Hey Friends,

I am so excited to share this blog post with all of you! As many of you know… reading is a passion of mine and each year I usually read quite a few books. 🙂

At the beginning of last year I shared my 2019 Book List and Reading Goal. My original goal was read 60 books. That didn’t quite happen this year, but I did manage to read 48… and I’m happy with that number. 😉 Not all of the books I read were on my to-read list, but I’m thankful for each one I ended up reading.

The following list is a “book round up” of all the titles I read in 2019. Please remember that just because a book is on my list, doesn’t necessarily mean I agree with the author and/or everything that’s written in the book. I did rate each book on a scale from 1-5 stars and the rating is listed next to the book title. For an actual review of the books I read, you can visit my goodreads page.

At the very end of this post, I will be sharing which books made it to my top ten list for the year!

This will be a longer post, so let’s just jump right in!

2019 Book Round Up

Christian Living:

• When You’ve Been Wronged: Moving From Bitterness to Forgiveness by Erwin W. Lutzer (4 Stars)

• Lies Women Believe: And the Truth That Sets Them Free by Nancy Leigh Demoss (5 Stars)

• Women of the Word: How to Study the Bible with Both Our Hearts and Our Minds by Jen Wilkin (5 Stars)

• Sex, Purity, and the Longings of a Girl’s Heart: Discovering the Beauty and Freedom of God-Defined Sexuality by Kristen Clark and Bethany Beal (4 Stars)

• It’s A Wonderful Life: Serving God Joyfully in Marriage and Ministry by Terrie Chappell (5 Stars)

• The Best Yes: Making Wise Decisions in the Midst of Endless Demands by Lysa Terkuerst (4 Stars)

• The Church Planting Wife: Help and Hope for Her Heart by Christine Hoover (4 Stars)

• Spiritual Mothering by Susan Hunt (5 Stars)

• Girl Meets Change: Truths to Carry You Through Life’s Transitions by Kristin Strong (5 Stars)

• Listen, Love, Repeat: Other-Centered Living in a Self-Centered World by Karen Ehman (5 Stars)

Personal Growth:

• Cultivate: A Grace-Filled Guide to Growing an Intentional Life by Lara Casey (5 Stars)

• Twenty-Two: Letters to a Young Woman Searching for Meaning by Allison Trowbridge (3 Stars)

• Book Girl: A Journey Through the Treasures and Transforming Power of a Reading Life by Sarah Clarkson (3 Stars)

• Crazy Busy: A (Mercifully) Short Book about a (Really) Big Problem by Kevin DeYoung (3 Stars)

• Honey for a Woman’s Heart: Growing Your World Through Reading Great Books by Gladys M. Hunt (3 Stars)

• No Excuses!: The Power of Self Discipline by Brian Tracy (2 Stars)

• 50 Things Every Young Lady Should Know: What to Do, What to Say, and How to Behave by Kay West (4 Stars)

• The Queen of Clean Conquers Clutter by Linda Cobb (2 Stars)

• Take Back Your Time: Identify Your Priorities, Decrease Stress, and Increase Productivity by Morgan Tyree (5 Stars)

Marriage and Family:

• Eight Great Ways to Honor Your Husband by Marilynn Chadwick (5 Stars)

• The Intimacy You Crave by Lucille Williams (4 Stars)

• The Read-Aloud Family: Making Meaningful and Lasting Connections with Your Kids by Sarah Mackenzie (5 Stars)

• Things I Wish I’d Known Before We Became Parents by Gary Chapman (3 Stars)

• 100 Ways to Love Your Husband: The Simple, Powerful Path to a Loving Marriage by Lisa Jacobson (5 Stars)

• 100 Words of Affirmation Your Husband Needs to Hear by Lisa Jacobson (5 Stars)

Health and Wellness:

• The Hormone Cure: Reclaim Balance, Sleep, Sex Drive and Vitality with the Gottfried Protocol by Sara Gottfried (3 Stars)

• The Oh She Glows Cookbook: Over 100 Vegan Recipes to Glow From the Inside Out by Angela Liddon (5 Stars)

• Oh She Glows Every Day: Simply Satisfying Plant-Based Recipes to Keep You Glowing from the Inside Out by Angela Liddon (5 Stars)

• The Whole 30: The Official 30-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom by Melissa and Dallas Hartwig (3 Stars)

• Kiss Your Dentist Goodbye: A Do-It-Yourself Mouth Care System for Healthy, Clean Gums and Teeth by Ellie Phillips (4 Stars)

• Your Healthiest Healthy: 8 Ways to Take Control, Help Prevent and Fight Cancer, and Live a Longer, Cleaner, Happier Life by Samantha Harris (2 Stars)

• Natural Hospital Birth: The Best of Both Worlds by Cynthia Gabriel (4 Stars)

Biography:

• One Light Still Shines: My Life Beyond the Shadow of the Amish Schoolhouse Shooting by Marie Monville with Cindy Lambert (4 Stars)

• Gay Girl, Good God: The Story of Who I Was and Who God Has Always Been by Jackie Hill Perry ( 4 Stars)

• Saving My Assassin by Virginia Prodan (5 Stars)

• Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus: A Devout Muslim Encounters Christianity by Nabeel Qureshi (5 Stars)

• God’s Smuggler by Brother Andrew (5 Stars)

Fiction:

• The Kremlin Conspiracy by Joel Rosenburg (4 Stars)

• The Sky Above Us by Sarah Sundin (5 Stars)

• The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer (3 Stars)

• A Silent Betrayal by Rachael O. Phillips (3 Stars)

