You set off on thrilling quests, traversed landscapes of the heart, and engaged in introspective musings.
I had a big jump in both books and pages read this year. I attribute a fair bit of that to some writer's block that I've been working through. I've been writing a book for the past three years that contains both memoir and theology. The memoir part of it is in a good place, but transitioning to writing more polished theology felt daunting. I took a step away from my book and focused on doing some research reading. I definitely got through more theology books this year than other years, and I'm so glad that I did. The theology books that I read were some of my favorites of the year. I also have jumped on to the Romantasy bandwagon. They are just fun books. It is fun reading fun books.
Sci-Fi/Fantasy
The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
The River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross
The Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
The Unicorn Chronicles by Bruce Coville
Kingdom on Fire 1 and 2 by Jessica Cluess - I enjoyed the first two books of this trilogy quite a bit. I thought the magic system and the post-apocalyptic, gothic setting were both interesting. Unfortunately, the third book just fell over a cliff. I'm not sure what happened, but I couldn't even finish it, which is unusual for me.
When the Moon Hatched by Sarah A. Parker
The Legacy of Yangchen by F. C. Yee - I've got to be honest, it took me a long time to finish this book, and I kept forgetting what the conflict was precisely. The chemistry between the characters got lost in the shuffle.
Sandry's Book by Tamora Pierce
The Forgotten Empires Trilogy by Jeffe Kennedy - This trilogy sucked me in. I enjoyed the world building especially how well integrated it was into the story telling. I also really enjoyed the strong voices of the two main characters. It made their first meeting very funny and satisfying.
Echo North by Joanna Ruth Meyer
Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher
A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas
A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas
A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas - Nesta is a queen.
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi
Death and Night by Roshani Chokshi
Graphic Novels
Dreamer's Nightmare by Nicole Andelfinger
The Bounty Hunter and the Tea Brewer by Faith Erin Hicks
Realism/Magic Realism
When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill - I have mixed feelings about this book. I was really drawn in by the metaphor of women becoming dragons, or more broadly women changing sizes or loosening or restraining themselves, throughout their lives for various reasons. There was a lot of exploration of the concrete implications of becoming a dragon in the story, but I don't think there was enough exploration of the figurative implications of becoming a dragon for me as a reader.
The Crane Husband by Kelly Barnhill
The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal - Stradal is so talented at writing older, Midwestern women without making them feel like caricatures and giving them dignity and complexity. I really enjoy reading books about women that I recognize from my life.
The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd
Theology
Theology of the Heart: The Role of Mysticism in the Theology of Martin Luther by Bengt R. Hoffman - I'm writing a book about my experiences with mysticism, particularly from a Lutheran perspective. Unfortunately within the Lutheran theological tradition there is this idea that Luther dabbled in mysticism as a young man, but outgrew it as a mature man. This narrative makes it hard to find writing that takes Luther's mysticism seriously. Thankfully Hoffman wrote this book, and it is one of my favorite theology books of all time. At the end of the book he talks about all Lutheran theology being about describing divine encounter, and I'm going to be thinking about that for a long time.
Union with Christ: The New Finnish Interpretation of Luther edited by Carl E. Braaten and Robert W. Jensen
Christ Present in Faith by Tuomo Mannermaa - Another favorite from this year. I recognized my own theological priorities in this book, and it helped me clarify some things as I look to jumping back into my writing during 2025.
The Theologia Germanica of Martin Luther translated by Bengt Hoffman
The Way of the Mystics by Howard Thurman
Low Anthropology by David Zahl
When the Church Stops Working by Blair D. Bertrand and Andrew Root
Other Non-Fiction
Food: A Cultural Culinary History by Ken Albala
1177B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed by Eric H. Cline
Origins of Great Ancient Civilizations by Kenneth W. Yari
Enchantment: Awakening Wonder in an Anxious Age by Katherine May - I didn't like this book as much as Wintering, but that is a tough act to follow. I thought her focus on enchantment in a world that feels overstimulated and weary was refreshing. It did ask some questions that I am still sitting with.
*As I was writing this post I realized that I had forgotten to mark down one of the books that I'd read this year so I actually read 41 books and 13,250 pages.
