WHAT I READ THIS PAST YEAR - A Year's Review

I did a lot of reading this past year. I usually read between 5,000 pages to 7,000 pages a year. To some readers this isn’t much, but to other people this is quite a lot. I did a lot of reading, but I didn’t do so well on the writing of my book reviews. Thus, I decided to make a list of what I have read for this year. This is not everything, some books are not worth mentioning; some books are not healthy Christian or secular reading (read for reviewing), so I am not going to include them. I should mention that I don’t usually read what is new and current either. The book usually has to be a gift to me to be new.


 

Now That You're A Christian (Christianity 101)
Topic: witnessing
Bickel, Bruce & Stan Jantz
Harvest House Publishers / 2005 978-0-7369-2316-3
what God has done for you, what you need to do for God 43 pgs








 
Heaven Is For Real
Topic: witnessing non-fiction
Burpo, Todd with Lynn Vincent
Thomas Nelson / 2010 978-0-849946158
a 4 year old goes to Heaven - Aren’t we as Christians supposed to have our focus on Jesus Christ, our Savior, and bringing salvation to all the earth, not on what Heaven is like. If we were to know more about Heaven wouldn’t God have written it in His word? I feel that these days we focus too much on angels and Heaven and not enough on our mission. I read this one because many churches are recommending this book to their attendees. 163 pgs





The Harbinger
subtitle: The Ancient Mystery that Holds the Secret of America's Future
Topic: fiction, prophecy, suspense
Cahn, Jonathan (a Messianic Rabbi)
FrontLine / Charisma Media/Chrisma House Book Group / 2012 978-1-61638-610-8
from the cover: "Hidden in an ancient biblical verse from the Book of Isaiah, the mysteries revealed in 'x' are so precise that they foretell recent American events down to the exact days…" This book is a great warning for those unsaved; and the salvation plan is included, but I have reservations about this book. 253 pgs
(See prior post in 2012)




You Don't Have To Be Blind to See
Topic: motivational, business
Stovall, Jim
Thomas Nelson / 1996 978-0-785277378
From a Christian perspective and as a blind business man, Jim Stovall tells Christians to get their act together and motivates them toward a more successful business. He gives examples from his own life that success can be attained. Recommended reading. 
278 pgs
(See prior post in 2012)





A Millionaire's Notebook (How ordinary people can achieve extraordinary success)
Topic: business
Scott, Steven K.
Fireside (Simon & Schuster, Inc.) / 1996 0-684-80303-8
Another Christian business book, motivational, Steven Scott puts together a plan for success. I need to reread this, take notes & go through the process. Recommended reading. I also invested in the full Master Strategies of Super Achievers set; I just haven’t taken time to take the course. 254 pgs



Forever & Ever Amen
Topic: Autobiography
Overstreet, Paul
Treasure House (Destiny Image Publishers) / 2001 0-7684-2120-9
Christian country music writer, my copy came with a DVD of music videos. This is "the heart-warming stories behind the music of Paul Overstreet" 183 pgs






Get Out Of Our House! Revolution!
Topic: A new plan for selecting our Congressional Representatives
Cox, Tim
Bridgeway Books / 2008 978-1-934454-03-9
Intriguing, filled with thought provoking questions, this is a good book to consider if you wish to run for Congress. However, the author’s plan to put new people in office probably won’t come to fruition. It would be nice, though, if it did. Our Congressional Representatives are not supposed to be career politicians, yet “we the people” do not kick them out of office. And we pay for it in taxes and spending!!! I bought copies of this book for others that I felt would be interested in this plan. 291 pgs

 

The Cat Who Went Into the Closet
Topic: novel
Braun, Lilian Jackson
G.P. Putnam's Sons / 1993 0-399-13830-7 hardcover
“The Cat Who…” books are fun reading, light-hearted mystery novels. I always enjoy these. 235 pgs