• Submerged by Dani Pettrey (4 Stars)

• Elisha’s Bones by Don Hoesel (3 Stars)

• Shattered by Dani Pettrey (4 Stars)

• Stranded by Dani Pettrey (4 Stars)

• The Persian Gamble by Joel Rosenburg (4 Stars)

• The Words Between Us by Erin Bartels (4 Stars)

• Pearl in the Sand by Tessa Afshar (3 Stars)

My Top Ten Favorites:

It was really hard to choose which books would be in my top ten. However, looking over my list, these ten books are the ones that really jump out at me. These books have been included in my top ten because they… 1) Were super enjoyable to read 2) Inspired me in a unique way 3) Taught me some helpful facts or truths to apply to my life! ♥

#1. Cultivate by Lara Casey

This was actually the first book I completed in 2019 and it still remains among my favorites. This was an encouraging read for the beginning of the year. I remember it seemed as if each chapter had something in it that I needed to hear and apply to my life! If you enjoy gardening, you will enjoy all of Lara’s gardening stories and illustrations!

#2. Lies Women Believe by Nancy Leigh Demoss Wolgemuth

This book was phenomenal… I remember reading and underlining so many important truths. I especially appreciated that each truth was biblical sound and supported by Scripture. This is definitely a must-read for Christian women. It truly will help you identify the lies you’ve been believing and will equip you with the Truth to set you free!

#3. Saving My Assassin by Virginia Prodan

This is the biography of a Christian woman living in communist Romania. Right from the very beginning, her story captivated me. Virginia grew up in a home where she truly felt she did not belong. She overcome a very difficult childhood, became an attorney, and also came to know the Lord Jesus Christ as her Savior. Virginia boldly chose to defend Christians against the communist regime in her country and she paid quite a price to do so. Her boldness in times of persecution is truly inspiring! I also love the way the Lord brought her out of that dangerous country. This book is hard to put down and I would highly recommend it!

#4. The Read Aloud Family by Sarah Mackenzie

My friend, Sarah, originally told me about this book, so I was very excited when I found a copy at Ollie’s for just a few dollars. Being an avid reader myself, I really enjoyed this book! In this book you will read about the benefits of reading to your children – how it helps them grow, helps to facilitate bonding, etc. etc. The beautiful picture this book portrayed of a “reading family” has made me so excited to read to my own little ones in the future!

#5. Take Back Your Time by Morgan Tyree

I love reading about time management and productivity but (sometimes) books on those topics contain way too much about psychology and business for my taste. Thankfully, this book was a great fit for me… written by a mama, homemaker, and business woman, this book had the perfect balance. I really enjoyed reading this book and the time management and productivity tips were very helpful!

#6. Natural Birth in the Hospital by Cynthia Gabriel

As I prepare for my upcoming due date, this book was super insightful for me. This book was not boring but very helpful, inspiring, and informative. It gave me a lot of things to think about too! There was a little bit of “new age” birth information floating throughout the book, but it wasn’t too bad. Overall, I really enjoyed this book very much. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is planning for a natural birth in a hospital setting.

#7. The Words Between Us by Erin Bartels

I LOVED this novel… and to be honest… I’m not entirely sure why I loved it so much? The two main characters were incredibly intriguing right from the start. I also love the way each chapter bounced back and forth between past and present. The entire book was intriguing. Unfortunately, I did not give this book a five star rating for a few reasons… 1) There wasn’t a lot of spiritual content in the book. There were also quite a few references to alcohol, divorce, and other lifestyle choices I do not agree with. 2) As much as I LOVED the story, the ending was a bit of a letdown. Other than that, this was an intriguing tale that kept me turning the pages!

#8. The Church Planting Wife by Christine Hoover

Since my husband and I are planning to start a church next year, this was a very encouraging and insightful book for me to read. It definitely opened my eyes to certain aspects of church planting (and being a church planting wife) that I hadn’t considered before. I also really enjoyed hearing various perspectives from church planting wives all over the country. One of my favorite aspects of this book was the checklist at the end on practical ways to prepare for church planting. This is definitely a resource I will be reaching for again in the future!

#9. God’s Smuggler by Brother Andrew

Another wonderful and very inspiring biography. This book was also hard to put down! Brother Andrew was quite the missionary… trailblazing his way through communist countries in order to get Bible and the wonderful new of the Gospel behind the Iron Curtain. The sacrifices he and his family made for the furtherance of the Gospel definitely convicted and challenged me as I read through this book. Again, this is a wonderful Christian biography that I would highly recommend!

#10. Girl Meets Change by Kristin Strong

I purchased this book a few months ago, fully intending to read it NEXT year. However, after things began happening with our baby’s heart and other changes that were beginning to overwhelm me, this book turned out to be a wonderful encouragement for THIS year. I was so encouraged by this book and the reminder that change is not a bad thing. God uses unexpected change to grow us and draw us closer to Him. This book also helped me discover my one word for 2020 (which I will hopefully share sometime next week! I underlined so much in this book and found so many helpful “takeaways”. If you (or someone you know) is going through a lot of unexpected change, then this book is a must-read!

Final Thoughts

There you have it, my friends! Those are the books I read in 2019 + my top ten favorites! I hope you enjoyed this post and (hopefully) you found some books to add to your own reading list for 2020.

I’m still putting together my to-read list for 2020 (there’s only a tiny handful of books on my list) but if you would like to check it out and follow along to see what books I add, click here to see my 2020 book list.

I Would Love to Know

What were some of your favorite books from 2019? Please share them with all of us in the comments below! ♥

With Love,