My reading list December ’13

These are the books I’m currently reading and have just finished from last month. Every 4th Tuesday we share our nightstands.

JUST STARTED

embracing-obscurityEmbracing Obscurity
Becoming Nothing in Light of God’s Everything
by Anonymous

I appreciate being reminded that humility isn’t easy, but it is incredibly important if we’re going to follow in Jesus’ footsteps–through suffering, through serving, through everyday living. I also like that the author has stayed anonymous.

king-jesus-gospelThe King Jesus Gospel
The Original Good News Revisited
by Scot McKnight

Some say this book is repetitive, but so far I like hearing over and over that the gospel isn’t centered on us and the plan of salvation, but instead is centered on Jesus and his death and resurrection (which paves the way for our salvation). Discipleship is then a process of daily following Jesus, not a one-time only decision.

moonwalking-with-einsteinMoonwalking with Einstein
The Art and Science of Remembering Everything
by Joshua Foer

Joshua Foer is a reporter collecting facts for a story on the U.S. Memory Championship. He subsequently spends the next year preparing to be a contestant himself. He shares in this book what he learned. I heard about it from one of my new favorite podcasts, NPR: TED Radio Hour. This one was from Memory Games. Very interesting!

wednesday-warsThe Wednesday Wars
by Gary Schmidt

This novel is from the Young Adult section (and appropriately so) but it’s a cute story even for adults about a 7th grade boy and his adventures in 1967.  So far anyway.

 

STILL READING

sitting-at-the-feet-of-rabbi-jesusSitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus
How the Jewishness of Jesus Can Transform Your Faith
by Ann Spangler and Lois Tverberg

I’ll be in this one awhile because I’m not reading many pages per week. It’s my follow-up read from Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus. Both books acclimate you to life in first-century Israel to give you greater insight into the words of the New Testament and into the life that Jesus and his disciples lived.

Everyday_Prayers_scotty_smithEveryday Prayers
365 Days to a Gospel-Centered Faith

by Scotty Smith

Personal, short devotionals of 365 prayers written by Scotty Smith, centered around one topic generally relevant to the season and a scripture passage. I’ve enjoyed reading his Advent prayers this month. I planned on using it just for November/December, but I may continue on through the other 10 months since it is good.

 

FINISHED FROM NOVEMBER’S NIGHTSTAND

mockingjayMockingjay
by Suzanne Collins

This part 3 of The Hunger Games trilogy was a re-read after seeing the movie Catching Fire (part 2) which I thought was well done. Mockingjay was my least favorite of the three books but I still liked it better than the third book of the Divergent series (see below).

kisses-from-katieKisses from Katie
A Story of Relentless Love and Redemption

by Katie J. Davis and Beth Clark

This is an inspiring true story of a young lady who traded her normal American life for one of hardship in Uganda to take care of orphans. After a short time there, the kids stole her heart and she now has made it her life’s mission to raise children there (she’s adopted 13 daughters so far). Her blog is here.

Transforming_GraceTransforming Grace
Living Confidently in God’s Unfailing Love

by Jerry Bridges

A very, very good book about God’s grace and how it changes us. I included it on my Top 10 books of 2013. Bridges is one of my favorite authors who consistently delivers the saving message that God saves us by his grace, not by our own efforts or worth.

allegiant-veronica-roth

Allegiant
by Veronic Roth

Whew. I was not happy at the end. Definitely my least favorite of the Divergent series, which I really enjoyed as much as The Hunger Games. The concepts in this book were interesting, but I’d preferred the series ending with the cliffhanger in Book 2 than this way. I also didn’t like the alternating change of voice between Tris and Four since the first two books didn’t do that. I’m wondering if Roth was rushed to get this book published and didn’t have time to edit it properly. If you’ve read it, too, let me know what you think.

on-becoming-a-writerOn Becoming a Writer
What Every Blogger Needs to Know

by Denise J. Hughes

An encouraging eBook with both motivation and practical advice not only for blog writing but for any kind of writing for any kind of audience. Denise is a blogger and English teacher so she knows what she’s talking about.

* * *

Here are my 10 favorite books of 2013.

What’s a good book you are reading or want to read?

Whats-on-Your-Nightstand-at-_5-minut

My books on Goodreads
More nightstands

5 thoughts on “My reading list December ’13

  1. Barbara H.

    I keep hearing good things about Kisses From Katie – I need to check it out some time. The Rabbi one sounds like it would be pretty interesting. I just looked up On Becoming a Writer and saw that I did get it for the Kindle app – just need to make time to read it now!

  2. Pingback: My reading list January 2014

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