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Book Lists 2020

Dec8

I used to have a feature here on Saturdays called the Saturday Review of Books. And every year around the end of the year, I dedicated that Saturday Review to lists of books for the old year or for the new year or for anything in between: Favorite Books of This Year or What I’m Reading Next Year or The Best Books of All Time According to Blogger #1 or really any book list that came out on a blog somewhere at the end of the year. So, I’ve been collecting these lists, and now I’ll post a few each day. If I don’t already have yours linked here, please leave a comment and a link. I love book lists, and I like sharing them with you all.

Let the listing begin!

My Favorite Books of 2020 by Russell Moore. Most of Mr. Moore’s list is non-fiction of the theological and sociological persuasion, and for the most part I’m not a fan of those kinds of books. But I am looking forward to reading Marilynne Robinson’s Jack, the newest in her Gilead set of stories.

The 2020 For the Church Book Awards by Ronni Kurtz. “[W]e are pleased to present our readers with a few books that stuck out as exceptional from this past year. In this, our fourth annual For the Church book awards, each member of the editorial team chose two books—a winner and a runner-up—to honor and to recommend to you.” Of the book on this award list, I am most interested in Alan Jacobs’ Breaking Bread With the Dead, about reading and learning from old books.

Cody Glen Barnhardt: 10 Favorite Books I Read in 2020. Mr. Barnhardt is not the first to suggest Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sufferers and Sinners by Dane Ortlund. My pastor also suggested it earlier this year, and I’ve seen it on other lists. Maybe someone is trying to tell me something?

Hungry for Good Books?: The Annual List 2020 Edition. Trina Hayes has her entire list of 100 or more books read during this year of the plague. And I spotted a few possibilities there: Simon the Fiddler by Paulette Jiles, The Printed Letter Bookshop by Katherine Reay, The Women of Copper County by Mary Doria Russell, Eliza Hamilton: the Extraordinary Life and Times of the Wife of Alexander Hamilton by Tilar Mazzeo. I could probably find more, but my TBR list is already way too long.

Dewey’s Treehouse: 25 Top Books I Want to Read in 2021. “Enough with long lists. If I get these done, I’ll be happy.” ~Mama Squirrel. OK, it’s a great idea in theory, but MY list is already miles long. And I can’t resist the this (long) title on the Treehouse short list: Why You Should Read Children’s Books, Even Though You Are So Old and Wise by Katherine Rundell.

Gift Books for Grown-ups by Betsy at Redeemed Reader. Several of these are already on my own TBR list, and several others I’ve already read and enjoyed. I daresay any of them would make a lovely gift—for someone else or for yourself. (And I still added more books to the TBR list from this one.)

I’ll link to a few more book lists tomorrow, maybe yours if you leave me a comment?

Saturday Review of Books: March 5, 2016

Mar4

“I have my library all around me, my cloud of witnesses to the strangeness and brilliance of human experience, who have helped me to my deepest enjoyments of it.” ~Marilynne Robinson

SatReviewbutton

Welcome to the Saturday Review of Books at Semicolon. Here’s how it usually works. Find a book review on your blog posted sometime during the previous week. The review doesn’t have to be a formal sort of thing. You can link to your thoughts on a particular book, a few ideas inspired by reading the book, your evaluation, quotations, whatever.

Then on Friday night/Saturday, you post a link here at Semicolon in Mr. Linky to the specific post where you’ve written your book review. Don’t link to your main blog page because this kind of link makes it hard to find the book review, especially when people drop in later after you’ve added new content to your blog. In parentheses after your name, add the title of the book you’re reviewing. This addition will help people to find the reviews they’re most interested in reading.

After linking to your own reviews, you can spend as long as you want reading the reviews of other bloggers for the week and adding to your wishlist of books to read.

Saturday Review of Books: February 27, 2016

Feb26

“Humanity can be roughly divided into three sorts of people – those who find comfort in literature, those who find comfort in personal adornment, and those who find comfort in food.” ~Elizabeth Goudge

SatReviewbutton

Welcome to the Saturday Review of Books at Semicolon. Here’s how it usually works. Find a book review on your blog posted sometime during the previous week. The review doesn’t have to be a formal sort of thing. You can link to your thoughts on a particular book, a few ideas inspired by reading the book, your evaluation, quotations, whatever.

Then on Friday night/Saturday, you post a link here at Semicolon in Mr. Linky to the specific post where you’ve written your book review. Don’t link to your main blog page because this kind of link makes it hard to find the book review, especially when people drop in later after you’ve added new content to your blog. In parentheses after your name, add the title of the book you’re reviewing. This addition will help people to find the reviews they’re most interested in reading.

After linking to your own reviews, you can spend as long as you want reading the reviews of other bloggers for the week and adding to your wishlist of books to read.

