Other Books Read in 2013

I've finally caught up with my "Books Read in 2013" posts and, more for my own records than anything else, I wanted to note that I also read the following fiction books:

Only the Innocent by Rachel Abbott
A cheap kindle purchase! I enjoy reading crime thriller books and this book fit that category. A quick read but don't think I'll be re-reading/recommending it. 

Children of the Fog by Cheryl Kaye Tardiff
This falls into the same category as above - a cheap kindle purchase that was a quick read. The twist at the end was super weird. 

XO by Jeffrey Deaver 
I picked this up when in Prague. Deaver is one of my consistent crime thriller author favourites. This book did not disappoint. I miss being around charity shops that have these books! 

Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien
After finishing The Hobbit before the first movie came out I started on The Lord of the Rings trilogy. At the moment I'm working my way through the second book. Honestly, it's taking me forever to read these. I find I don't get into them enough so I don't read them consistently and then I forget plot points or who a certain creature is so it's harder to read! I am enjoying them though. Reading the trilogy and then finally getting round to watching the movies is on my "30 things to do before 30" list.

According to my blog I read fifteen books in 2013 - something I definitely want to improve on in 2014!

Book: How to Live Dangerously

Title: How to Live Dangerously. The Hazards of Helmets, the Benefits of Bacteria, and the Risks of Living Too Safe.

Author: Warwick Cairns

What’s it about: This book looks at the statistics behind the things we commonly fear to reveal that we maybe shouldn't be all that scared of those things. In doing this it reveals that our lives are too governed by fear and how to embrace living dangerously by pushing back on fear. It's not a Christian book, in fact the author seems rather anti-God at points, but it was a good read.

Why did I read it: This book kept popping up in various places and I thought it looked interesting so I decided to pick it up!

Favourite idea: That because of how we engage with the world (for example, by getting our news from the internet, TV and newspapers) we see a different world than the one we live in - we assume that because we see a certain bad thing on the news each night that that bad thing is a very common occurrence. This really affects our emotions and what we fear. 

Where can you buy it? The Book Depository

This year I'm participating in the Empty Shelf Challenge that runs from 26th December 2013 to 31st December 2014. I'm excited to see how many books I read this year! 

Book: The Insanity of God

Out of all the books I read in 2013 this is easily the one I will most recommend. 

Title: The Insanity of God: A True Story of Faith Resurrected

Author: Nik Ripken (this is a pen name, not his real name).

What’s it about: Nik Ripken and his family served as missionaries in various countries. During their time serving Somalia (from a base in Kenya - it was in the early 90s) something happens that leads them to move back to America for rest. Wondering whether God still has resurrection power today and if the Gospel can truly flourish in hard places leads Ripken to travel the world interviewing the persecuted church.

Throughout the rest of the book he tells his own story of faith as he travels and hears stories in Russia, countries in eastern Europe that had had communism, China, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. The stories are incredible, challenging and humbling. 

The stories take place fifteen years ago and the book was only published in 2013 - with the author's name changed, all the people's names changed and some details obscured. This is done to protect the story tellers.

Why did I read it: I was told about this book by another missionary family at the JV Thanksgiving Retreat and I was so intrigued I downloaded it that day! 

Favourite idea: I loved the part about their call to missionary service (but it deserves it's own post). I was really challenged by the faith of those in the persecuted church - they truly knew that God was greater than anything.. even their lives. And their passion for Him and His Word is beautiful.

Read this book! You will not be disappointed. It's less than £10 on The Book Depository and they ship worldwide for free (it's rapidly becoming my favourite site!).

Book: Discover Your Spiritual Gifts

Title: Discover Your Spiritual Gifts

Author: C. Peter Wagner

What’s it about: This book talks about spiritual gifts! It does a great job of looking at common misconceptions and confusions. There is also a questionnaire at the back to help you discover what your spiritual gifts are.

