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Books I Read in 2021

BlogAmanda Walter | Maple Alps1 Comment

Bam. The year started out crazy busy and I thought to myself, “there is no way I’m going to get my reading done this year.” So I set out with a book goal of 30 for the year. Last year, due to stay-at-home orders and being able to work from my home office, reading was easier to get to, but from January to May this year, it was a struggle. However, come July, I realized that I hit my book goal of 30! I am not exactly sure how it happened, but it did.

I’ll be doing more book review-type posts in the future because I read some really great volumes this year, but for now, here is the much-requested book list. Please note that this is just a list of the books I read; I didn’t necessarily find them all great to read...you’ll have to wait for my top reads to find out which ones I loved :)

I use a combination of Libby (free library app - you just need a library card!) and Kindle Unlimited (use this link to try it free for 30 days!)  to read so that I don’t collect more books than I already own and spend more money than I should probably save. I’ll link the books below (affiliate links that help us keep Maple Alps going!) as well so you can grab your copies easily. You can find some other favorites of mine in my Amazon Storefront as well!


By the way, if you want to be friends on Goodreads, you can find me here! I finally updated my account.

This post contains affiliate links




Nonfiction

// 1. “Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?” by Mindy Kaling (get your copy on Amazon here) // 2. “Dare to Lead” by Brene Brown (get your copy on Amazon here) // 3. “How to Be an Antiracist” by Ibram X. Kendi (get your copy on Amazon here) // 4. “What to Eat When You’re Pregnant: How to Support Your Health and Your Baby’s Development During Pregnancy” by Nicole M. Avena (get your copy on Amazon here) // 5.“Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen” by Donald Miller (get your copy on Amazon here) // 6. “Business Made Simple: 60 Days to Master Leadership, Sales, Marketing, Execution, Management, Personal Productivity and More” by Donald Miller (get your copy on Amazon here) // 7. “Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth” by Ina May Gaskin (get your copy on Amazon here) // 8. “The Fourth Trimester: A Postpartum Guide to Healing Your Body, Balancing Your Emotions, and Restoring Your Vitality” by Kimberly Ann Johnson (get your copy on Amazon here) //9. “My Friend Anna: The True Story of a Fake Heiress” by Rachel DeLoache Williams (get your copy on Amazon here) // 10. “Project 333: The Minimalist Fashion Challenge That Proves Less Really Is So Much More” by Courtney Carver (get your copy on Amazon here)


Christian Nonfiction

// 1. “I Dared to Call Him Father: The Miraculous Story of a Muslim Woman’s Encounter with God” by Bilquiz Sheikh (get your copy on Amazon here) // 2 . “Intended for Pleasure: Sex Technique and Sexual Fulfillment in Christian Marriage” by Ed Wheat (get your copy on Amazon here) //3. “Dream Big: Know What You Want, Why You Want It, and What You’re Going to Do About It” by Bob Goff (get your copy on Amazon here) //4. “Boundaries in Marriage” by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend (get your copy on Amazon here) //5. “Gay Girl, Good God: The Story of Who I Was and Who God Has Always Been” by Jackie Hill Perry (get your copy on Amazon here)




Historical Fiction

// 1. “All the Light We Cannot See” by Anthony Doerr (get your copy on Amazon here) //2. “The German Girl” by Armando Lucas Correa (get your copy on Amazon here)

 

Baxter Family Series

// 1. “Take Two” (Above the Line, #2) by Karen Kingsbury (get your copy on Amazon here) // 2. “Take Three” (Above the Line, #3) by Karen Kingsbury (get your copy on Amazon here) // 3. “Take Four” (Above the Line, #4) by Karen Kingsbury (get your copy on Amazon here) // 4. “Leaving” (Bailey Flanigan, #1) by Karen Kingsbury (get your copy on Amazon here) // 5. “Learning” (Bailey Flanigan, #2) by Karen Kingsbury (get your copy on Amazon here) // 6. “Longing” (Bailey Flanigan, #3) by Karen Kingsbury (get your copy on Amazon here) // 7. “Loving” (Bailey Flanigan, #4) by Karen Kingsbury (get your copy on Amazon here) //8. “A Baxter Family Christmas” by Karen Kingsbury (get your copy on Amazon here) //9. “Coming Home” by Karen Kingsbury (get your copy on Amazon here)



