2014 : My Life In Books

 Which book should I read for 2014?

Whistling Past the Graveyard by Susan Crandall

OR

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

OR

A Fall of Marigolds by Susan Meissner

OR

The Pearl That Broke Its Shell by Nadia Hashimi

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Let's Bust a Recap : When God Writes Your Life Story

I distinctly remember receiving When God Writes Your Life Story along with two other books by the Ludys as a gift in high school. Around that time, I read one of the other books, When Dreams Come True. I liked that one. It was the couple's love story told from both their perspectives. Very sweet. I think I started this one shortly after finishing that one, but didn't get very far into it. Probably not even past the first chapter. (I never picked up the other one, When God Writes Your Love Story, so I have no comments about it.)

Years later in 2015—and now that I'm thinking about it, that would have been a solid ten years after receiving these books as gifts—when I decided to make my very first book list, When God Writes Your Life Story got a spot. And I even started reading it again. But once again, I didn't make it past the first chapter before setting it aside. 

So obviously, it got a spot on my 2026 book list along with three other books from that very first list and I wasted no time in dusting it off to read in March. And it turned out to be a 50/50 book. I 50% couldn't roll my eyes any harder, and 50% thought it could actually be a very helpful resource. So let's get into it. 

Basically the premise of this book is when we're kids, we dream big, like, superhero big dreams for our life. But as we get older, we settle for mediocrity. So if you want to make your life count and live a thrilling existence, read our book to make it happen. 

Do you see me rolling my eyes?

Eric and Leslie Ludy published When God Writes Your Life Story back in 2004. It's the sixth in a long line of books they've published together. I am genuinely happy to report that the Ludys are still married and active in ministry, and seem to be a pretty unproblematic couple. A lot of spiritual leaders from the Y2K "purity culture" era have fallen from grace hard, and for me, that taints their work—however founded in truth it may be. But the Ludys seem to be the real deal, and I'm sincerely glad about that.

But their writing. Boy oh boy. When I say the first two-thirds of this book is some of the cheesiest, most trite, "Christian-ese" nonsense I've ever read: it legitimately made me want to hurl. If you've been around or know me in real life, you know I grew up in a pastor's household. Maybe you think that means I grew up with this kind of sunshine-y, Christian-speak, climb God's Everest, Jesus loves me, kind of vocabulary. But if you actually know my dad, you know he won't stand for what he calls "Sunday school answers." We never got let off the hook with a "because the Bible says so" answer around the family dinner table. My dad is quick to cut through the BS and tell the truth plain, especially when it's hard. As a result, I have grown into an adult who can't stand this "churchy" way of talking. It makes my skin crawl. And so for the first 140ish pages of When God Writes Your Life Story, I was wincing. A lot. The Ludys don't out-and-out lie or say anything blasphemous, but they also don't say things that are particularly helpful, practical, or that give a full picture of life. This book is geared to a younger demographic—nothing wrong with that—but they go so far as to say that older people have criticized them and their message as being naive and overly optimistic and that those naysayers are part of the mass of people who have settled for mediocrity in their lives. 

As one of those older people reading their book, let me add my two cents. While I would agree that there can literally be nothing in life more ultimately rewarding than living for God wholeheartedly, I think the Ludys are setting young people up for major disillusionment by talking about the Christian life as if it is a thrilling adventure every. single. day. And they do talk about it like that. What will happen to the teenager who joyfully embraces this ideology when she grows up and realizes that the bills have to be paid every month, the dishes have to be washed every day, the laundry never ends, and she actually has to buy the groceries and cook the meals day in and day out? Her kids will throw tantrums and things will break and she will get sick when it's the most inconvenient. Learning to live a quiet, faithful life through all that doesn't always feel exciting. Some (most?) days it feels exhausting. Is she still doing it right when she doesn't feel like she's living on the mountaintops? I think if she swallowed the Ludys message, hook, line, and sinker when she was a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed twenty-two year old, fresh out of Bible college, she might become a sad statistic of another kid raised in church who walked away from it all as an adult. 

