Books I Read Last Year

In 2017 I continued to make it a point to read in my spare moments. Looking back at my reading journal –  a simple notebook where I write down a title once finished with any short thoughts – it looks like I finished 16 books last year. Not an amazing number, but at least it is something! I’ll highlight a few of the books that really stood out to me:

  • Song of the Cardinal by Gene Stratton Porter – You’ve probably heard me rave about my favorite novels by Mrs. Porter before! (If you’ve never read Laddie or Girl of the Limberlost – go get them now! Trust me.) This short novel was new to me, very much about the world of the forest, with some human interaction tied in. Made me want to run out into the woods, pay attention to the birds, and praise God! :)

  • The World of Jane Austen by Deirdre LeFaye – So, so good. Definitely a keeper. A very enjoyable and informative no-nonsense read about the historical setting of 18th-19th century England. Very good background if you enjoy the Jane Austen novels.

Comfortable Troubles

  • Comfortable Troubles by Elizabeth Prentiss – very good, deep thoughts and encouragements woven into a thoughtful narrative. This reprinted Victorian novel is definitely worth reading, especially if you are a mother or daughter whose work is caring for others at home.

  • Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne – A familiar setting – the Texas panhandle, where I grew up, and very interesting, but also very painful to read. I was very ready to be done with this book by the time I finished it. Lots of very interesting, enlightening detail, I felt it really fleshed out a lot of history I already know, and I had lots of ‘aha’ moments connecting dots in my mind to other former history studies and books. Not for young readers. Quite graphic. Also I found at least two instances of quite blatant false historical information, and the whole book had an obvious anti-Christian bias. However, this book will definitely stick in my mind for a long time, and gave me a lot to think about, especially as relates to the plight of early settlers.

  • Green Dolphin Street  by Elizabeth Goudge –  My first try at a novel by this author. Bizarre, aggravating but amazingly thought provoking. The life long narrative of two very different sisters who love the same man. This crazy story kept surprising me and making me rather angry! I basically stayed mad at most of the characters through the entire book. However, since finishing I have realized it really gave me a lot to chew on about motives in marriage, laying ones life down for another, and how small choices can affect the rest of your life. I am curious to know if the author built in the seeming allegories and marriage lessons, or if I am just imagining them. Anyway, not sure this will be a re-read, but I sure won’t forget it!

  • The Letter for the King by Tonke Dragt – SO GOOD. I thoroughly enjoyed this story. I suppose it’s actually written for teens, but anyone who enjoys a good Medieval adventure story would love this. It was clean, page-turning (I couldn’t put it down) and believable – I highly recommend! (if you have reading age kids, they would love it too! It would make a fabulous read-aloud)

  • Emma by Jane Austen – Jordan and I read this out loud to each other over the last few months, it was so enjoyable. I’d read it before, but not for years, so it was great fun going over it again and hearing Jordan’s thoughts as we went along. I included this book just to say – if you and your spouse have never read out loud together, you should! It’s seriously my favorite thing! Right now we are trying to decide what our next read aloud together should be.

Excited to see what the coming reading year will bring. I have many books already started that I want to finish, plus a lot more on my ‘want to read’ list.  Below is a sampling of some of the ones on my wish list (if you have any recommendations for me, please do share in the comments!)

Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry

The Life Giving Table by Sally Clarkson

Ishmael by E.D.E.N Southworth

7 thoughts on “Books I Read Last Year”

  1. Thank you for sharing! I love to find out what books others are reading. I own “Green Dolphin Street” but have yet to read it. I read “Pilgrim’s Inn” by Goudge and really enjoyed the story. I think you would like it. “Ishmael” is one of my favorites! Have you read “The Hidden Hand”? If not I would recommend that as a read aloud book for you and your husband. My husband and I read it separately, but we couldn’t stop talking about it! Definitely one of the best stories we ever read!