Christian Fiction

// 1. “Shelter of the Most High” (Cities of Refuge #2) by Connilyn Cossette (get your copy on Amazon here) // 2. “Until the Mountains Fall” (Cities of Refuge #3) by Connilyn Cossette (get your copy on Amazon here) // 3. “The Truth Seeker” (O’Malley #3) by Dee Henderson (get your copy on Amazon here) // 4. “Like Flames in the Night” (Cities of Refuge #4) by Connilyn Cossette (get your copy on Amazon here) // 5. “Counted with the Stars” (Out From Egypt #1) by Connilyn Cossette (get your copy on Amazon here) //6. “Shadow of the Storm” (Out From Egypt #2) by Connilyn Cossette (get your copy on Amazon here) //7. “Wings of the Wind” (Out From Egypt #3) by Connilyn Cossette (get your copy on Amazon here) //8. “Judah’s Wife: A Novel of the Maccabees” (The Silent Years #2) by Angela Elwell Hunt (get your copy on Amazon here)

 

Non-Christian Fiction

// 1. “Forever Wild” (The Simple Wild, #2.5) by K.A. Tucker (get your copy on Amazon here)
//2.“Everything I Never Told You” By Celeste Ng (get your copy on Amazon here) //3. “Little Fires Everywhere” by Celeste Ng (get your copy on Amazon here) //4. “The Dutch House” by Ann Patchett (get your copy on Amazon here)




Books I've Read in 2020 (Part 2)

BlogAmanda Walter | Maple Alps6 Comments

Here we are for part 2 of the books I read this year (click here to check out part 1)! It became very evident, after passing my book goal in the first 3 months of 2020, that I would need to up my numbers. I went for 75 books, and thanks to being on lockdown quite a bit, I was able to achieve that - or exceed it, really, getting in 82 books. Not going to lie, not all of these books were fantastic, but I’ll be doing a roundup of my absolute favorites from the year soon! You will quickly see that I’m a sucker for a series - I just have to figure out what happens even if I’m not totally into it, hehe.

I use a combination of Libby (free library app - you just need a library card!) and Kindle Unlimited (use this link to try it free for 30 days!)  to read so that I don’t collect more books than I already own and spend more money that I should probably save. I’ll link the books below (affiliate links that help us keep Maple Alps going!) as well so you can grab your copies easily. You can find some other favorites of mine in my Amazon Storefront as well!


I haven’t sent a book goal for this year of 2021 yet, but I honestly do not anticipate reading as many as I was able to this last year! By the way, if you want to be friends on Goodreads, you can find me here! I finally updated my account.

This post contains affiliate links

Copy of maple alps-5.png26 Books I've Read So Far in 2020 | www.maplealps.com




Nonfiction

// 1. “Walking From East to West: God in the Shadows” by Ravi Zacharias (get your copy on Amazon here) // 2. “Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World” by Cal Newport (get your copy on Amazon here) // 3. “Wisdom from a Humble Jellyfish And Other Self-Care Rituals from Nature” by Rani Shah (get your copy on Amazon here) // 4. “Night” (The Night Trilogy #1) by Elie Wiesel (get your copy on Amazon here) // 5. “Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption” by Bryan Stevenson (get your copy on Amazon here) // 6. “The Origin of Names, Words, and Everything in Between” by Patrick Foote (get your copy on Amazon here) // 7. “Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man” by Mary L. Trump (get your copy on Amazon here) // 8. “Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don’t Know” by Malcolm Gladwell (get your copy on Amazon here) // 9. “Waiting to Be Heard: A Memoir” by Amanda Knox (get your copy on Amazon here) //10. “Cozy Minimalist Home: More Style, Less Stuff” by Myquillyn Smith (get your copy on Amazon here) //11. “Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams” by Matthew Walker, Ph.D. (get your copy on Amazon here) //12. “The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row” by Anthony Ray Hinton (get your copy on Amazon here) //13. “Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain” by John J. Ratey, MD (get your copy on Amazon here) //14. “So You Want to Talk About Race” by Ijeoma Oluo (get your copy on Amazon here) //15. “The Girl with Seven Names: A North Korean Defector’s Story” by Hyeonseo Lee (get your copy on Amazon here) //16. “Didn’t See That Coming: Putting Life Back Together When Your World Falls Apart” by Rachel Hollis (get your copy on Amazon here) //17. “We Were the Lucky Ones: A Novel” by Georgia Hunter (get your copy on Amazon here) //18. “Why Not Me?” by Mindy Kaling (get your copy on Amazon here)




