My Year in Books–2021
This past year I read 100 books. I set out to read slower and attempt to retain information at a greater level and I believe I was successful at this. And yet, I read more than I did last year. I chalk that up to more Kindle books and shorter books. Where I was only in school during the Spring before graduating, this year I didn't spend as much time as I have for the last four years while in school working through large, dense books. So I was able to churn more out though I actually read slower. That makes sense in my head at least.
Whatever the case, looking back over the year, I feel the best I ever have about the breadth and depth of my reading. I continued to spend most of my time in historical, biblical, and theological works and read at "deeper" levels in these and felt more equipped for doing so than I have before. I felt more at home in those areas this year and often found myself thinking, "Yes, I have a handle on this and can even read critically now."
But I also ventured into fields I had yet to: the social sciences, indigenous and postcolonial theologies, top tier philosophy (Wittgenstein), even dipped my toe into academic scientific writing (see Life's Solution below) and enjoyed it! I also discovered some new favorite authors who I plan to read and revisit the rest of my life: John Webster, Cormac McCarthy, Graham Greene, Katherine Sonderegger, Tom Holland, Henri Blocher (all of whom show up below). I was able to go deeper into some of my dearest "friends": Augustine, Calvin, Lewis, Solzhenitsyn, Meilaender, Bavinck, Piper, Noll.
And so, below are the top books of each of the categories I typically read in. For each of the top books in the categories I have included a brief "take", many of which are pulled straight from my Goodreads. Each category contains the top three from that genre followed by the honorable mention for each. This was painstaking to do but I do feel content with the list.
The books in bold are tied for my favorite/best book I read this year.
Theology
Evil and the Cross: An Analytical Look at the Problem of Pain, Henri Blocher
Words fail. This is simply magisterial. Without question the best treatment of “the problem of evil” I’ve encountered. With no risk of overstatement I can confidently say that chapter 4 is one of the greatest pieces of theological writing (pound for pound) I’ve ever read. Staggering in its insight. Utterly stunning in its beauty. Here is balm for the evil-wearied soul.
Systematic Theology: Volume 1, The Doctrine of God, Katherine Sonderegger
God without Measure: Working Papers in the Christian Theology, John Webster
Honorable Mention: Providence, John Piper
Biblical studies
World Upside Down: Reading Acts in the Graeco-Roman Age, Kevin C. Rowe
Simply outstanding. I’m not sure the book of Acts and what Luke is up to in it can be fully understood apart from this book and the reading of Acts it suggests. Not only this, but it is the most helpful book in connecting Acts to the witness of the present church that I’ve ever read.
Inspiration and Authority of the Bible, B.B. Warfield
The Reformation and the Right Reading of Scripture, Iain W. Provan
Honorable Mention: Jude: Facing off with Spiritual Abusers, Kenneth Garrett
History
A Holy Baptism of Fire and Blood: The Bible and the American Civil War, James P. Byrd
A history of the Civil War and the Bible’s place in it. I knew the Bible played an important role in the interpretations and lived experiences of the war for those of the North and the South, but I was unaware just how entirely shot through the war was with it. While it was not “a war of religion,” Byrd’s work makes it impossible to disagree with James McPherson that the Civil War was, in a very real sense, a “religious war.” Equal parts fascinating and, as a Christian, absolutely heartrending.
Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Changed the World, Tom Holland
Pillar of Fire: America in the King years 1963-65, Taylor Branch
Honorable Mention: The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution, Carl Truman
Ministry
No Other Foundation: Essays on Women's Ordination in the Anglican Church, edited by Ben Jeffries
I’m not Anglican, and yet this is still pound-for-pound the best resource for the complementarian position I’ve read (and not only because it includes a chapter from C.S. Lewis). While containing some arguments about liturgy and priestly office that low church evangelicals, like myself, may find less applicable, the book remains entirely applicable to all church settings. Further, I believe low church evangelicals like myself will benefit from thinking about elders in a closer way to how the role of Anglican priests are discussed in the book. Ben Jefferies has done an excellent job compiling strong essays in the book. However, I believe the chapters written by him are actually the strongest! His chapter lamenting how “Brothers, we have failed” is worth the price of the book alone. From containing the best arguments, to each chapter being written in a gracious tone, to being under 200 pages and therefore manageable for all, this will be the resource I point others to for the complementarian position on female eldership.
Finding the Right Hills to Die On: The Case for Theological Triage, Gavin Ortlund
The Path to Being a Pastor: A Guide for the Aspiring, Bobby Jamieson
Honorable Mention: Praying Curses: The Therapeutic and Preaching Value of the Imprecatory Psalms, Daniel Nehrbass
Christian Life
Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer
One of the most significant theological texts I have ever read, especially given the context of an “underground” seminary in Nazi Germany in which it came about. Simply stunning. I particularly recommend the Fortress Press edition (which I read) because of the additional introductory and secondary material included. The Introduction, Afterward, and explanatory notes throughout make the context apparent and without the context I just don’t think the magnitude of the work can be properly grasped. Truly a masterpiece.
The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions, edited by Arthur Bennett
Walking in the Spirit, Kenneth Berding
Honorable Mention: The World's Last Night, C.S. Lewis
Ethics
Whatever Happened to the Human Race?, Francis Schaeffer
Just excellent. This was my first Schaeffer and I now understand all the hype. What a strong and penetrating presentation of Christian anthropology and its import for a host of bioethical matters such as abortion, euthanasia, and physician assisted suicide. It's an excellent piece of cultural apologetics before such a thing had been coined. The eerie part of this work is that it was written decades ago and the cultural situation in the West it is addressing has only plummeted. Well worth the price and time.
Not by Nature but by Grace: Forming Families Through Adoption, Gilbert Meilaender
The End of Memory: Remembering Rightly in a Violent World, Miroslav Volf
Honorable mention: The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse: Recognizing and Escaping Spiritual Manipulation and False Spiritual Authority Within the Church, David R. Johnson & Jeff VanVerden
Fiction
No Country for Old Men, Cormac McCarthy
Generally I read about 4 books at a time going back and forth between them as my interests waxes and wanes. Rarely have I set down every other book I’m reading because I simply can’t put a certain one down. But that’s exactly what happened here as I was pulled along for 300+ pages at breakneck speed, hand over my eyes peaking through my fingers at what was coming next. What a ride. My first McCarthy and I’m hopelessly hooked.
The Power and the Glory, Graham Greene
Cry the Beloved Country, Alan Paton
Honorable mention: The Name of the Rose, Umberto Eco
Biography/Memoir
Maximus the Confessor: Jesus Christ and the Transfiguration of the World
I had Blowers for a couple classes during undergrad and he remains one of the most engaging and brilliant minds I have ever come across. That is on full display here. I was able to do a full review for Credo Magazine which can be found here.
The Deep Places: A Memoir of Illness and Discovery, Ross Douthatca
Calvin, Bruce Gordon
Honorable mention: Lament for a Son, Nicholas Wolterstorff
Misc.
Life’s Solution: Inevitable Humans in a Lonely Universe, Simon Conway Morris
Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe, Niall Ferguson
The Doors of the Sea: Where Was God in the Tsunami?, David Bentley Hart
Honorable Mention: We Built Reality: How Social Science Infiltrated Culture, Politics, and Power, Jason Blakely
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