But Hannah, you said this was a 50/50 book? What is helpful in all that?

When God Writes Your Life Story is sectioned into three parts: Part One—Dreaming the Impossible; Part Two—Living the Impossible; and Part Three—Frontier Field Guide. If you're anything like me and have a low tolerance for BS, those first two parts will be painful. But if you want to skip all that and go straight to the Field Guide, that's where I think this book actually has something helpful to offer. While the first two parts read like, "The Christian life is such an adventure, keep reading to learn how to climb the Christian Everest!" (I wish I was kidding), this third part gets into practical, real-world application of how to confront and confess sin and live a holy life. A how-to for setting achievable goals, creating healthy habits, and getting involved in community. When God Writes Your Life Story offered some of the most balanced, practical advice I've ever read about finding and joining a church. That part especially resonated with me as someone who has had a very difficult time finding a church as an adult now that my dad (you remember him, the straight-shooter?) is no longer pastoring a local church. 

So there's good stuff in there. You just have to wade through a lot of cheese to get to it. My advice? If you find yourself with this book in your hands, skip straight to the "Frontier Field Guide" and go from there. If you want to get a feel for what you're missing in parts one and two, just read the little "In a Nutshell" page at the end of each chapter. I promise, the chapters themselves aren't any deeper than what you get there. While I did feel like a lot of my time reading this book was wasted, I can honestly say that I could see myself referring back to that third section in the future. 

On to the next.

2013 : My Life In Books

 Which book should I read for 2013?

The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo

OR

The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty

OR

Palisades Park by Alan Brennert

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Let's Bust a Recap : Hannah Coulter

Wendell Berry is one of the most highly lauded living authors today. Currently 91 years old, his resumé is a thing to behold. I've been wanting to read his work for some time now, but let me tell you: his books are hard to find secondhand. Even on my go-to resale sites, they land on the pricier side. And now that I've finally read him, I understand why. You don't let go of Wendell Berry easily. My sister-in-law was kind enough to get my collection started when she gifted me Hannah Coulter for my birthday in 2024. It immediately earned a place on my 2025 book list, but I didn't quite get to it last year.

Since 2026 has been the year of trying to read all the books I put on my book lists but never actually read, Hannah Coulter automatically got another spot. And when my friend Karis started reading it at the beginning of March, I got the FOMO real bad and resolved to read it as soon as I finished Project Hail Mary (which didn't take long because I couldn't put that book down, though I didn't manage to start Hannah until after Karis finished). Start it I did though and ended up reading it over the course of a week. This quiet, deeply felt novel is written in the form of twice-widowed Hannah Coulter looking back over her life and relating her recollections to Andy Catlett. As Hannah sorts through her memories and recalls her childhood, her first love and loss, building a life with her second husband, and raising children: the reader is transported to a simpler way of living, but not one without its own unique complexities, struggles, and heartaches. It was a pleasure to read, and it felt deeply personal. Hannah's musings on life and the specific choices she made were so real and easy to relate to. Her story is so profoundly human, the characters littering the pages almost tangible. Nothing about Berry's writing felt contrived or overdone. Truly such a beautiful book. 

Wendell Berry is closely identified with rural Kentucky and his writing is known for being grounded in a strong sense of place. Hannah Coulter, published in 2004, is the seventh of his Port William novels which began with Nathan Coulter, published in 1960. There are eight total, and Berry wrote them in such a way that they can be read in any order. Now that I've read Hannah Coulter, I'm most interested in picking up Andy Catlett next since Andy is the one she's sharing her memories with in this book, but I hope to add all eight of the Port William novels to my library and read them as they come. 

To sum up: this reader's opinion is that the Wendell Berry hype is fully earned. After reading a little more about Berry himself, his views and activism, I'm not sure how his non-fiction would land with me, but I absolutely loved my first experience with his fictional Port William and its membership, and I'm looking forward to my next visit there. 

2012 : My Life In Books

 Which book should I read for 2012?

