Lit. List 2013

So if you don't already know, I like to read. A lot. In high school I would speed through ten or fifteen books a month but college has slowed that down quite a bit. This is a quick list of books that I read this year, in no particular order, and maybe a little quip about what I thought of them. I didn't include any books that I read for class (even though I read some very good ones). If you really want to hear about them, you can ask me. Enjoy!


Allegiant and Insurgent by Veronica Roth
These books are part of Veronica's Divergent series and fall along the lines of The Hunger Games. Very dystopian and very very good. I love how these books ask a lot of questions about courage and what makes humans so human. Entertaining but still thought provoking.

Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan.
Funny, Sassy, and wonderful. I read it during the summer but it is without a doubt a Christmas book with just enough scrooge-ness to keep it from being cheesy. It's probably not for everyone but it starts with a scavenger hunt in a bookstore. What more could you want?

Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit by Francis Chan
I finally finished this book last spring(after a year and a half of working on it). It made me look at the Holy Spirit in a completely different way and the ways the Holy Spirit is manifesting itself in my life and in the lives of those around me.

The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman
A fun, fast read. A great storyline, even if the writing was a little awkward at times (not that I'm one to talk). A must read for all but I think that it would be a very appropriate and fun read for middle schoolers.

Jesus Feminist: An Invitation to Revisit the Bible's View of Women By Sarah Bessey
Now before you get too excited and think that I'm a bra burning feminist, know that I'm not. Sarah Bessey writes about the way that Jesus treated women and the way that that we should see that in the Church. She writes to young single women, mothers both single and married, daughters and wives, husbands and sons, using scripture and pieces of her own story. It doesn't hurt that she strings words together like a poet either.

The Raven Boys and The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater
I might have a friend crush on Maggie Stiefvater. She is funny (just check out her twitter), owns race cars and fainting goats, and writes books that I just want to read. These two books are part of her Raven Cycle and they are chock full of fast cars, Welsh mythology, goofy teenage boys, and magic. My kind of books. I would say that these are probably my favorites of the year, hands down.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
There are five books in this series Hitchhiker's, The restaurant at the End of the Universe, Life, the Universe, and Everything, So Long and Thanks for all the Fish, and Mostly Harmless. I read all of them the summer before college and this summer was the chance for a much needed re-read. These books are hilariously full of British humor and I love picturing Martin Freeman as Arthur Dent. A classic.

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
A modern companion to L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, this novel won the Newbery in 2010. Let me tell you that it deserved it. This book doesn't fit into one set genre  but I believe that it can mean something to every person that reads it.

The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien
Ummm yes. If you have any love for Tolkien's Middle Earth, you'll read this. It's pretty time consuming but completely worth it. Yes and yes and yes.

The Children of Hurin by J. R. R. Tolkien
This was a gift from my roommate (shout out, Sarah!) and I am so blessed that she knows me as well as she does. This book is a deeper look into a story from The Silmarillion about the family of Hurin, one of Middle Earth's most valiant men. Lots of battles and adventures that any fan of The Lord of the Rings. 

Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious thoughts on Christian Spirituality by Donald Miller
This was like drinking a cool glass of water. Blue Like Jazz is without a lot of the lingo that we use in the Church today and follows one man's journey at a very liberal college and how he saw Jesus there. Good stuff.



Song of the post: Holding on to You- Twenty One Pilots