Why did I read it: This is one of the books I read in 2013 for work. This topic is something we teach on at intern training and I've been wanting to learn more about it.

Favourite idea: I loved this author's balance in how he explained we have each been given certain gifts to serve the whole body of Christ and yet we all are still called to certain things - yes, someone might specifically be gifted at evangelism or service but we are all called to proclaim Christ and serve the church.

Book: A Kingdom Called Desire

Title: A Kingdom Called Desire: Confronted by the Love of a Risen King

Author: Rick McKinley

What’s it about: This book is about the Kingdom of God! It looks at the desires we have - how those desires can sometimes appear in ugly ways but they, at their deepest, are desires that can only be met in God. It talks about how we often try to do the right thing only out of a sense of duty but when we truly encounter the love of God we obey Him because we love Him and we see how deeply He loves us.

Why did I read it: It's been on my bookshelf since 2011! It was good to finally pick it up and read it. 

Favourite idea: Oh goodness. I don't think I could pick one so instead I'll leave you with some quotes.

"But if God called us to His love freely by grace and apart from works, then that love changes everything, because God called us to love us, not simply to use us."

"The creation drama is the most passionate love story ever told, and God is the pursuing lover. We are invited to respond to love that so furiously and recklessly has come after us in Christ."

"They [people of God] have been captured by a vision of another world, and they are sustained by a love that comes from somewhere else. They are Jesus' people. They are the fragrance of life to a dying world... They are a people who have found what their hearts are made for."

"Next time you want to quit loving and serving and giving yourself away for the sake of the kingdom, remember: you're playing offence, not defence. Hell will give way to heaven. Death will give way to life; we know it is true because it has already come true in Jesus, who conquered hell through His own death and brought heaven to earth through His resurrected life."

Book: Leadership and the One Minute Manager

Title: Leadership and the One Minute Manager

Author: Ken Blanchard, Patricia Zigarmi and Drea Zigarmi

What’s it about: This is about situational leadership - how different people need different kinds of leadership depending on how much direction and support they need. And the kind of leadership preferred by a person might even depend on the project. 

Why did I read it: This was another book I read for work.

Favourite idea: This was a super short read and I learnt a lot about how to support people and, even more than that, learnt how to assess what kind of support I need in different situations which is very useful!

Book: The Checklist Manifesto

Title: The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right

Author: Atul Gawande

What’s it about: The power of checklists! The author talks about how many tasks today involve many steps and simple checklists can catch and prevent simple errors that could have huge consequences. Many errors that are made in certain fields are not because of lack of knowledge but because we fail to use that knowledge properly. Gawande was one of the surgeons involved in a World Health Organisation project that ends up creating a checklist that has made surgery safer worldwide. There are lots of brilliant illustrations and great stories.

Why did I read it: Another work book! I've been looking at how we could create checklists for some of the things we do.

Favourite idea: That checklists allow us to capture the minimum number of steps required to successfully complete a task. They are not a bad thing but serve us! 

Books Read in 2013

I finally got a second to sit down and write blog posts for the books I hadn't already shared about reading in 2013. So, this week and next week there will be daily posts during the week sharing my bookshelves (and kindle) with you. 

Book: God Knows My Name

I read this book a few months ago and it was such a refreshing read. It was such a great reminder of who God is - our Saviour, Restorer, Defender, Helper, - how great His love and grace is, and who we are in Him. 

10 Who Changed the World

I have loved missionary biographies for years because they bring to life Bible passages as people live lives that proclaim God’s faithfulness and power.  Having a Kindle means that I can pick up books very cheaply when there is a sale on them and when Ten Who Changed the World was on sale I picked it up. 

The book profiles ten missionaries or missionary couples, from throughout the centuries, who served God all over the world.  You may have heard of some of the names or read about them before. 

The book does give brief biographies of the different people and details how they embodied different Bible passages in their lives.  So not only was it good to be reminded of Biblical truths, it was also great to see how they were lived out. 

