The Best Books I Read Last Year

Reading books is one of my favorite ways to spend time. Here are some of the best books I read last year!

Good books are one of life’s greatest pleasures (in my opinion) and I’m continually amazed by how many great authors are out there that I had no idea existed. As someone who loves to look through other people’s bookshelves, I thought it would be fun to share some of the best books I read last year with you!

The Best Books I Read Last Year

I don’t normally keep track of what I read in a year, and while tracking every book read probably isn’t in my future, I do love looking back at the ones that really shaped my reading life. I hope you find something you like!

Walking On Water

Madeleine L’Engle is most famous for her Wrinkle in Time books, but she was also a prolific writer in other areas as well. In this book of essays she explores how faith and art tie together (and should tie together). I really appreciated how L’Engle approached creativity as a natural response to being created in the image of The Creator.

The Scent Of Water

This was the year I was introduced to Elizabeth Goudge for the first time (apparently I’ve been missing out my whole life). The Scent of Water is a book set in rural England. This novel centers around themes of grace, redemption, and restoration. The power of Goudge’s descriptions are so vivid and captivating that as the reader you feel as if you are really in the English countryside.

This Beautiful Truth

An exquisite book about finding beauty and the role it plays in our understanding of God. The role of beauty in our lives is often overlooked, especially within the fast paced world we all live in. This books expertly captures why it is so vital that we continue to look for it. And honestly, I’ll read anything Sarah writes.

A Place To Hang The Moon

This is a middle grade novel set in 1940’s England during WWII. It’s about 3 siblings who are evacuated to the English countryside in an effort to keep the children safe. A fun read that left me longing to move into a small cottage in the English countryside.

Books That Build Character

I’m a big believer that you are what you read, so when I saw this book at our local thrift store I was so excited. The authors have done a great job of articulating why books are so important in our lives, and also why we need to be reading the right kinds of books. It has an excellent reference list of books that will fill up my to be read list for years to come.  I will be referring back to it frequently.

The Downstairs Girl

This vividly written young adult novel just had such a good feel to it. Set in Atlanta during the reconstruction era with a Chinese-American heroine, it has a plot you get pulled into from the beginning.  Add in a secret newspaper advice columnist and characters you want to root for, and it’s a great weekend read.

The Enchanted April

The Enchanted April is a book that made me want to savor life. It was also another book that made me want to move, this time to an Italian castle. Enough said.

The Hidden Art of Homemaking

I’m slowly working my way through Edith Schaeffer’s books and this one is my favorite so far. Edith writes about how we can take the mundane, the drudgery of life and make it into art. Quite literally sometimes. Really it’s a book about how we choose to see what we do everyday, the dishes, the grocery shopping, the things we sometimes consider the drudgery in our lives. Edith breaths fresh perspective into the wholesome and good work that embodies making a beautiful home. Written in the 1970’s it’s amazing how much of it is still applicable today.

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