9 Books I Read in December
9 Books I Read in December
By: Brittany Shields
2021 is coming to an end. Crazy right?!
To see my year-in-review of all the books I read, click HERE.
This post is to showcase the books I read this month— December.
Admittedly, it’s a hard month to get much reading done with all the Christmas activities, so even though I somehow read 9 books, a few of them this month were short ones!
I hope you had a wonderful holiday season with your family, and hopefully you got to unwrap a few new books too!
I’m looking forward to a new year and have a lot of books on my to-read list!
Comment below any books you’re excited to read in 2022 and check out my end of the year post to see what’s coming up next for Shelf Reflection.
Romans: The Gospel-Centered Life (Vol. II: A Study of Romans 8-16) by Kristin Schmucker, The Daily Grace Co.
Genre: Theology/Devotional
Part II and conclusion to Romans: The Gospel of Grace, this was a great book to help in studying the book of Romans.
8 weeks with 5 short days of study and review questions.
Would highly recommend anything from The Daily Grace Co.
To see some pictures of what this study is like, check out my full review!
2. Blackout: How Black America Can Make Its Second Escape from the Democratic Plantation by Candace Owens
Genre: Non-Fiction/Politics
“While Democrats have long acknowledged our struggles and the crimes enacted against us, they have done little to provide actual remedies or prepare us for a future that does not center on our brokenness.”
Candace Owens pulls no punches and pokes some major holes in the mainstream rhetoric that she believes is not helping the black community.
It’s one of those polarizing books but I feel she supports her thesis compellingly.
See more quotes and my take on the 1-star reviews of this book in my full review.
3. Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik
Genre: Non-fiction
“A woman who beat the odds to make her mark.”
As a woman, I owe a lot to the work of RBG as her career focused on equality for women in a variety of ways.
Though I disagreed with RBG on many fundamental things, I can still admire many things about her.
Read these and the reason I actually didn’t really like this book in my full review.
4. Born Again This Way: Coming Out, Coming to Faith, and What Comes Next by Rachel Gilson
Genre: Christian Living/Theology/LGBTQ+
“Our culture sings that we’re ‘born this way,’ as if that settles the matter. But I’m born again.”
Is this an exhaustive book on the topic of same-sex romantic relationships and an exegetical work on what Scripture says on the matter?
No.
But it is the tender and transparent story of Rachel Gilson’s journey from living a lesbian lifestyle, to meeting Jesus and being confronted with the uncomfortable reality of the Bible, and how she came to believe that God and his word are more important than her feelings.
She discusses so many important things in this book that are valuable to all of us, read more in my full review.
5. Elinor: A Riveting Story Based on the Lost Colony of Roanoke by Shannon McNear
Genre: Christian Fiction/Historical Fiction
An interesting historical fiction book on a mysterious event! McNear uses artistic license using her extensive research to speculate what could have happened to the Lost Colony of Roanoke.
To get more historical context, check out my full review.
6. Is Christmas Unbelievable?: Four Questions Everyone Should Ask of the World’s Most Famous Story by Rebecca McLaughlin
Genre: Theology
“I hope this little book will help you think a little more about the man who landed in our world 2,000 years ago, I hope it will persuade you that he’s more important than you thought. And I hope it will make you wonder if his unbelievable claim that he’d come to save the world… might just be true.”
Rebecca McLaughlin, author of Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the World’s Largest Religion, has written this book to tackle the four questions that the Christmas story requires answers to. Perhaps you’ve questioned whether Jesus or the virgin birth were real.
She presents a compelling and intelligent case for Christmas in a very short book.
7. Good News of Great Joy: 25 Devotional Readings for Advent by John Piper
Genre: Theology
A great resource to use for advent season (or really any time of year) that will draw you to adore Jesus as the Christmas story beckons us to do.
Grab a copy for next year or read it now as you reflect on the recent Christmas season.
8. Taking Down Backpage: Fighting the World’s Largest Sex Trafficker by Maggy Krell
Genre: Non-fiction/True Crime
"I learned that justice doesn’t keep score. There is really no such thing as a win or a loss. Each day, you go in, you do your very best work, you seek justice, and you pray to God that you can leave a lasting impact and make your community a little safer.”
Backpage, a website structured like Craigslist, was actually functioning as a global hub for human trafficking until Maggy Krell spent years building a case to take them down. Read about her legal battles and how she advocated for survivors of trafficking.
If you want the spoilers, read my full review!
9. The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth
Genre: Psychological Thriller/ Mystery
“It felt like everything that she’d trusted to be real and true had turned out to be a mirage and now she didn’t know what or who to believe.”
Author of The Good Sister, Sally Hepworth has written another great psychological thriller that will have you second guessing all of your theories.
Check out my full review for a longer synopsis and a list of fun Australian words from the book!
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