Some of the stories were incredible – how people faithfully served and laboured in the country they were called to for years before seeing any results, people who served despite severe persecution or spiritual adversity, people who again and again saw God’s faithfulness and provision.

This book serves as a great introduction to amazing testimonies of God’s grace and how He works through ordinary, sinful people.  

Believing God

Believing God was given to me by a very dear friend years ago.  I picked it up many times but never really seemed to get far, although I’ve no idea why!

In the book Beth Moore looks at how we are not to simply believe in God but we also should believe Him.  We can believe that God exists but have completely wrong ideas about who He is or who He says we are.

The book looks at five statements that, if we were to really and truly hold on to, would change our lives and faith.  The five statements are:

1. God is who He says He is,

2. God can do what He says He can do,

3. I am who God says I am,

4. I can do all things through Christ, and

5. God's Word is alive and active in me.

The book spends different chapters exploring these five statements – what belief in them includes and how that would transform us.

I’m so glad I finally got through the book!  It was so good to be reminded of the truths of who God is and who He says I am.   

Forgive Me Natasha

Forgive Me Natasha is a book that I read years ago and picked it up again because I wanted to re-read it.  It is the story of a guy who grows up in communist Russia.  Communism really becomes his religion and he is set to go far within the communist party.

One of the roles he has is to head up a team of men who are an unofficial police force – they are sanctioned by the police to do tasks the police were not necessarily able to do.  They break up bar fights etc until their tasks become a lot more focused on breaking up Christian gatherings. 

This story is like a modern day Saul-to-Paul story, and it’s written by Sergei himself.  It’s a great story of how God can save anyone, and the many ways God can use to call people to Himself. 

It is an older book – I don’t think it’s been in print in the last three decades, but I’d definitely recommend it.  It’s a good way to learn about persecution which is far from something confined to the history books, even now in the 21^st century.

Who Is This Man by John Ortberg

I was given this book as a Christmas present from the Bowmans and finished it the night before I left for America (making it the first book I've finished in 2013 - it was a busy January!).  The book looks at the influence of the most influential person in history - Jesus.  Jesus lived until He was 33 and His public ministry was only three years and yet His impact is so far reaching.

As people became captivated by Jesus and His love for all people His followers changed the world.  As Jesus loved and gave dignity to people regardless of gender, health, occupation, social status, wealth He modelled something that His followers still try to work towards as they seek to free the twenty-seven million slaves around the world, as they seek to empower women, as they seek to fight poverty.  

Jesus influenced the worlds of art, science, medicine, government and education as Christians sought to provide care for the sick and dying or provide schooling for those who otherwise would not have had it.

The book was a great and yet easy read.  It was inspiring to hear the amazing things Christians have done as they have sought to love others around the world in the various areas the book covers.  A lot of research obviously went into the book and yet at times I found myself laughing as the author has a very engaging style.  The book also ended with three chapters on Good Friday, Easter Saturday and Easter Sunday respectively which were also great.

In this 21st Century I think it's easy to rely on the government to provide for people and their needs but originally schools, hospitals and other services were provided by churches.  As the economy continues to suffer it is so encouraging to see local churches step up and provide resources (foodbanks, education about finances and budgeting, etc) that truly love and serve their communities.  

Jesus has left an unremovable mark in history and, as I look at the huge needs that exist in the world, I pray that His Church would continue to be known as people who changed history by loving others in the name of Jesus.

Books Read in 2012

In reflection, I maybe didn't read as much as I thought I did in 2012 but here are the books I read, some with additional comments.  I've probably left a few out, and there are several books that I started or only read a couple of chapters of.

Fruit That Will Last by Tim Hawkins
Required for an assignment as part of my youth ministry course.  Good for looking at one approach to youth ministry.

The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde
Haunting but wonderful.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
I can see why this book is a classic.

