Do you enjoy getting a peek onto people’s bookshelves and finding out which books they love most?! I know I do! I read so many great books in 2017 that it was difficult to choose my 10 favorites. Some I knew were going to make the list the second I read them, and others I contemplated about for a long time after.
In order for a book to make the top 10 list, it has to make me think about life. The book will likely pop up in everyday conversation because it’s impacted me enough that I want to talk about it.
And even more than that, the books I love most inspire me to be a better person, to use my time more wisely, to love my family well, and they help me remember the things I acquire are just temporary and ultimately of little significance in comparison with people, souls, and eternity.
So here they are, in no particular order!
{Note: Affiliate links are used in this post. But, as always, I only recommend items I have personally benefited from and would recommend even without an affiliate link.}
Top 10 Books I Read in 2017 (Perfect for your 2018 Summer Reading List!)
1. The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
If you don’t know the story of Corrie Ten Boom, you must read this book immediately. Corrie Ten Boom was a Christian in Germany during the Holocaust and she hid Jews in her home. She’s the only one in her family who lived to tell the tale.
Her bravery and choosing to seek and honor God in the midst of all the horrible things happening around her are so powerful to think about. Very educational, thought-provoking, and convicting. Would you be so brave if you’d been in her shoes? Would I?
“Every experience God gives us . . . is the perfect preparation for the future only He can see.”–Corrie ten Boom
Click here to read more about The Hiding Place.
2. The Happiness Dare: Pursuing Your Heart’s Deepest, Holiest, and Most Vulnerable Desire by Jennifer Dukes Lee
From the publisher:
“Would you like to be happier?
“No matter who you are or how you feel, chances are you would answer yes. And Jennifer Dukes Lee was no different. For years, she wrestled with a constant nagging sense that she wasn’t as happy as she could be. At the same time, she felt guilty for wanting something so ‘shallow.’ After all, doesn’t God only care that we find joy in our circumstances? Or is it possible that God really does want us to be happy?
“Determined to get answers, Jennifer embarked on a quest to find out whether our happiness matters to God and, if so, how to pursue it in a way that pleases him.”
3. You Can’t Make Me (But I Can Be Persuaded): Strategies for Bringing Out the Best in Your Strong-Willed Child by Cynthia Tobias
If you have a strong-willed child, you NEED to read this book that was written by a former strong-willed child who parented her own strong-willed child, plus worked in education for many years. I resisted reading You Can’t Make Me for a few years, because the title suggesting that I should persuade my strong willed child to do something was really off-putting to me.
But You Can’t Make Me is an excellent book! I was reminded of some things I already knew, encouraged in many ways, and found lots of new tips and ideas to begin implementing with my own strong willed child.
4. Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time by Brian Tracy
Eat that Frog by Brian Tracy isn’t your typical time-management book that tells you how to do more stuff every day. It’s a book about how to zero in on your most important tasks so you can live your life the best way possible.
This book was incredibly inspiring and practically helpful to me on both a professional and personal level. Regardless of your day-to-day lifestyle, you will find tips and motivation that inspire you to take an honest look at how you’re spending your time so you can make sure you make time for that which is the most important to you.
5. The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis
My favorite books make me think about life and widen my perspective. The final book of the Narnia series did more than that – it made me think even more about a life beyond the here-and-now, and left me thinking for months after. My family was guessing until the very end of the story, and I could barely read the final pages through my quivering voice. (I am not a crier when I read. But this. Wow.)
I am so glad my family read this series. I’d never read anything by C.S. Lewis until just a couple of years ago, when my kids told me I just had to read The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe (they were right – it made last year’s top 12 list).
Then, before we started reading The Last Battle, one of my children found out that C.S. Lewis wrote over 30 books in his lifetime, and she angrily declared, “Well, if C.S. Lewis would have focused that time on writing more Narnia books instead of other books, he could have written a lot more in the Narnia series!”
She had a point.
But, by the end of this book, she understood why it’s the final book.
Fortunately, and unfortunately, you have to read the entire Chronicles of Narnia series to appreciate The Last Battle.
Wanna dig in? Here are a few insider tips:
- Do not read The Magician’s Nephew until after you’ve read The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. Every single person I talked to about this who didn’t love The Magician’s Nephew read it first. You have to know the story of book 2 to really appreciate book 1.
- Book 3, A Horse & His Boy, starts out slow, but push through because about halfway through chapter 4, the story really picks up.
- Listen to books 5 & 6 (The Voyage of the Dawn Treader & The Silver Chair) on audio if you start getting bogged down, then pick the paperback up again for book 7 (The Last Battle).
- If you can’t figure out which order to read the books in, check out this article for help (but again, absolutely do not read book 1 until after reading book 2).