Saturday Review of Books: December 12, 2015

Dec12

“Books are like imprisoned souls till someone takes them down from a shelf and frees them.” ~Samuel Butler

SatReviewbutton

Welcome to the Saturday Review of Books at Semicolon. Here’s how it usually works. Find a book review on your blog posted sometime during the previous week. The review doesn’t have to be a formal sort of thing. You can link to your thoughts on a particular book, a few ideas inspired by reading the book, your evaluation, quotations, whatever.

Then on Friday night/Saturday, you post a link here at Semicolon in Mr. Linky to the specific post where you’ve written your book review. Don’t link to your main blog page because this kind of link makes it hard to find the book review, especially when people drop in later after you’ve added new content to your blog. In parentheses after your name, add the title of the book you’re reviewing. This addition will help people to find the reviews they’re most interested in reading.

After linking to your own reviews, you can spend as long as you want reading the reviews of other bloggers for the week and adding to your wishlist of books to read.

Saturday, January 1, 2016 will be a special edition of the Saturday Review of Books, reserved especially for book lists. Link to your end of the year favorites list or your planning to read in 2016 list or any other book list that you want to share. All book list posts are welcome to ring in the new year.

Saturday Review of Books: December 5, 2015

Dec4

“I have my library all around me, my cloud of witnesses to the strangeness and brilliance of human experience, who have helped me to my deepest enjoyments of it.” ~Marilynne Robinson

SatReviewbutton

Welcome to the Saturday Review of Books at Semicolon. Here’s how it usually works. Find a book review on your blog posted sometime during the previous week. The review doesn’t have to be a formal sort of thing. You can link to your thoughts on a particular book, a few ideas inspired by reading the book, your evaluation, quotations, whatever.

Then on Friday night/Saturday, you post a link here at Semicolon in Mr. Linky to the specific post where you’ve written your book review. Don’t link to your main blog page because this kind of link makes it hard to find the book review, especially when people drop in later after you’ve added new content to your blog. In parentheses after your name, add the title of the book you’re reviewing. This addition will help people to find the reviews they’re most interested in reading.

After linking to your own reviews, you can spend as long as you want reading the reviews of other bloggers for the week and adding to your wishlist of books to read.

Saturday, January 1, 2016 will be a special edition of the Saturday Review of Books, reserved especially for book lists. Link to your end of the year favorites list or your planning to read in 2016 list or any other book list that you want to share. All book list posts are welcome to ring in the new year.

Saturday Review of Books: November 28, 2015

Nov27

“There are many sorts of books; but good ones are the sort for the young to read. Remember that. They are a great, an inestimable, and unspeakable means of improvement. Therefore be careful in your selection, my young friends; be very careful; confine yourselves exclusively to Robertson’s Sermons, Baxter’s Saint’s Rest, The Innocents Abroad, and works of that kind.” ~Mark Twain

SatReviewbutton

Welcome to the Saturday Review of Books at Semicolon. Here’s how it usually works. Find a book review on your blog posted sometime during the previous week. The review doesn’t have to be a formal sort of thing. You can link to your thoughts on a particular book, a few ideas inspired by reading the book, your evaluation, quotations, whatever.

Then on Friday night/Saturday, you post a link here at Semicolon in Mr. Linky to the specific post where you’ve written your book review. Don’t link to your main blog page because this kind of link makes it hard to find the book review, especially when people drop in later after you’ve added new content to your blog. In parentheses after your name, add the title of the book you’re reviewing. This addition will help people to find the reviews they’re most interested in reading.

After linking to your own reviews, you can spend as long as you want reading the reviews of other bloggers for the week and adding to your wishlist of books to read.

You can go to this post for over 100 links to book lists for the end of 2014/beginning of 2015. The Saturday Review List of (Book) Lists will be posted for Saturday, January 2, 2016. You can then post a link to any end of the year or beginning of the year book lists you have to share.

If you enjoy the Saturday Review of Books at Semicolon, please invite your friends to stop by and check out the review links here each Saturday.

Saturday Review of Books: November 21, 2015

Nov20

“The little girls to whose houses she went visiting . . . always hid away their story-books when she was expected to tea. If they didn’t do this, she was sure to pick one up and plunge in, and then it was no use to call her, or tug at her dress, for she neither saw nor heard anything more, till it was time to go home.” ~Susan Coolidge, What Katy Did

SatReviewbutton

Welcome to the Saturday Review of Books at Semicolon. Here’s how it usually works. Find a book review on your blog posted sometime during the previous week. The review doesn’t have to be a formal sort of thing. You can link to your thoughts on a particular book, a few ideas inspired by reading the book, your evaluation, quotations, whatever.

