This felt like the year of books and Netflix. What else were we supposed to do with quarantine?! I didn’t read more than I normally do, but as you’ll see from my list of favorite books this year, I read different books than I normally do. I read more novels, more history, and more books about the inner life and emotional health than leadership and ministry books.
In fact, I normally make my list as one post, but because I read so many novels and history books this year, I felt like they needed their own post. Stay tuned for my list of leadership, ministry, and soul/spiritual growth books.
Here are my favorite “fun” books:
5.The spy & the traitor. I knew very little about the cold war, but this story grabbed me, and I could not stop reading this one. Macintyre is a great writer, diving into what happened in the minds of the people.
4. The Order. Daniel Silva is still my favorite novelist, and this book shows why. I love this series, and it just keeps getting better. I’m pretty sure I read this book in two nights!
3. End of Days: The Assassination of John F. Kennedy. This was a fascinating real telling of the events surrounding JFK’s death. I love how good people are getting at telling the stories of history.
2. War Lord. The Last Kingdom series has become a favorite of mine over the last couple of years. I was excited about the final book but also nervous about it would end. Because let’s face it, it is hard to end a TV show or book series. I was not disappointed with this one.
1. Devil in the White City. I also read Larson’s book The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz as well this year. Both were good, but this one was hard to put down. I know I am late to the party on this one, but wow.
To see my list of favorite books from past years, click on the numbers: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2019. I loved looking back through the books I read this year as it helps me see where I’ve grown, what God has taken me, my family, and our church through. If you’re curious about the books I read this year, you can check this out.
And for those of you who read all the way to here, as a bonus, here are my favorite shows that Katie and I watched this year (in no particular order):
- Queen’s Gambit
- Ted Lasso
- Tehran
- The Crown