  2. 16 books in a year, with 3 little ones? That’s nearly a book and a half a month, so I’d call that an accomplishment!
    Have you ever read anything by Lisa Wingate? She’s a current author who writes women’s fiction that actually has some meat to it and is thought provoking! She’s probably my favorite modern author.
    As far as ‘classics’ go, time and time again I find myself returning to the later books in the Anne of Green Gables series, and I’ve come to love many of L.M. Montgomery’s other works as well. Her short stories are perfect for reading when you don’t have time to get sucked down the rabbit hole of a really good novel, but you still want to read a story.

    1. Thank you for the recommendations! I totally forgot about LM Montgomery – I know there are many of her books I haven’t read yet! thanks!

  3. If you like Berry’s style of writing, Marilynne Robinson’s style is similar (I’ve read Lila).

    If you haven’t read these I liked The Keeper of the Bees, Laddie, and The Harvester by Gene Stratton-Porter better than Freckles and Girl of the Limberlost (I’m re-reading those two this year). I hated At the End of the Rainbow though.

    Any L. M. Montgomery books are good. I think I’ve read all her novels now. Some of them are much better written than the Anne books although of course I love those. Blue Castle is darling, Tangled Web (has language) is hysterically funny, and Jane of Lantern Hill and Magic for Marigold are cute. I’ve also read the Pat duology and Emily of New Moon trilogy, but sometimes the behaviors of characters can exasperate. I had to put down the last Emily book during my last re-read because the characters choices were HURTING me,

    I started my first Goudge book, and then I started to realize where it was going (also a weird family romance situation), and then I skimmed it quickly and put it down. If I hate the direction NOPE. I hope all her books aren’t like that! So many bloggers like them (including the one I started though!).

    Do you like Rosemary Sutcliff? She is my favorite historical fiction author (make sure you don’t get her adult novels though).

    My sister listened to Empire of the Summer Moon, and I have it on my TBR list; what are the historical errors?

    1. I haven’t read any of Rosemary Stucliff, I will look her up, thanks for the tips!

      I have read those Porter books, they are all SO good! Our very favorite is Laddie!

      Definitely need to read more LM Montgomery, I think I have only read the entire Anne series….

      I was just skimming my copy of the Empire of the Summer Moon book, and I could only find one of my notes on the errors. (I know I made two notes at least, so if I come across them I will come back and let you know!) The worst error was about the picture of Cynthia Ann Parker breastfeeding her daughter. A big deal was made in the book of how she wasn’t really considered ‘human’ anymore by the white people, and the proof was being subjected to a having a photograph taken like that. But -actually during the 1860s (and beyond) it was a fairly common thing for Victorian mothers to have breastfeeding pictures taken with their infants (you can google or pinterest search and find many examples). It seems weird with our modern ideas of Victorian propriety, but it was definitely a thing! :)

      thanks, Livia!

      1. I need to re-read Laddie.

        Rosemary Sutcliff wikipedia page has her novels listed out, I would avoid those marked as adult (they can be explicit which shocked me; her other books are in homeschool catalogs and resources).

        The one I loved are: The Eagle of the Ninth (The Eagle of the Ninth #1), The Silver Branch (The Eagle of the Ninth #2), The Lantern Bearers (The Eagle of the Ninth #4), The Shining Company, The Mark of the Horse Lord, Warrior Scarlet, Sword Song (The Eagle of the Ninth #7), Outcast, Dawn Wind (The Eagle of the Ninth #6), Frontier Wolf (The Eagle of the Ninth #3), The Shield Ring (The Eagle of the Ninth #8), and Blood Feud. I did have to borrow/use interlibrary loan for a lot of these though.

        The Eagle of the Ninth was the one my Mom read for our homeschool that started us on this love. It is the first of a loose series that traces the British heritage of a family via a emerald ring through generations, starting with a Roman soldier down to the last Viking Stronghold in Norman England. (#5 is one to avoid and doesn’t actually feature the descendents of Marcus as the main character).

        The ones I liked Bonnie Dundee, The Capricorn Bracelet, Flame-Colored Taffeta.
        The one I didn’t care for: The Light Beyond the Forest: The Quest for the Holy Grail.

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