Books Read in 2015

It is hard to believe that 2015 is ending and so ends another year of reading. I set a goal of 120 books and I read 115. Here is a break down of what I read along with my list for 2015.

• The Bible - from Isaiah to Revelation, I read through Psalms and Proverbs twice.
• Fiction books - 84
• Non-fiction books - 31
• I also read over 200 picture books to my youngest daughter which I think makes up for my 5 missing books.
• Out of the books read 24 were audio books and 9 were read-alouds (marked with *) with all or most of my kids.
• I also read all the books on my Reading Goals for 2015 list.

 Fiction: (84)

• Ashton Park - Murray Pura
• The Awakening of Miss Prim - Natalia Sanmartin Fenollera
• The Baker's Daughter - D.E. Stevenson
• A Beautiful Blue Death - Charles Finch
• Black Ships Before Troy - Rosemary Sutcliff*
• The Blue Sapphire - D.E. Stevenson
• Brat Farrar - Josephine Tey
• By the Pricking of My Thumbs - Agatha Christie (audio)
• Celia's House - D.E. Stevenson
• Christmas with Anne - L.M. Montgomery (audio)
• The Clocks - Agatha Christie (audio)
• Come Rain or Come Shine - Jan Karon
• The Corinthian - Georgette Heyer (audio)
• Dauntless - Dina L. Sleiman
• David Copperfield - Charles Dickens (audio)
• The Dean's Watch - Elizabeth Goudge
• Deepest Roots of the Heart - Chautona Havig
• The Duke's Dilemma - Elizabeth Chater
• Elephants Can Remember - Agatha Christie (audio)
• Enemy Brothers - Constance Savery*
• Each Shining Hour - Jeff High
• For Such a Time - Kate Breslin
• The First Rumpole Omnibus - John Mortimer
• The Foundling - Georgette Heyer (audio)
• French Leave - P.G. Wodehouse
• Gone with the Wind - Margaret Mitchell
• Great Northern? - Arthur Ransome*
• The Green Ember - S.D. Smith (audio)
• Hallowe'en Party - Agatha Christie
• Jayber Crow - Wendell Berry (audio)
• Just David - Eleanor H. Porter
• Letters from Grace - Rachel Muller
• The Lieutenant's Lady - Bess Streeter Aldrich
• Listening Valley - D.E. Stevenson
• A Long Way From Chicago - Richard Peck (audio)
• Looking for Me - Beth Hoffman
• The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott - Kelly O'Connor McNees (audio)
• Maggie Bright - Tracy Groot
• The Making of a Marchioness - Frances Hodgson Burnett
• Manuscript for Murder - Chautona Havig
• The Marriage Mart - Elizabeth Chater
• Miracle in Dry Season - Sarah Loudin Thomas
• Miss Read's Christmas Tales - Miss Read
• Miss Pym Disposes - Josephine Tey
• The Mitchells: Five for Victory - Hilda von Stockum*
• The Mitchells: Canadian Summer - Hilda von Stockum* 
• Mrs. Tim of the Regiment - D.E. Stevenson (audio)
• More Things In Heaven and Earth - Jeff High
• The Most Famous Illegal Goose Creek Parade - Virginia Smith
• N or M? - Agatha Christie (audio)
• No Holly for Miss Quinn - Miss Read
• Now and Forever - Mary Connealy
• Parnassus on Wheels - Christopher Morley (audio)
• Partners in Crime - Agatha Christie (audio)
• The Penderwicks in Spring - Jeanne Birdsall
• Penrod - Booth Tarkington*
• Penrod & Sam - Booth Tarkington*
• Persuasion, Captain Wentworth, and Cracklin' Cornbread - Mary Jane Hathaway
• The Picts and the Martyrs - Arthur Ransome*
• Postern of Fate - Agatha Christie (audio)
• The Princess Bride - William Goldman
• The Random Gentleman - Elizabeth Chater
• Red Like Crimson - Janice Thompson
• Regency Buck - Georgette Heyer
• Rob Roy - Sir Walter Scott (audio)
• Rules of Murder - Juliana Deering
• The Scent of Water - Elizabeth Goudge
• A Season for the Heart - Elizabeth Chater
• A Season of Gifts - Richard Peck (audio)
• The Secret Adversary - Agatha Christie (audio)
• The Secret of Pembrooke Park - Julie Klassen
• Seventeen - Booth Tarkington
• Snow on Tulips - Liz Tolsma
• So Brave, Young, and Handsome - Leif Enger (audio)
• A Taste of Chaucer - Anne Malcomson
• Third Girl - Agatha Christie
• The Truth According to Us - Annie Barrows
• The Unknown Ajax - Georgette Heyer
• Village School - Miss Read
• The War that Saved My Life - Kimberly Brubaker Bradley 
• What Angels Fear - C.S. Harris
• A White Bird Flying - Bess Streeter Aldrich
• The World of Pooh - A.A. Milne*
• A Year Down Yonder - Richard Peck (audio)

Non-fiction: (31)

