I mentioned last month that May was a mess. June didn’t get too much better in terms of local events that became national events. However, as you can see below, I did a lot of reading. I’ve intentionally tried to read more books outside of my normal patterns (biblical and theological studies) and it has been quite rewarding. As I continue to make progress on Tim Challies Reading Challenge, I’m recapturing the joy of reading one book at a time (corny, right?). Also, if you missed it, check out my theological add-on to Challies Challenge.
Here’s what I read in June:
- A Doubter’s Guide to the Ten Commandments: How, for Better or Worse, Our Ideas about the Good Life Come from Moses and Jesus by John Dickson (see my post)
- East of Eden by John Steinbeck
- Really enjoyed this as part of attempt to get back into reading more fiction. It’s a bit long, but I found it rewarding
- Studes in Dogmatics: The Work of Christ by G. C. Berkouwer
- I’m progressively working through Berkouwer’s dogmatics. I think this is the 2nd or 3rd one I’ve read
- How I Changed My Mind about Evolution: Evangelicals Reflect on Faith and Science ed. Kathryn Applegate and J. B. Stump
- I’ll have a review on this later this month hopefully
- Wholeheartedness: Busyness, Exhaustion, and Healing the Divided Self by Chuck DeGroat
- This book was both timely and helpful. I might post more on it later
- Disappearing Church: From Cultural Relevance to Gospel Resilience by Mark Sayers (see my post)
- How (Not) to Be Secular: Reading Charles Taylor by James K. A. Smith
- Feel like I’m starting to track with Charles Taylor, and Smith’s exposition certainly helped
- Of Orcas and Men: What Killer Whales Can Teach Us by David Neiwert
- If you follow my wife on Instagram, you can hear me read and talk about an excerpt from this. Orcas are my spirit animal
- Toughest People to Love: How to Understand, Lead, and Love the Difficult People in Your Life — Including Yourself by Chuck DeGroat
- A student gave me an Amazon gift card, so this seemed like an appropriate use
- The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
- Probably should have read this in high school or college, but better late than never. Not the best road trip book
- Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
- It was interesting reading this book while in Knoxville, over the weekend when everything happened in Orlando
- True Paradox: How Christianity Makes Sense of Our Complex World by David Skeel (see my post)
- Through Painted Deserts: Light, God, and Beauty on the Open Road by Donald Miller
- This is actually the first book Donald Miller wrote (republished in 2005) and the first book by him I’ve read
- Kierkegaard: A Christian Missionary to Christians by Mark Tietjen
- See my eventual review on this
- Food: A Love Story by Jim Gaffigan
- Many of the jokes in here are familiar from Gaffigan’s standup, but there’s plenty of new stuff and old twists to make it enjoyable
- Calling on the Name of the Lord by Gary Millar
- I’ll have a review on this soon
- What Christians Ought to Believe: An Introduction to Christian Doctrine Through the Apostles’ Creed by Michael Bird
- See my review posting in July
- But What If We’re Wrong?: Thinking About the Present As If It Were the Past by Chuck Klosterman
- Lots to ponder here, maybe post-worthy
- Hidden Agendas: Dropping the Masks that Keep Us Apart by Steve Brown
- I’ll have a review of this soonish, but you can just listen to his podcast and hear most of it
- One Nation Under God: A Christian Hope for American Politics by Bruce Ashford and Chris Pappalardo
- Started a new partnership with B&H Academic and this came in the first round of books. Enjoyed it, and will have a review soon
- Big Sur by Jack Kerouac
- So far I like the movie on Netflix better for the visuals
- ‘Return to Me’: A Biblical Theology of Repentance by Mark Boda
- Yet another solid NSBT volume, which I’ll review eventually
- Pictures at a Theological Exhibition: Scenes of the Church’s Worship, Witness and Wisdom by Kevin Vanhoozer
- It’s a collection of Vanhoozer essays. What could go wrong?
Lastly, if you’re keeping score at home, I’m up to 58 books in the lists below, but I’ve read 79 new books total this year.
