2013 Books

This years book list ended up a little on the short end - let's blame Grad School! Technically, I did read more than this, but I decided not to include any school books on here, even the short ones that would appeal to a wider range of folks (See Generation on a Tightrope). You'll also notice something interesting happened towards the end of the list, lots of book about Orthodox Christianity and marriage. Whoops! Didn't see that coming!

Here's what I read in 2013:

Food, farming, and faith / Gary W. Fick. // Nothing revolutionary, but it was nice to read someone have the same thoughts on food as myself.

Gold diggers: striking it rich in the Klondike / Charlotte Gray // This was a random library find, but ended up be completely fascinating. It also made me feel like a slacker.

Bold Spirit: Helen Eastby's Forgotten Walk Across America / LInda Lawrence Hunt

Prairie Fever: British Aristocrats in the American West / Peter Pagnamenta // I'd hoped to like this as much as the Klondike book, but it was a snooze-fest.

The Winter harvest Handbook / Eliot Coleman // So good. Get if you have any interest in gardening. I don't say that about many gardening books.

The Orchardist / Amanda Choplin // A good, heartbreaking novel. Read it.

The Last American Man / Elizabeth Gilbert 

A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains / Bird

Travels with Charley / John Steinbeck // Steinbeck became my most read novelist this year, though this one isn't a novel. I dare you to read and not get a case of wanderlust.

Facing East / Frederica Mathews-Green 

Eastern Orthodox Christianity / Daniel Clendenin // I'd recommend this book over the Ware book if you have a mild interest in Orthodoxy. A much gentler, accessible intro.

Mastering the Art of Marriage / Fa. Constantine Nasr

The Orthodox Church / Timothy Ware

The Accidental Farmers / Tim Young // And here's my most hated book of the year, in right before the New Year!

*I've also included a few Amazon Affiliate links, but only to the books I really, truly enjoyed.

2012 Books

Last year I started keeping track of every book I finished. I found my planner with the list in the back, and thought I would share. Some I loved. Some I hated. But I loved keeping track of every book, so I think I will keep on in 2013.

An Unquenchable Thirst (interesting if you find nuns...interesting.)
The End of the Wasp Season
The Oregon Trail (a kids graphic novel, for the record.)
The Meaning of Marriage (a marriage book that doesn't make this future crazy cat lady depressed!)
Wilderness Medicine
Everything is Illuminated
Expedition Planning
Death Comes to Pemberly (Probably my least liked book of all of these.)
Quiet
The Hunger Games
Washington Park
The Reason for God
Letters from a Skeptic
Parenting Beyond Your Capacity (lots of parents at Gateway were reading it, so I figured it would be relevant)
Notes from a Small Island
Neither Here nor There
I'm a Stranger Here Myself
Little Dorrit
Growing a Farmer
Make the Bread, Buy the Butter
In the Garden of Beasts (Not nearly as good as Devil in the White City. Probably the other book that I disliked.)
Cannery Row
Life of Pi
East of Eden (Loved it. Cannot express how much I loved it.)
Dawn of the Century (well, this was about 50% photos, if not more. But I'm counting it.)

So a lot of Bill Bryson, some Tim Keller, and John Steinbeck, if you're looking for a theme.

100 Years of Sleep

I just started reading some George MacDonald (the 19th century fantasy writer, preacher, and inspiration of C.S. Lewis,) and little did I know he's actually quite humorous.

"I never knew of any interference on the part of wicked fairy that did not turn out a good thing in the end. What a good thing, for instance, it was that one princess should sleep for a hundred years! Was she not saved from all the plague of young men who were not worthy of her? And did she not come awake exactly at the right moment when the right prince kissed her? For my part, I cannot help wishing a good many girls would sleep till just the same fate overtook them. It would be happier for them, and more agreeable to their friends."

From "Little Daylight"