In this last category, 2020 was an exceptional year for me, just under a hundred books. My reading adventures covered the usual genres: history, novels, mystery and adventure books, Christian themes, even a bit of poetry this year as Claire and I started a project of recording our reading of poems aloud. We did this for the residents of senior living facilities as an extra gift besides the 9-page activity packets we have been providing every week since the quarantines locked us out from presenting our “When Swing Was King” shows. We sent DVD copies of our poetry reading to the activity directors and also uploaded them onto You Tube. (You can, by the way, avail yourself of those activity packets -- all 43 of them so far -- by going to this specific page in the Vital Signs Ministries website. If you are a senior or a boomer or know people who are in those age categories, these can be a great source for entertainment, encouragement, even inspiration.)
But back to the books. Before I get to those that rated 4 Stars, I'll mention some of the authors of adventures and mysteries I've read (or, in many cases, re-read) for simple entertainment that I would recommend: Dorothy Sayers, Ellery Queen, Alistair MacLean, Patricia Wentworth.
And now the 4 Star reads. I list them by category (though some overlap categories) and you'll note that the titles that are underlined are re-reads. Indeed, some of them are old and very dear friends. After the listing, I add a quick note about the surprises and biggest blessings of the years in books.
Bible study and Christian living:
**** Christmas Sermons (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)
**** True Spirituality (Francis Schaeffer)
**** Jesus On Trial (David Limbaugh)
**** Pilgrim's Progress (John Bunyan)
**** Everlasting: God's Faithfulness to Israel (Stuart Cunliffe)
**** The Meaning of Persons (Paul Tournier)
**** Worry Less, Live More: God's Prescription for a Better Life (Robert J. Morgan)
History:
**** Grant Moves South (Bruce Catton)
**** To Wake the Giant: A Novel of Pearl Harbor (Jeff Shaara)
**** A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War (Joseph Loconte)
**** The Swamp Fox: How Francis Marion Saved the American Revolution (John Oller)
Novels:
**** Pickwick Papers (Charles Dickens)
**** Wake of the Perdido Star (Gene Hackman & Daniel Lenihan)
**** The Hunt for Red October (Tom Clancy)
**** The Hobbit (JRR Tolkien)
**** The Fellowship of the Ring (JRR Tolkien)
**** The Two Towers (JRR Tolkien)
**** The Return of the King (JRR Tolkien)
**** Alice Adams (Booth Tarkington)
**** Home to Holly Springs (Jan Karon)
**** In the Company of Others (Jan Karon)
**** Oliver Twist (by Charles Dickens)
**** Out of the Silent Planet (C.S. Lewis)
**** Perelandra (C.S. Lewis)
**** That Hideous Strength (C. S. Lewis)
**** Dream Days (A.A. Milne)
**** The Never-ending Story (Michael Ende)
**** Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good (Jan Karon)
**** Robinson Crusoe (Daniel Defoe)
**** The Mysterious Island (Jules Verne)
**** The Wind in the Willows (Kenneth Grahame)
**** Barnaby Rudge (Charles Dickens)
**** The Black Tulip (Alexandre Dumas)
**** A Lantern In Her Hand (Bess Streeter Aldrich)
Okay, about the surprises and special blessings. I was profoundly moved by Everlasting: God's Faithfulness to Israel written by a pro-life colleague in Great Britain, Stuart Cunliffe. I was greatly encouraged and helped by Robert J. Morgan's Worry Less, Live More: God's Prescription for a Better Life. That book came as a gift because we support the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and I came very close to putting it aside. But I ended up taking it on our two-week working vacation in the Ozarks and I am so glad I did.
I liked A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War by Joseph Loconte so much I bought several copies and sent them to friends. It was terrific.
In the novel category, most of the books are among those old and dear friends I mentioned. But A Lantern In Her Hand by Bess Streeter Aldrich was a new read for me and I really loved it. So did our book club, the Notting Hill Napoleons. However, Jan Karon is becoming an even more important author to me (she has been for Claire for many years) and I find her Fr. Tim Kavanaugh a source of great stimulation and influence. Indeed, I wrote an appreciative essay about the Mitford novels which compared them to G.K.Chesterton and Francis & Edith Schaeffer. You'll find that essay here.
