Kristin Hill Taylor

Seeking God as the Author of Every Story

Books of 2020 (so far)

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I love compiling a list of what I’ve read so I can remember and share with y’all. So here we go … the 33 books I’ve read so far this year. It’s no surprise I’ve read significantly more fiction than non-fiction, given the loud, loud world and my need to escape into stories that always end up making me think anyway. Specifically, I’ve read 21 fiction, 6 memoirs, and 6 other non-fiction books so far this year. I also linked some other family books I’ve reviewed on the blog so far this year.

The links to my social media reviews are new this year, so I hope you like being able to read more about what I think about each book. If you’re new around here, an updated post like this will be published at the end of 2020.

Fiction

  1. “The Things We Cannot Say” by Kelly Rimmer {Instagram Review}
  2. “Lilac Girls” by Martha Hall Kelly {Instagram Review}
  3. “Lost Roses” by Martha Hall Kelly {Goodreads Review}
  4. “Maybe Someday” by Colleen Hoover {Goodreads Review}
  5. “Maybe Now” by Colleen Hoover {Goodreads Review}
  6. “Everything You Are” by Kerry Anne King {Instagram Review}
  7. “The Odds of Loving Grover Cleveland” by Rebekah Crane {Instagram Review}
  8. “Postcards for a Songbird” by Rebekah Crane {Goodreads Review}
  9. “The Infinite Pieces of Us” by Rebekah Crane {Instagram Review}
  10. “The Survivor’s Guide to Family Happiness” by Maddie Dawson {Instagram Review}
  11. “Ragged Edge of Night” by Olivia Hawker {Goodreads Review}
  12. “The Rest of the Story” by Sarah Dessen {Instagram Review}
  13. “An American Marriage” by Tayari Jones {Goodreads Review}
  14. “Letters to the Lost” by Iona Grey {Instagram Review}
  15. “The Huntress” by Kate Quinn {Goodreads Review}
  16. “Eleanor & Park” by Rainbow Rowell {Goodreads Review}
  17. “We Are Okay” by Nina LaCour {Goodreads Review}
  18. “Great Small Things” by Jodi Picoult {Instagram Review}
  19. “The Girl You Left Behind” by Jojo Moyes {Instagram Review}
  20. “The Alice Network” by Kate Quinn {Facebook Review}
  21. “The Other Mrs.” by Mary Kubica {Instagram Review}

Memoir

  1. “The Girls from Ames: A Story of Women and a Forty-Year Friendship” by Jeffrey Zaslow {Goodreads Review}
  2. “On the Bright Side: Stories about Friendship, Love, and Being True to Yourself” by Melanie Shankle {Review}
  3. “The Call of the Farm: An Unexpected Year of Getting Dirty, Home Cooking, and Finding Myself” by Rochelle Bilow {Goodreads Review}
  4. “The Sound of Gravel” by Ruth Wariner {Instagram Review}
  5. “Glitter and Glue” by Kelly Corrigan {Facebook Review}
  6. “A Polygamist’s Daughter” by Anna LeBaron {Goodreads Review}

Non-fiction

  1. “The Enneagram: A Christian Perspective” by Richard Rohr
  2. “Anger: Calming Your Heart (31-Day Devotionals for Life)” by Robert D. Jones
  3. “Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death at a Storm-Ravaged Hospital” by Sheri Fink {Goodreads Review}
  4. “Keeping the Faith: A Study in Jude” by Lianna Davis {Review}
  5. “I’d Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life” by Anne Bogel {Related Instagram Post}
  6. “Reading People: How Seeing the World Through the Lens of Personality Changes Everything” by Anne Bogel {Related Facebook Post}

Family books

  1. “On-the-Go Devotional” {Review}
  2. “Jesus and the Very Big Surprise: A True Story about Jesus, His Return, and How to Be Ready” by Randall Goodgame {Review}
  3. “Little Words Matter Jumbo Coloring Book” {Review}

*****

Of course, I want to hear about what books from this list you’ve loved, what I need to read in the coming months, and whatever else you want to tell me about books. Pull up a chair on my virtual porch, and let’s talk books.