Christian Nonfiction

// 1. “Living for God: Reliving the Joy of Christian Virtue” by Frank M. Hasel (get your copy on Amazon here) // 2 . “It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way: Finding Unexpected Strength When Disappointments Leave You Shattered” by Lysa Terkeurst  (get your copy on Amazon here) // 3. “One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are” by Ann Voskamp (get your copy on Amazon here) // 4. “Relationship Goals: How to Win at Dating, Marriage, and Sex” by Michael Todd (get your copy on Amazon here) // 5. “More or Less” by Jeff Shinabarger (get your copy on Amazon here) // 6. “Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life” by Henry Cloud and John Townsend (get your copy on Amazon here) // 7. “The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God” by Timothy J. Keller (get your copy on Amazon here)




Historical Fiction

// 1. “The Tattooist of Auschwitz” (The Tattooist of Auschwitz #1) by Heather Morris (get your copy on Amazon here) // 2. “Cilka’s Journey (The Tattooist of Auschwitz #2) by Heather Morris (get your copy on Amazon here) // 3. “Land of Silence” by Tessa Afshar (get your copy on Amazon here) // 4. “A.D. 30” (A.D. #1) by Ted Dekker (get your copy on Amazon here) // 5. “A.D. 33” (A.D. #2) by Ted Dekker (get your copy on Amazon here) // 6. “Becoming Mrs. Lewis” by Patti Callahan (get your copy on Amazon here) // 7. “The Book of Lost Names” by Kristin Harmel (get your copy on Amazon here)



Baxter Family Series

// 1. “Return” (Baxter Family Drama Redemption Series #3) by Karen Kingsbury (get your copy on Amazon here) // 2. “Rejoice” (Baxter Family Drama Redemption Series #4) by Karen Kingsbury (get your copy on Amazon here) // 3. “Reunion” (Baxter Family Drama Redemption Series #5) by Karen Kingsbury (get your copy on Amazon here) // 4. “Fame” (Baxter Family Drama Firstborn Series #1) by Karen Kingsbury (get your copy on Amazon here) // 5. “Forgiven” (Baxter Family Drama Firstborn Series #2) by Karen Kingsbury (get your copy on Amazon here) // 6. “Found”  (Baxter Family Drama Firstborn Series #3) by Karen Kingsbury (get your copy on Amazon here) // 7. “Family”  (Baxter Family Drama Firstborn Series #4) by Karen Kingsbury (get your copy on Amazon here) //8. “Forever” (Baxter Family Drama Firstborn Series #5) by Karen Kingsbury (get your copy on Amazon here) //9. “Sunrise” (Sunrise Series #1) by Karen Kingsbury (get your copy on Amazon here) //10. “Summer” (Sunrise Series #2) by Karen Kingsbury (get your copy on Amazon here) //11. “Someday” (Sunrise Series #3) by Karen Kingsbury (get your copy on Amazon here) //12. “Sunset” (Sunrise Series #4) by Karen Kingsbury (get your copy on Amazon here) //13. “Take One” (Above the Line #1) by Karen Kingsbury (get your copy on Amazon here)



Christian Fiction

// 1. “Till We Have Faces” by C.S. Lewis (get your copy on Amazon here) // 2. “The Last Sin Eater” by Francine Rivers (get your copy on Amazon here) // 3. “Bread of Angels” by Tessa Afshar (get your copy on Amazon here) // 4. “Theif of Corinth” by Tessa Afshar (get your copy on Amazon here) // 5. “Daughter of Rome” by Tessa Afshar (get your copy on Amazon here)

 

Non-Christian Fiction

// 1. “The Simple Wild” (Wild #1) by K.A. Tucker (get your copy on Amazon here)
//2. “Wild at Heart” (Wild #2) by K.A. Tucker (get your copy on Amazon here) //3. “The Vanishing Half” by Brit Bennett (get your copy on Amazon here) //4. “Say You Still Love Me” by K.A. Tucker (get your copy on Amazon here) // 5. “A Man Called Ove” by Fredrik Backman (get your copy on Amazon here)




31 Books I Read in 2020 (Part 1)

BlogAmanda Walter | Maple AlpsComment

I’ve officially exceeded my book reading goal for this year (thank you, COVID-19), so I’ve had to up my numbers. On Instagram, I did a poll to find out if you wanted a mid-year book list and 97% of you said you would like that. Here are the books I’ve read so far this year. I did not list any as DNF (did not finish), though at least three came very close. As you will see, the range of genres is pretty broad, even in the fiction/nonfiction realm but I wanted to keep the list simple. Reviews for my favorites will come later :)

I use a combination of Libby (free library app - you just need a library card!) and Kindle Unlimited (use this link to try it free for 30 days!)  to read so that I don’t collect more books than I already own and spend more money that I should probably save. I’ll link the books below (affiliate links that help us keep Maple Alps going!) as well so you can grab your copies easily. You can find some other favorites of mine in my Amazon Storefront as well, and keep your eyes out for part 2 of my 2020 books in January.


