My Reading List | January through June 2021
Hello everyone! The last year or so I’ve rekindled my enjoyment of reading, and have covered a wide variety of books and topics. I’m always looking for suggestions, and so really enjoy when other people share the books that they have read or are currently reading, and I wanted to do the same for you:)
Last year I read a total of 36 books. This year I want to read at least that many, if not more.
This post is not going to include in-depth reviews or thoughts on every book, but the ones I’ve already shared in my monthly check-in email will include that existing summary, as well as other relevant tidbits I think you would benefit from. I don’t have pictures for every book, so some I’ve pulled from online and others I’ve just used general reading pictures.
Redeeming Love | Francine Rivers
Redeeming Love was simply touching. It’s a retelling of the book of Hosea from the Bible, and a beautiful story- very well done. When I got to the end, I was disappointed only because I wanted it to keep going. A fictional love story that tells of the ultimate Love Story between Believers and God their Father, and represents His grace and redemptive love for us despite our filth and sin and rebellion. And to top it off, it’s being released as a movie this Spring!
EMF*d: 5G, Wi-FI & Cell Phones: Hidden Harms and How To Protect Yourself | Dr. Joseph Mercola
“The hazards of electronic pollution may once have been the stuff of science fiction, but now we know they’re all too real. And with the advent of 5G ultra-wideband technology, the danger is greater than ever. Dr. Joseph Mercola, one of the world’s foremost authorities on alternative health, has mined the scientific literature to offer a radical new understanding of how electromagnetic fields impact your body and mind…”
Carnivore Code: Unlocking the Secrets to Optimal Health By Returning to Our Ancestral Diet | Paul Saladino
A great resource if you’re interested in keto, or want to step your keto-game up a notch. While I don’t feel as convicted about the topic as Saladino clearly does, I find the information he presents intriguing and worthy of further personal research in the future. I really appreciate that at the end of the book Paul Saladino provides different options, or tiers, for utilizing a carnivore lifestyle- you can modify it for your personal needs and goals. Too many people turn diets of all kinds into a one-size-fits-all thing, but Saladino emphasizes that true overall health and wellness has to take into consideration quality-of-life; for example, making yourself miserable by avoiding certain milestones, events, or social gatherings because you “can’t eat” the food available isn’t going to do you any good; but other people may handle that abstinence of food just fine and not have any negative impact socially/relationally. Everybody needs to take into consideration their life circumstances and adjust accordingly to shape what will be best for them in the long run. Paul Saladino also has a Youtube channel with a lot of great information and resources.
Another Gospel? A Lifelong Christian Seeks Truth in Response to Progressive Christianity | Alisa Childers
This book is a great piece discussing the dynamics and dangers of progressive Christianity, and how you can educate and prepare yourself to establish and defend your faith in a way that upholds and honors the Truth of Scripture. Alisa also has a great podcast where she discusses a wide variety of topics; most are related somehow to progressive Christianity, and teaching people about that- her content has been very eye-opening to me. I had no idea the enormity of this issue and the danger we’re facing in how widespread the movement is becoming.
Uninvited: Living Loved When You Feel Less Than, Left Out, and Lonely | Lysa Terkeurst
This book was very helpful for me when I read it in the aftermath of my first breakup (in high school). It didn’t feel as relevant now, several years removed from that event, but it is still one I recommend to ladies when they need to be reminded of their identity as a Daughter of the King, and taking that knowledge throughout the healing journey. (This book was a reread)
It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way: Finding Unexpected Strength When Disappointments Leave You Shattered | Lysa TerKeurst
The next book by Lysa TerKeurst after Uninvited, this book was written by Lysa in the midst of several very serious life events, including separation from her husband and two or three major personal health emergencies. Naturally then, it touches on how God ultimately uses and redeems trial and pain and brokenness for our good and His glory. The book was concluded before Lysa knew how circumstances would play out in her life, but is kind of continued/ tied up in her most recent book (see below). (This book was also a reread)
Forgiving What You Can’t Forget: Discover How to Move On, Make Peace with Painful Memories, and Create a Life That’s Beautiful Again | Lysa TerKeurst
Out of these three books this one is the most “self-help” in format, but in a way that aims to stick to the principles of Biblical Counseling practices by viewing hurt and relationships through the lens of Scripture. Honestly, I didn’t get a ton out of this when I read it because I am not currently in the midst of working to move on from a serious hurt or experience. I know a lot of people have found it extremely helpful; I also know others have expressed concern in how self-focused it is (as opposed to Christ/Gospel- focused). This is difficult because life is life and we need to be able to apply the truths of Scripture to our circumstances to continue always in sanctification; I suppose the concern may surround the idea that the focus is on what we need to do to heal from hurt, not on what Christ has already done, which is transformative in and of itself (reiterating my struggle more than God’s grace and victory). But then again she’s not talking about how we can be saved, but how to live in that identity to allow God to redeem the hard circumstances we may find ourselves in. I can see where it may be hard to find that balance within written words. I don’t recall an exclusion of the Gospel here, but the emphasis is definitely on the process and action steps one may need to take to heal from hard life events, which did cast kind of a negative mood in parts.
