Reading Recap 2025 (Quarter 1)
Buckle up—I have been busy reading! I’ve completed 35 books this year so far, a good start to my 2025 goal of reading 100 books (in fact, I may exceed it). I’m beyond thrilled to share about several books and new authors that I’ve discovered this quarter: especially The Secrets of Ornadale series and Prince of Savoy by D.J. Speckhals. All the books are divided by genre below:
Nonfiction
How to Keep Your Eyes on God When They’re Full of Tears: An Understanding of Pain and Suffering from the Book of Job Alden Gannett
I read this for research on the book of Job, but ended up being so encouraged by it! The author gives a brief overview of the book of Job and explains how the overarching themes can help one learn to trust God in the midst of suffering. The words are simple and profound.
My Dear Hemlock Tilly Dillehay
This is a take on Lewis’s Screwtape Letters, focused on women. It’s hilarious in parts (just reflect on this quote: “The most entertaining thing in the world is watching a man make up a theological reason for leaving a church that his wife has long ago determined to leave because of hurt feelings…”) but equally thought provoking and convicting. It drives the reader to think “what could I be tempted towards?” The ending brought tears to my eyes—a beautiful picture of a woman who is committed to Christ!
Scripture’s Story: A Unifying Hope Jared August
I wish this would have been published while I was still attending Bible college; this would have been such a wonderful resource for my Bible classes. The authors explain how Scripture is unified, though diverse in genre and style. What I appreciated was their use of Scripture itself, within its context, looking at the original meaning and authors intent. Many times people approach the Bible’s unity with a preconceived idea of what that is or a theological framework already decided—here, Scripture speaks for itself.
Faith in the Wilderness: Words of Exhortation from the Chinese Church edited by Hannah Nation
What I liked: I love the idea of this—ten sermons transcribed from Chinese pastors. It is encouraging and convicting to hear these pastors encouraging persecuted Christians in their country to love, follow, and obey God. The American church needs to be reminded of this and our eyes need to be opened to the reality of persecution so we can pray for and support our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ.
What I struggled with: I wouldn’t classify all of the sermons as expository, though they were encouraging. For example, many of the pastors had a base text but spent much of the chapter jumping around to other passages and not necessarily expositing the main text. They clearly held to a strong five-point Calvinism perspective which may be an obstacle for some. Overall, it was encouraging but lacked the exposition depth that a project like this would have thrived on.
Suffering is Never for Nothing by Elizabeth Elliot
If you’ve experienced suffering of any kind, you’ll find comfort and hope in this book. You will be reminded of God and His many wonderful attributes.
I believe this was originally the notes and transcript of some of Elizabeth’s speaking engagements, and in some places that made it more difficult to follow but overall this is a wonderful resource to us.
Thyroid Transformation Blueprint Dr. Heather Stone
This was an interesting book that laid out many underlying issues and causes of hypothyroidism and Hashimotos disease. It presents women a more thorough blueprint of how to approach thyroid problems then what is typically offered by a doctor. I found the information helpful as a guide to changes I can make to support my thyroid health and understand what questions I need to be asking my doctor. However, I didn’t care for an evolutionary mindset prevalent in one of the chapters.
The Pursuit of Holiness Jerry Bridges
Highly, highly recommend. A thorough look at what holiness is, requires, and the joy that comes from it. This would be a great resource for someone struggling with long-term, habitual sin.
Honey for a Woman’s Heart: Growing Your World Through Reading Great Books Gladys M. Hunt
The title is fitting: this is an enjoyable, comforting read. I’ve been wanting to read this book since I read Honey for a Child’s Heart by the author and I was thrilled to find a copy on sale at a local bookstore! I was slower in reading this book because I had to keep stopping to look up books and add them to my TBR list… which grew by almost 70 books.
This is a great resource for women who want to read more and also for women who already read, but need new ideas. I appreciate the Christian worldview that guides the recommendations. As the book was published over 20 years ago, there is unfortunately a gap. Many of her “recently published” books were from the 90’s and appear dated or out of print now. I would love to have an updated version to see what more recently published books would be added!
The Life-giving Home: Creating a Place of Belonging and Becoming Sally and Sarah Clarkson
This has been on my reading list for at least three years; I finally got to it and really enjoyed it! It is full of ideas on how to make your home life-giving (welcoming, a sanctuary, a place of beauty, etc.) I loved how the ideas were themed by month. Sally and Sarah are excellent writers and artfully weave thoughtful suggestions with biblical encouragement. I don’t follow the liturgical church calendar and a decent portion of the book includes that, but I was still able to get ideas.
The Inklings: C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Williams and Their Friends Humphrey Carpenter
This was a fascinating look at the famous literary group “The Inklings”; really, a biography of Lewis, Tolkien, and Charles Williams. Their friendship and the creative genius that they inspired in each other is unlike anything else. I loved the description of how a typical Inklings meeting might have gone. The biographical information of Charles Williams makes me uninterested to read his works; the book mainly centered around Lewis because he really was the heart of the Inklings. An intriguing work!