Here’s the whole list, in case you’re curious (and even if you’re not):
THE LIGHT READER (8 BOOKS)
- ☒ A book about Christian living (Sanctified by Grace)
- ☐ A biography
- ☐ A classic novel
- ☒ A book someone tells you “changed my life” (You Are What You Love)
- ☒ A commentary on a book of the Bible (The Promise of His Appearing:)
- ☒ A book about theology (Theology as Discipleship)
- ☒ A book with the word “gospel” in the title or subtitle (The Gospel according to Heretics)
- ☐ A book your pastor recommends
- ☒ A book more than 100 years old (The Bruised Reed)
- ☐ A book for children
- ☐ A mystery or detective novel
- ☒ A book published in 2016 (From Topic to Thesis)
- ☒ A book about a current issue (Five Views on The Church and Politics)
THE AVID READER (8 BOOKS)
- ☐ A book written by a Puritan
- ☒ A book recommended by a family member (Batman: The Killing Joke)
- ☒ A book by or about a missionary (Kierkegaard: A Christian Missionary to Christians)
- ☒ A novel that won the Pulitzer Prize (The Grapes of Wrath)
- ☒ A book written by an Anglican (Paul and The Trinity)
- ☐ A book with at least 400 pages
- ☐ A book by C.S. Lewis or J.R.R. Tolkien
- ☒ A book that has a fruit of the Spirit in the title (Love Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World)
- ☒ A book with a great cover (Of Orcas and Men)
- ☒ A book on the current New York Times list of bestsellers (But What If We’re Wrong)
- ☐ A book about church history
- ☒ A graphic novel (Watchmen)
- ☐ A book of poetry
THE COMMITTED READER (13 BOOKS)
- ☒ A book from a theological viewpoint you disagree with (How I Changed My Mind About Evolution)
- ☒ A book written by an author with initials in their name (Discipleship in The Present Tense: Reflections on Faith and Culture)
- ☐ A book that won a ECPA Christian Book Award
- ☒ A book about worldview (The Experience of God)
- ☐ A play by William Shakespeare
- ☒ A humorous book (This is Awkward)
- ☒ A book based on a true story (Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game)
- ☐ A book written by Jane Austen
- ☐ A book by or about Martin Luther
- ☐ A book with 100 pages or less
- ☐ A book with a one-word title
- ☒ A book about money or finance (The God Ask)
- ☐ A novel set in a country that is not your own
- ☐ A book about music
- ☒ A memoir (The Pastor: A Memoir)
- ☒ A book about joy or happiness (Happiness)
- ☐ A book by a female author
- ☒ A book whose title comes from a Bible verse (Eat This Book)
- ☐ A book you have started but never finished
- ☒ A self-improvement book (Nudge)
- ☐ A book by David McCullough
- ☒ A book you own but have never read (The Work of Christ (Contours in Christian Theology))
- ☐ A book about abortion
- ☐ A book targeted at the other gender
- ☒ A book by a speaker at a conference you have attended (Living in The Light: Money, Sex, & Power)
- ☒ A book written by someone of a different ethnicity than you (Between The World and Me)
THE OBSESSED READER (29 BOOKS)
- ☒ A book published by The Banner of Truth (Silent Witnesses)
- ☐ A book about the Reformation
- ☒ A book written by a first-time author (Through Painted Deserts)
- ☐ A biography of a world leader
- ☒ A book used as a seminary textbook (The Birth of The Trinity)
- ☒ A book about food (Food: A Love Story)
- ☒ A book about productivity (Smarter, Faster, Better: The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business)
- ☐ A book about or relationships or friendship
- ☐ A book about parenting
- ☒ A book about philosophy (Philosophy in Seven Sentences)
- ☐ A book about art
- ☐ A book with magic
- ☒ A book about prayer (Calling on The Name of The Lord)
- ☒ A book about marriage (The Dude’s Guide to Marriage)
- ☐ A book about a hobby
- ☐ A book of comics
- ☐ A book about the Second World War
- ☒ A book about sports (From Season to Season)
- ☒ A book by or about a pastor’s wife (Black and White Bible, Black and Blue Wife)
- ☐ A book about suffering
- ☒ A book by your favorite author (Theology and The Mirror of Scripture: A Mere Evangelical Account)
- ☒ A book you have read before (The Lost Continent, Neither Here nor There, A Walk in The Woods)
- ☒ A book about homosexuality (People To Be Loved: Why Homosexuality Is Not Just An Issue)
- ☐ A Christian novel
- ☒ A book about psychology (Wholeheartedness)
- ☒ A book about the natural world (On Animals Volume 1: Systematic Theology)
- ☐ A book by or about Charles Dickens
- ☒ A novel longer than 400 pages (East of Eden)
- ☒ A historical book (American Exceptionalism and Civil Religion)
- ☒ A book about the Bible (The Miracles of Jesus)
- ☒ A book about a country or city (California: A History)
- ☒ A book about astronomy (The Ultimate Star Wars and Philosophy)
- ☒ A book with an ugly cover (Life’s Too Short to Pretend You’re Not Religious)
- ☐ A book by or about a martyr
- ☐ A book by a woman conference speaker
- ☒ A book by or about the church fathers (Augustine on The Christian Life)
- ☐ A book about language
- ☐ A book by or about a Russian
- ☒ A book about leadership (Zeal Without Burnout)
- ☐ A book about public speaking
- ☐ A book by Francis Schaeffer
- ☒ A book by a Presbyterian (Hidden Agendas)
- ☒ A book about science (How to Be an Atheist)
- ☐ A book about revival (Habits of Grace)
- ☐ A book about writing
- ☐ A book about evangelism
- ☐ A book about ancient history
- ☒ A book about preaching (Preaching the Whole Counsel of God)
- ☒ A book about the church (The Scandal of The Evangelical Mind)
- ☐ A book about adoption
- ☐ A photo essay book
- ☐ A book written in the twentieth century (Studies in Dogmatics The Work of Christ)