The Case for Keto
I have read three of Gary Taubes’ other books and have enjoyed them all! This one is basically a summary of the conclusions of his others books; it doesn’t go super in depth into the research and controversies of one specific thing (like sugar, or heart-health/cholesterol, like his other books), but provides an overview of what keto is and why you might consider incorporating it into your life. Basically: the science we’ve been fed for the last one hundred years isn’t the end-all-be-all we’ve been led to believe; much of it is simply correlational (and we all know correlation does NOT equal causation, right?) and has been bought and paid for by the companies selling the foods the research has touted as “healthy”.
One Dress, One Year: One Girl’s Stand Against Human Trafficking | Bethany Winz
The Hobbit ; The Fellowship of the Ring ; The Two Towers | J.R.R. Tolkein
If I Were You | Lynn Austin
If I Were You is set in the years during and after WWII, and takes you through the story of two best friends that were from two opposite social classes, who both envied the others’ life and the journey they experienced as they navigated those feelings within the destruction and aftermath of the war.
Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist | John Piper
This book is making the case for Christian Hedonism, meaning that as Christians we are meant to delight and take pleasure in the Lord and all that He gives us, and that through that joy and satisfaction, He is most glorified: “God is most glorified in me when I am most satisfied in Him.” Piper makes the argument that we should be seeking for our personal pleasure and happiness- in Christ, and in the things of Christ; and that while it’s important to, yes, love God simply because He is God, it’s also okay and good even to express our love of God by enjoying the blessings He gives to us. He states that “the chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever”.
Overall, the takeaway I found is that if our worship, through the entirety of our lives- our words, actions, priorities- is motivated only by a sense of duty (worshiping and obeying God because He’s God and He deserves it), then it’s not really worship at all because there’s no love there. We should seek to find pleasure in God because then our joy and enjoyment of His gifts more fully expresses our love for Him, and He is ultimately more glorified. Piper says, “God’s pursuit of praise from us and our pursuit of pleasure in Him are the same pursuit”, for when we truly delight in Him we cannot help but praise.
Outdated: Finding Love that Lasts When Dating Has Changed | JP Podluka
Outdated is a great book for singles from all walks of life. A really great resources for individuals who aren’t familiar with the more traditional- and successful- was of Christian dating and relationships. The main emphasis centers around the premises that dating is meant to find someone to marry, and so how we date needs to reflect those priorities and values. This book is also good encouragement for those who may already know these principles, but need to be reminded they’re on the right track, when relationship prospects seem to be lacking.
From the back cover:
Everyone wants to be loved–to find someone who will stick with them through all of life’s ups and downs, someone who is in it for the long haul. But in a world where dating is increasingly based on split-second decisions and geared toward casual relationships rather than marriage, it’s easy to feel discouraged, used, or unworthy of true love and lasting affection.
Jonathan “JP” Pokluda has counseled thousands of young singles through the pain and heartbreak of dating the world’s way. Now he wants to dispel the myths, misconceptions, and fairy tales you’ve believed about dating and replace them with the truth from the One who invented marriage, created you to crave relationship, and is the very embodiment of true love. With plenty of true stories about relationships healed and love found, this practical book explains God’s purposes for singleness, dating, and marriage and covers why you should date, who you should date, and how you should date.
Period Power: Harness Your Hormones and Get Your Cycle Working for You Maise Hill
When it comes to understanding your hormonal/menstrual cycle and fertility, my go to recommendation is Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler. However, Period Power also had good information regarding the different phases of your cycle (there’s four), how your body changes and responds during each of those, and what you can do to ease symptoms (as well as what certain symptoms may reveal about your overall health) and utilize each phase more fully. It’s definitely a secular book, so keep that in mind when she discusses things like trying to be gender inclusive as she walks through information (using neutral pronouns, etc). It’s also very self-focused, placing a lot of emphasis on your needs, wants, goals, etc during each cycle phase, which translates into all of life (because the hormonal cycle in ladies is constant and ever-present); finding ‘what serves you’ and makes you feel good is a common theme throughout. But if you can look beyond that and take the biology and science for what it is, there is some cool information in here that you may find beneficial.
