I read 50 books this year spanning from the weighty “Systematic Theology” by Wayne Grudem to the tiny and quick, “Policy Governance Model” by Carver.
A few of the books were indulgent science fiction fantasy novels that are not really worth a mention. Several of them were commentaries on a specific book of the Bible I was preaching.
I enjoy reading and listening, but anybody who reads knows that there are some books that are worth mentioning and others that we might be reticent to even recommend.
But in my below list I will mention books for two reasons. Either they impacted me enough to want others to take note of them, or they were bad enough that I want to warn others about them.
Here are a list of books I read this year, that I would love for everybody to read.
- Eat This Book by Eugene Peterson
- God of All Things by Andrew Wilson
- The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller
- The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert by Rosaria Butterfield
- God of the Garden by Andrew Peterson
- Knowing the Spirit by Costi Hinn
- Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer
- What’s So Amazing About Grace by Philip Yancey
I don’t assume that my endorsement amounts to much, however, I make this list in HOPES that someone might pick up one of these books and be as enriched as I was through them. Rather than give any kind of book reports, or summary, these books stand as faith-builders. No author is perfect except for the Spirit Himself, and I could certainly pick a few things here or there from these books that I don’t love. But I believe that anyone picking up one of these books will find plenty to encourage, strengthen, and grow their faith.
A second category of books from this year, are those I would recommend with minor commentary.
- No Quick Fix by Andrew Naselli – this is a helpful, but very focused theological corrective to a specific niche of theology I was raised in. I was raised to believe that some arrive at a place of victorious Christian life where sinlessness can be basically realized. This book was a refreshing read in correcting the notion that we will arrive at a place of relative sinlessness in this life.
- A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis – This book requires great attention to avoid missing the point. Lewis writes from a place of grief. He does not give up hope. But it would be easy to assume he does simply by missing several sentences of the book. Only read it if you are ready to be very attentive to his line of feeling and thought. Amazing book, and worth going over a couple of times to get more of the nuance.
- Alone Together by Sherry Turkle – This book was a bit of a nerd-out book about technology and the future. And yet, it was quite scary. Not from a Christian perspective in the least, Turkle still has quite a lot of reasonable concern about the interface of the human and robotics (and AI) in the future. Long book, only for the interested.
- Descent into Hell by Charles Williams – Williams was one of the Inklings with Tolkien and Lewis and this book requires attentiveness as well. But the theme of an isolated individualism leading to a spiral into hell is a very contemporary warning from a guy who never saw the internet or the smartphone. It is a novel and I found it riveting. I don’t imagine all will enjoy it.
- Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr – I loved this novel. Not much in it will commend faith or growth, but as far as story telling, Doerr weaves a fantastic story across different timelines. I deeply enjoyed this book.
- Timothy Keller by Collin Hansen – I must confess to NOT knowing much of Keller while he was alive. After his death I read a couple of his books and then this biography to find what I had been missing. I enjoyed this biography a lot. What a model of a man called by God to the city.
- All my Knotted-Up Life by Beth Moore – Beth Moore has been an unfortunate lighting rod in the SBC and therefore more broadly in evangelical circles. I have not entered much into that controversy, but found her autobiography to be helpful in better understanding this woman that has influenced SO MANY in our generation. Worthwhile read.
- Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton – I expected this to be in the previous category with wholesale endorsement, but it appears here, because it just had so many British colloquialisms that it bogged down. As a matter of fact I listened to this book on Audible, and THEN grabbed a paper copy and read it so I could figure out his flow of logic. Read this, but don’t listen to it.
- Glittering Vices by Rebecca DeYoung – I found this book helpful in categorizing sin. It is helpful to reflect on how utterly broken we are, and that sin comes in so many diverse forms. It seems strange to say that a book that helps to define sin was edifying, but it just was.
My last category is shorter but below are books worth mentioning so I can encourage you to avoid them. Some of you will be drawn immediately to this list and go read them. You rebel you! 🤣
- Growing in Faith by Jerry Bridges – This book isn’t terrible. It’s just that there are so many better books to help you grown in faith. Ironically, spending time reading a book about how to grow in faith, is much less productive than sitting under Biblical exposition, spending time in prayer, and spending time studying the Word. The time it takes to read this book would be better spent in the Word yourself. I even think Jerry would agree with that.
- How to be a Perfect Christian by the Babylon Bee – Nobody was willing to put their name on this book which is the first sign something might be off. It is a failed attempt at parody. I love some of the funny articles from the Babylon Bee website so I gave this book a try assuming some laughs might ensue. Instead, I found the satire to be overdrawn, and I even found it mildly offensive as they parodied a Christianity I don’t even recognize. When the thing being parodied is not any reality you’ve experienced, it ceases to be funny. Skip this one and stick to their short articles,
- The Sun Also Rises by Hemingway – Apparently a classic and the first novel written by Hemingway. It was free on audible so I gave it a listen. It is a laborious, wandering, and debacherous following of a group of friends in Europe between the two World Wars. There is no point, tons of wine, and tons of illicit escapades. And apparently most critics loved it. This critic says skip it.
- The Boniface Option by Andrew Isker – This book took a while to make it down this low on the list. I was tempted to put it higher and then tempted to not mention it at all – I’m not mentioning every book I read this year. But this one was very unique. While it does a great job diagnosing the problems of our current culture, it does a terrible job pointing to any workable solution. Taking an axe to physical idols like Boniface did is hard to press into modern day equivalence. What are the idols? But more importantly, what is the axe!? My answer would be the Gospel, while Isker’s answer is . . . I’m not sure what. I read it twice to try to get it.
This is my annual reading roundup. Happy reading in 2024! (And let me know if this has been helpful to you.)