Various crime books 
Various books by Kerry Wilkinson that were only £1 or so on Amazon when I bought them, they're detective novels that were quick, absorbing reads.  I also read a number of James Patterson and Jeffery Deaver novels - they're good crime authors, full of suspense and I enjoy the recurring characters both these authors use.

The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins 
I read these books very quickly and loved them!  If you didn't understand the movie, or even if you did, you should definitely read the book.

The Good and Beautiful God by James Bryan Smith
This was a great book and I really want to read the sequels.  The book looks at different aspects of God's character and each chapter contains a practice to help you experience God.  I read this book in Czech and it was a perfect read and reminder for those weeks.  

The Shelter of God's Promises by Sheila Walsh
Again, I read this book in Czech.  Each chapter looks at a different promise of God and how it relates to life.  It was another one of those cases of when you read a book at a time when it matches perfectly up to your life.  It was a great companion during that first month in Czech, when I needed reminders of those great promises of God.

The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien 
Up until this summer I'd never watched Star Wars but after making a deal with my co-leader I watched the first three movies...  I'd also been able to horrify people with the fact I'd never read or watched Lord of the Rings.  But with The Hobbit movie coming out I decided to start reading the books.  I really enjoyed The Hobbit.  

Wrecked: When a Broken World Slams into Your Comfortable Life by Jeff Goins
I'd read multiple reviews of this book in many places and finally bought it.  It's a really challenging read and looks at how the brokenness of the world around us should challenge us and call us to action.  It's about how we've been lied to - that the answer to true joy is not in finding a comfortable life but living a life of bold faith and being willing to lose your life to follow Jesus.  The book calls us to change the world by changing ourselves, and by starting close to home.  

Counterfeit gods by Timothy Keller
This book looks at the things our modern world and we so often idolise and chase after - things like love, power, money, success to name a few.  It exposes the lies we believe and how chasing after these things is fruitless as the chasing exposes our deeper needs that can only be met in Jesus.  A great book I'll definitely be revisiting.

Forgotten God by Francis Chan
I'd started this book several times but never made it through it, and I have no idea why.  An incredible book that looks at our neglect of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  It looks at who the Holy Spirit is, His role in our lives and why we're missing out when we neglect the Holy Spirit.  I feel this book may be one I revisit each year (see the end of this post!)

1,227 QI Facts To Blow Your Socks Off
I love the TV show QI and this little book was only 20p for the Kindle!  I learnt lots of hilarious facts and loved it!

The Freedom of Self Forgetfulness by Tim Keller
I read this short book in an hour or so and it is definitely worth the £2.99 paperback price (or only 99p for the Kindle!).  I was so challenged by it and I can definitely see me returning to this book often.  It reminds us where, as Christians, our identity should truly be.  Keller is one of my favourite authors.

The Devil in Pew Number Seven by Rebecca Nichols Alonzo
I'm almost finished this so I'm including it in the list.  I read people reviewing this book in several places so decided to check it out.  It's the story of a pastor and his family who are persecuted by a man in their church.  The families courage, forgiveness and knowledge of God's call and obedience to it are inspiring.  

Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
I'm working my way through the first book at the moment and I am enjoying it - although, when I feel like a scary/tense bit is coming I have to put the book to the side for a few days to work up the courage to read it.  Dear only knows how long it'll take me to finish the trilogy with this strategy but I'm looking forward to watching the movies when I've completed the books!

Books dipped into (that I really need to finish):
A Kingdom Called Desire by Rick McKinley
Believing God by Beth Moore

Books reread this year:
A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller
I read this again after watching Blue Like Jazz, the movie.  

Crazy Love by Francis Chan
The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning
The Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis
Preparing for Jesus by Walter Wangerin (an advent book)
These five books and the Narnia series are books I re-read every year.  Most of them are quite short reads and they're definitely all books that you could re-read and re-read and each time need the reminders, or something new will stick with you.  

I'd love to read at least one book a month this year - any recommendations?