A year of Books
The Good & the Bad of my 2024 book reading
I read 36 books this year. Thats a dozen books less than last year (probably due to having a now toddler, graduating seminary, starting in full time ministry, or moving idk). But I wanted to give a summary of the books that I read, some recommendations, and one book (& maybe a whole genre) to steer clear of.1
The comprehensive list is here but overall I read
20- Theology 3- History books 13- Fiction/Fantasy Books
The Good
Thankfully, most of the books I read were pretty good. I want to highlight some of the reads that made my year of make me still love reading.
The Story of a Soul, St Therese of Liseux
Throughout my Christian life, I’ve read a good amount of Systematic Theology. Kline has taken me on a mystery tour through the book of Genesis, Calvin has sat with me pointed me to the goodness of God, and Bavinck has made me want to dance while reading theology. All of these have challenged me in different ways. But I don’t think any of them have challenged me like this book has. This book, written by the young nun, is comprised of St Therese’ prayers and biography. The writing is clear and the content is straightforward enough. However, St Therese’ confidence in who she is before God was really challenging to me. I know God loves me. I really do. I am so thankful that whenever I doubt that, I can hear the object declaration of the Gospel that Christ’ life, death, and resurrection on my behalf means that God loves me.
But man, Therese reminded me that He also delights in me. He is joyful about me. He made me how I am because He wanted to. There were times that Therese’ confidence and assurance made me feel skeptical. I remember thinking one time, “was she really like this? Was she just putting on airs and trying to come across as extra holy?” Then, I realized that that said a lot more about my relationship with God than hers. Cajoled, I then sat under Therese’ instruction. I still have a lot to learn from her witness. I will be trying to read this book once a year.
“If a little flower could speak, it seems to me that it would tell us quite simply all that God has done for it, without hiding any of its gifts. It would not, under the pretext of humility, say that it was not pretty, or that it had not a sweet scent, that the sun had withered its petals,or the storm bruised its stem, if it knew that such were not the case.”
Gilead, Marilynne Robinson
This book follows the twilight years of a lifelong pastor, John Ames, as he writes letters to his young son before he dies. This book is probably the best look at what being in ministry is really like. I found myself laughing as Ames was writing a heartfelt message to his son only to go on tangents about a sermon illustration he should use for his upcoming message. I loved Robinson’s description of the simple joys of the ministry. I related to the feeling of preaching a message and then thinking, “Why doesn’t it ever come out in the way that I know it should?”
What I loved most about this book though, is how Robinson depicted the beautiful paradox of ministry. We are people who speak of divine things. We get to give the Gospel- the eschatological in-breaking of heaven to earth. Yet we are fallible. We sin. Even while proclaiming radical forgiveness, we struggle to actually forgive. And somehow, the Lord still uses our weakness to conform us into the image of his Son. Somehow, he still uses us to build his church. It is an humbling mystery. Robinson captures it so well. Please read this book.
“There are two occasions when the sacred beauty of Creation becomes dazzlingly apparent, and they occur together. One is when we feel our mortal insufficiency to the world, and the other is when we feel the world's mortal insufficiency to us.”
The Stormlight Archive, Brandon Sanderson
I had a professor in seminary encourage us to always be reading fiction while working in ministry. Reading fiction would stimulate our imagination while teaching us how to tell a yarn well. I had stopped reading fiction by mid high school but I picked the genre back up at his behest. To this day its one of the best pieces of advice I’ve received.
This year, I read 12 Brandon Sanderson books. A friend introduced me to his books and I was immediately hooked. Brando Sando fans would probably encourage you to start with something less daunting than the 4 book, 5,000 page story (so far) like Mistborn2 but I say just go for it. Start off with a bang.
The Stormlight Archive is Sanderson’s magnum opus. It is a sprawling epic spanning continents, kingdoms, and even planets. It is a story about war, prophecy, and survival. What I love the most about this book is that it is morally complex in a way that still encourages virtue. The world of Roshar is messed up. There is rampant corruption. There is racism. The horrors of war are not whitewashed. Yet, there are good, virtuous men and women who fight for whats right. They struggle in doing the right thing. They doubt themselves. But they still seek to do the right thing. Amidst a culture in love with anti heroes, the stormlight archive provides modern literary figures that encourage virtue.3 I’m stoked to read these books with my son some day.
“If we accept the person we are when we fall, the journey ends. That failure becomes our destination. To love the journey is to accept no such end. I have found, through painful experience, that the most important step a person can take is always the next one.”
Honorable Mentions
The Ball and the Cross- GK Chesterton. A book about a Christian and an atheist who take their own, and each others beliefs so seriously that they decide to fight to the death. Whimsical and hilarious until Chesterton pulls back the curtain and reveals the cosmic import of this little yarn.
The Care of Souls- Harold Senkbeil A treatise on giving Christ to the people Christ has given you to steward. Simple and short, but full of wisdom. I can’t recommend this book enough.
Strange New World- Carl Trueman An analysis of our cultures metaphysical assumptions and how we got there. A must read.
Union with Christ- J Todd Billings An analysis of Calvin and other theologians understanding of union with Christ and how that should impact the way we do ministry. This is the first book I’ve read by Billings and I really appreciated his doctrinal care and pastoral insight.
I am reading 5 other books that I probably won’t have done by the end of this year that have been pretty good so far though- Living in Wonder, Broken bonds: A novel of the Reformation, Theology for Ministry, Small Preaching, and Sustainable Youth Ministry
No shade, Mistborn is amazing and made me weep.
Wind and Truth has made this way murkier, Sanderson’s philosophy has given in to more modernist understandings of personhood and sexuality