It’s that time of year when everyone is making lists and checking them twice. Some are finding out who has been naughty and who has been nice. Some are making sure those in their circles of gifting know what they want for Christmas.
Here at Reading Is My SuperPower, I’m making lists too! Every day this week will feature the best books I read in 2015 from different genres.
Monday – Contemporary
Tuesday – Historical
Wednesday – Mystery/Suspense
Thursday – Amish fiction
Today’s focus is nonfiction.
So without further adieu and in no particular order, may I present…
The Finishing School by Valerie Woerner
Publisher: Valerie Woerner
Publication Date: September 8, 2015
My Review: http://wp.me/p61QCL-g8
Valerie’s easy-going conversational writing style makes having your toes stepped on much more enjoyable than you might think 😉 Sentences like “This routine-loving gal is about to discuss ‘flexibility’ so look alive” keep the pace steady and the mood upbeat, despite the convicting truths speaking to you from every chapter. And Valerie doesn’t escape the toe-tramples either! Her candid honesty puts us all on the same level (which is really where we are anyway) and leaves the reader feeling both motivated and encouraged.
Just Show Up by Kara Tippetts & Jill Lynn Buteyn
Publisher: David C. Cook
Publication Date: October 1, 2015
My Review: http://wp.me/p61QCL-k5
Just Show Up is a beautifully written, heartfelt and practical look at walking through “hard” with a friend. Both Jill’s and Kara’s humor provides much needed levity in a book that begins “Hi. My name is Kara Tippetts, and I may not be alive when you read this book.” In fact, she isn’t – on earth, anyway. Kara won her hard-fought battle with breast cancer in March of this year (2015) and is now with Jesus. She completed her contributions to Just Show Up before her death, and her words carry the added weight of this poignancy, yes, but also reflect once more her delightful and grace-filled personality.
Glory Days by Max Lucado
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Publication Date: September 15, 2015
My Review: http://wp.me/p61QCL-bR
Basically, Glory Days is a deeper look at the Old Testament book of Joshua as it applies to our lives as New Testament followers of Jesus. Some of the truths in here will do a Gibbs-slap on your spirit (any NCIS fans in the house?). Some of the truths will refresh a battle-weary soul. All of the truths are timely and imperative for the times in which we live.
Tattered and Mended by Cynthia Ruchti
Publisher: Abingdon Press
Publication Date: July 7, 2015
My Review: http://wp.me/p61QCL-8p
Cynthia is beautifully tender with the wounded but leaves no room for compromise or excuse. Or for healing without the Healer and His Word. The pages of Tattered and Mended provide encouragement, camaraderie, and hope. Always hope. Refreshing hope in a society that looks increasingly hopeless.
This book will appeal to antiquers and art-appreciators but also to just the average person who like me starts out with a nice pretty skein of yarn and ends up with a tangled web of what was supposed to be a scarf. 🙂
How to Love Your Neighbor Without Being Weird by Amy Lively
Publisher: Bethany House
Publication Date: May 5, 2015
My Review: http://wp.me/p61QCL-4P
I cannot say enough good things about How To Love Your Neighbor! There are very few pages left in my copy that are not marked with underlining, smiley faces, hearts, stars, and notes of emphatic agreement in the margins. How To Love Your Neighbor is a challenging book – coaxing us out of our comfort zones and asking us to do things most of us just plain aren’t comfortable doing. But, it’s also a freeing book. Amy Lively’s dry humor allows you to chuckle at the realities of the daily Jesus-life and realize you’re not the only woman to be irritated by the Proverbs 31 woman.
And so, with this nonfiction list, we conclude our trip down memory lane 2015. Whew! It was tough picking the best of the best that I’ve read this year. There were just so many great books to choose from! And yet, my TBR pile still looks like this:
Ah well…such is the life of a happy bookworm 😉
Wow!! Thank you! I’m honored to be on you list of best non-fiction books for 2015 – especially among such great company! I pray you looked at your neighbors differently after reading my book, and experienced the joy of obedience to Christ’s #2 command. I’ll be reading the rest of your list myself. You just made my day and ended the year on a very high note.
I’m so thrilled to have given you a high note on which to end the year! It is my absolute pleasure – especially for a book that still swirls in my heart 🙂
Wow! Thank you so much for including me on your list of best nonfiction books for 2015! I pray my book helped you look at your neighbors differently and experience the joy of obedience to Christ #2 command. I’m honored to be among such great company and will be reading the rest of your list myself. You made my day and ended 2015 on a very high note!