For the second half of the year, I plan to add some foreign language books (I have a few German ones on my shelf I’ve been meaning to get to) and some more nonfiction and memoirs. I haven’t gotten to more because I’m on a loooooong waitlist to get some of them. By the way, if you want to be friends on Goodreads, you can find me here! I finally updated my account.


Happy Reading!

This post contains affiliate links

26 Books I've Read So Far in 2020 | www.maplealps.com




Nonfiction


// 1. “Girl, Stop Apologizing: A Shame-Free Plan for Embracing and Achieving Your Goals” by Rachel Hollis (get your copy on Amazon here) // 2. “The Act of Marriage: The Beauty of Sexual Love” by Tim LaHaye (get your copy on Amazon here) // 3. “Scatterbrain: How the mind’s mistakes make humans creative, innovative, and successful” by Henning Beck (get your copy on Amazon here) // 4. “Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up” by Marie Kondo (get your copy on Amazon here) // 5. “The Life-Changing Manga of Tidying Up” by Marie Kondo (get your copy on Amazon here) // 6. “The Little Book of Hygge” (The Happiness Institute Series) by Meik Wiking (get your copy on Amazon here)
// 7. “Homebody: A Guide to Creating Spaces You Never Want to Leave” by Joanna Gaines (get your copy on Amazon here) // 8. “Educated: A Memoir” by Tara Westover (get your copy on Amazon here) // 9. “Becoming” by Michelle Obama (get your copy on Amazon here)




Christian Nonfiction


// 1. “How People Grow: What the Bible Reveals About Personal Growth” by Henry Cloud (get your copy on Amazon here) // 2 . “Uninvited: Living Loved When You Feel Less Than, Left Out, and Lonely” by Lysa TerKeurst  (get your copy on Amazon here) // 3. “God’s Smuggler” by Brother Andrew (get your copy on Amazon here) // 4. “The Insanity of God” by Nik Ripken (get your copy on Amazon here) // 5. “More or Less” by Jeff Shinabarger (get your copy on Amazon here)




Historical Fiction


// 1. “Egypt’s Sister: A Novel of Cleopatra” (The Silent Years #1) by Angela Elwell Hunt (get your copy on Amazon here) // 2. “Harvest of Gold” (Harvest of Rubies, #2) by Tessa Afshar (get your copy on Amazon here) // 3. “Land of Silence” by Tessa Afshar (get your copy on Amazon here) // 4. “A.D. 30” (A.D. #1) by Ted Dekker (get your copy on Amazon here) // 5. “A.D. 33” (A.D. #2) by Ted Dekker (get your copy on Amazon here) // 6. “Becoming Mrs. Lewis” by Patti Callahan (get your copy on Amazon here)



Christian Fiction

// 1. “The Negotiator” (O’Malley, #1) by Dee Henderson (get your copy on Amazon here)
// 2. “The Guardian” (O’Malley, #2) by Dee Henderson (get your copy on Amazon here)
// 3. “An Heiress at Heart” (Love’s Grace, #1) by Jennifer Delamere (get your copy on Amazon here)
// 4. “A Lady Most Lovely” (Love’s Grace, #2) by Jennifer Delamere (get your copy on Amazon here)
// 5. “A Bride for the Season” (Love’s Grace, #3) by Jennifer Delamere (get your copy on Amazon here)
// 6. “Sensible Shoes: A Story about the Spiritual Journey” (Sensible Shoes #1) by Sharon Garlough Brown (get your copy on Amazon here)
// 7. “Redemption” (Baxter Family Drama Redemption Series #1) by Karen Kingsbury (get your copy on Amazon here)
// 8. “Remember” (Baxter Family Drama Redemption Series #2) by Karen Kingsbury (get your copy on Amazon here)




Non-Christian Fiction

// 1. “The Enlightenment of Bees” by Rachel Linden (get your copy on Amazon here)
// 2. “Where the Crawdads Sing” by Delia Owens (get your copy on Amazon here)
// 3. “Wolf Hollow” by Lauren Wolk (get your copy on Amazon here)




8 Tips To Go Deeper Into God’s Word

FaithAmanda Walter | Maple Alps18 Comments

Until recent years, you could have found me approaching bible study like most women. I'd flip to a Psalm or open up a devotional and spend about 5 minutes trying to apply it to my life. I craved something more but just wasn't equipped to do anything about it.