Fiction (series)
The Chronicles of Narnia C.S. Lewis
The Magician’s Nephew
The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe
The Horse and His Boy
Prince Caspian
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Silver Chair
The Last Battle
Some books never change. I can picture the same images from the very first time I heard The Chronicles of Narnia being read aloud as a child. This is probably my third time to revisit it as an adult, and how wonderful discover that I am still a child inside. Perhaps what I appreciate the most was the beautiful ending to the Dawn Treader (I think it’s the best ending out of all of them), and the ultimate redemption found in The Last Battle—I was moved to tears in several places.
Lewis is a wonderful world-builder: From the grimness of London, to cruel and desolate Cairn, the high seas in the Dawn Treader, dusty Calermine and green Arkinland, the darkness of the giant’s castle, and most of all the fresh beauty of Narnia, Lewis artfully describes these worlds so you enter each scenes.
Anyone whose read a bit of Lewis knows that the Narnia series is NOT an allegory, but Lewis considered it to be a shadow of the true spiritual elements in our world. The books have themes of creation, good, evil, hope, and joy; it mimics the biblical storyline in many ways, or rather compliments it, pointing the reader to seek the Truth.
P.S. I’m still waiting for an excellent movie or TV adaptation for The Horse and His Boy…
Christianson Family series by Susan May Warren
Take a Chance on Me
It Had to Be You
When I fall In Love
Always on My Mind
The Wonder of You
You’re the One that I Want
This is my second series by Warren. I found the stories sweet and complex—maybe too complex, because as the series goes on it gets less believable and more unrealistic. A few notes on specific books: Always on My Mind dealt with difficult subjects in a sensitive way; I didn’t appreciate how the characters treated a calling to missions as a fun travel opportunity in The Wonder of You. The second book, It Had to Be You was the best book in this series, and probably the best book from this author that I’ve read.
The Secrets of Orndale by Christina Baehr
Wormwood Abbey
Drake Hall
Castle of the Winds
City of Serpents
Valley of Dragons
This was one of my favorite new series that I came across this year! Think Jane Austen, plus dragons (and throw in a mad scientist). There are so many different ways to categorize it, which makes it really unique; mystery, gothic regency, fantasy. The author was able to guide me to suspend my disbelief—not an easy thing to do considering the subject matter. It helps that the characters are so lovable and the character development strong. As you continue the series, there are more mysteries and new places to explore. I appreciated how the author didn’t shy away from calling out some of the unbiblical and even racist ideas prevalent in the Victorian age, along with an underlying worldview of the value of all human beings. This series is a charming and riveting reading experience.
The Mirror Visitor by Christelle Dabos
A Winter’s Promise
The Missing of Clairdelune
The Memory of Babel
The Storm of Echoes
(This is a young adult series that follows Ophelia on a journey of chance, mystery, and intrigue as she approaches an arranged marriage in a different land; however, she’s just a pawn in several games that are much larger than her)
This has got to be one of the strangest, weirdest, and yet most engaging series I have ever read. It has been a long time since I have been so focused on a book that I would read for a few hours without realizing how much time had passed. The author doesn’t follow the usual rules for the arc of a novel or character development; it was also originally published in French so I read an English translation, which gives the writing a real charm and uniqueness.
What I loved: There is amazing world building and the books genuinely hard to put down. There were so many twists and turns and interesting characters. The main character, Ophelia, has a resoluteness and dedication to sticking through tough situations that is inspiring.
What I didn’t love: Many characters reference adultery and promiscuity, which is unnecessary (mainly in the first book). Two characters are revealed to be in a homosexual relationship in the last two books (very little time is given to it, however). There are some scatterings of foul language. The last two books contain some closed door romance scenes (between a married couple).
Worldview: There is an interesting worldview presented in this book. Religious terms and items are used in a way that you wonder if the author is making a point against Christianity (the main enemy is called “god”; there are ‘books’ that god distributed that cannot be deciphered, etc.); however, when you get to the end, you understand why. While not blatantly anti-Christian, it is a very secular worldview. Very good for beginning discussions about life, truth, meaning, and significance.
Fiction (stand alone)
A Brilliant Match Jennie Goutet
This was a cute regency love story, but I was annoyed that the characters fell into love at first sight which was really just based off multiple descriptions of how they were attracted to each other. The main character’s prejudice was frustrating but thankfully there was a character arch and redemption right at the end. I like this author but this was not my favorite novel from her.
Anna Karenina Leo Tolstoy
I’m glad that I finally got around to reading this book! It is a fascinating description of human nature, asking and then answering the question of the meaning of life. I knew it was about a married woman’s affair, but thankfully was not graphic and much deeper than I anticipated. It was very sobering to consider how choices can add up to severe consequences.
Prince of Savoy D.J. Speckhals
I’ve been waiting for the final book in the Witnesses of the Light series to come out! I was also excited to be a part of the author’s launch team when the book released mid-February. I could not put it down. The characters are so life-like and their commitment to Christ and the Scriptures inspires my own faith. Clearly, hours of research went into this novel and it is excellent! Highly recommend!
What have you been reading? What would you recommend to me to read next?