• Adolescence Isn't Terminal - Kevin Leman
• The Birth of Britain - Winston Churchill (audio)
• Common Sense - Thomas Paine (audio)
• Consider This - Karen Glass
• Creating a SenseSational Home - Terri Willits
• Daylight - Heidi St. John
• The Excellent Wife - Martha Peace
• The Fringe Hours - Jessica N. Turner
• Hands Free Mama - Rachel Macy Stafford
• How to Have a H.E.A.R.T. for Your Kids - Rachel Carman
• How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare - Ken Ludwig
• Let Us Pray - Watchman Nee
• The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up - Maria Kondo
• Lies Woman Believe - Nancy Leigh DeMoss
• Mastering Life - Robert J. Morgan
• The Monuments Men - Robert M. Edsel (audio)
• Motivate Your Child - Dr. Scott Turansky & Joanne Miller
• My Family and Other Animals - Gerald Durrell
• The Nesting Place - Myquillyn Smith
• No Ordinary Home - Carol Jo Brazo
• The Power of a Praying Wife - Stormie Omartian
• The Question - Leigh Bortins
• Raising a Princess - John Croyle
• Rite of Passage - Jim McBride
• Seeds of Jochebed - Kim Haney
• Spiritual Disciples for the Christian Life - J.I. Packer & Donald Whitney
• Teaching from Rest - Sarah MacKenzie
• Teaching Will - Mel Ryane
• Thirsting for God - Gary L. Thomas
• Twelve Ordinary Men/Twelve Extraordinary Women - John MacArthur
• The Two-Minute Drill of Manhood - John Croyle

Coming soon--My favorite reads for 2015.

What's On Your Nightstand - November & December

I didn't do a Nightstand post last month so I am combining November and December's. I was in a real reading slump for almost a month though I still read (if that makes any sense).

For January I am just staying with a small selection since I am still working on my reading list for 2016 and my parents will be coming for a visit in the beginning of January and I want to focus on spending quality time with them. So here goes my list.

For January:

From October's Nightstand I read:

• Come Rain or Come Shine (A Mitford Novel) by Jan Karon - I love Mitford and this latest edition doesn't disappoint. 
• The Unknown Ajax by Georgette Heyer - Not one of Heyer's best.
• Mastering Life Before It's Too Late: 10 Biblical Strategies for a Lifetime of Purpose by Robert Morgan - An uplifting read.
• Thirsting for God: Spiritual Refreshment for the Sacred Journey by Gary Thomas - I really enjoyed this book and it really resonated with me at the beginning, but then the book seemed to drag on and I had a hard time getting it finished.  This was a book read in November and December,

 I also read in November:

• The Most Famous Illegal Goose Creek Parade (Tales from the Goose Creek BandB) by Virginia Smith - A fun read.
• Red Like Crimson by Janice Thompson - I hit a reading slump and started picking books off of my Kindle to read. This was an okay book. 
• Rules of Murder (A Drew Farthering Mystery Book #1) by Julianna Deering - Another Kindle pick. Another okay book. 
• Creating a SenseSational Home by Terry Willits - Very dated. Why I finished this book is beyond me, but I did. Not worth it.

In December:

• Great Northern? by Arthur Ransome - Yeah! I have officially read aloud the whole Swallows and Amazons Series to my kids. It took only 3 years for us to make it through all 12 books.
• Manuscript for Murder: The Hartfield Mysteries by Chautona Havig - Another Kindle pick which I shouldn't have picked! 
• Miss Read's Christmas Tales: Village Christmas and Christmas Mouse (The Fairacre Christmas Omnibus) by Miss Read - Such sweet stories.
• Village School (The Fairacre Series #1) by Miss Read - When in doubt, read a book by Miss Read.
• A White Bird Flying by Bess Streeter Aldrich - Thanks to a Circe Institute blog post I revived my reading. This was an excellent story and one I highly recommend!
• No Ordinary Home: The Uncommon Art of Christ-Centered Homemaking by Carol Jo Brazo - A re-read though it took me over half the book to realize it. Oh well.
• Seeds of Jochebed (Planting Seeds of Biblical Truth into the Hearts of Your Children) by Kim Haney - I have been reading this book to my kids now in our devotional time (which for awhile was quite inconsistent) for quite a few years. This month we finally finished it.
• Teaching from Rest: A Homeschooler's Guide to Unshakable Peace by Sarah MacKenzie - A re-read of a new edition. Highly recommended!

 I listened to:

• Christmas with Anne: and Other Holiday Stories by L.M. Montgomery - Fun Christmas stories.
• Mrs. Tim of the Regiment by D.E. Stevenson - This was an enjoyable read (or I should say "listen"). 

See what others have read over at 5 Minutes for Books.

Merry Christmas!

Caleb - 20

 

Destini - 16

Chantry - 13

 

Delani - 7

Happy Birthday, Caleb!

I think I say this for every one of my children's birthday, but honestly this is getting insane. Today my oldest turns 20!!!! I think I was just 20 the other day myself, and certainly not old enough now to have a child who is 20. But enough of my woes, I am thankful for this young man who entered our world and changed our lives--all for the good. He is a young man who works hard and who ultimately loves God with all of his heart. We love you, Caleb!