While devos have their place, women would do well to strive for deeper immersion into the Word of God.

So, here are some tips I've learned over the years that I thoroughly recommend adding to your bible study routine.

 

8 Tips To Go Deeper Into God’s Word | www.maplealps.com
 

1. Pray.

Prayer is so important. If I’m being honest, though, it’s also the step I tend to forget about way too easily. When approaching God’s word, we can pray about the following things:

  • What book of the bible should I read?

  • Pray for understanding and wisdom at the beginning, and during your study as questions come up.

  • Praise for who God is and any attributes you see in the passage you’re reading.

  • Pray that God would reveal to you how to apply what you’ve learned to your life.

 

2. Don't toss out any books of the bible.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 says,

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

From the seemingly monotonous genealogies to the Levitical Law, all scripture points us to the feet of Jesus and is applicable to our lives today.

Be open to every book in the Word of God. As Jen Wilkin says, "There are no pink parts of the bible." We need more than Esther and Ruth.

 

3. Park yourself in one book.

As women, we like to move quickly. We're always on to the next thing. This ought not be so in our time with the Lord.

Make yourself a student of one book of the bible for as long as it takes. Your goal is to find Jesus among the pages, learn more about God's character and allow the Holy Spirit to open your eyes to the truths of Scripture which will shape you into Christlikeness.

This requires you to slow down. Take your time.

If this means you spend six months studying one book of the bible, that's awesome! Be okay with mulling over hard passages for long periods of time. In the end, you'll reap the reward.

 

4. Search out the context.

Context is key, y'all!

When studying a book of the bible, you must find the context.

Believe it or not, you can find out a lot about a book by reading it multiple times in a row. I do this by searching for information about the author, recipients, or themes I see and writing them down.

A decent study of hermeneutics will be super helpful for this. The bible is compiled of many types of literature, from poetry to letters. Knowing what kind you're studying will be helpful for how to interpret scripture.

Of course, there's also the option of a good study bible which has all of that information at the beginning of each book. However you decide, search out the context. This is vital to bible study and protects the reader from wrong interpretation of the text.

 

8 Tips To Go Deeper Into God’s Word | www.maplealps.com

 

5. Hold off on using a commentary until the end.

While study bibles are great for getting key information at the beginning of your study, commentaries should be used at the end.

When we use commentaries throughout our study, we rob ourselves of the chance to come to the correct conclusion on our own. There is so much growth that happens in the in between as we wrestle with the meaning of scripture. We're forced to rely on the Holy Spirit to guide and shape our mind to understand.

I always use a commentary at the very end of my study to see how my thoughts line up with a trained theologian. If you're looking for a good one, Matthew Henry's is fantastic and it's available online!

 

6. Use different translations.

Whenever I come to a difficult passage to interpret, I like to read it in a couple other translations. This can be so helpful. But remember to use a translation and not a paraphrase. Typically, I use the ESV, YLT and NASB.

 

7. Define words.

Another good practice is defining words. I write down any word I don't often use or don't know. Look at the synonyms too. I can't tell you how many times this has helped me to better understand a verse.

 

8. Be patient with yourself.

Lastly, be patient.

 

You aren't going to understand everything in one sitting. Some days, you'll walk away from your study confused or even frustrated. Learn to embrace the discomfort of not understanding, knowing that in due time God will reveal to you the truths he wants you to know.

It's in those times where we trust in God, even when we don't see what his Word is saying. Our faith is stretched and we humbly accept that he is God and we are not.

If you want to read my bible study technique, you can find it here.

Be encouraged, friends. God is with you as you seek his face through studying his Word.


This was a guest post from Brittany Allen, who blogs at God's My Healer. 

I'm a follower of Christ and wife to James. I exist to bring God glory and pray my writing is an avenue for that. I long to encourage women to think and live biblically. I thrive on seeing women open up their hearts to The Savior and to other women around them.

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