Best Books of 2020

2020 has been a whirlwind year but in the midst of all the highs and lows, reading has been my safe place. According to my tracking via GoodReads, I read 109 books although I am certain that I forgot to put some books on GoodReads. Some of the books were memorable and some were "meh", but all in all it was good year for reading. Here's to more books in 2021!

Best Non-fiction: The Dark Side of Our Digital World while written by a librarian can be read by a general audience and was eye-opening regarding how nefarious technology and the digital world really is.

Best Memoir: Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson. While not a new book, this book had been on my Kindle for sometime and I decided that I should read it before going to the movie. I am so glad I did as it was very eye-opening to the plight of the disproportional number of African-American men on death row and provided a lot of details the movie left out.

Best Biblical Studies: The Gospels as Stories opens your eyes to reading the Gospels and was particularly enjoyable as it used a variety of literary theory in addition to Biblical studies.

Best Bible study/Missions: Mission 3:16 by Paul Borthwick will blow open your understanding of John 3:16 and is a great resource for a small group or a sermon series.

Best Spiritual Formation: Be Kind to Yourself and A Feast for the Soul are two very different books but both are amazing. These are both books that I look forward to returning to during the coming year.

Best Biography:A Life of Alexander Campbell by Douglas Foster is required reading for anyone interested in the Stone-Campbell/Restoration Movement or American religious history and Becoming Elisabeth Elliot is required reading for anyone interested in missions.

Best Social Justice: Beyond Hashtag Activism is a wonderful book if you want to put your hands and feet to work regarding the issues that face our world today.

Best Business/Leadership Book: The Art of Being Indispensable at Work is a book that should be read by everyone who works with others.

Best Diverse Book: The Book Collectors

Best Historical Fiction: This is a very hard choice as historical fiction is my primary genre. However, The Prisoner's Wife, a riveting WW II story takes top billing with A Most English Princess as a close second and particularly if you enjoyed Victoria.

Best Political and Best Overall: Compassion (&) Conviction was a refreshing and marvelous read during this tumultuous election year. I highly recommend it to any Christian who engages with politics in anyway which should be everyone.

Power of 3

Robb Hiller combines personal stories of overcoming cancer and his own success in business and personal coaching to share his success model titled The Power of 3. Without giving away too much of his model, The Power of 3 focuses on Ask, Activate, and Advocate. Within each of these three parts, there are additional acronyms that are shared. Of the three parts, I found Ask the most useful particularly as Hiller flips the questions to de-emphasize the "why" that has been an emphasis in so many recent books. I found Activate interesting, but the accompanying acronym is quite long which makes it difficult to utilize easily. Advocate was a good reminder as well.

Hiller does mention faith quite a bit and assumes the audience is primarily Christian which given the book is published by Tyndale Momentum is probably accurate. However, if you subtract the faith element, the information and other examples is comparable to other self-help, business titles on the market and would be useful to anyone.

While interesting and providing some helpful information, The Power of 3 did not leave me with a "Wow! I need to do this right now!" Instead my reaction was more of a "There are some interesting things here to consider doing." The content provided isn't necessarily new but has been re-packaged in an interesting way.

I received a complementary copy of this book via NetGalley and Tyndale Momentum. I was not required to provide a positive review and all opinions are my own.

Renaissance Italy Mysteries

Malice in Milan by Ken Tentarelli
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Malice in Milan is somewhat like Law & Order but has been plunked down into the middle of Renaissance Italy. The description of the book sounded intriguing. Noting that the book was the third in a series, although they can be read as stand-alone books, I desired to read the others. I sought out book 1 The Laureate which was somewhat helpful in providing some useful background for this title. I did not have opportunity to read book 2.

In Malice in Milan, the young lawyer Nico is placed on a new committee and races off to Milan to help solve a crime. While solving the crime, he interacts with a wide variety of individuals from both the upper crust and the under belly of Milan. He also utilizes a variety of street smarts in addition to his legal acumen to wrap up the case. In addition to a moderately interesting plot, Tentarelli provides a variety of interesting tidbits regarding Renaissance Italy which makes the book mildly educational as well. Recommended with hesitation for readers who love the renaissance time period and enjoy mysteries. I would encourage readers to seek out a copy to borrow rather than buy.

I received a complementary copy of this book via NetGalley.

A Castaway in Cornwall

A Castaway in Cornwall by Julie Klassen


My most recent fiction book whisked me back to the rocky shores of Cornwall, but this time with author Julie Klassen. A Castaway in Cornwall has an enjoyable mixture of mystery and romance. As if often true of these novels, the main character has an interesting living situation in that she lives with family that isn't family by blood and is thus not always treated kindly. Laura is also looked down upon by locals as not being "from Cornwall." She spends a great deal of time looking for retrievable items from shipwrecks, otherwise being useful, and making the best of her situation. When there is another shipwreck, she nurses a survivor in their home. The mystery is partially who is this survivor and why was he on the ship? The appearance of another survivor creates a dangerous situation requiring they flee for safety. In the midst of the danger, Laura also uncovers information about her blood family. A Castaway in Cornwall is a light, enjoyable read. The story pulls you in and has you rooting for the characters.

I received a complementary copy from Bethany House via NetGalley. I am not required to leave a positive review.