This year, Angel and I celebrated the release of our first book, Trading Faces. Any author knows how much of their heart they pour into writing and the blessing it is to have people interact with what you’ve crafted on the page. We’ve been so encouraged by those who have written us to share ways the book has impacted them. Laboring over the art of writing has made me a more charitable reader. I know how easy it is for my writing to become aimless, for ideas in my mind to become muddled on the page.

There is no shortage of words in our world: social media showers us with the barely filtered language of acquaintances and semi-celebrities. But words in a book—the author and the publisher paid a cost to put those words out into the world. I was surprised that our publisher had over six editors comb over our book (and it is far better because of their work).

Books aren’t perfect (well, just the one), but they are treasures. I think we would be better thinkers and maybe even better human beings if we exchanged many of the words we imbibe via social media for words on the printed page. So, here’s to more books in 2024!

In 2023, I read 135 books. It might be my high-water mark, primarily driven by a lot of reading on my sabbatical. I don’t expect I’ll surpass that number any time soon. I read much more fiction this year than I usually do (which I quite enjoyed). I hope that number doesn’t lead to comparison. It’s far better to have read six books well than 150 poorly.

I’ll begin with my four favorite books of 2023, followed by some of the other books I read. I hope you find some gems for your reading list. And I would love to hear from you about your favorite books of 2023 as well. Send me a note!

My Favorite Four

Biblical Critical Theory by Christopher Watkin. Watkin, an Australian philosophy professor, has put forward an ambitious effort in Biblical Critical Theory. Just as Augustine compared a Christian ethic to a Roman ethic in “The City of God,” Watkin compares a Christian ethic to a secular ethic in Biblical Critical Theory. In his wide-ranging book, Watkin navigates topics from creation to humanity to sin and society to eschatology. Watkin’s voice is wise and balanced.
God Shines Forth by Daniel Hames and Michael Reeves: God Shines Forth responds to the question, “If we all know that evangelism is important, why do most of us have such a strong aversion to it?” Hames and Reeves answer that this question lies not with strategies or guilt, but instead with our understanding of God. “Mission is no clunky add-on to your own delighting in God. Instead, it is the natural overflow and expression of the enjoyment you have of him so that, like him, you gladly go out and fill the world with the word of his goodness.” In short, “The wellspring of a healthy, happy mission is God himself.”
Seasons of Sorrow by Tim Challies. Challies reflects on the loss of his twenty-year-old son Nick and the year of grief that follows in this wise and grounded book. It will immediately become my go-to recommendation for those navigating the hard grief process. Challies is honest and vulnerable, and also biblical and wise. Challies never minimizes the depth of his loss but presses deep into our Lord's unsearchable but good sovereignty.
Jubilee by Margaret Walker: Walker’s 1966 novel is one of the best novels I’ve read in several years. Walker’s novel is semi-biographical, following the story of her great-grandmother, Vyry. Set in Georgia and Alabama, Jubilee follows Vyry’s story. The child of a white plantation owner and an enslaved woman, Vyry, lives through the Civil War and Reconstruction. Vyry is unforgettable. Intelligent, courageous, and human. What was most moving to me was Walker’s depiction of faith in Jubilee. Vyry’s earnest and real struggle with God is profound.

Onto the best of the other books I read in 2023. There were a lot of books that easily could have been included in my top list.

Christian Living

Beautiful People Don’t Just Happen by Scott Sauls. Unfortunately, Sauls was suspended from his the pastorate due to an unhealthy culture. Despite that concern, this book is a wonderful meditation on suffering as a means of beautification.
Cultural Counterfeits by Jen Oshman. In this book directed to women, Oshman knocks down counterfeit idols that lure us away from where our worth is truly found.
Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby and Claude King. I re-read this classic and was surprised to find that it still holds up: it was much more nuanced and thoughtful than I expected.
He is Not Ashamed by Erik Raymond. A simple but profound and tender message: your Savior is not ashamed of you.
Humility by Gavin Ortlund. Ortlund’s book is simple and solid.
Liturgy of the Ordinary by Tish Harrison Warren. Warren invites us to find worship in the ordinary realities of life.
Memorizing Scripture by Glenna Marshall. There are few 2024 resolutions that would serve our hearts better than memorizing scripture. Marshall’s book is the best companion for the “why” and the “how” I know of.
The Secret Place of Thunder by John Starke. In our platform obsessed world, Starke urges us to exchange our performative self for a quiet, abiding life with Christ.
Sent by Heather and Ashley Holleman. My favorite chapter was where the Holleman’s connect evangelism to our identities of ambassador, farmer, and fishermen.
The Wisdom Pyramid by Brett McCracken. Our world is awash in information. How can we pursue wisdom?

Counseling and Relational Issues

Build the Life You Want by Arthur C. Brooks and Oprah Winfrey. This pop-psychology offering was better than I anticipated.
God, You, and Sex by David White. Very solid resource.
The Great Sex Rescue by Sheila Wray Gregoire (and others). This was the best of three books I read by Gregoire this year. She is responding to the failures of the purity culture and can step into the opposite errors as a result.
Running Scared and Shame Interrupted by Edward Welch. Both are excellent books to help those who struggle with fear or shame.
Still Quiet Mind by Esther Smith. The best resource I know of for those who battle unwanted thoughts.
Willpower by Roy Baumeister and John Tierney. Research-based book on the importance of and how to improve self-control.