The Fruit of Her Hands: Respect and the Christian Woman | Nancy Wilson
The Fruit of Her Hands is about the role and responsibilities God has given women and how those look within the context of marriage and motherhood. Short and sweet, in this book Nancy Wilson firmly outlines the Biblical guidelines modern day feminists are so quick to throttle, offering Scriptural explanations of the role we are responsible to steward as women. She doesn’t shy away from discussing the Biblical roles men and women, husbands and wives, have in the home, and really exhorts women to focus on filling their role well and contentedly rather than possibly shifting the blame, focusing on your husband’s problems, and resisting the responsibilities you have been trusted with as a wife and mother.
Learning Contentment: A Study for Ladies of Every Age | Nancy Wilson
“We tend to think being “stressed out” is a normal state of affairs, and that contentment means sitting back and just bottling things up. For the Christian, however, contentment is something we must apply, work at, and make our own in every circumstance, because anxiety and frustration are not neutral behaviors.
It is certainly easier to go with our natural impulses when times are very hard or even just “annoying,” but contentment is an important part of our Christian life. Even the apostle Paul had to “learn” contentment. So we shouldn’t wonder why we’re still in spiritual kindergarten — repeating the same lessons over and over again — if we haven’t given ourselves to study contentment.
Thankfully, every test God gives on contentment is open book (even the pop quizzes!). In Learning Contentment, Nancy Wilson looks to the Bible and Puritans like Jeremiah Burroughs, Samuel Rutherford, Thomas Watson, and Charles Spurgeon to help us develop the practical, spiritual strength and the perspective that comes from contentment’s deep satisfaction with the will of God.”
From the back cover
Chosen by God | R.C. Sproul
Chosen by God is a book discussing the doctrine of election/predestination. I’m finding people have very strong opinions about this topic, and have recently been able to determine where I stand on the matter (as in, yes I believe the doctrine of election), so part of why I read this is so I can be better equipped to discuss it with other people.
I really appreciate Sproul’s conversational writing style, but more importantly that he looks to the text of Scripture as the evidence for his stance- because the Word of God alone is where we find truth. He also does a great job of posing common questions and arguments that counter the idea of election- he himself opposed it until his last year in seminary. He takes what can be a very complex topic and presents it in a way that doesn’t go way over your head. Overall, this book did a great job of offering the perspectives/arguments from both sides, and offering proof/disproof and reasoning as to why they are/aren’t correct. Ultimately I agree with Sproul when he says, “When there’s something in the Word of God I don’t like, the problem is not with the Word of God, it’s with me.”
Sproul also has videos of old lectures on this topic at his website www.Ligonier.org (Go to the Learn tab, and find Daily Videos; the dates of March 22-29 correspond with the topics covered in this book).
Fashionopolis: The Price of Fast Fashion and the Future of Clothes | Dana Thomas
Since first watching The True Cost movie a few years ago, I’ve not been able to look at fashion the same way or un-know all the things I’ve learned. I’ve read a number of pieces on the fashion industry and its issues, but don’t share most because they’re often redundant or not helpful in helping you to know how you can contribute to solving the problem. But I thoroughly enjoyed reading Fashionopolis this month. Dana Thomas does a great job of educating on the issues behind fast fashion, but she also provides abundant information regarding the people and businesses that are working hard to eradicate the broken systems and models that have become the norm for production and consumption. It was encouraging to realize that there is a lot of work being done and progress being made to combat the social and environmental harm being done- and it’s in knowing about these resources that you and I can be better equipped to contribute as well. Let us not forget the power of a dollar, and be careful where we spend our money. Highly recommend this one.
Five Points: Towards a Deeper Experience of God’s Grace | John Piper
This little booklet is a short overview of the five points of TULIP (total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, and perseverance of the saints), a major component of the Calvinist perspective concerning the individuals’ role/involvement in the process of salvation (this is part of the doctrine of predestination/election). Many people are confused by the terms involved, but when you take the time to learn about what those terms actually refer to, and compare that to what the Word of God says, it makes much clearer sense.