6. Pocketful of Pinecones: Nature Study with the Gentle Art of Learning by Karen Andreola
A gentle homeschool mom book for those interested in Charlotte Mason style of learning. Public school moms, this would give you some good ideas for nature-type learning during the summer or on weekends, so definitely don’t discount it just because it’s for homeschoolers. I really loved how much this helped me to slow down and savor the learning that occurs outside of a textbook.
Go here to read more about Pocketful of Pinecones.
7. The Unwired Mom by Sarah Mae
If you love your kids so much and want to be intentional about your time with them, but continually feel the pull of technology, this is a must-read. It’s not an anti-technology book, but a book about using technology wisely instead of wastefully. Super short and easy, and packed with punch.
(NOTE: I cannot find this eBook on Amazon or the author’s website, oh no! I’ve emailed her about the issue and will update this with a link ASAP!)
8. Shh! We’re Writing the Constitution by Jean Fritz
This is a great book for learning about how the constitution was made. Jean Fritz is the author and narrator, and her reading voice is phenomenal. Plus, at only 45 minutes long, Shh! We’re Writing the Constitution is perfect for the entire family to enjoy during a road trip anytime, but especially around the 4th of July! (My suggestion? Buy it now on audible, then put a reminder on your calendar so you won’t forget to listen this summer!)
9. Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
This was by far the heftiest book I read in 2017. I thought it may be a little heavy for summer reading, so I almost didn’t put it on the list. But it’s so thought-provoking that I can’t NOT tell you. Uncle Tom’s Cabin is all about a horrible time in our nation’s history, and it’s a book I think all United States citizens should read at least once in their lifetime (I downloaded a free eBook, plus bought the audible version for just $1.95).
From Amazon: “Uncle Tom’s Cabin was the best-selling novel of the 19th century and the second best-selling book of that century, following the Bible. It is credited with helping fuel the abolitionist cause in the 1850s. In the first year after it was published, 300,000 copies of the book were sold in the United States; one million copies in Great Britain. In 1855, three years after it was published, it was called ‘the most popular novel of our day.'”
Read more about Uncle Tom’s Cabin here.
10. What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
From the publisher: “What would happen if you were visited by your younger self, and got a chance for a do-over? Alice Love is 29 years old, madly in love with her husband, and pregnant with their first child. So imagine her surprise when, after a fall, she comes to and discovers that she’s actually 39, has three children, and is in the midst of an acrimonious divorce. A knock on the head has misplaced 10 years of her life.”
I will warn you that this book was on my list, then off, then on again. I hesitate to recommend it because it’s definitely about the edgiest I will read, but like The Help, the message is so powerful that it needs to be shared. Beware there is some language as well as non-Christian principles regarding marriage.
But, the fact that I’ve spent months wondering how I’d feel about my current self if I lost 10 years of my memory, and that it’s caused me to work on some things in my own life, makes me want to recommend this book in spite of its flaws.
This is a real page turner, and one that kept me locked in a bathroom late at night on a family trip so I could finish the book without waking my family.
Read more about What Alice Forgot here.
Honorable Mentions:
1. Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea by Lucy Maud Montgomery – You may remember last year’s traumatic experience when I discovered that I’d been listening to the abridged version of the first 2 Anne books every summer for the past 8 summers. Oh, the horrors!! I immediately fixed that situation, and I have to say that the unabridged is so much richer.
The biggest thing the abridged version missed was the relationship between Anne and Marilla – watching them slowly transform from accident-prone child & exasperated caregiver into a more loving, comfortable self-sacrificing adult family is just beautiful.
2. Love’s Journey on Manitoulin Island series by Serena B. Miller – These books are easy reads, and what compels me is not the predictable love story, but how the main character Moriah Robertson works through a huge, paralyzing fear as the series progresses. Fear is something I personally really relate to, and this series has made me consider how much my own fears hold me back without even realizing it. If you’ve ever struggled with fear, I highly recommend reading the Love’s Journey series.
Looking for more good book recommendations? Try these on for size:
- 2017 Summer Reading List
- All the books I read in 2017
- All the books I read in 2016
- Books I’ve read so far in 2018 (Just Open the Door and Daring to Hope are currently topping my recommendation list!)
- 8 books that will help you break free from a too-busy schedule
- Homeschool moms: 5 books that will help you slow down, savor your kids, and rediscover your love of homeschooling
I just finished Sensible Shoes by Sharon Garlough Brown. It is the first book in a four book set. What an awesome read, life changing. There are questions in the back for book club questions or there is even a study guide if you choose to do it as a bible study. After reading this book as an ebook I am looking to buy the set in paperback as well as the study guide.
I’ve not heard of that book – thank you so much for the recommendation!!