2024 Reading Recap: Quarter 1
Somehow, we’ve made it through the first three months of 2024. I can’t believe how quickly time flies—especially if you’re occupied with reading really good books, as I was.
So far, I’ve read 19 books towards by 60 book goal in 2024! (A reminder: Instead of sharing my book reviews on social media, as I’ve been doing since 2021, this year I’ve decided to share a reading recap each quarter.)
Here’s a peek at what I’ve read and what I’ve loved:
Tolkien & Middle Earth
I had planned to read through Tolkien’s LOTR series in January 2024 and what a joy it was! Here are a few other books I read alongside it:
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
This is a special book that I’ve read several times—this time in preparation for reading the Lord of the Rings. I find Tolkien humorous and yet insightful to the human condition. If you haven’t read it yet—or worse, if you’ve been subject to the 2012 Peter Jackson film adaptations, you must take the time to read it for yourself!
2. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
This is a masterpiece. The sheer size is intimidating (it took me most of January to make it to the end, including the appendixes!) Each time I read it, I’m in awe of Tolkien’s world-building and mastery of culture, his language and philological background, and finally, his insight into human nature, providence, and good.
3. The Battle for Middle-earth: Tolkien’s Divine Design in the Lord of the Rings by Flemming Rutledge
This was a textbook for a Tolkien class I took in college; I reread it alongside LOTR. Rutledge provided an interesting perspective into how Tolkien’s faith-based worldview found its way into his writing. However, I do think Rutledge over-connected and assumed too much at points (for example, I don’t think the existence of an apple in the Fellowship of the Ring means an automatic connection to the Garden of Eden).
4. The Reading Life: The Joy of Seeing New Worlds Through Others’ Eyes by C.S. Lewis
Not Tolkien, but C.S. Lewis was his best friend so I’m including this book here! This short coffee-table style of book contains essays and quotations on the topic of reading and literature from various other works by Lewis. This also exposed me to some other books by Lewis that I haven’t read yet, but hope to in the future! A must for anyone who has a ‘reading life’.
Fiction
I was clearly on on a Sarah Sundin kick this winter! I don’t hide the fact that she’s my favorite fiction author and I enjoyed the following novels this winter:
5. Until Leaves Fall in Paris by Sarah Sundin &
6. The Sound of Light by Sarah Sundin
These two were re-reads! Both stories are well-written and thought-provoking, set in WW2 with interesting characters who face inner battles as well as outward battles. The Sound of Light is one of my all-time favorites by Sundin. I highly recommend!
7-9. Wings of Glory series by Sarah Sundin
This was the first series I read by her many years ago, and it was just as enjoyable to revisit many years later. This series follows three brothers and the adventures they find themselves in as fighter pilots—as well as the stories of their love interests both in the states and abroad. Some books are like coming back to an old friend, and this is no exception! My favorite will always be A Distant Melody.
10. Embers in the London Sky by Sarah Sundin
Thank you to my husband for ordering Sundin’s latest book, released in February 2024, as my birthday gift! This was a little different from Sundin’s usual style of writing, as this time it was more of a mystery. It took me more time than usual to get into this book, but it was a fun change of pace and genre. I’m looking forward to seeing what she comes out with next!
11. Through Waters Deep by Sarah Sundin
There is only one series that I haven’t read by Sundin, and I finally got the first book from my library! I greatly enjoyed the storyline and characters. They seem so real-life, quirky, and relatable. The insight into the Navy during the time of the World Wars was also interesting. I’m excited to finish this series!
Family Life
In the last five years or so, I’ve encountered several major life transitions (marriage, children, ministry, etc.) Each new stage has brought new books and authors to read! Here’s a few that I’ve been reading lately:
12. Tying the Knot: A Premarital Guide to a Strong and Lasting Marriage by Rob Green
I read this in preparation for some ministry opportunities my husband and I have right now. It’s hard to find a book that covers “everything” you need to know for marriage (pretty sure that doesn’t exist!) but this book addresses the basic, most important things and helps engaged couples and their mentors work through making Jesus the center of their future marriage. Really good material!
13. Hard is Not the Same Thing as Bad by Abbie Halberstadt
I enjoyed Abbie’s first book on motherhood so I was looking forward to reading this! She provides a really insightful and Biblical message that challenges your perspective on suffering and hard things. I learned a lot from it, but I don’t love the ‘bloggy’ writing style, so I only gave it four stars on Goodreads.
14. Going on for God: Encouraging the Next Generation to Grow Up and Go On for God by Mel Walker
I was blessed to know this author before he passed away in 2021. I finally read this book in preparation for an upcoming workshop I’ll be doing this summer. There’s a lot of things that youth ministry can get wrong today; so many people have left the church after high school. How can we truly reach teens to prevent this from happening? Mel had a great and Biblical perspective that would be so helpful to parents and anyone in ministry.
15. The Toddlerhood Transition by Gary and Anne Marie Ezzo
I’ve appreciated this series as a helpful parenting guide as our little one grows up!
Current Issues
I have some upcoming projects that I have been researching, hence my focus in this area! Some of these are weighty reads that require more time to think through, but it is well worth it.
16. Five Lies of Our Anti-Christian Age by Rosaria Butterfield
I listened to this on audiobook through my library’s Hoopla app—and I wasn’t too far in before I knew I’d have to get a physical copy to read through again. Rosaria Butterfield makes keen observations about our culture and uses Scripture to navigate several complicated topics.
17. Live Your Truth and Other Lies: Exposing Popular Deceptions that Make us Anxious, Exhausted, and Self-Obsessed by Alisa Childers
This was also an audiobook through my library’s Hoopla app. Alisa Childers gives a Biblical response to several lies that are preached by culture. This is an excellent resource, especially if you have teenagers in your life (although anyone can be influenced by these lies).
18. A Christian Manifesto by Francis Schaeffer
I started this partly as research for an upcoming project, partly as finally starting to read through my collection of Francis Schaeffer’s books. I found this book insightful, although I wish I would have read more of his other books first as A Christian Manifesto seems to build on those. Though published in the 80’s, Schaeffer’s words are still applicable to us today.
Christian Living
19. Calm My Anxious Heart: A Woman’s Guide to Finding Contentment by Linda Dillow
A friend recommend this book a while back. My only regret was listening to it on audiobook and not reading a physical copy (I retain information better when I read!). I assumed this book would dive right into the topic of anxiety, but Dillow actually uses the book to teach about Biblical contentment and its relationship to anxiety. She also shares many stories and testimonies of women who have learned to be content and trust God in anxiety-inducing circumstances. This is definitely something I will continue to reference and recommend in the future. It was also my first book by Linda Dillow, so I would like to check out more of her writing in the future.
And that wraps it up for quarter 1 of 2024! I already have several books on my radar for the next three months, but we’ll see if I make as much progress as we enter a busy spring and summer season. Is there anything I should add to my list?
I’d love to know—have you read any of these books, or do you plan to? Share your thoughts below!
Photo by Tom Hermans on Unsplash
