First, I have something exciting to share. I have tried a number of methods to capture a list of the books I've read in a year. This year, I used Goodreads and it worked! I'm on pace to read 75 books this year. How, you ask? I read in every nook and cranny of time I get. I read most books pretty fast. I have four or five books going at once. I do adore reading!

Here was last year's Top 10 list:

2019

Here is this year's list. Once again, all nonfiction; most of them came out in 2020 but not all ( in the order I read them):

 

1. The Book of Waking Up: Experiencing the Divine Love That Reorders a Life

by Seth Haines Not just for the message but also the creative design. I remember reading it and thinking, a writer can lay out a book like this?

  
 2. Holy Silence: The Gift of Quaker Spirituality

by Brent Bill I don't know much about the Quaker tradition but the stories Brent shared in this book made me want to learn more.

 3. Broken Roads: Returning to my Amish Father

 by Ira Wagler I'd recommend reading his first book first, but this memoirist writes honest and true. Great insight into the Amish way of life.

 4. The Cloister Walk

by Kathleen Norris I'm late to discovering Nelson's captivating writing. This book will stay on my mind and in my heart for some time.

 5. Blessed Are The Nones: Mixed-Faith Marriage and My Search for Spiritual Community

by Stina Kielsmeier-Cook Good storytelling and a strong message for the many women who feel as if, for a number of reasons, they attend church alone.

 6. Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope

by Esau McCauley Full of scripture based teaching, historical insight and personal story. This book had a powerful message.

 7. The Beautiful Community: Unity, Diversity, and the Church at its Best

by Irwyn L. Ince Jr. This book makes such a strong argument for diversity in a number of varieties. If we as a church aren't leading the way in this, we're missing out. 

8. Always A Guest: Speaking of Faith Far From Home

by Barabara Brown Taylor When I saw this was a series of sermons, I wasn't sure how I'd like it. The variety of audiences Taylor speaks to, and what she pulls from a Bible story, are amazing. I really liked this one!

9. Uncommon Ground: Living Faithfully in a World of Difference

edited by John D Inazu and Timothy Keller The power of this book is all the different voices that write an essay. Pastors, performers, poets, etc. There is so much to think about from each story.

10. Still: Notes on a Mid-Life Crisis

by Lauren Winner This one has been out a while but I haven't gotten around to reading it. Such wonderful reflections on those mid-faith crises we all find ourselves experiencing at times. Beautiful literary reference and plenty of spiritual memoir voice.