One of the things I love about this time of year are all of the lists that come out…especially the lists about good books! It’s always a blessing to me when a friend, who is a great reader, let’s me know about a book they loved! Their trusted recommendation saves me time because they’ve weeded out the bad ones, and – just as importantly – the okay ones.

My hope with this list is to just give you the great ones!

At the end of every year I like to reflect upon the books I’ve read and evaluate my top reads. Part of the reason is because the books in the picture below represent a significant portion of my life this year. (The equivalent of 9 – 40 hour work weeks to be a little more precise.)

This year I read or maybe I should say “finished” 42 books. It seems I always have books laying around that I’m about 50 pages in, but didn’t finish. Most of the above books were great. The only one I’d recommend staying away from is the one in the bottom left. If you followed the advice of that book, you’d gain the world and lose your soul.

One of the bright spots of 2020 is that it gave us more free time at home. Especially during the early part of the year when there weren’t any sporting events to watch and external family activities came to a screeching halt. We picked up many new and long forgotten family activities.

I heard from many people who picked up reading again…and some who picked up baseball cards!

At the end of every year I like to pick my top reads. I’ve been keeping track of the books I’ve read for the last 20 years! Hard to believe it’s been that long! Over the years I’ve read hundreds and hundreds of books and this year’s crop was exceptionally good. There were only 5 that I wouldn’t recommend. (They are at the bottom left of the picture.) The rest you would benefit from reading, but the ones below are exceptional and are ones that I still think about to this day.

At the end of each year I share my favorite books from my reading list. This is my 19th year keeping a list. My system is pretty simple…I put every book I read in a document, if it’s a good book I bold the title and if it’s exceptional I highlight the title. This year of the 43 books I read (see picture for complete list) I highlighted 12. To make it into the exceptional category the book really had to make me think. Some of the good books had great chapters, but I’m looking for books with all killer and no filler.

43 Books (Missing Treasure Island)

Below you’ll find the books that fit that description for me. With the exception of the first book they aren’t rank ordered.

Summer is when people are looking for a good book to take on vacation and I often get requests for a recommendation from what I’ve read so far this year.

Above are the books I’ve read this year. 20 books in all. I’m not quite on the same pace of a book a week as last year but pretty close.

If you are a regular here you might remember my reading goal for the year was one book a week for 2018. In case you were wondering…I did it and with 3 days to spare!

Back in July I gave you my Top Reads so far and now it’s time to finish the list including my top 10 for 2018. 

Every year I set a goal for my reading. In the past it’s typically been 2-3 books a month. Secretly, I’ve always wanted to set a goal of a book a week but I never thought it was possible. This January I decided I was going to go for it but I didn’t tell anyone…just in case.

Now you know, which will help keep me accountable for the rest of the year.

At the end of each year I like to review the books I’ve read and pick the 10 best. I’ve been doing this for awhile now, but I wasn’t sure just how long. Curiosity got the best of me so I went back and checked.  I’ve been compiling a yearly reading list for the last 17 years!

I enjoyed opening those lists and reviewing the titles. Each book brought back memories of what was going on in my life while I was reading it. No doubt books mark a season and prepare you for the next one.

Each year I like to publish a list of the top books I read. If you’ve been with me awhile you know that my list isn’t a best of what was just published but a best of what I read that year.

My goal for this year was 36 but I ended the year with 32. I’m not beating myself up though. I moved to a new home and I’m in the middle of moving our church to a new location. Throw in a few other twists and surprises and I’m pretty happy with my number.