In the meantime, I also keep a list of all kinds of recommended reads (divided into categories) on Amazon, if you’re looking for even more suggestions. I also keep an updated list and post some reviews at Goodreads, if you want to follow along there.

reading & schooling at home

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Ben had to write a book review for his fourth-grade language arts class, which, you know, he’s doing from our kitchen countertop during these social-distancing days. He just finished reading “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” so that’s what he decided to review. I bribed him to let me share his review here. There are some story spoilers ahead.

*****

In this book, the main character is Harry Potter. His parents were wizards. Voldemort killed his parents. Harry Potter goes to Hogwarts. Hogwarts is a school for wizards. He meets Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, the other main characters.

He is trying to become a wizard. Then he hears about Voldemort and he is trying to get the sorcerer’s stone. Harry thought Snape was working with Voldemort, but he isn’t. It is actually Professor Quirrell and Voldemort’s face is the back of Quirrell’s head.

The book ends when the school year ends. At the end of each school year, there is a house cup. Whoever has the most points wins.

I liked the book because there are magical creatures like a centaur and a three-headed dog. I liked it because it had a little mystery in it.

*****

Ben isn’t the first Harry Potter fan around here. Cate was quite obsessed with the series for a long time and has read all the books multiple times. Perhaps her brother will join her fan club. Of course, she previously wrote a review too. I haven’t read or watched any Harry Potter story, but I was super impressed with the wizardry world at Universal Studios. Find other books my kids have loved here.

Keeping the faith in every season

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In this season of worldly uncertainty, I’ve needed to quiet the voices and be more selective to what I read and hear so I can hold faithfully to God’s promises and truth. I’ve had the new “Keeping the Faith: A Study in Jude” by Lianna Davis in my stack of books before the coronavirus epidemic, but reading it during this slower season has been good for my heart.

I wasn’t super familiar with Jude, but in “Keeping the Faith” author Lianna Davis took me deep into this short letter in ways that helped me move toward God’s truth. Becoming more like Christ is my focus for the year, and this study goes along so well with how that happens because I belong to Christ and that position affects every dimension of my life.

Jude may be a short book in the Bible with just 25 verses, but this study takes readers verse by verse and prompts other scripture readings and personal reflection. These verses contain some warnings, and I love Davis’ reminder about them: “The warnings of God benefit the beloved of God; these warnings function to keep us near to God’s heart in a world filled with messages that oppose the truth.”

“Keeping the Faith” is a six-week study in which each week has a focus of faith: Keeping in Truth, Keeping in Grace, Keeping the Soul, Keeping the Spirit, Keeping the Body, and He Is Able to Keep Us. I love this repetition of “keeping,” especially with learning about what Jude meant by “kept” in the first verse. Knowing we are God’s beloved and kept in Christ gives me the confidence to live in the truth that truly matters.

About the book

In a culture of subjectivity and “speaking your truth,” this in-depth of Jude encourages us to know how to lovingly fight for our biblically-based, truth-filled faith. With a striking combination of humility, genuine love, doctrinal faithfulness, and directness, Jude teaches you how to treasure the gifts of salvation, the faith, the Church, and — most of all — Jesus Christ.

Walking verse-by-verse through this small epistle, you’ll learn why Jude uses metaphors like waterless clouds and wild waves; what was going on in Jude’s time theologically and why it matters; why the warning passages can be a deep comfort to the believer; and to appreciate new dimensions of your belonging in Christ.

“Keeping the Faith” is a 192-page paperback is published by Moody Publishers (Jan. 7, 2020). Learn more at Amazon or the author’s website.

About the author

Lianna Davis is a student of the Word with a B.A. in Ministry to Women from Moody Bible Institute. She and her husband, Tyler, reside outside of Dallas, Texas and have two dear daughters, one who lives in heaven and one who lives on earth. More of her writing can be found at liannabdavis.com.

*****

I received a free copy of this study from Moody Publishers / Side Door Communications in exchange for an honest review. These opinions are my own and I’m glad to have this resource for my real life.