I am rather pleased with myself. At the beginning of 2009, I made a goal to read at least 12 books during the year. I just finished #30! This achievement was partly fueled by the availability of audiobooks at our local library. Since I have about a 25 minute commute to work each day (one way), I decided to make the most of my time by listening to books. Of the 30 books this year, 14 of them have been audiobooks. Another contributing factor is the prospect of free books. This year, I joined several different book review blogger programs with such publishers as Thomas Nelson, Bethany House, & Crossway. If you like to read and write book reviews, I’d highly recommend checking out each of these publishers’ programs.
The topics for my books have mostly fallen into either theology or history, especially around the period of the founding of America. A few of the books have been about the Civil War period or events/people surrounding the Civil War. The best book by far that I read this year was David McCullough’s Truman. This is an excellent biography of our 33rd president. In addition to Truman, I was able to read books on Washington, Jackson, Lincoln, and Reagan.
In addition to matching this year’s book count, I want to specifically read more on our presidents. So, 5 down 39 to go! My reading list for next year is already starting to take shape. Here’s what’s on it so far:
- Finding Darwin’s God, by Kenneth Miller
- On Hallowed Ground: The Story of Arlington National Cemetary, by Robert M. Poole
- Sacred Friendships: Celebrating the Legacy of Women Heroes of the Faith, by Robert W. Kelleman and Susan M. Ellis.
- Bound for Canaan: The Epic Story of the Underground Railroad, America’s First Civil Rights Movement, by Fergus M. Bordewich
- Housing America: Building Out of a Crisis, edited by Benjamin Powell and Randall Holcombe
- Abigail Adams: A Life, by Woody Holton
- Where is God? Finding His Presence, Purpose and Power in Difficult Times, by Dr. John Townsend
- The Wealth of Nations, by Adam Smith (I’ve been working on recording this one for almost 3 years now and hopefully this will be the year it will be finished!)
That’s all I have for certain right now. Are there any books on U.S. Presidents (or any for that matter) you would recommend?
Filed under: audiobook, Bethany House, books, Crossway, Thomas Nelson | 1 Comment »
