I’m not quite going to hit 2011’s mark of books read (almost 150) but I’m going to come close (almost 125!).  I track my reading on Goodreads.  So if we’re not friends there, you should join me!

Here are my favorite non-fiction books of 2012 (except for the parenting/childbirth books in the next book post).
(with edited reviews from what I posted on Goodreads through the year).

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain:  This book was a pleasure to read. I found her sections on parenting/teaching introverts to be particularly sensitive and useful. I also found her section discussing the preference for extroversion in the evangelical church to be particularly telling. Actually, I found the whole book to be very interesting and relevant to everyone – both introverts and extroverts. I also learned that there’s a technical term for people like me (someone who is pretty much on the dividing line between the two types) – ambivert or pseudo-extrovert. I think a lot of relational problems (at work, at home, in friendships, in parenting, etc.) would be more easily understood (and perhaps solved) if people read this book.  (Here’s a Ted Talk by the author and an NPR interview if you’re interested.)

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg:   If I remember nothing else from this book, I want to remember that in order to change a habit, I need to identify the cue that prompts me to do the thing I want to change and the reward for doing that thing. Then I just need to figure out something else to do that gives me the same reward in response to that cue.  This book was a really cool look into habits and how they are all pervasive in our lives and how to change them if we really want to.

Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive SCRABBLE Players by Stefan Fatsis:  This book was totally fun to read and helped me understand why playing regular Scrabble drives me crazy.

In the Land of Invented Languages: Esperanto Rock Stars, Klingon Poets, Loglan Lovers, and the Mad Dreamers Who Tried to Build A Perfect Language by Arika Okrent:  I had no idea about the obsession throughout the past 800-900 years that people have had with inventing the “perfect language”. Fascinating from a linguistic point of view but also for contemplating “why do we need language?” and “why is it good that our language is imperfect?” – both questions that anyone (linguistically-inclined or not) can find important.

Sewing/Cooking/Food

Growing Up Sew Liberated: Making Handmade Clothes and Projects for Your Creative Child by Meg McElwee:  I’m in love with the projects in this book. I have already made the doll, doll clothes, and doll carrier and there are many more projects I’d love to make.

Ruhlman’s Twenty: The Ideas and Techniques that Will Make You a Better Cook by Michael Ruhlman:  This is like going to cooking school, except at home and at your own pace. Much of what he writes about, Nik and I have figured out in bits and pieces over the past few years. I still learned a TON about cooking though and this helped me feel much more confident in the kitchen. Highly recommended to anyone who likes to cook or wants to become a better cook!

Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil by Tom Mueller:  I learned an awful lot about olive oil from this book, a subject that I never would have been interested in if I hadn’t married a Greek man who loves olive oil. Thanks to this book, I feel vindicated in our choice to buy expensive olive oil and even more frustrated with the state of food in America and the world.

The Homemade Pantry: 101 Foods You Can Stop Buying and Start Making by Alana Chernila:   I read this one from cover to cover – unusual for a cookbook but I really enjoyed the stories that she had attached to each recipe. There are also many recipes in this that I’d like to make. I’m especially intrigued by the veggie burgers – they look like another delicious filling vegetarian option for us. Nik wants me to make the peanut butter cups! 🙂

Memoir

The Journal of Best Practices: A Memoir of Marriage, Asperger Syndrome, and One Man’s Quest to Be a Better Husband by David Finch:  This was HILAROUS, as in, tears streaming down my face, uncontrollable laughing at points.  It was also amazing insightful into what every couple faces in a marriage (not just marriage between someone with Asperger’s and someone who’s not). He also caught me off guard at the end with some insights into marriage life that left me in tears. A fabulous book.

All Roads Lead to Austen: A Yearlong Journey with Jane by Amy Elizabeth Smith: I had such fun reading all the different Latin American reactions to Austen. I’m inspired to read through Austen’s books again, looking for deeper meanings than the “fun” that I’ve just gotten out of them before. (If you don’t love Jane Austen’s books, you probably wouldn’t enjoy this. There are a lot of Austen book club discussions that wouldn’t make sense if you don’t know the stories.).

The Council of Dads: My Daughters, My Illness, and the Men Who Could Be Me by Bruce Feiler:  This book had me crying at multiple times. The author has a wonderful writing style with an idea that every mom and dad should consider, even if we don’t have cancer.

Spirituality

7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker: Other than her annoying ultra-casual writing style, I really enjoyed this book. Many of the changes she made over the course of the experiment are changes that Nik and I have also made/been making ourselves over the past five years. This book encouraged me that we can still go much deeper into the practical and spiritual sides of simplification/generosity/care for the environment, etc.

One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are by Ann Voskamp:  This was a phenomenal book. I had never contemplated what a difference giving thanks, in everything, for everything, could make in my life. Now to just practice it!

Jesus Wars: How Four Patriarchs, Three Queens, and Two Emperors Decided What Christians Would Believe for the Next 1,500 years by Philip Jenkins: Who was Jesus? Was he God? Was he man? Some kind of combination of the two? While I was in the midst of reading this book, the worship leader at our church said, “Jesus, fully God and fully man.” Before reading this book, I probably would have said, “Well, of course, obviously, terribly hard to understand how that is possible but true just the same.” Now having read this book, I wonder how many other doctrines of the faith, we (I) just take for granted as having always been the orthodox truth, as in believed by all true Christians, (since Jesus walked on Earth) when in actuality, they have been debated, [literally] fought over, and at some point decided to be true.  Also, a really interesting look at the way the church split in the 500s (mostly East/West), just a tantalizing mention of this effect on the rise of Islam, and how the prevailing political power (like which emperor was ruling) made such a difference to the doctrines that eventually won out as truth.  Finally, his last few pages were a needed reminder to me about why it is important to study theology and to know what we believe and why.

From the Garden to the City: The Redeeming and Corrupting Power of Technology by John Dyer: This provides the best framework that I’ve seen for developing a Christian theology of technology.  I definitely am starting to think differently about the way that we interact with and use technology (all of it, not just computers).