castle of Llyr (Prydain 3)
The Black Cauldron (Prydain 2)
The Book of Three (Chronicles of Prydain #1) -- Lloyd Alexander
The Devil in the White City -- Erik Larson
Mockingjay (HG3)
Catching Fire (HG2)

February 2011
The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde -- Robert Lewis Stevenson
The Hunger Games (Hunger Games trilogy #1) -- Suzanne Collins
90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death & Life -- Don Piper
Getting the Love You Want: A Guide for Couples -- Harville Hendrix
VoiceMale: What Husbands Really Think About Their Marriages, Their Wives, Sex, Housework, and Commmitment -- Neil Chethik
The Woods -- Harlan Coben

January 2011
Deep Storm -- Lincoln Child
House Rules -- Jodi Picoult
Rich Man, Poor Man -- Irwin Shaw