100 Books of 2025

 In 2009, I pledged to read 100 books over the course of 2010. Here's my list of 107 books in case you're interested.

I did it again in 2011 (why not?). Here's my list of 109 books.

The tradition continued in 2012 where I read a whopping 144 books! Here is my list from that year.

In 2013 I kept on chugging along, reading 104 books. Here is my list from that year.

In 2014 I hit my best record yet, reading 152 books. Here is my list from that year.

In 2015 I beat my record, reading 187 books. Here is my list from that year. 

In 2016, I read 166 books, focusing on books I owned but had never read. Here is my list from that year.

In 2017, I read 123 books. Here is my list from that year.

In 2018, I read only 54 books. I spent most of my year driving the kids around, haha! Here is my list from that year.

In 2019, I read 150 books. Here is my list from that year.

In 2020, I read 152 books. Here is my list from that year.

In 2021, I read 203 books. Here is my list from that year.

In 2022, I read 249 books. Here is my list from that year.

In 2023, I read 131 books. Here is my list from that year.

In 2024, I read 105. Here is my list from last year. 

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It's a running joke about how many books I own. The books I own and have never read are a little less than 500. This used to be funny to me, but at some point, a switch flipped, and it became overwhelming to me. Now my goal is not just to read as many books as possible, but to be extremely picky about what I keep after I read it. I only keep books that I will absolutely read again or will pass down to my children. I still have a long way to go, but I do see how much progress I'm making!

I read 100 books in 2025. I am being so much more intentional with the books I read now. Life is too short to read a book that isn't going to interest me or serve me in some way!

I do still utilize the library for books that are recommended to me so that I don't have to buy a book just to read it one time. I much prefer reading the book, and then if it's something I definitely want to re-read in the future, I can order it from my favorite local bookstore (Gottwals). 

I feel pretty good about this - you can see that I only kept about 30% of the books I read, so I'm being quite picky, and hopefully this will help the piles of books in my house decrease!

Without further ado, here is my 2025 list (the "K" next to a book indicates that it was a keeper for me):

