5 Books You Should Read, 6 You Should Know About, 20 Worth a Look and 4 to Avoid

Here’s the full list of books I read in 2014, those highly recommended, some worth a look (because I wrote jacket endorsements for them – any more proof of quality needed?), and some I couldn’t finish. Read any of these too? What did you think? And what are you reading now that others should know about? Do tell.

Particularly Recommended

[amazon_link id=”0374187614″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Lila: a Novel[/amazon_link] by Marilynne Robinson. If this book doesn’t win the Pulitzer Prize there should be riots in the streets. A compelling story of a woman on the fringes of society learning how to trust, love, and be loved through the care of a minister named John Aames. Elegant in every sentence, with a brilliant unraveling of the tale, Robinson gives us the inner machinations of Lila Doll as she muses on life, faith and existence. Only a writer of Robinson’s calibre can incorporate snippets of the Book of Ezekiel in such an intriguing and unforced way, or a write of Lila’s time in a brothel without seediness or innuendo to leave you feeling only grief. I’ll read this again soon. Writers, this is how to write. (Listen to my interview with Marilynne Robinson for insights into her writing life)

[amazon_link id=”0060611839″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]The Sacred Journey[/amazon_link] by Frederick Beuchner. I’m very much the fan of Buechner’s memoirs and this is probably the best he’s written (see a couple more below). Lyrical and quotable, he recounts the pivotal experience of his life – the suicide of his father when he was 10 – and how grace has woven that tragedy into something new. Buchener’s description of the book’s aim is helpful for anyone writing memoir: ‘What I propose to do now is to try and listen to my as a whole, or at least to certain key moments of the first half of my life thus far, for whatever meaning, of holiness, of God, there may be in it to hear. My assumption is that the story of any one of us is in some measure the story of us all.’

[amazon_link id=”0310266300″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]The Irresistible Revolution[/amazon_link] by Shane Claiborne. Not a new book of course, but so valuable. I’ve been exploring the theme of love over the last couple of years and read this in conjunction with theologian DA Carson’s small book [amazon_link id=”1581341261″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God[/amazon_link]. It was a helpful exercise. Some of the small theological matters Claiborne gets wrong in this book Carson corrects in his, but what Claiborne and his friends at Philadelphia’s Simple Way community get right is what matters most – actually loving people in action. A challenging read to love society’s ‘least, last and lost.’ You can hear my interview with Shane Claiborne here.

[amazon_link id=”031032713X” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]The Sermon on the Mount (commentary)[/amazon_link] by Scot McKnight. For a little brain food. As I’ll explain in the coming months here on the blog, I believe everyone should read Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (found in Matthew 5-7) at least monthly. This is a good commentary that weaves the Sermon into the whole biblical story, taking into account recent scholarship while keeping practical application a high priority. I’ve read this in conjunction with [amazon_link id=”9780877842965″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]John Stott’s classic book on the Sermon[/amazon_link], and Dallas Willard’s left-field exploration in [amazon_link id=”0060693339″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]The Divine Conspiracy[/amazon_link].

 

[amazon_link id=”087793343X” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]A Vacation with the Lord[/amazon_link] by Thomas Green. Not a new book and not easily available either. Your best bet is second-hand. But Green takes a user-friendly approach to The Spiritual Exercises by St Ignatius and weaves them into a retreat guide for exploring God’s calling. Valuable if you can find a copy.

 

 

 

 

Books I Endorsed

I’ve had the privilege of writing jacket endorsements and commendations for several excellent books recently. These titles are all worth your time.

[amazon_link id=”1444745344″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Paradoxology[/amazon_link] by Krish Kandiah

[amazon_link id=”1401689922″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]The Taste of Many Mountains[/amazon_link] by Bruce Wydick

[amazon_link id=”0857215426″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Citizen[/amazon_link] by Rob Peabody

Digging for Diamonds by Cathy Madavan

[amazon_link id=”B00RPP57AQ” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Beyond the Myth of Self-Esteem[/amazon_link] by John Smith

[amazon_link id=”0891123849″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Called[/amazon_link] by Ryan Pemberton

Also Read in 2014

[amazon_link id=”080701429X” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Man’s Search for Meaning[/amazon_link] by Viktor Frankl

[amazon_link id=”0830835164″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]The Attentive Life[/amazon_link] by Leighton Ford (second reading)

[amazon_link id=”0787947350″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Let Your Life Speak[/amazon_link] by Parker Palmer (second reading)

[amazon_link id=”1580087051″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]How to Find Your Mission in Life[/amazon_link] by Richard Bolles

[amazon_link id=”0143039431″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]The Grapes of Wrath[/amazon_link] by John Steinbeck

[amazon_link id=”0140177396″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Of Mice and Men[/amazon_link] by John Steinbeck

[amazon_link id=”0060609362″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Telling Secrets[/amazon_link] by Frederick Beuchner

[amazon_link id=”0060611820″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Now and Then[/amazon_link] by Frederick Buechner

[amazon_link id=”0316346624″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]The Tipping Point[/amazon_link] by Malcolm Gladwell

[amazon_link id=”0345531965″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]The Testament[/amazon_link] by John Grisham

[amazon_link id=”0824519868″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Life of the Beloved[/amazon_link] by Henri Nouwen

[amazon_link id=”0345463358″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]The Way of the Heart[/amazon_link] by Henri Nouwen

[amazon_link id=”0312428545″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Home[/amazon_link] by Marilynne Robinson

[amazon_link id=”1581341261″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God[/amazon_link] by DA Carson

[amazon_link id=”0061370479″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]An Altar in the World[/amazon_link] by Barbara Brown Taylor

The Spiritual Exercises by St Ignatius (free ebook or [amazon_link id=”0385024363″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]hardcopy[/amazon_link])

[amazon_link id=”0142437301″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]The Power and the Glory[/amazon_link] by Graham Greene

[amazon_link id=”0745955282″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Landscapes of Prayer[/amazon_link] by Margaret Silf

[amazon_link id=”1841018007″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Restoring the Woven Cord[/amazon_link] by Michael Mitton

Calling’s Way by Mark Richardson (free ebook)

Started but not Finished

Anam Cara by John O’Donohue (some wisdom here but too ephemeral in places)

The Lovely Bones by Alex Sebold (not what I was looking for)

The Famished Road by Ben Okri (just a little too weird)

The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho (directions on how to contact a demon were the final straw)

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Question: What are you reading that others should know about? Tell me now