Fault Lines: The Social Justice Movement and Evangelicalism’s Looming Catastrophe | Vaudie Baucham
Fault Lines by Voddie Baucham is a must-read. He discusses the dangers within and surrounding Critical Social Justice Theory, and why it is a major threat to the Church. While acknowledging that racism does exist and does show up in societies everywhere, he dismantles the idea that racism is unavoidable and inescapable in the United States specifically, that it’s “woven into the fabric of our country”. He states that as a worldview, Critical Race Theory is wholly unbiblical, and that the concept of “antiracism” is taking the form of a cult; that these ideologies suggest that the Bible is insufficient to address the issue of racism and the sin that drives it, and that we must look to other people or resources to try and eliminate goes completely against the truth of the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16-17) and I agree with Baucham’s labeling that as heretical. Another thing Baucham touches on is why we should not be supporting BLM as an organization even with as much as you may agree with the phrase itself; not only does it have roots in pagan witchcraft, but they are openly Marxist-Leninist, feminist (very anti-male), pro- LGBTQIA+, anti-family, and anti-Christian (all of this is sited in the book, pages 217-223, and can be read directly here). While I was unaware of these specifics until I read this book, now my resolve is strengthened to oppose this group that advocates for ideas that are so blatantly contrary to the Word of God. While you may not agree with this perspective, I encourage you to read this book, in it’s entirety (not pulling certain things out here and there) to take in the information and utilize it.
Eve in Exile: And the Restoration of Femininity | Rebekah Merkle
Feminine is not synonymous with Feminist. In this book, Merkle walks through a brief but telling history of feminism, giving credit where it’s due for both the good and the bad impacts of the movement. She provides thorough explanations regarding what the Biblical role of women is, how that may look in our lives in different seasons, and how to use the truths we find on this topic in Scripture to counter the subtle and dangerous feminist attitudes that try to pull us away from our God-given roles and responsibilities as women. We are made to mother and to work- as humans we are meant to work- but that work is not necessarily what our culture wants it to be.
Eve was created in order to help Adam with both tasks- filling and subduing the Earth. But somewhere along the line we’ve gotten ourselves tangled up and have started to see those two tasks as if they were an either-or situation. You can either subdue or you can fill. You can either “work” or you can have babies. Different generations in recent memory have leaned towards one or the other of these, and so the teeter-totter has wobbled back and forth on what is considered culturally acceptable for women to do. But the truth is that women were created for both. God made Eve to be innately gifted for and driven to do both of those things. If you try to make women, as a group, do nothing difficult except have babies, they’ll be wretchedly unhappy. If you try to make women, as a group, work like dogs but deny their role as mothers, they’ll be wretchedly unhappy.
pg. 110
Delighting in the Trinity: An Introduction to the Christian Faith | Michael Reeves
“This book, then, will simply be about growing in our enjoyment of God and seeing how God’s triune being makes all his ways beautiful. It is a chance to taste and see that the Lord is good, to have your heart won and yourself refreshed. For it is only when you grasp what it means for God to be a Trinity that you really sense the beauty, the overflowing kindness, the heart-grabbing loveliness of God. If the Trinity were something we could shave off God, we would not be relieving him of some irksome weight; we would be shearing him of precisely what is so delightful about him. For God is triune, and it is as triune that he is so good and desirable…
And so we come to where we started: Jesus Christ as the bright lane to knowledge of the true God. As the glorious, Spirit-anointed Son, he reveals his Father. He reveals God to be Father, Son and Spirit- and this he reveals the only God who is love, and he shows us the true glory of that love on the cross. In him we see a God far beyond the bored and tyrants we all rush to reject. In him we see the good God. And how good he is!”
From the Introduction and the Conclusion
I’m kind of surprised to realize that I haven’t read hardly any fiction so far this year. I want to incorporate more in the second half of the year- I have lots of mysteries and thrillers that I want to try out, and I really want to dive deeper into some classic fiction!
The nonfiction topics I’ve been leaning into have been both a result of and contribution to the growth I’ve been working through in my faith and relationship with the Lord- I’ve never read so much on doctrine and theology as I have this year, and this is barely scratching the surface (seriously, it’s a lot for me, but nothing compared to the oceans of information available to study)!
I will say, I’ve noticed that in my attempts to be driven in my reading accomplishments for this year, I have been moving through books quite quickly- probably more quickly than allows me to really enjoy and digest the content I’m consuming. I want reading to be a hobby, something I do in my downtime because I enjoy it, not simply because I want to see how many books I can read in a given amount of time. So I want to slow down a bit over the coming months, and stop seeing my reading as a task or project to check off my to-do list (perhaps this is a lingering side effect of all my time in school that I’ve yet to shake…).
As of now, I have read 24 books this year. I think I’m definitely going to hit my goal of 36+, but again, I want to be more intentional with it. I have been impressed with most all of these books, and would recommend most, if not all of them, to you. I hope this post has been helpful for you if you’re in need of some fresh book ideas! Let me know if you decide to read any of them, and we can compare our thoughts on them:)
Until next time,
Katie
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