• "Growing in Holiness" by R.C. Sproul (1) (K)
• "Gladys Aylward: The Adventure of a Lifetime" by Janet and Geoff Benge (2)
• "George Muller" by Janet and Geoff Benge (3)
• "The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace" by Gary Chapman and Paul White (4) (K)
• "The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane" by Kate DiCamillo (5)
• "Six Hours One Friday" by Max Lucado (6) (K)
• "White Fang" by Jack London (7)
• "The Family Upstairs" by Lisa Jewell (8)
• "No Wonder They Call Him the Savior" by Max Lucado (9) (K)
• "Significant" by Rachel Risner (10) (K)
• "Pretty Girls" by Karin Slaughter (11)
• "The Whole-Brain Child" by Daniel Siegel (12) (K)
• "The Whisper Man" by Alex North (13)
• "Joy to the World" by Lifeway Women (14) (K)
• "No Exit" by Taylor Adams (15)
• "The House in the Pines" by Ana Reyes (16)
• "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd (17)
• "A Good Girl's Guide to Murder" by Holly Jackson (18)
• "A Swiftly Tilting Planet" by Madeleine L'Engle (19)
• "The Silent Patient" by Alex Michaelides (20)
• "Survive the Night" by Riley Sager (21)
• "Let Me Off at the Top!" by Ron Burgundy (22)
• "The House Across the Lake" by Riley Sager (23)
• "God Heard Their Cry" by Ray Vender Laan (24)
• "Wrong Place Wrong Time" by Gillian McAllister (25)
• "The Last Mrs. Parrish" by Liv Constantine (26)
• "Desperate Measures" by Stuart Woods (27)
• "The Lying Game" by Ruth Ware (28)
• "The Tale of Despereaux" by Kate DiCamillo (29)
• "We Were Liars" by E. Lockhart (30)
• "God's Passion For His Glory" by John Piper (31) (K)
• "Lock Every Door" by Riley Sager (32)
• "What Have You Done?" by Shari Lapena (33)
• "Business Kombat" by Chris Casamassa (34)
• "None of This is True" by Lisa Jewell (35)
• "A Delicate Touch" by Stuart Woods (36)
• "The Black Stallion and Flame" by Walter Farley (37)
• "The Best Known Dojo" by Cris L. Rodriguez (38) (K)
• "The Year of Miss Agnes" by Kirkpatrick Hill (39)
• "Verity" by Colleen Hoover (40)
• "Moby Dog" (Wishbone series) by Alexander Steele (41)
• "The Perfect Marriage" by Jeneva Rose (42)
• "Tender is the Flesh" by Agustina Bazterrica (43)
• "Still Missing" by Chevy Stevens (44)
• "Under the Banner of Heaven" by Jon Krakauer (45) (K)
• "American Tall Tales" by Adrien Stoutenburg (46) (K)
• "One Perfect Couple" by Ruth Ware (47)
• "This is Day One" by Drew Dudley (48) (K)
• "His Last Words" by Kim Erickson (49) (K)
• "Zero Days" by Ruth Ware (50)
• "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: Wishbone Classics" (51)
• "A Not-So-Simple Life" by Melody Carlson (52)
• "Starring Jules (As Herself)" by Beth Ain (53)
• "Christian Beliefs" by Wayne A. Grudem (54) (K)
• "William Still and the Underground Railroad" by Kathleen Stevens (55)
• "The Haunted Cove" by Elizabeth Baldwin Hazelton (56)
• "It Will Cost You Everything" by Steven J. Lawson (57) (K)
• "Learning to Live From the Acts" by Eugenia Price (58)
• "Pain Free Drug Free by Shelly Debin Toland (59)
• "A Place to Hide" by Jayne Pettit (60)
• "Faithful Women & Their Extraordinary God" by Noel Piper (61)
• "The Secret of the Indian" by Lynne Reid Banks (62) (K)
• "Answers Book for Teens Vol. 1" by Bodie Hodge/Tommy Mitchell/Ken Ham (63) (K)
• "Desert Neighbors" by Edith M. Patch and Carroll Lane Fenton (64)
• "Prayer" by John Onwuchekwa (65) (K)
• "Becoming a Nation of Readers" (A report of the commission on reading) (66) (K)
• "Why One Way?" by John MacArthur (67) (K)
• "1 Corinthians" by John MacArthur (68) (K)
• "Called & Accountable" by Henry T. Blackaby and Kerry L. Skinner (69)
• "The Weight of Glory" by C.S. Lewis (70) (K)
• "Uncle Arthur's Storytime" (71)
• "Paid Trial Playbook" by Jon Evans (72)
• "Empowerment Takes More Than a Minute" by Ken Blanchard (73) (K)
• "The House of My Mother" by Shari Franke (74)
• "Amazing Love" by Corrie ten Boom (75) (K)
• "Great Leaders GROW" by Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller (76) (K)
• "Beyond the Battle for the Bible" by J.I. Packer (77) (K)
• "The Beggars' Bible" by Louise A. Vernon (78)
• "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley (79)
• "Slave Girl" by Betsy Haynes (80)
• "Diddie, Dumps & Tot" by Louise-Clarke Pyrnelle (81)
• "R-T, Margaret, and the Rats of NIMH" by Jane Leslie Conly (82)
• "Come, You Weary" by Michael Reeves (83) (K)
• "Fish!" by Stephen C. Lundin (84) (K)
• "Evangelism & the Sovereignty of God" by J.I. Packer (85) (K)
• "The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek" by Kim Michele Richardson (86)
• "Jip" by Katherine Paterson (87)
• "Holy Moments" by Matthew Kelly (88)
• "The Servant" by James C. Hunter (89)
• "Eddie's Green Thumb" by Carolyn Haywood (90)
• "Perspective" by Jana Shugart (91)
• "Out of the Maze" by Spencer Johnson (92)
• "A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23" by Phillip Keller (93)
• "The Bobbsey Twins in the Country" by Laura Lee Hope (94)
• "I Funny" by James Patterson (95)
• "Dan Morgan: Rifleman" by Ernest E. Tucker (96)
• "Raving Fans" by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles (97) (K)
• "Power Through Prayer" by E.M. Bounds (98) (K)
• "I Even Funnier" by James Patterson (99)
• "When the Darkness Will Not Lift" by John Piper (100)

Favorite theology books of the year:
- Growing in Holiness by R.C. Sproul
- Christian Beliefs by Wayne Grudem
- It Will Cost You Everything by Steven Lawson
- Prayer by John Onwuchekwa
- Why One Way by John MacArthur
- Evangelism & the Sovereignty of God by J.I. Packer
- Beyond the Battle for the Bible by J.I. Packer

Favorite fiction of the year:
- The Whisper Man by Alex North
- No Exit by Taylor Adams
- The Secret Lift of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

Completed studies with the whole family: Answers Book for Teens Volume 1, Why One Way by John MacArthur

Favorite library books I want to buy: Out of the Maze by Spencer Johnson, When the Darkness Will Not Lift by John Piper

Favorite authors overall: John Piper, John MacArthur, Ken Blanchard, Spencer Johnson, J.I. Packer    

Okay, so how did you do? What were some of your favorite books and authors?