9 Best Books I Read in 2023 + 12 Books I Pre-Ordered for 2024

If I had a reading era, it would be this year. I read more books this year than any other year I since I’ve started tracking it. I read new authors and new genres. I got back into visiting the physical library which I really hadn’t done since I lived in Florida. I checked out books with ugly covers (a huge win for me) and benefitted from the excellent content inside. I read some books solo, while others were with a team or group or with my husband. I read on planes, by the pool, among the corn fields, and at home on my couch. Of all the books I read this year, there were a few that have really stuck with me. Yes, they are all 5 star reads that I had shared on my fiction and non fiction lists earlier this year, but it’s only a few from the 5 star list.

1. The Bible – This was my third read through it in it’s entirety. It was probably the hardest so far since over our wedding and honeymoon this summer I was about 60 days behind. I really wanted to not only finish what I started, but really enjoy the process, so I adjusted my morning routine to be really focused on reading a few days of scripture each morning. The piece I took away this time while reading is just how intentional and creative God is. The connections between the old and new testament just blow my mind. There’s so much woven throughout the books that I don’t want to just view the bible as a linear timeline, but instead view it as a circle of stories all about God.
2. The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity – This was one of the ugly cover books. I dismissed it too many times because I just didn’t find the cover appealing at all. I was wrong. This was such a powerful book. Even if you’re not a traditional artist, we all create, so I loved the way Julia dug into the mindset and myths of a creative. The biggest pieces I took away were the artist date and the morning pages practices.
3. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change – Stephen Covey knows how to dig in and dig deep. There’s so many takeaways from the book but those that are loudest to me are thinking win-win and the circle of influence.
4. Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life – Such a beneficial read on boundaries. What resonates most from the book is that boundaries are like property lines that show where one property ends and another begins. Boundaries define what is me and what is not me. This visual was wildly helpful as was the story at the beginning and end of the book to tie everything together.
5. Dangerous Prayers: Because Following Jesus Was Never Meant to Be Safe – In the book, Craig talks about the break me prayer and gives some wild examples of it. This made me examine my own heart and faith and if I was willing to trust God with the break me prayer.
6. Redeeming Your Time: 7 Biblical Principles for Being Purposeful, Present, and Wildly Productive – Jordan Raynor is a gift. This book is not another productivity book, but instead productivity with an eternal perspective. It’s not about how to get more done but how to really focus on what matters and the system to focus on those things. While I don’t implement his exact system, I’ve adjusted mine based on insight from this book.
7. Tranquility by Tuesday: 9 Ways to Calm the Chaos and Make Time for What Matters – You know I loved the content of this book if you read any of my many blog posts on the topic this year. These practices are so simple and easy but so stinking effective. I have them on repeat as their own soundtracks in my head.
8. 4th Wing – I know, most of my books on this list are non fiction. This is an exception. I truly enjoyed reading fantasy for the first time in 2023 and loved this book as much as I loved reading Harry Potter for the first time. I loved having a fiction book to look forward to where I actually remember most of the character’s names months after I finished the book. I’ve heard mixed reviews on the second book, but for me, I purchased a physical copy (a rarity for fiction!) so that I can spend time reading it in the darker months of winter as somethin to look forward to.
9. Divine Rivals – This is my other fiction, fantasy book I loved this year. I got sucked into the story and loved some of the specifics in the storyline and cannot wait until the next one comes out this winter. You bet I am first on the list at the library for it.

2024 Pre-Orders

And now for my pre orders. There are so many incredible books coming out next year from some of my favorite authors and I am stoked for them. I’m looking forward to fiction books too, but since I don’t purchase any of them and just get them through the library, all my pre orders are non fiction.

1. New Marriage, Same Couple: Don’t Let Your Worst Days Be Your Last Days from Josh Walters – January 9
2. Practicing the Way: Be with Jesus. Become like him. Do as he did. from John Mark Comer – January 16
3. Fight Right: How Successful Couples Turn Conflict into Connection  from John and Julie Gottman – January 30th
4. The Sacredness of Secular Work: 4 Ways Your Job Matters for Eternity (Even When You’re Not Sharing the Gospel) from Jordan Raynor – January 30
5. Don’t Give Up Just Yet: Choosing Persistence in a World of Overwhelming Resistance from Nick Connolly – February 6
6. Untangle Your Emotions: Naming What You Feel and Knowing What to Do About It from Jenni Allen – February 13
7. Simply Pray: How to Ask, Seek, and Knock for Answered Prayer from Deb Hopper – March 5
8. Let’s Read the Gospels: A Guided Journal from Annie F Downs – March 5
9. Coach Builder: How to Turn Your Expertise Into a Profitable Coaching Career from Donald Miller – March 12
10. Tired of Being Tired: Receive God’s Realistic Rest for Your Soul-Deep Exhaustion by Jess Connolly – April 9
11. The Joy of the Trinity: One God, Three Persons from Tara-Leigh Cobble – April 20
12. Right Thing, Right Now: Justice in an Unjust World from Ryan Holiday – June 11