26 Books I’m Looking Forward to Reading in 2021
Even though the year is half over, I still wanted to share my book list for 2021! I’ve been reading some great books this year so far. My goal is to read 32 books and I’m sharing 26 of the books I plan to read this year or have already finished. The book stack by me bed is insanely tall right now and there never seems to be enough time to read everything I want to, but I have a few tips here on on how I do read quite a bit.
Want to see my book list for 2021? Let’s go!
I put an (*) by the books I’ve finished so far this year.
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Read Aloud Book List
*Geraldine Woolkins | We finished this one earlier this year and it was such a sweet book. It’s perfect for fall time. It’s about a mouse family living in the woods and how they have to work so hard to survive all the elements.
*George Washington’s World by Genevieve Foster | This series by Foster is so good. It covers the main character, George Washington in this case, as well as lots of other main events happening at the same time around the world. It’s a wonderful way to study world history and geography.
C.S. Lewis: Master Storyteller | This comes from the YWAM series and it is such a great series on Christians and missionaries. We are loving reading about the life of C.S. Lewis. I hope to follow it up with a movie night of Chronicles of Narnia.
Created for Work: Practical Insights for Young Men by Bob Schultz | We are reading this with the boys right now and the girls are listening in too some nights. The chapters are really short and follow up with discussion questions, which is great. Each chapter highlights a different aspect of working hard. Things like making things look beautiful and taking care in the work you do and more.
Nonfiction Book List for 2021
I have a goal to read lots more nonfiction this year and I’m off to a pretty good start. In fact, I might actually have too many started! I need to stop a few and finish some! Here’s my nonfiction book list for 2021:
The Life-Giving Table by Sally Clarkson | I have read bits and pieces of this book and I LOVE it! Sally includes favorite family recipes and I just adore her love for families. Through following Sally, I’ve gleaned so much appreciation for the work we do as mothers to create a strong family. This one is all about family togetherness around the table—good food and fellowship. Love that!
Don’t Make Me Count to Three by Ginger Hubbard | I am almost done with this one and I highly recommend it to any and all Christian mamas with littles! Ginger focuses on parenting our kids with their hearts in mind instead of just teaching them to obey. She impresses upon the parents reading that a child’s disobedience is really just a sin issue that needs training. I wish I would’ve read this one when my kids were smaller!
Everyone’s a Theologian: an Introduction to Systematic Theology by R.C. Sproul | This is another one I’ve read bits and pieces of. You definitely could just use this book as a reference and look up topics as needed. I would like to read it cover to cover this year though. Jarrod is almost done with it and has learned so much! R.C. is a favorite of mine and I love listening to his sermons and lectures.
Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis | I had never read this classic and it was definitely time! I am currently about halfway through and I’m reading with a friend, which makes it really fun. We read a chapter or so a week and discuss over Voxer. This book is compiled essays that Lewis read over the radio, which is an interesting bit I never knew. I love reading his thoughts on everything from forgiveness to pride to morality.
Christianity and Liberalism by J. Machen | This book comes highly recommended from friends and pastors and teachers I love.
Family Driven Faith: Doing What It Takes to Raise Sons and Daughters Who Walk with God by Voddie Baucham | I absolutely love listening to Voddie’s lectures and sermons! He is pure gold and an incredible guy. This is one of his most popular books. It might be more geared towards families with young kids, but we will see.
Fault Lines by Voddie Baucham | I have started this one and WHOA is it good! This one is all about how Critical Race Theory has crept into many churches, what it looks like, and why it’s pure poison to the church—and everything else for that matter. SO good so far! Must-read for every Christian.
Blackout by Candace Owens | I just love Candace’s fighting spirit and this book looks excellent!
The Devil In Karl Marx | With terms like “cultural Marxism” being tossed around so frequently, it’s made me want to learn more about Karl Marx. My son, Jack, has read a lot on this topic and this book looks super interesting and I need to catch up to Jack!
Live Not by Lies by Rod Dreher | Pretty much everyone in my life has read this one—and rightly so, it’s incredible. This book is deep! Dreher interviews dozens of immigrants from Russia and eastern Europe and weaves them together to create a full book of all the reasons why Communism is evil and why we must resist it in the west. I’m about halfway through this one too!
My Grandfather’s Son by Clarence Thomas | Thomas has such an incredible story! One of my book club friends suggested this one and I can’t wait to read more about him.
*Becoming MomStrong by Heidi St. John | I read this one with some friends for a bible study. When I started reading, I was afraid it was going to be aimed more at moms with young kids–I was wrong! This is so great for moms of kids of all ages. I love how each chapter ends with prayer prompts and it’s FILLED with scripture references too.
Fiction Book List for 2021
Fiction is how I wind down at night. There’s nothing better than escaping into a thriller or historical story before bed. Here’s my fiction book list for 2021.
*The Good Girl | This one surprised me. It was a tad on the slow side, but it was surprisingly clean and also had a definite pro-life message. A lot of fiction is riddled with expletives and sex scenes so when you find a thriller that doesn’t, it’s always a nice surprise.
This one is about a young teacher who meets a guy at a bar one night who ends up kidnapping her, which gets really weird because her dad is a famous judge and there’s the question of blackmail…dunn dunn dunnnnn.
*The Guest List | I finished this one this year too. It’s pretty good! There are some sex scenes and language. The setting is really cool—an island in Ireland where all the characters are gathering for a wedding. The chapters hop back and fourth from character to character, which I like a lot. There are lots of complexity to the story—lots of storylines and the mystery part is really fun too.
All The Light You Cannot See | I have read this a couple of times already but I love it so much and I wanted to read something I knew would not disappoint. Rereading this again!
The Librarian of Auschwitz | I picked this one because it was recommended by a friend, but other than that, I know nothing about it. But a good WWII novel is always a good idea!
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek
*The Sundown Motel | I finished this one this winter. This one is super creepy. If you like ghost stories, this one is for you!
*Night Swim | I finished the audiobook a few weeks ago. I didn’t LOVE this one, but the story line is really interesting. The main character is a true crime podcaster and she is covering a highly publicized rape case in a small town. At the same time, she’s uncovering a decades-old crime that everyone in the town thought was an accident.
So that’s it for my book list for 2021! I am sure I will veer from the list a bit too, but it’s always nice to have a list to refer back to when I need something new!
Halfway through Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby. It’s been good to learn the church’s history in racism. Lamenting and repenting, recording and handing down history in an accurate manner (like how in the Old Testament what David did right AND what he did wrong were both recorded) seem so in line with Scripture to me!
Pretty much all my fiction reads have been misses for me so far but I keep trying to find a good one.
I have way to much non-fiction on the go at any given time. A few of these are :
A Pastor’s Sketches by Ichabod S. Spencer
Awaking Wonder by Sally Clarkson
Kisses From Katie by Katie Davis Majors
My summer fiction reads:
Huckleberry Finn (finished)
Lonesome Dove
Rilla of Ingleside