2012 Books

I have always enjoyed reading. I always have a book I am trying to get through and a stack that I want to read. I never really set new years resolutions but I do frequently set goals and try to improve certain areas in my life. Last year I tried to become a better reader. I am not sure if I failed or sucseeded. I believe I only completed a low number of 7 or 8 books, but of those I read Tolstoy’s War & Peace and Dostoyevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov which each should count as 10 books. I am going to continue to push my self to read more in 2012 and list the books I read here, with a short review.

2012 Books:

Born to Run, MacDougall. Great read if you want to run, hate running, or love running.

The Way of the Heart, Nouwen. Great little book on solitude and prayer with Jesus. Short easy read that changed the way I pray.

Maphead, Jennings. Completely nerd alert, but if you love geography its a great read.

The Circle Maker, Batterson. Words cannot say how great this book is. A book on prayer and dreaming God sized dreams. Loved it.

Half the Sky, Kristof, WunDunn. Book on human trafficking and women’s rights. Great book that brings light to darkness happening in the world.

Poor Economics, Banerjee, Duflo. Great insight and ideas on how to bring an end to poverty and help the worlds poorest people.

First They Killed My Father, Loung Ung. A story of young girl who survives the killing and injustice from the Pol Pots Khmer Rouge during the 70′s in Cambodia. A beautiful, tearjerker, survival story. Loved it.

African Friends and Money Matters, David Maranz. This was my second time reading this book. Great insight to anyone who wants to, has, or is going to do missions in Africa. If it is for 2 weeks or 20 years this book is great. It has helped me a ton in understand why Africans do and do not do certain things.