I knew something shifted in me. I fell in love for the first time. The suitor was books. Suddenly, my young self couldn’t read enough. Some of the books I still own, dusty and sitting behind other novels on my book cases. The View from the Cherry Tree, Are you there God, It’s Me Margaret?, my sister’s copy of Ice Castles, and so many more.

Books became my companions. Most of my reading when I was young was just for fun. As an adult, I still read for fun, but sometimes it is for learning. Sometimes its for healing. Sometimes its for laughing. Sometimes its for rest.

I will completely own that I judge books by their covers. If it has a cheesy cover (or title) I will probably skip it. I also won’t waste reading time with writers who aren’t good.

Classics and Pulitzer Prize Winners:

I try to read a few classics and one Pulitzer Prize winners a year. I do this because it is a challenge for me. Typically these two genre’s of books are more challenging reads and they stretch me.

Real Life Stories & History:

I also try to read at least a few books a year that tell stories that are hard to stomach because they share about real life events: The Cross and the Lynching Tree, Just Mercy, Midnight in Chernobyl, Columbine by Dave Cullen, The New Jim Crow, Human Acts, Radium Girls, The Color of Law, A Constellation of Vital Phenomenon, How the Word is Passed, Stamped from the Beginning, The Nickel Boys, and so many more).

Banned Books:

Years ago, I was about to begin teaching a Bible Study class. I had a woman come up to me (at the front of the room in front of everyone) and tell me that she thought it was wrong for me to read the book I did. The book in question was written by an author that this woman felt like shouldn’t be read because she was “liberal” and “not a Christian” as if it was a fact that these two things could not be synonymous. While I am a follower of Jesus, I don’t think I need to be limited to read only “Christian” writers. In fact, I think it is vital to understand where others are at, what they believe and what makes them who they are. Which is one of the reasons I also try to read books that have been banned. I’m not a big fan of people telling other people what the can and cannot read. Some of those that I’ve read are:

Hallie’s Top Favorite Fiction Books

Then there’s fiction. Some fiction books I come back to time and time again because I love them so much. If I like an author, I will probably end up reading everything they’ve written. Examples of these are Jodi Picoult, Kristin Hannah, Diane Chamberlain, Francine Rivers, Andy Weir, Kevin Wilson, Taynari Jones. I mostly read drama, historical fiction, mystery, some sci-fi. I am not a fan of romance or westerns.

Hallie’s Top Non-Fiction Favorites

Hallie’s Top Christian Non-Fiction

Books To Read Next