“Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.”

~ Mere Christianity, by C. S. Lewis

Our last time together! It has gone by quickly, hasn’t it? I’ve so enjoyed sharing these first days of fall with all of you! Today I found this old barn for us to meet in for our bookish talk — isn’t it charming? I’m not really a country girl when it comes to where I like to live, but there’s just something about visiting the country — something about the fresh, open landscape, the clear skies, and the quiet. And barns are such a part of that, aren’t they? Come on, let’s just sit around the hay. The horses are all out to pasture for the afternoon, so we have the place to ourselves just to enjoy the coziness and the good talk!

This time, rather than one specific category, I’m sharing my five favorite books I read in 2019. It has been a few years since I read very much, and I decided at the beginning of this year that I wanted to change that. I have less time than ever with one baby and one on the way, but it’s important to me to be a person who reads. There are still so many books in the world that I want to experience, and they are so important to me, that it’s worth being intentional when it comes to this goal. So I chose to try for fifty books this year, and so far despite all my other responsibilities I’ve managed to read thirty-nine! Do you think I can get the last eleven in before New Year? We will see! In the meantime, here are the five I’ve enjoyed most this year.

When I made this list, I realized that all but one of them are nonfiction, which is interesting. That is true of this first one, Mere Christianity, by C. S. Lewis. Can you believe that, as a committed Lewis admirer, I had never read this one until earlier this year? I have been meaning to for ages, but I never quite got around to it until I picked up the audiobook at the library (audiobooks are how I’ve gotten through at least half the titles this year). And I was blown away by it. The way that Lewis phrases and thinks through things is so striking and so powerful! I actually found it difficult to properly soak this one in through an audiobook, so I picked up the paperback at Half Price Books shortly after so that I can peruse it more slowly and engage it properly next time. Yes, I’m already planning a reread — perhaps next year, so it can count towards that year’s goal!

Oh, I almost forgot! I wanted to bring a fall-themed snack for us to munch on while we’re in here and all I could think of was candy corn! I love candy corn, though it can get kind of disgusting after a few pieces — so much sugar! But it really flashes me back to my childhood, so I brought a bag we can share! Here, have some!

Next another nonfiction book, It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way: Finding Unexpected Strength When Disappointments Leave You Shattered, by Lysa TerKeurst. My mother-in-law gave me this book earlier in the year, to help encourage me through a very difficult time I was have dealing with gallbladder disease and an extremely restrictive diet while pregnant and taking care of a baby! I was really struggling, and this book was indeed very encouraging. It reminds us that the hardships in our lives have a bigger purpose, a purpose for our good, and that we have a God who loves us so deeply and is right there with us in the midst of troubles. Highly, highly recommend this one!

Am I the only one who wants to just lie back on this hay and relax? I think I will. It’s so peaceful out here — I can hear the breeze whistling by outside, some cicada sounds, the rustling of the leaves. And the hay feels so nice and soft!

The next one was a reread — I read it many years ago and it truly changed my life, and at my mom’s suggestion I decided it was time to go through it again. It was, again, very helpful. Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life, by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend. This is such an excellent book for anyone who feels that any area of their life is out of control or who has trouble taking responsibility for how their days go. I am very much a people pleaser and struggle to say no to anything, and this book provides excellent biblical wisdom about how to go about taking control of how you live your life!

The only problem with lying here is that I’m starting to get a little sleepy. It’s so comfortable, just being here in this big barn with good friends on an autumn day — two more books, and then I may need to go home and take a nap. I used to be able to get through the day without one, but with one small child and another on the way, those days are gone!

Now for my one fiction book, An Abundance of Katharines, by John Green. Now this one, I can’t really fully recommend, and it requires some explanation. I read The Fault in Our Stars a few years ago and fell in love, with it and with the movie adaptation of it. I have seen and read it multiple times, but I can’t say that it is really clean. The next year, I read Paper Towns, and didn’t like it as much. But this year, I decided this would be the year I read the rest of John Green’s books, and I have. An Abundance of Katharines was the last one. Explaining why I love his writing would take a whole other post, but suffice it to say that despite the problematic content and lack of a Christian worldview, there is a depth to his stories that I find lacking in much adult fiction, let alone young adult. An Abundance of Katharines goes somewhere in the middle on the scale of which of his books I like best, but it has the same depth and fascination I found more or less in all of them. At the end of the day, some girls’ guilty pleasure may be Nicholas Sparks, but mine is John Green. I honestly just love his writing!

I need to sit up now before I fall asleep! Oh look — do you see at the other end of the field? The horses are coming back to the barn. We should probably get out of their way. Yes, let’s all brush the hay off of ourselves — I’ll take the candy corn bag and throw it away. And I should have just enough time to tell you about the last book as we exit.

I have one more nonfiction book for you — Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. I had heard about this one many years ago, and decided to pick it up when I saw the audiobook at my library. And it was so fascinating! The book explores, as it says, the hidden side of a variety of topics — sides that people generally overlook or may not know about. And I especially appreciated that Levitt comes at these issues from as balanced and objective position as is probably possible. No one, of course, is truly objective, but he really generally seems to just want to get at the truth behind things more than having an agenda about them. From the motivations of Real Estate agents and other experts to whether guns or swimming pools are more dangerous to why drug dealers aren’t as rich as you might think, this book is full of interesting facts behind many various things. I had my husband read this one, too, so I would have someone to discuss it with! So thought-provoking.

Well, it’s been so delightful spending the last few days with all of you. Thank you so much for listening to me ramble on about books I’ve loved and books that have spoken to me in various ways. I hope that you’ve enjoyed our time together and perhaps found a few recommendations that you will enjoy as much as I did!

Now, as I said, I need to take a nice, autumn nap. And unless I’m much mistaken, I’m going to dream of books — of the stories that have meant so much to me from my childhood all the way up to 2019.

Be sure to visit all the other Five Fall Favorites posts up today! And be sure to check out our sale — all of my books are either free or $0.99 for the day!

Also be sure to enter our giveaway — my book Implant is just one of many great prizes included!

a Rafflecopter giveaway