Then on Friday night/Saturday, you post a link here at Semicolon in Mr. Linky to the specific post where you’ve written your book review. Don’t link to your main blog page because this kind of link makes it hard to find the book review, especially when people drop in later after you’ve added new content to your blog. In parentheses after your name, add the title of the book you’re reviewing. This addition will help people to find the reviews they’re most interested in reading.

After linking to your own reviews, you can spend as long as you want reading the reviews of other bloggers for the week and adding to your wishlist of books to read.

You can go to this post for over 100 links to book lists for the end of 2014/beginning of 2015. Feel free to add a link to your own list.

If you enjoy the Saturday Review of Books at Semicolon, please invite your friends to stop by and check out the review links here each Saturday.

Saturday Review of Books: November 14, 2015

Nov14

Such a sad weekend, and I’m very late with the Saturday Review link-up. Still, I would like to enjoy your book review links, if you would be so kind as to share them. My prayers are with the people of Paris and Syria and Iraq and all the other places in this sad world where darkness attempts to put out the Light.

Au commencement était la Parole, et la Parole était avec Dieu; et cette parole était Dieu: Elle était au commencement avec Dieu. Toutes choses ont été faites par elle, et sans elle rien de ce qui a été fait, n’a été fait. En elle était la vie, et la vie était la Lumière des hommes. Et la Lumière luit dans les ténèbres, mais les ténèbres ne l’ont point reçue.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcomea it.

SatReviewbutton

Welcome to the Saturday Review of Books at Semicolon. Here’s how it usually works. Find a book review on your blog posted sometime during the previous week. The review doesn’t have to be a formal sort of thing. You can link to your thoughts on a particular book, a few ideas inspired by reading the book, your evaluation, quotations, whatever.

Then on Friday night/Saturday, you post a link here at Semicolon in Mr. Linky to the specific post where you’ve written your book review. Don’t link to your main blog page because this kind of link makes it hard to find the book review, especially when people drop in later after you’ve added new content to your blog. In parentheses after your name, add the title of the book you’re reviewing. This addition will help people to find the reviews they’re most interested in reading.

After linking to your own reviews, you can spend as long as you want reading the reviews of other bloggers for the week and adding to your wishlist of books to read.

You can go to this post for over 100 links to book lists for the end of 2014/beginning of 2015. Feel free to add a link to your own list.

If you enjoy the Saturday Review of Books at Semicolon, please invite your friends to stop by and check out the review links here each Saturday.

Saturday Review of Books: November 7, 2015

Nov6

“English doesn’t borrow from other languages. English follows other languages down dark alleys, knocks them over, and goes through their pockets for loose grammar.” ~James D. Nicoll

SatReviewbutton

Welcome to the Saturday Review of Books at Semicolon. Here’s how it usually works. Find a book review on your blog posted sometime during the previous week. The review doesn’t have to be a formal sort of thing. You can link to your thoughts on a particular book, a few ideas inspired by reading the book, your evaluation, quotations, whatever.

Then on Friday night/Saturday, you post a link here at Semicolon in Mr. Linky to the specific post where you’ve written your book review. Don’t link to your main blog page because this kind of link makes it hard to find the book review, especially when people drop in later after you’ve added new content to your blog. In parentheses after your name, add the title of the book you’re reviewing. This addition will help people to find the reviews they’re most interested in reading.

After linking to your own reviews, you can spend as long as you want reading the reviews of other bloggers for the week and adding to your wishlist of books to read.

You can go to this post for over 100 links to book lists for the end of 2014/beginning of 2015. Feel free to add a link to your own list.

If you enjoy the Saturday Review of Books at Semicolon, please invite your friends to stop by and check out the review links here each Saturday.

Saturday Review of Books: October 24, 2015

Oct23

“To buy books would be a good thing if we also could buy the time to read them.” ~Arthur Schopenhauer

SatReviewbutton

Welcome to the Saturday Review of Books at Semicolon. Here’s how it usually works. Find a book review on your blog posted sometime during the previous week. The review doesn’t have to be a formal sort of thing. You can link to your thoughts on a particular book, a few ideas inspired by reading the book, your evaluation, quotations, whatever.

Then on Friday night/Saturday, you post a link here at Semicolon in Mr. Linky to the specific post where you’ve written your book review. Don’t link to your main blog page because this kind of link makes it hard to find the book review, especially when people drop in later after you’ve added new content to your blog. In parentheses after your name, add the title of the book you’re reviewing. This addition will help people to find the reviews they’re most interested in reading.

After linking to your own reviews, you can spend as long as you want reading the reviews of other bloggers for the week and adding to your wishlist of books to read.

You can go to this post for over 100 links to book lists for the end of 2014/beginning of 2015. Feel free to add a link to your own list.

If you enjoy the Saturday Review of Books at Semicolon, please invite your friends to stop by and check out the review links here each Saturday.