On the nightstand …

Kari Patterson > Book Lover > On the nightstand …
Book Lover19 Comments0

Who will influence you this year? The people you spend time with are the most significant influences in your life. And while we don’t always have a choice about who we spend time with in person, we do have a choice about who we spend time with on the screen and on the page. What blogs will you follow? What shows will you watch? And, my personal favorite: Whose words will you let wash over you this year?

This past year I was thankful to read the following books. These are the ones I’d recommend; it was time well-spent in their pages:

  • One Thousand Gifts (read twice, so good both times!)
  • Veneer
  • Organized Simplicity
  • Steady Days
  • Kitchen Table Counseling
  • Uprising
  • 20 Foundational Truths Every Christian Should Know
  • Same Kind of Different As Me
  • Creative Correction
  • To Train Up A Child (4 volumes)
  • In the Time of the Butterflies
  • Old School
  • Revolution in World Missions
  • Battlefield of the Mind
  • I’d Trade My Husband for a Housekeeper
  • The Help
 I also re-read these books, worth it every time!
  • Pursuit of God
  • Created to Be His Helpmeet
And now, 2012’s nightstand holds these books (subject to tossing out the window if they aren’t any good.)
  • Half the Sky
  • The Mother at Home
  • The Glass Castle
  • From Eternity to Here
  • What Paul really said about women (I was asked to read this.)
  • Bringing up girls
  • One Million Arrows
  • The Brothers K
  • Crazy Love  (I know, I know, I should have read this by now!)
  • The Meaning of Marriage
  • The Attentive Life
  • When Helping Hurts
And I plan to re-read:
  • Calm my Anxious Heart
  • Shepherding a Child’s Heart
  • Revolution in World Missions
  • Created to Be His Helpmeet (a yearly thing, I think)
  • Pursuit of God (also yearly)
There’s plenty of space left on the nightstand, so if you have some must-read suggestions I’d love to hear!
{What were your favorite reads of 2011 and what’s on your nightstand for 2012? Consider who will influence you this year … Thanks for sharing — and reading!}

19 thoughts on “On the nightstand …”

  1. I started ‘Give them Grace’ last night and I am so excited to learn from it! Thanks for sharing your list, Kari!

    1. Mmmm…I just heard about that book. Tell me what you think of it as you go, I might add it to the list. Thanks Lacey!

  2. My favorites of the 2011 were:

    Enemies of the Heart- Andy Stanley
    As Silver Refined- Kay Arthur
    Revolution in World Missions
    And all the Karen Kingsbury (fiction books) I read!

    I haven’t decided the list for this year.

  3. Great Lists Kari! Thanks for sharing those. I am smack-dab in the middle of The Total Money Makeover and loving every thing about it, there is so much in it that I never learned in college being even being a finance major! Oh, and I’m also reading Shepherding a Child’s Heart, Steady Days was great too last year:-) Nothing new to add though!

    1. Ooh! SO good, Meliss! The funny thing is I actually haven’t read the book (confession) but I’ve read all his stuff online and we totally follow it. How fun. Have you heart of Loving the Little Years? I might add that too..

  5. So you already have “Half the Sky” (from whence the quote from Kristof we shared came from)? I’m curious what you think of his findings if and when you read it.

    1. A good friend of mine (who started a ministry working with India partners saving girls out of the sex trade in India) kept telling me I had to read it… So I’ve been wanting to but your post yesterday lit a fire under me so I put it on top. I don’t physically have the book in my hands yet but will order it. Do you have it? Maybe I could just read yours in Hawaii. 🙂

  6. “He Loves Me ” learning to live in the Father’s affection. by: Wayne Jacobsen
    It has been truly life changing for me.

    Another wonderful book is The Wholehearted Marriage by: Greg Smalley & Shawn Stoever

    1. Ooh, I will check those out! I’m not familiar with either of those, thank you so much, Pam. Pray you’re blessed this year in your reading!

  7. Loved seeing your book list…thank you for sharing. Trusting God by Jerry Bridges was one of my “tops” for 2011, also A Praying Life by Paul Miller, excellent.
    In one of your posts before Christmas, you mentioned a trusted site to buy a cow or goats for a village. Would you still have that info? Thank you so much! And Happy Reading for 2012!

    1. I will check those books out, thank you Debi! Also, interestingly the organization I mentioned is the one I wrote about today! Gospel for Asia. Other great ones are World Vision, Compassion, and India Partners. All have the sites to buy goats or cows. You can click on link at the bottom of today’s post to visit GFA’s site. Thanks!

  8. Ooo….let me know what you think of “Glass Castle”…I read that one about 5 years ago and STILL think about it from time to time. My “best read” of the year was “Unbroken”…I had every spectrum of emotion reading that book- and it’s a true story. You would have it read in 1 night, but it took me 2!! 😉

  9. Pingback: On the nightstand {2013}

  10. Kari- I am enjoying Interrupted by Jen Hatmaker – a book about a woman and her pastor husband whose life is interrupted by the Spirit- Jen reads Matt. 25 which changes her life- the story of the Sheep and the Goats- …powerful. She talks about how reaching out to others is not about always finding wordly “success” but it is about doing what is right. People we help will not always have a perfect ending to their story- …I thought of you with this story as I find my own in it as well-
    blessings dear new writer mom friend – cornelia

    1. Thank you, Cornelia! Did you, by chance, order me a copy??? I received a copy of that book last week and we have no idea who sent it! 🙂 Did you?? Thanks again, Kari

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