Lots of great things happened in 2015 for our family. Our second child, William Baker, was born in January to kick off the year. Blake started his specific nurse anesthesia clinical rotations and finished his formal classroom time. Coralynn started preschool in the fall and LOVES it so much. I became involved in a young mom's ministry at our church, MOMtourage, as the Assistant Director. We also found out that we're expecting our 3RD CHILD!!!!! God gives good gifts...am I right or what!?
About halfway through 2015, I realized that I wasn't spending much time doing things that I love, so I began to make more time for reading. I've always loved reading, but I wasn't sure how it'd fit in with life with small kids. BUT...from June to December, I read 59 books! Crazy, I know. (We can talk later about how I find time to read with almost 3 kids, age 3 and under.) So, I wanted to share you my top 5 books from this year (in no particular order)!
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
Admittedly, I almost abandoned this book, were it not for additional prompting from fellow GoodReads member and reader extraordinaire, Lindsey Paschal. She said to give it 50 pages, and she was right on. The first 50 pages of this book were slow, but I absolutely devoured it after that point and loved every minute of it.
This book was completely and incredibly unbelievable! Written by Jillian Lauren, she admits that very fact herself in episode #60 of The Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey. Jillian documents her life in a harem on the island of Borneo for the youngest brother of the Sultan of Brunei.
Before you write it off completely after reading the summary, I will say this book was altogether out of my normal genre, even out of my normal, everyday interest. I would NEVER have picked this book on my own. BUT...it came so highly recommended so I thought I'd give it shot. I will tell you what, I RIPPED through it in a day and then passed it on to my husband. He's a pretty slow reader, but he even finished it in 48 hours. Some of the gaming references were a little over my head but that didn't take away from the overall story line or excitement of the characters and their experiences.
Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion by Gregory Boyle
I rented this book from the library after watching the Netflix documentary, G-DOG, which is all about the author, a Jesuit priest who has committed his life to ministering to rivaling gangs in LA through providing jobs at Homeboy Industries. His essays were down-to-earth and heartening and I loved reading about hard love and compassion that seems to effortlessly leak out of his life. Such a good, uplifting read.
The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
The Invention of Wings is a wonderfully written, historical fiction novel by the author of The Secret Life of Bees, which is one of my top books of all time. Sue Monk Kidd did not disappoint this time around either. Although reminiscent of The Secret Life of Bees (takes place in early 19th century Charleston), I loved this book from the beginning to the very end.
Honorable Mentions:
Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
The Wife, the Maid and the Mistress by Ariel Lawhon
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
I rented this book from the library after watching the Netflix documentary, G-DOG, which is all about the author, a Jesuit priest who has committed his life to ministering to rivaling gangs in LA through providing jobs at Homeboy Industries. His essays were down-to-earth and heartening and I loved reading about hard love and compassion that seems to effortlessly leak out of his life. Such a good, uplifting read.
The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
The Invention of Wings is a wonderfully written, historical fiction novel by the author of The Secret Life of Bees, which is one of my top books of all time. Sue Monk Kidd did not disappoint this time around either. Although reminiscent of The Secret Life of Bees (takes place in early 19th century Charleston), I loved this book from the beginning to the very end.
Honorable Mentions:
Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
The Wife, the Maid and the Mistress by Ariel Lawhon
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
You can check out the rest of the books I read in 2015 here. What were your top reads from 2015?
