Harry S. Truman – “Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.”
I am grateful that my Mom instilled in my brother, sister, and me a deep love for reading. We didn’t have a lot of disposable income when I was growing up, but library cards were free. I still remember loading up the car with books for the week ahead. In order to punish us, often my Mom would just have to threaten to take away our books. I’m grateful that God has nurtured my passion for reading into one of the most powerful ways that I am able to hear His voice. I am careful to read in a way that I think will help me to become more of what God created me to be.
I take great care to highlight while reading. After I read a book, I always take all of my highlights and type them into Evernote. This allows me to recall favorite quotes and phrases as necessary thanks to Evernote’s powerful search functions and organizational system. I then take these notes and formulate them into a book review on this blog. I’m not sure if anyone else reads these but me, but in the end…I’m the one that needs to learn, so it’s fine if it is just me. At the end of the year, I like to go back through all of the reviews and post a comprehensive list of all the books from the year before. You will notice that the titles of the books are links that will take you to the review I wrote of each book. This year I was privileged to learn a ton from reading 78 books.
Any suggestions for books to read in 2013?
2012 Books
January 2012
The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson
Michelle Obama: A Life by New Word City
Be Our Guest by Disney
How Do You Kill 11 Million People? by Andy Andrews
Money, Possessions, and Eternity by Randy Alcorn
Surprised by Grace by Tullian Tchividjian
John F. Kennedy, A Life by New Word City
February 2012
What You Can Learn from Warren Buffett by New Word City
EntreLeadership by Dave Ramsey
Adopted for Life by Russell Moore
Stuff Christians Like by Jon Acuff
Great by Choice by Jim Collins
Real Marriage by Mark and Grace Driscoll
The Prodigal God by Tim Keller
Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton
Gospel by J.D. Greear
The Go-Getter by Peter Kyne
March 2012
Twenty Miles Per Cookie by Nancy Vogel
How LEGO Made a Comeback by New Word City
Stop Stealing Dreams by Seth Godin
Leaders Who Make a Difference by Paul Chappell
The Legend of the Monk and the Merchant by Terry Felber
Kingdom Triangle by J.P. Moreland
The Messiah Method by Michael Zigarelli
Always Know What to Say by Peter Murphy
The Forgotten Children by Vernon Brewer
If My Body is a Temple, Then I was a Megachurch by Scott Davis
Glorious Mess by Mike Howerton
The Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul
Leading at a Higher Level by Ken Blanchard
April 2012
Raving Fans by Ken Blanchard
The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni
Rid of My Disgrace by Justin and Lindsey Holcomb
How the Mighty Fall by Jim Collins
Getting Smart by Tom Vander Ark
May 2012
The Good Life by Chuck Colson
Culture Making by Andy Crouch
Love Does by Bob Goff
Absolutely Organize Your Family by Debbie Lillary
June 2012
Futurecast by George Barna
Built to Last by Jim Collins
Leaders Who Last by Dave Kraft
Imagine: How Creativity Works by Jonah Lehrer
Platform by Michael Hyatt
The Explicit Gospel by Matt Chandler
Chasing Daylight by Eugene O’Kelly
Rebooting My Brain by Maria Ross
July 2012
The Last Summer (of You and Me) by Ann Brashares
The Good Sister by Drusilla Campbell
The Choice by Nicholas Sparks
Creating Innovators by Tony Wagner
Jesus Among Other Gods by Ravi Zacharias
Secondhand Jesus by Glenn Packiam
Balcony People by Joyce Heatherley
The Element by Sir Ken Robinson
Practicing Affirmation by Sam Crabtree
August 2012
Indescribable by Louie Giglio and Matt Redman
First Year Teacher by Randy Howe
Arresting Grace by Michael Joel Green
Wrecked by Jeff Goins
Love Works by Joel Manby
September 2012
Praying Circles Around Your Children by Mark Batterson
No Other Gods by Kelly Minter
The Blessing by John Trent
Orphanology by Tony Merida and Rick Morton
October 2012
The ME I Want to Be by John Ortberg
The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness by Timothy Keller
Glorious Ruin by Tullian Tchividjian
Running for My Life by Lopez Lomong
November 2012
Every Good Endeavor by Tim Keller
Love is the Killer App by Tim Sanders
Finish the Mission by John Piper
December 2012
How Can A Good God Let Bad Things Happen? by Mark Tabb
Creating Space by Ed Cyzewski
The Evernote Bible by Brandon Collins
A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink
Organizational Behavior in Education by Robert Owens and Thomas Valesky
Community Wins by Bryan Allain
Past Book Lists
Awesome list. Reading more was already on my list but you have definitely inspired me more.
Two best things I have read lately: Andy Stanley’s Deep and Wide and Sifted by Wayne Corderio which is about burnout and passion. Both excellent!
One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp