I had a decent reading year in 2019. I enjoyed so many books. I read a total of 87, which means that my mom out read me this year. But I will blame it on college as that seems to be what has hampered my reading the past two years.
This year though was not just about great books. I was able to find amazing authors that I am now reading every book of theirs that I can.
Yet, I told myself that I could only have one of each author on my favorite books list. I also made sure to include one fiction book. I only read eleven fiction in 2019, so it was easy to pick a favorite fiction. It was tough to narrow it down to nine favorite nonfiction books.
I love to read and hope you will find one or two of these books so they can make your top reads of 2020
Here are my top 10 for 2019.
Starship Troopers was recommended to me by a friend. I was excited once I researched about it, so my mom bought it for me so that I could read it. Yes, it was a little slow at the beginning. But once I got into the story and main character I couldn’t put it down. There was so much truth and depth to it. I can see why this is a controversial book, but I don’t mind controversy in books. On top of that, the sci-fi and the depth of character made me want more pages in the book. If you are looking for a great sci-fi read, this might be for you.
Beyond the Call had been on my shelf for a while. But this year, I picked it up and am so glad I did. It was such an unusual story from World War II. It also showed me what post World War II was like and how brave men helped save soldiers lives.
Psalms by Bonhoeffer was one of the books by Bonhoeffer that I read this year. I am currently very interested in this man. His writing is so different. I do not always agree with him, but I really enjoy his writing. I loved his book Cost of Discipleship and almost put it on the list, but I decided I liked his Psalms book a little better. And I figured less people know about his Psalms book, so this gave me an opportunity to share about it. It really shows the depth of the Psalms. If you are wanting to study this book of the Bible, you would probably find this short book helpful.
The Man from the Train is kind of like the book 1421 as it is all about what probably happened not with what we fully know. I loved The Man from the Train in the way you struggle to say you love a war book because it is tragic. Yet you can say it was good because it was such a well written story. This book also showed a lot about law enforcement of the early days. The research that had to go into this book had to be time consuming. I think if you love true crime that is better than fiction, you should check this out. Warning though it is gory.
Indestructible is another World War II book that I loved. Pappy Gunn was an amazing man, and what his family went through is harsh. It is happy story in the end though. Unlike others, which often end with family members and lots of friends dead, this is about a family who is separated through the struggles of war but at the end are able to meet again. It is a big book but was a page turner for me.
How to Read a Book is something I think every reader should read. It is a very structured and maybe even boarders on a little wanting, but I learned a lot. It teaches you how to become a better reader. I liked half of the book better than the other half because there are somethings I will never do as a reader, like read a book five times. But I learned a lot, which is what I love to do when reading.
Devotion by Adam Makos was so good. I am now huge fan of Adam Makos and even got to meet him when he came to Oklahoma for a book event. I love his writing. He makes history flow so well. Most of his books make me feel like I am right there with the people. I wanted to put Spearhead and A Higher Call on my list, but I was not going to put multiply books by the same author on the list. So I put Devotion because it is a unique story (not that all of his stories aren’t), has great characters, a touching ending, on the Korean War, and so on. If you have read some of Makos and liked them, this one will be for you too.
A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis is probably the most thought provoking book of his that I have read. I didn’t agree with everything. But I understood a lot of his thoughts and where he was coming from. He wrote it through pain and suffering. So if you have gone through a tough time, then you will understand some of C.S. Lewis’s thoughts. It helped me see that others have dealt with some of the similar thoughts and made it through it.
The Polar Bear Expedition is another book of hidden history that many people don’t know about. I had no clue from my history lessons that the US and other countries had invaded Russia in 1918. It was also well written, which is part of why I loved the story. I learned a lot and it made me appreciate what the men in the Polar Bear Expedition went through.
Christian Fellowship: The Church Members Guide was another book recommended to me by a friend. After reading it, I told him that I believe every church member should read it. It was not that I agreed with everything in the book. I didn’t. I had issues with it, but it made me relook at church. At the time I was reading it, I was struggling with certain things about church life, and this book reminded me of the importance of what biblical church and church membership is all about.