This year, I didn’t want to compile just another best book list or rank all the books I read (a number that would be sure to make some fellow readers scoff and others feel shame, so let’s not have any of that here). Instead, what I really want you to know are the books that have stuck with me over the last 365 days—for better or worse.

I promise not to include any spoilers, but know this: If you click a link and buy a book mentioned here, you will be contributing to my Amazon affiliate commission and supporting my ongoing book-buying habit. Thank you.

Here we go…

The One I Couldn’t Put Down

The Midnight Library by Matthew Haig

The Midnight Library was the first novel I have read by Matthew Haig, and I was not disappointed. I devoured this book in less than 48 hours and have described it to many as a modern nod to It’s a Wonderful Life with very strong Choose Your Own Adventure vibes. It’s the book I have recommended the most this year.

Honorable Mention:

• The Weight of Memory by Shawn Smucker

• The Guest List by Lucy Foley

• The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

The One I COULdn’t finish

Walden by Henry David Thoreau

Y’all…I tried. I really did. Inspired by the many Thoreau references in The Midnight Library, I decided to pick up this classic. The first third was good. In fact one of my favorite quotes is found in the first few pages: “Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other’s eyes for an instant?”

But about halfway, he lost me. I sat the book on my nightstand, hoping to give myself some time to muster up the grit to read more, but I just couldn’t. What finally allowed me to let it go (because I am not a book quitter by nature) is a podcast conversation I had with Karen Swallow Prior (a literature professor, people) who told me she never got into Walden. And that was it. Done. Bye-bye, Henry.

The One I will re-read

Art + Faith: A Theology of Making by Makoto Fujimura

I haven’t underlined a book so hard in a long time. Art + Faith spoke right to the soul of what it means to accept the Divine invitation to join God in making beautiful things in the world. This book is poetic, rich, and a philosophical must for anyone wanting to invest in the ongoing story of creation, re-creation, and redemption. I cannot say enough good things, and I will certainly be returning to this book for more.

Honorable Mention:

• Letters from the Mountain by Ben Palpant

• The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield

The One I was willing to pay library fees to finish

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

The Vanishing Half —a novel about two twin sisters who ran away from their small, southern black community and went on to live very divergent lives—was incredibly layered, complex, and beautifully told. Brit Bennett is a NYT Bestselling author for a reason, because her stories take you on a journey so wonderful that you are willing to pay those overdue fees because you HAVE TO KNOW how the story ends.

The One that stirred my soul

Invitation to Solitude and Silence: Experiencing God’s Transforming Presence by Ruth Haley Barton

If you don’t yet know this about me, I have wallflower tendencies. But I’ve always thought that in order to invest myself in the lives of others and find belonging, I needed to pursue community at all costs. But in Invitation to Solitude and Silence, I found a freedom in the idea that pulling back allows us to press in—not only to God, but also to each other. Solitude and silence are oh-so-essential to the formation of our souls and our relationships. For anyone who leans contemplative, you’re going to like this book.

Honorable Mention:

• Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art by Madeleine L’Engle

• A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society by Eugene Peterson