It's hard to keep up with books as they come out. It's not unusual that I will discover a great book more than a year after it is released, at which point it's too late to call it "the best book of the year" in a year-end list. So I make this list with the understanding that there are probably books that I will discover this year that should have ended up on this list.

However, there are books that I catch right as they come out, either because I follow the author on Twitter or because of a recommendation by someone that I trust enough to push a book to the top of my ever-growing stack.

The books on this list are the ones that were released in 2013 that made an impact on me in one way or another. Feel free to comment below and add any books that were released int he past 12 months that deserve a hearty recommendation. (They are listed alphabetically by author because I didn't want to rank them. That said, Pastrix was my favorite)

What We Talk About When We Talk About God - Rob Bell

Pastrix: The Cranky, Beautiful Faith of a Sinner & Saint - Nadia Bolz-Weber*

Jesus Feminist: An Invitation to Revisit the Bible's View of Women - Sarah Bessey

Does Jesus Really Love Me? A Gay Christian's Pilgrimage in Search of God in America - Jeff Chu

Torn: Rescuing the Gospel from the Gays-vs.-Christians Debate - Justin Lee

Bread & Wine: A Love Letter to Life Around the Table with Recipes - Shauna Niequist

Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief - Lawrence Wright

What would you add to this list? Have you read any of the books here? What did you think?

I know I've been trying to keep things all spiritual here on the blog, but it's the end of the year, and I really love end-of-year lists. So today I'm posting lists of my favorite movies and music from 2013. Later this week I'll post a list of my favorite books, and things will go back to the spiritual stuff.

My favorite film of the year is Inside Llewyn Davis. I'm a huge fan of the Coen brothers, and I had been waiting for this film all year. It is beautiful, haunting, and poetic. I knew by the end of the first scene that I was watching something special.

So here are my Top 5 movies of 2013-

1. Inside Llewyn Davis

2. The Way Way Back

3. 12 Years a Slave

4. Mud

5. Sound City

Honorable Mentions: Philomena, Captain Phillips, Fruitvale Station, and Blackfish

And now, the best music of the year-

Top 5 Albums of 2013-

1. The Wild Feathers. by The Wild Feathers

2. Stories Don't End. by Dawes

3. The Civil Wars. by The Civil Wars

4. Southeastern. by Jason Isbell

5. Trouble Will Find Me. by The National

Honorable Mentions: Mutual Friends by Boy, All the Time We Had by Ivan & Alyosha, and Kids Raising Kids by Kopecky Family Band. Also, the soundtrack to Inside Llewyn Davis.

What about you? What were some of your favorite movies and music of the past year?