33 Books

Here are the books I read last year.

Fiction

Storytelling is important to me, so I try to have a novel going most of the time. They trend toward the "historical" type, but I like an occasional sci-fi. Perhaps I did not read a single "great" novel this year, but many very good ones. Wangerin's novelization of the life of Paul was stirring, as was Alcorn's Safely Home. Ender's Game, by Orson Card, was simply amazing. Child 44 gripped me. Here's the list.

Axis, by Robert Charles Wilson
Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card
The Children of Men, by P. D. James
The Thirteen Clocks, by James Thurber
Safely Home, by Randy Alcorn
Paul: A Novel, by Walter Wangerin, Jr.
Pontius Pilate: A Novel, by Paul L. Maier
A Body in the Bathhouse, by Lindsay Davis
Child 44, by Tom Rob Smith
Island of Ghosts, by Gillian Bradshaw
Captains Courageous, by Rudyard Kipling
Eagle of the Ninth, by Rosemary Sutcliffe

History

My plan is to read "through" history by reading biographies, historical treatises, and even novels. Just now I'm somewhere in the second century, so you'll see a preponderance of books concerned with the early years of the Roman empire. I've also taken a liking to sports history, so there's some of that. The elegiac memoir, Cider with Rosie, is in this list because it fits no other. It was perhaps the finest book I read all year. A forgotten gem.

Cities of God, by Rodney Stark
The Faith and the Power, by James D. Snyder
Cider with Rosie, by Laurie Lee
Rubicon, by Tom Holland
Augustus: Rome's First Emperor, by Anthony Everitt
Seabiscuit: An American Legend, by Laura Hillenbrand
The Match, by Mark Frost
The Teammates, by David Halberstam
Rome and Jerusalem: The Clash of Ancient Civilizations, by Martin Goodman

Spiritual

Some of these books were recommended, some were just found laying around (so I read 'em), but most of my reading choices in this area were very carefully considered. Lots of really good books here, but perhaps the two that stand out are Wright's Following God, and Johnson's Him We Proclaim. The Bonhoeffer title stands alone, of course. That represents my one "re-read" of the year.

Goldsworthy Trilogy, by Graeme Goldsworthy
Sacred Marriage, by Gary L. Thomas
Finding Deeper Intimacy with God, by John Guest
Following Jesus, by N. T. Wright
The Cost of Discipleship, by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
A Fragile Stone, by Michael Card
Start Here, by Don Williams
Triumph of the Lamb, by Dennis E. Johnson
Sit, Walk, Stand, by Watchman Nee
Him We Proclaim: Preaching Christ from All the Scriptures, by Dennis E. Johnson
The Reason for God, by Tim Keller
Naturally Supernatural, by Gary Best