JEFF'S NON-FICTION READING OF 2020

 It's been an odd year. And with all the craziness, I didn't read much non-fiction. That surprised me: I expected with short hours at work not to read as much fiction and having more time to read non-fiction. Nope. The 28 fiction books I read was at the high end of normal, the 8 non-fiction wasn't. And I'll admit - I didn't finish one of the books I included yet.

Two variations. First, this list will not necessarily be my favorite non-fiction read this year. I'm including my first and last favorite in the list. Also, while I normally rank the non-fiction, this year I'm doing what I do with the fiction: putting them in alphabetic order by title. 

1. Building The Benedict Option by Leah Libresco. I've been promoting Rod Dreher's The Benedict Option for years (Dreher wrote the foreword for this book). This book is a follow-up on how to build community among believers. Dreher gives the why, Libresco suggests some hows. Enjoyable and thoughtful reading - she gave me some ideas including Easter caroling.
   
2. Come To The Lord'sTable by Claude King. The author, brother of my good friend and former pastor Dennis King, presents a 4-week guide for preparing for the Lord's Supper (aka Communion, Eucharist). King, who co-wrote Experiencing God with Henry Blackaby, has some practical ideas on getting your heart ready for this solemn Christian sacrament/ordinance. Included are some meditations by Andrew Murray.
   
3. The Gospel Comes With A House Key by Rosaria Butterfield. Excellent book dealing with showing hospitality, a very counter-cultural activity nowadays. I read it after reading the above mentioned Building The Benedict Option, and found it interesting to compare. You may not agree with her views, but she does a good job of showing how you can serve your brothers and sisters in Christ and be a witness to the lost.
   
4. The Knowledge Of The Holy by A. W. Tozer. The classic devotional volume on the attributes of God. I read this as one of the textbooks in Theology I at Bible College back in '85, and finally reread it. Wonderful book. If you haven't read it, you should.
5. The Life Of Christ In Stereo by Johnston M. Cheney. Like the above entry, a textbook from college, this time for Life Of Christ. This is a harmony of the Gospels where the author makes use of every word in the four Gospels. In doing so, he has some conclusions that are non-traditional, such as that Jesus' ministry was four years and that Peter denied Him a total of six times before the rooster crowed twice.
   
6. ReGrace by Frank Viola. This book, subtitled "What the Shocking Beliefs of the Great Christians Can Teach Us Today", has the valid, useful, and needed assumption is that Christian leaders are not infallible and thus we should not write someone of if we disagree with one doctrine.
   
7. Shapers of Christian Orthodoxy, edited by Bradley Green. This is a collection of ten individuals who impacted Christian thought through the centuries. (Technically, eight chapters - the Three Cappodocians were dealt with in the same chapter). If you want an introduction to the Church Fathers, I'd go with Bryan Litfin's Getting To Know The Church Fathers. Then, you're ready for this one. This goes deeper into the theology of these individuals.
8. With by Skye Jethani. This book was recommended by my good friend Josh Jacobs. Jethani mentions that people try to live a life for God, from God, over God, or under God, when His desire is for us to have a life with God.

Have you read any of these books? Are you motivated to read any of them? What books have you read?

JEFF'S 12 FAVORITE FICTION WORKS OF 2020.

 This year, I read 27 novels written by 22 authors. For those interested in statistics, a whopping 21 of the authors are ladies, and 12 of the authors were ones I never read before (one of which I read two novels). As far as genre, 8 were mysteries, 14 were suspense/romantic suspense, and 5 were speculative.

You notice the title said "fiction works" as opposed to "novels." I sometimes struggle with series, and I read parts of 5 series this year. Some of the series were basically a collection of stand-alone novels where it's easy to decide which you like better, and I count each of those novels separately. However, two series were actually big multi-part stories, and one was similar enough in style that I counted those series as a single entry.

One enjoyable thing about this year is that I was able to resume three series that didn't have any new books in them for 4-5 years, including two of my all time favorite series.
As usual, this list is in alphabetic order by title.

1. Act Of Valor by Dana Mentink (True Blue K-9 Unit, part 2). I loved the villain in this story. I also learned that Beagle is French for Big Mouth.
   
2. Against All Fierce Hostility by Donna Fletcher Crowe (The Monastery Murders, part 6). Felecity witnessed a murder in England. But she and her husband Father Antony don't have to worry about the killer as they take a scenic train across Canada. You wouldn't expect the murderer to cross the ocean with them, would you?
   
3. Amish Werewolves of Space by Kerry Nietz (Peril In Plain Space, part 3). Would you believe this series is serious sci-fi? Would you believe it is a good book on building community? If not, it's obvious you haven't read this great series yet. Shame on you. And my tongue is in its proper position as I'm typing this, not in my cheek as you'd suppose.
   
4. Blind Trust by Laura Scott (True Blue K-9 Unit, part 3). A dog trainer who's losing her eyesight is working on a puppy to be her guide dog ... till it gets kidnapped. Good thing a handsome police officer and his Golden Lab are up to the task.
   
5. Cards on the Table by Agatha Chrisie. One of four Poirot novels I read this year (three by Christie, plus the first written by Sophie Hannah). The Belgian detective with three other good guys are invited to dinner by a flamboyant troublemaker with his "tiger collection": four people he considers to be murderers who got away with it. Of course, you know what one problem with a tiger collection is, don't you?
   
6. Cat-groomer Mysteries, parts 1 and 2 (The Persian Always Meows Twice, The Bengal Identity) by Eileen Watkins. A delightful mystery series. Not Christian fiction, but safe reading.
   
7. Dead End by Nancy Mehl (Kaely Quinn Profiler, part 3). The nail biting conclusion of this suspenseful series, where Kaley confronts her serial killer father during a string of copy-cat murders.
   
8. Fatal Reunion by Jessica Patch. Piper runs a karate studio. She can take care of herself. She doesn't need God or her policeman ex-boyfriend. Right? You aren't buying that either?
   
9. The Firebrand Chronicles, parts 2 and 3 (Flare, Burn) by J. M. Hackman. I loved this YA fantasy series, which focuses on Brenna James and includes my hero, the gryphon Arvandus.
   
10. Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie. Was the mother guilty of the murder she was executed for over a decade ago? Her daughter asks Poirot to solve this, with Poirot interviewing the five eyewitnesses to what happened.
    
11. Seeking The Truth by Terri Reed (True Blue K-9 Unit, part 5). No spoilers here, but this was my favorite in this series (I read installments #2-7 of this 8 part series).
    
12. Tales of Faeraven, parts 3 and 4 (Sojourner, Dawn King) by Janalyn Voigt. An exciting conclusion to this fantasy series.

How many of these books have you read? Any that you'd like to try? Any novels you loved reading?