Books read in 2006

1. A Wrinkle in Time by: Madeline L'Engle
I love this book.  It is such a great story and I hope when H is in school it is still required to read this book.  Even if it isn't I'm sure I will read it to him.

2. Screwtape Letters by: C.S. Lewis
This is such a great book from the great mind of Lewis.  I love that he wrote this book from the Devil's point of view.  It makes such a great case for how ridiculous sin is and how easily entrapped in it we become... and how Satan would like to keep us there.

3. A Wind in the Door by: Madeline L'Engle
this is a sequel to Wrinkle and again is a fabulous story about good and evil and adventure.  An enjoyable book for children and adults alike.

4. Enchiridon on Faith, Hope, and Love by: Saint Augustine
I took a Christian classics class my last semester in college and so I had to read this book.  However, I enjoyed this book.  I stumbled over some of the language, but thought it was a really good and relatively quick read.

5. Inferno by: Dante Alighieri
While I found the principle behind this series to be thought provoking and very poignant, I won't be reading this again.

6. You Will See Hoopoes by: Lenna Lidstone
This was a book written by a missionary in Turkey.  Having spent time in Turkey the previous year this book was really dear to me.  If you have an interest in missions or Turkey you will enjoy this book!

7. Theirs is the Kingdom by: Robert Lupton
I LOVED this book!  I took a class on Poverty in Waco and had to read this book for the class.  I think I read it in two days, not because I needed to but because I just couldn't put it down.  This gives a great picture of urban America and a biblical view of poverty.  It is also a really quick read.

8. Purgatorio by: Dante Alighieri
Of the Divine Comedy series, I enjoyed this book the most.  I think because it made the most sense to me and had a lot of biting wit to it.

9. Unafraid by: Francine Rivers
This is the story of Mary.  It is a great story and is very biblical even though it is fiction.  I love how Rivers tells it and makes it so easy to get engaged in the story with her.  Also a really quick but meaningful read.

10. Paradisio by: Dante Alighieri
I had a hard time finishing this book and as I recall an even harder time writing an essay on it....

11. Pensees by: Blaise Pascal
I had never read Pascal before and really enjoyed this book.  I didn't read the whole thing, but read the majority of it.  The pictured book isn't the translation I used, but I couldn't find it on Amazon.

12. Pilgrims Progress by: John Bunyan
Of all the books I had to read for that class, this one was my favorite.  I really enjoyed this book and thought is was a very good story as well as a good analogy of the Christian faith without having to really dig for the meaning.

13. Pilgrims Progress Part II by: John Bunyan
I don't remember the second part?

14. The Irresistible Revolution by: Shane Claiborne
This was probably the most impacting book that I read this year.  The author is just an ordinary guy choosing to live life radially for the sake of Jesus.  He went to Iraq in 2003 just as the war started to speak to Muslims there about the love of Jesus.  He worked alongside Mother Teresa to speak peace to the dying.  He started a community in his hometown to take care of the homeless and marginalized.  He so challenged me and spurred me on to love and good deeds.  Read this book!

15. I Come Quietly to Meet You by: Amy Charmichael
These were really simply beautiful devotional writings.  I really enjoyed these and looked forward to reading them each morning.

16. Wise Blood by: Flannery O' Conner
This is a really excellent novel.  O' Conner is so clever and witty and makes her characters so alive for the readers.  I went out and bought a collection of her writing after this book because I enjoyed it so much.

17. Meditations on the Cross by: Deitrich Bonhoeffer
I read this book in preparation for Easter and found it to be really meaningful.  I love Bonhoeffer and this collection of writings focusing on the cross was very profound and yet applicable.

18. George Herbert and the Seventeenth Century Religious Poets
This was another book I had to read for my religion class and it was fabulous!  I enjoy poetry and had never read Herbert before.  He has some really great church poetry and is just really clever and emotional as a writer.  I have read other Herbert poems since this book because I liked it so much.

19. Poems and Prose by: Gerard Manly Hopkins
I also enjoyed his writing, not as much as Herbert but thought it was really meaningful writing.

20. Life of Pi by: Yann Martel
What an enjoyable story!  I really loved this book and thought it was such a creative and inspiring story.

21.  Empowering the Poor by: Robert Linthicum
While this book was informative, it was a little to statisticy for me to really get into it or find it very applicable.

22. Hearts of Fire by: Voice of the Martyrs
This was a collection of stories of the underground church and believers enduring persecution.  If you haven't heard about the church around the world you should read this book, it is really inspiring and informative.

23. The Poisonwood Bible by: Barbara Kingsolver
This book wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but it was a good read... probably not one I would read again though.

24. To Own A Dragon by: Don Miller
I thought this was a really meaningful book.  I like how Miller is so readable and relevant.  He is funny and sharp and shares his story about growing up without a father in a way that most people can relate to.

25. Humility by: Andrew Murray
Wow!  This was one of the most difficult books I have ever read... not because of the prose or the length but because of the intense content.  I don't know that I have ever been more convicted or challenged by a book before.  I think every chapter of this book took me to a new place of repentance and potential for healing and growth.  I have since returned to this book and recommended it to several close friends.

26. The Revolution by: Heather Zydeck
This book is a really great launchpad to getting involved in justice around the globe.  It discusses the major issues from a Christian perspective and gives several ways to get involved.  This is a great way to get started making a difference with human trafficking, the environment, fair trade, etc.

27. Mary called Magdalene by: Margaret George
This is a fictionalized account of the life of Mary Magdalene before, during and after her ministry with Jesus.  It is a really compelling story and a great read!

28. A Tale of Three Kings by: Gene Edwards
This is a great book about brokenness.  It looks at brokenness and healing in the lives of three biblical Kings and as a psychology major I really appreciated the way it approached both hurt and healing.  A really great and quick read.

29. The Divine Romance by: Gene Edwards
I loved the previous book so much that I couldn't wait to read another of his books...this one I didn't love  or even really like that much.  Maybe I didn't give it a fair chance because it just wasn't what I was expecting.

30. Plan B, Further Thoughts on Faith by: Anne Lammott
This book certainly wasn't what I was expecting either.  While I think she is a really good writer she was way more political and kind of out there in her beliefs than I was expecting.

31. Boundaries in Dating by: Cloud & Townsend
I read the Boundaries book twice before I read this book and didn't think this book really expounded that much more from the basic boundaries book, but Boundaries itself is a must read.

32. Spiritual Authority by: Watchman Nee
This was another really challenging book for me.  I've never read anything like this before on biblical authority and I can't imagine there being a better book out there about this subject.  For anyone who struggles with pride, this is a really great book.

33. Captivating by: John & Stasi Eldridge
Honestly, I thought this book was going to be kind of a cliche and fluffy reading.  I was really wrong.  I found this book to be really encouraging, empowering, and just true!

34. He's Just Not That Into You by: Greg Someone
What a great book.  I laughed, I wanted to cry, I begrudgingly agreed with him.  I think men and women alike will get a kick out of this book.

35. Prison Poems by: Deitrich Bonhoeffer
I read his letters and papers from prison a few years before this and was so impacted by them.  I loved this book of poetry.  It captures the heart and soul of man as only facing death can.

Well, that was 2006.  My last semester of college and first job out of college in the real world.  All of these books take me back to places in my life that I don't always think about.  That is one of the great things about reading.