My Eight Favorite books of 2013

I usually read about 100 books a year.   However, in 2013, so much was going on -- my mother went into the hospital in August and wasn't released until December.  (She was home a few days but had to keep going back to the hospital or rehab.)  So I only read about 40 books in 2013.



Here are a few of my favorites (In the order I read them)

1.  A Year of Biblical Womanhood: How a Liberated Woman Found Herself Sitting on Her Roof, Covering Her Head, and Calling Her Husband "Master"  I loved this book because it was a great view of what if everything in the Bible was taken 100% literally and women still had to sleep in tents away from their husbands at times?

2.  Etched...Upon My Heart: What We Learn and Why We Never Forget  This book was written like a letter to her daughters reminding them of important lessons.  It was an amazing read written by the wife of Jim Kelley, former NFL quarterback, and they lost a son.  She has a lot of wisdom to share.

3.  I'm not usually a fiction fan, but The One Good Thing: A Novel was a fantastic book and I would highly recommend it.  What if we all did something nice for someone everyday?  What if we did that without carrying a secret that nearly tore a family apart when it was found out?

4.   Fill These Hearts: God, Sex, and the Universal Longing may seem like an odd book to make this list, but it was a great book that had so much depth to it I read it in small bits to absorb it.

5.  The Catholic Home: Celebrations and Traditions for Holidays, Feast Days, and Every Day
 had a lot of great ideas on how to incorporate faith into everyday life!

6.   The Church: Unlocking the Secrets to the Places Catholics Call Home was written by Cardinal Wuerl.  Anything written by him is a favorite.  I used to watch his show when he was a Bishop in Pittsburgh and he has taught me so much.

7. Set Free: The Authentic Catholic Woman's Guide to Forgiveness is a book that I would recommend to women -- OR MEN who may be struggling to forgive someone.

8.  Chasing Francis: A Pilgrim's Tale is the second fiction book to make this list.  A megachurch pastor gets fed up with the life of faith he's been living, leaves town to go to Italy to hang out with his uncle who is a priest, and he finds authentic faith.


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I am hoping to read a lot more this year than I did last year and maybe next year I can give a top ten list instead of a top eight, and I'd love to be able to do a top ten fiction reads and top ten non-fiction reads, but until then you have my eight favorite books of 2013.