Theology and Culture

Amusing Ourselves to Death, The Disappearance of Childhood, and Technopoly by Neil Postman. All are important books, especially in our era, although Postman can be overly pessimistic.
Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport. In the same vein, Newport urges readers to re-consider their use of cell phones and social media.
Dopamine Nation by Anne Lembre. Lembre considers how we can navigate a culture saturated with pleasure. Lembre suggests the only way to health is through pain.
Finding Truth by Nancy Pearcey. Pearcey compares the Christian worldview to atheism and secularism.
Generations by Jean Twenge. Twenge argues that social media has been more transformational to generational differences than even wars.
Gospel People by Michael Reeves. Reeves defends the term “evangelical” and calls evangelicals to live up to their calling.
Strange New World by Carl Trueman. A brilliant commentary on how a world where expressive individualism developed and transformed culture.
The Thrill of Orthodoxy and Rethink Your Self by Trevin Wax. Both of these books by Wax are excellent. I especially appreciated Wax’s rebuffing of culture’s assumptions about identity and the road to happiness in Rethink Your Self.

Pastoral Ministry and Leadership

Beyond Racial Division by George Yancey. Yancey seeks to find a third way through the racial division that has gripped our country.
A Church Called Tov by Scott McKnight and Laura Barringer. In examining the moral meltdown of one church, McKnight and Barringer consider how churches can be places of goodness they were meant to be.
Pastor, Jesus is Enough by Jeremy Writebol. This was balm for my soul, an encouragement for pastors to look to Jesus alone as our reward and joy.
The Motive by Patrick Lencioni. The shortest of Lencioni’s books might be the most important, or at least the book that ought to be read first by any leader.
Noise and Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. Kahneman considers how to clear away the noise as we make decisions and then how to think more deliberatively.
A Praying Church by Paul Miller. Miller urges churches to corporate prayer and then gives practical advice on how to become more prayerful.
Reactivity by Paul David Tripp. Tripp comes alongside leaders in a hyper-reactive world and urges us to slow our tongues and calm our hearts.
The Re Set by Jeremy Riddle. Because of his Bethel background, I was surprised that this book on worship was pretty solid (outside of his chapter on the presence of the Spirit).

History, Biography, and General Non-Fiction

All My Knotted-Up Life by Beth Moore. Moore’s auto-biography is warm and funny.
Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxes. Even if you have issues with Metaxes’s concerning trajectory, this biography is well worth the read. A great blend of personal and theology.
Dominion by Tom Holland. A compelling history of Christendom and its positive cultural impact written by a non-Christian.
Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri. A beautiful memoire by an American-Iranian.
Leonardo da Vinci, Benjamin Franklin, and The Innovators by Walter Isaacson. Isaacson’s strong secular bias comes through in all of his books, but he is a compelling writer. Da Vinci’s biography was my favorite of the three.
Missoula, Three Cups of Deceit, and Where Men Win Glory by Jon Krakauer. Krakauer’s ego can seep into his narrative, but his talent is undeniable. Missoula was my favorite of these three.
Moneyball and The Big Short by Michael Lewis. Another impressive writer. Any sports fan ought to read Moneyball (even if you watched the movie).
Pistol by Mark Kriegel. A bittersweet tale of a man who battled his demons and changed basketball forever.
The Triumph of Christianity by Rodney Stark. Similar to Dominion, Stark compellingly argues that what made Christianity successful was its groundbreaking ethics.
Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker. Sleep expert Matthew Walker packs much of the knowledge of contemporary scientific research on sleep into 350 easy-to-read pages in “Why We Sleep.” If you can measure a book by its power to change your thinking and habits, this was a 10 of 10 for me.

General Fiction

About Grace by Anthony Doerr. A bit of a letdown after All the Light We Cannot See, but still a solid book.
A handful of Michael Connelly novels from the Bosch and Lincoln Lawyer series. Both of these series are ideal vacation reads.
The Guest List and The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley. A bit to salacious for my taste, but solid plot twists in both.
The Nightingale and The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah. Hannah is a masterful storyteller. The Nightingale is a must read for any lover of World War II fiction.
The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson. Johnson’s tale about North Korea is bizarre and eye opening.
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby van Pelt. Van Pelt’s debut novel is sweet, warm, and filled with a great trio of characters. I can’t wait to read more by her.
Still Life by Louise Penny. This small town detective novel is like a warm cup of tea on a cold day.
The Wind and the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. If you haven’t read this classic, you should. I loved my reading it again as an adult.

What I’m Hoping to Read in 2024

You can never run out of good books and there remain so many that I am looking forward to reading in 2024; relating to the Christian life and theology, I’m looking forward to reading, Jesus the Purifier by Craig Blomberg, The Deeply Formed Life by Rich Villados, This Too Shall Last by KJ Ramsey, Finding My Father by Blair Linne, Humble Calvinism by J.A Medders, The Church as it is in Heaven by Jamaal Williams, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self by Carl Trueman, Prayer in the Night by Tish Harrison Warren, No Greater Love by Rebecca McLaughlin, The Soul of Desire by Curt Thompson.

My list for fiction includes Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng, A Light on the Hill by Connilyn Cossette, The Thanatos Syndrome by Walker Percy, The Talisman by Sir Walter Scott, and The Violent Bear it Away by Flannery O’Connor, I, Julian by Claire Gilbert.

What were your favorite books of 2023? What should I make sure is on my reading list for 2024? If you want fuller reviews on any of the books listed above or just want to connect on an ongoing basis about reading, I encourage you to friend me on Goodreads.

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Photo by Jaredd Craig on Unsplash