The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, Voyage of the "Dawn Treader", The Silver Chair, The Horse and His Boy, The Magician's Nephew, and The Last Battle – 7 books
Topic: children’s novel
Lewis, C.S.
Collier Books (NY, NY) (1972) / 1950
My copy is old and my children have read them. This is the order for the books that my copy says is the correct order. This is probably the fourth time in my lifetime that I have read these. What caused me to read them this time was The Walt Disney’s company promise to the C. S. Lewis estate that they would stay true to what Lewis had written and his intent. I don’t know about the intent part but I found several discrepancies between what Lewis had written and what Disney put on the screen. In book form is the wonderful story of salvation, God’s love for us through His Son, Jesus. The first time I saw this it was my second reading. I wonder if Lewis made his Narnia stories to be seven books because seven is used by God to mean perfection and completion?
from reader paxdomini, “While The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is not an allegory in the strict sense of the word, it does contain a great deal of strong and rather unmistakable Christian imagery. The most apparent such imagery centers around Aslan, who is an obvious Christ figure, and whose fate parallels Christ's Passion. Indeed, while Aslan debuts rather late in the book, he dominates the story, which is, at its core, all about what Aslan is doing rather than what the children are doing.” 1,422 pgs 


For One More Day
Topic: novel
Albom, Mitch
Hyperion / 2006 978-1-4013-0327-3
I enjoyed reading this short book. A man about to commit suicide because of the turns his life took, he ends up at the house he grew up in and finds his deceased mother there. Her love helps him start on the path to putting his life back together and healing the old wounds. I’ll probably read this one again. (found this one at Dollar Tree store) 198 pgs
Mitch Albom's Amazon page




 

Frantastic Voyage (Franny K. Stein, Mad Scientist)
Topic: children’s novel
Benton, Jim
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (April 25, 2006) 978-1416902300
A girl (child) who is a Frankenstein scientist makes this a fun story for children. 112 pgs
Jim Benton's Amazon page

 

 


The Widows of Danford
Topic: novel
Thacker, Jan
Bridge Logos Foundation (Alachua, FL 32615) / 2011 978-0-88270-602-3
My mom loved this book, I'm more ambivalent about it. Some of the situations in the story just didn’t feel real to me, especially one of the characters. 412 pgs



 
The Girl's Still Got It: Take a Walk with Ruth and the God Who Rocked Her World
Topic: Bible Study
Higgs, Liz Curtis
WaterBrook Press / 2012 978-1-57856-448-4
Creative writing, well research, but I feel, she takes some licenses in some areas (i.e. I disagree with some of her suppositions). However, Liz Curtis Higgs did have several insights that made the book of Ruth more meaningful. 222 pgs






 
Promises To Peter: Building a bridge from parent to Child
Topic: raising Children
Shedd, Charlie Word Books (Waco, TX) / 1970
Lib of Congress: 76-128353
This book is not written as a “How-To” book, but tells the story of how he raised his son Peter, beginning with the promises he wrote to his son when he was first born. I wish I had this book when I was raising my daughters. I have had this book on my shelves for years, but not until after my daughters were gone. This book is written by the author of Letters to Paul and Letters to Karen. I read Letters to Karen when I was a teenager. 147 pgs


 
Since this article is about what I read throughout 2012 let me add this, for most of the year I read 1 Proverb and 5 Psalms from God’s Word each day. I varied the translations used each month, Amplified, New American Standard, New International Version, the Living Bible Paraphrased (which you can’t buy anymore, the new version is a translation). The blessings from doing this are greater than reading all the other books in the world.

May YOU have a blessed year 2013.

PS: You don’t need to buy your books from Amazon.com, in fact I recommend that for Christian books you go to Christian retailers, but I’ve included the links for your convenience.

  

the rest of my tags (they wouldn't fit):  reading, books, witnessing, faith, Jesus, Narnia, God’s Word, Bible, changing, action, autobiography, grace, storms, true, trust, believing, blind, business, challenges, positive attitude, seeing, success, novels, fiction, children’s, harbingers, prophecy, motivate, success, Christian Living, grace, miracles, Sovereign God, strategies, achievers, country music, politics, Congress, career, cat, mystery, raising, allegory, fantasy, healing, relationships