The Year in Books (Part 2)

Here we have my favourite nonfiction books of 2018. To dispel any confusion: my favourite lists are based on what I read that year, not what was published that year.

1. Matt B. Redmond: The God of the Mundane. Sometimes I just need to remember that God is not just in the big and exciting things, but also in all the little bits of life and routine.

2. William Wilberforce: Greatest Works. William Wilberforce is one of my heroes. It's not quite accurate to say that he wrote this though, since it includes a short biography and some news articles about his death.

3. Martha Peace and Kent Keller: Modesty: More Than a Change of Clothes. I think this book takes a broader look at modesty, starting with the heart rather than outward appearances.

4. Donald S. Whitney: Praying the Bible. I was looking for a prayer book to add to the women's counselling class, and this was suggested. I loved it. It's very simply written and very practical.

5. Mark Ward: Authorized: The Use and Misuse of the King James Bible. He lays things out very clearly without coming across as rejecting the KJV; rather, he shows the good of the translations as well as the challenges it presents (also, I learned a lot about how "reading levels" are determined).

6. Andrew M. Davis: An Infinite Journey: Growing Toward Christlikeness. True confession: this was Pastor James's recommendation for 2017, but I didn't get to it until this fall. It's a good book.

7. Paul Schlehlein: John G. Paton: missionary to the Cannibals of the South Seas. We all know I love biographies, and this one is very well written. It shows the challenges he faced and keeps from making him look like the perfect missionary.

8. Jen Wilkin: In His Image. She focuses on "who should I be" and shows how we are to become like God, and then everything else will follow.

9. Richard Mayhue: 1 and 2 Thessalonians. My main Bible study for the year was Paul's epistles to the Thessalonians. I found this commentary to be very straight forward and simple to understand.

10. Michael Harris: Solitude. Sometimes it's good to unplug and just be alone.

11. Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Little House Traveler. This is a collection of journal entries and letters written during the trip to Missouri, a trip to San Francisco, and a trip back home.

12. Jeremy Clark: I Gave Dating a Chance. Finally, I found the book that brings some balance to the dating/courtship argument. It's in the church library.

13. Booker T. Washington: Up From Slavery. I'd never read this, and I don't know why. It was really, really good, and gave a perspective of the post-Civil War years that I'd never read.

14. Laurie J. White: King Alfred's English. I got this for Christmas and loved it. It's "designed for students grade 7-12 and curious adults" so it's easy to read and full of information about how the English language came to be and why our spelling is so messy.

Bonus: From the Geoff and Janet Benge Christian Heroes Then and Now/Heroes of History collection (because there are always some of them):
Ben Carson: A Chance at Life
Clara Barton: Courage Under Fire
William Wilberforce: Take Up the Fight
David Bussau: Facing the World Head-on
Mildred Cable: Through the Jade Gate
Rachel Saint: A Star in the Jungle
Charles Mulli: We are Family
D.L. Moody: Bringing Souls to Christ

There were more, of course, and some of them very good (and some less so), but these are the ones that stand out the most.