Amy's Top 10 Summer Reads

A friend asked me last week about listing my current top-10 favorite reads in time for summer. If you’ve hung around blogger-land with me for a while or know me in person, you know that I’m a voracious reader.

Here’s my Top 10 in no particular order:

1. One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp—I am addicted to fiction, but I work to get some non-fiction read as well. I’m not quite finished, but this book has challenged me in a way that nothing has in a long time. Not only that, but Voskamp has some of the most beautiful writing around. I can’t describe her style except to say it’s more like music than prose. Truly.

2. The Yada Yada Prayer Group series by Neda Jackson—I thought this would be pure fluff, and that’s why I actually picked up the first one. (A girl needs fluff once in a while.) While they are easy, delightful reads, Jackson actually hits some significant topics such as race relations and denominationalism. Love this series!

3. The Help by Kathryn Stockett—Most of my list is Christian fiction but not all. This is a wonderful book that brings the race troubles of the early 60s to life. I can’t imagine that the movie can touch the book, but I won’t miss it either!

4. Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath—This is another of my non-fiction picks. It’s a book about how to make your message “stick” which translates to teachers, business people, marketers, and communicators of any description. I honestly struggle to get through non-fiction, but this one is a page-turner. It’s so engaging that I couldn’t put it down. I’ve got their next book called Switch on my Kindle, but I haven’t read it yet.

5. Doesn’t She Look Natural by Angela Hunt—The Fairlawn series starts with this book, and once again Angela Hunt masterfully weaves tough issues into an engaging story. The series tackles many issues surrounding death since the main character inherits a funeral home, but don’t let that theme deter you. Hunt has created books that are still saturated with humor.

6. She Makes It Look Easy by Marybeth Whalen—Marybeth also takes the hard topics of perfectionism and adultery and writes a beautifully written story that’s hard to put down. I’m so proud of my friend and the fact that I couldn’t wait to get to her book on my list!

7. Embrace Me by Lisa Samson—Okay. This book comes with a serious warning. It’s extremely edgy, fairly dark and has some disturbing elements. All that said, I love Lisa Samson. She’s an out-of-the-box, Jesus-loving author. I love how she keeps me off balance and surprised. I read so much that it’s really hard to do. Quaker Summer is an easier Samson read if you want to dip your toes in without the shock factor. Themes of forgiveness and grace run throughout her books, but she’s also very interested in social justice.

8. Healing Stones by Nancy Rue—You might have noticed, but I really enjoy book series. This is the first in the Sullivan Crisp series, and I actually haven’t read it yet. I read all the subsequent books first by accident. Once I started reading Rue’s books, though, I read all of them that our church library holds. I am enamored with the way she writes realistically about hard topics while still saturating her stories with scriptural truth. Her characters aren’t over-simplified, card-board cutouts. They have layers of good and evil just like all of us. She really gets to the heart of fallen man while glorifying God in His redeeming power.

9. Hind’s Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard—I rarely reread a book (except for my Bible)! There are just too many books in the world to read to spend lots of time rereading. This book is one exception. (I think One Thousand Gifts is going to be another.) It’s a classic allegory that speaks deeply to my soul every time I read it. It’s so filled with scripture that I often use it during my quiet times. If you haven’t read this book, YOU MUST!

10. TBA—There’s one more book series that I have to tell you about. Here’s the strange thing. As much as I adore these books, I can never remember the author or titles. Honestly, I’ve hunted them down in the Holly Springs Library and written them down at least twice. (I know what they look like and where they are approximately on the shelf, but I can’t seem to keep track of my little slips of paper.) The first book is the most beautiful story about true love that I’ve ever read in my whole life. The amazing thing is that it’s not a romance. It’s a story about the friendship between two women. I’ll go hunt them down this week and let you know.

Note to authors: Please don’t make the title of your beautiful book so complicated that my feeble brain can’t retain it. 