Here are my favorite 12 of 2012 (not in any ranking order...that would be just a little too hard, but I do honestly have a few that stand out here). This is probably more of a chronological list of when they were finished.
1. "Loving the Little Years" by Rachel Jankovic---a humorous and insightful little book to inspire me in the love and care of my littles. Will certainly go on my re-read list.
2. "Keeping House" by Margaret Kim Peterson---I really loved this book for its theological underpinnings about something that might seem so mundane to us homekeepers. It gave me fresh vision on home duties at a time where I felt bogged down in the everyday, and less-than-inspired. I promptly finished this book and handed it to my teen daughters, who also enjoyed lessons in the "whys" of what we do.
3. "Hans Brinker of the Silver Skates" by Mary Mapes Dodge---This one is one of my treasures from my grandmother's book shelf. I've had it on the "to-read" list for quite some time. We read this aloud in mid-winter, which was perfect with the Holland setting and talk of (ice) skating. We enjoyed this classic literature piece, which was a heartwarming story.
4. "Raising Real Men" by Hal and Melanie Young---I reviewed this book here. Definitely a must-read if you have boys. My favorite practical book on raising boys!
5. "The Busy Homeschool Mom's Guide to Romance" by Heidi St. John---I also reviewed this one. Loved her humorous and very real writing style on a topic that is of great necessity to home-educating mothers. I also read her "Guide to Daylight" on time management, which is also excellent (and hence, I squeeze in another favorite book without actually listing it!)
6. "Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey"---a fun biographical read to encounter in my month of British "library-books-on-hold-that-all-arrived-at-the-same-time." A fascinating read, which I discussed a bit more here.
7. "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom---our Bible Bee studies this year served as a catalyst to also get us back into missionary biographies and stories of great heroes of the faith. Since this had also been a book I wanted to read aloud for some time, this was the year. We appreciated it deeply for all of the reasons that make it a great in Christian history. It was brought to life all the more because we actually had opportunity to visit the Ten Boom museum in Holland when my now-big- girls were small. One of our favorite picture memories of that trip was a photo of them standing in that hiding place. Powerful and stirring.
8. "Almost Amish" by Nancy Sleeth---I checked this book out from the library and it was a stirring read for me. Though I do not subscribe to romanticizing the Amish or their way of life, I did appreciate some of the lessons this woman gleaned from their lifestyle that can be very thought-provoking. Mostly this book had me thinking about community and simple living. I really liked hearing how this woman and her family mades some drastic changes in their lifestyle and how they were benefiting from it. I thought long and hard about this book and it's one that had staying power with me.
9. "A Woman's Wisdom" by Lydia Brownback---This book came by high recommendation of a very trusted friend and fellow-reader. In fact, a few of my top 12 books did. When it comes to this genre of books in particular, I usually know that if she has high recommendations I am going to feel the same way. And I was right! I had some of Brownback's books "marked" for a someday read, but when I saw this one, I jumped at the giveaway (and won!). I'm so glad I did. This is a certain re-read. This book is greatly convicting and was very needful for me, personally. I add my highest recommendation to this one!
10. "The Homestead Blessings Cookbook"---by the West Ladies. Well, it is a cookbook. Which means it isn't necessarily a reading book, though there are several vignettes to read in it. But I like this little gem for me and my homestead-loving daughters. It's been fun to try a whole lot of these recipes. We still want an outdoor kitchen someday.
11. "The Thunder" by Douglas Bond---We have read many books aloud by Douglas Bond. I think the Mr. Pipes books are our favorites. The "Crown and Covenant" series are interesting and we do need to know about the sacrifices and difficult circumstances our Scottish ancestors lived through for the cause of Christ, but the graphic descriptions are often hard for my feminine side to stomach (so I sometimes edit while reading aloud). While "The Thunder" certainly does not sugar-coat anything, it was a bit less graphic and I just appreciated the whole story about one of our heroes of the faith, John Knox. My older children constantly asked for me to read another chapter.
12. "The Fruitful Wife" by Hayley DiMarco---Oh. my. What can I possibly say about this book, except that it should be read by every Christian wife who is serious about growing in the fruit of the spirit (which should be all of us). I liked DiMarco's honest reflections (and I said "ouch" just a few too many times because I have a feeling her personality is a bit like mine)--they add credibility to her writing without detracting from her message and focusing too much on her self. This book is hard-hitting, yet encouraging and I will be revisiting this book again in the near future.
Now I'm off to start pondering my reads for 2013! Looking forward to more biographies, more read-alouds (the best time of every day), a couple of classics, more stirring reads, some fun reads, and how it all will (hopefully) grow and change me and the ones I love! Happy New Year!
It's so fun to read through your list (of favorites, too!). :) And reading through this brought about an AH HA moment to me! I had read your review of Raising Godly Men and stuck it on my Amazon wishlist. Then I forgot where I had heard about it and had deleted it. Now I'm going to go back and add it on again! :D Because if it made your list of favorites then I know I need to read it!
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