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

OR

11/22/63 by Stephen King
OR

The Little Old Lady Who Broke All the Rules by Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg

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Let's Bust a Recap : Project Hail Mary

Oh yes. I unapologetically jumped on the bandwagon of people reading this 2021 bestseller in anticipation of the new film adaptation starring Ryan Gosling. I'm not ashamed to admit it. Sci-fi is not my go-to genre and though I was aware of the universal popularity of Andy Weir's books The Martian and Project Hail Mary, I didn't have much interest in reading them, despite the glowing reviews from personal friends and family. 

But when the news dropped last summer that the long-awaited adaptation would be making its way to screens in March this year, I began that internal bookworm debate of to read or not to read. I was immediately interested in seeing the film. We're fans of the Gosling around here and what better date night than an adventure through the galaxies? Ultimately, I decided—and so did my husband—that we would give the book a go, and since I got to select the book for my book club to read in March, I dragged them into it with me, too.

I procured a copy (a saga in and of itself involving long library wait times, hunting unsuccessfully for a secondhand copy, buying the book from a major retailer, then immediately having my hold come through from the library, my husband taking the library book with him on a trip to Winston-Salem where he got snowed in for a week and read it in like a day and telling me we should definitely keep the copy we bought, but then him finding it in the first secondhand bookstore he visited for a fraction of the price we paid the major retailer, so naturally he bought it and I returned the new book) and, along with my brother Reagan, began reading. (Another fun story: Reagan and I ended up finishing the book within minutes of each other. 1:30 AM Eastern Standard for me; 10:30 PM Pacific Standard for him.)

Okay, so here's where we hit a snag in this review. 

What review, Hannah? You've been bombarding us with all your usual nonsense and gotten nowhere!

Right, but see: I went into this book almost completely blind. I didn't know much of anything about it beyond it involving a guy going to space. And it was one of the best reading experiences ever. I am firmly in the camp of readers who would advise you to go into this book without reading a single review, or watching the movie trailer, or even reading the back of the book. This is one of those books you walk away from wishing you could read it for the first time again. 

But where does that leave me, your humble internet book reviewer? I will give you one sentence about the premise, then a few more details about the success of the book, my general thoughts about the adaptation, and we'll leave it at that. Deal? 

A man wakes up from a medically-induced coma, but he can't remember why he was in one, where he is, or even what his own name is. 

*cue the drama*

You guys, it's so good. Definitely read it. In 2021 it debuted on pretty much every big bestseller list for the physical book and the audiobook narrated by Ray Porter, and it jumped back up to the top of all the bestseller lists again last summer when the teaser for the adaptation dropped. Now, I'll be the first person to tell you that Andy Weir's writing isn't anything to phone home about, but the man can spin a yarn, let me tell you. And while this book was chock-full of the science and math, he never took it to the point where my eyes glazed over, which is saying something because I am not a science and math girl. This is a keep-you-on-the-edge-of-your-seat novel, and I was reading it every chance I got. 

As for the movie: we loved it. A very good adaptation, as adaptations go. Naturally, there were some omissions we were disappointed about, and, honestly, the opening wasn't great; but overall it was a very good time at the movies. We saw it in IMAX which was awesome and I'd highly recommend it if you have the chance to see it that way. I do honestly feel like I would not have enjoyed it as much as I did if I hadn't read the book first. This was an adaptation for the book-lovers if ever I've seen one, and while it still would have been a fun date night if we hadn't read the book first, I don't think I'd feel compelled to buy the movie on DVD or watch it again if I hadn't loved the book so thoroughly and had all the information the movie couldn't possibly have included. 

Project Hail Mary has a fan in me. I don't know that I'll ever pick up Andy Weir's other books, but I'm so glad I didn't miss out on this one. 

Amaze. Amaze. Amaze.

2011 : My Life In Books

 Which book should I read for 2011?

I'll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan

OR

The Tiger's Wife by Téa Obreht

OR

The Little Women Letters by Gabrielle Donnelly

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