The year 2013 has finished somewhat
miserably. I have the flu, and so do my wife and daughters, so we're all currently
bunkering down at home. But I always like to reflect on the previous year, and once again, I'm thankful for the Lord's goodness in 2013.
One of the ways I've enjoyed
God's goodness last year is the blessing of the books I read in 2013. I usually have about five books going at once, and there's a lot of other stuff I've read, but here are most of the
books I finished this year.
Novels
Marilynne
Robinson, Home
Less moving for me than Gilead, but still good.
G.
K. Chesterton, The Man Who Was
Thursday (re-read)
Too allegorical for my taste
(and a little preachy), but imaginative.
E.M. Forster, A Room with a View
Enjoyed Howards End in 2012. This is also a classic. Forster
is an amazing writer.
Jerome Jerome, Three Men in a Boat
Great British humor. Loved this.
YA Books
Robert Seigel, Whalesong
Possibly my favorite YA book ever. Had the opportunity to review it for Redeemed Reader (review here).
William
Joyce, Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King
After
my family and I saw Rise of the Guardians, based on this series, my daughter and I picked
this up at the library and really enjoyed the book. And I must say that Joyce
has turned my 8-year-old daughter into a reader. She read the first four books
of this series and is waiting for the next one.
Robert
Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island
A
great swashbuckling adventure. Glad I finally read it.
Non-Fiction
Truck:
A Love Story and Coop: A Year of Poultry, Pigs, and Parenting, both by Michael Perry
This was the year my wife
and I discovered the work of Michael Perry, thanks to a friend (and I got to
meet Perry a couple weeks ago!). Truck started
a little slow, but I ended up loving it, and I want to read it again.
Perry is a craftsman with words, and his portrayal of small-town life in
Wisconsin is spot on. He’s also hilarious. Coop
is a close second to Truck.
Thomas
Hibbs, Shows
About Nothing: Nihilism in Popular Culture from The Exorcist to Seinfeld
Excellent film/TV/culture criticism. My Goodreads review is here.
Excellent film/TV/culture criticism. My Goodreads review is here.
John
Piper, Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ
Worth getting just for the prayers. Deepened my relationship with Christ.
Worth getting just for the prayers. Deepened my relationship with Christ.
Augustine,
Confessions
I only read books 1-8, which are Augustine’s spiritual autobiography. After that the book is mainly philosophical. But this is a beautiful story.
I only read books 1-8, which are Augustine’s spiritual autobiography. After that the book is mainly philosophical. But this is a beautiful story.
Albert
Wolters, Creation Regained: Biblical
Basics for a Reformational Worldview
Dense but thankfully short. Goodreads review here.
Carolyn
Weber, Surprised by Oxford
Loved this book for its story, its setting, and its faith.
Rod Dreher, The Little Way of Ruthie Leming
I absolutely loved Dreher's first book, Crunchy Cons, but this book is very different. This is the story of Rod's relationship with his sister, who died of cancer in 2012. The book is very sad, but very moving. Dreher was greatly changed through this experience. My review here.
Jonathan Edwards, Jonathan Edwards' Resolutions: And Advice
to Young Converts
Convicting.
Good to re-read again and again.
R. C.
Sproul, Are We Together? A Protestant
Analyzes Roman Catholicism
Charitable,
gracious, and fair.
Francis
Schaeffer, Art & The Bible
Schaeffer
is outstanding on art. Goodreads review here.
Poetry
Luci Shaw, Accompanied by Angels: Poems of the Incarnation
Wonderful meditations that rekindle our wonder at the Incarnation, as well as the life, sacrificial death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ
William Shakespeare, Sonnets.
I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would, but since Shakespeare has been judged already, that says more me than it does about Shakespeare.
Sarah Wells, Pruning Burning Bushes
This is a great book of poems by a writer whose faith is honest and real. My Goodreads review is here.
Billy Collins, Sailing Alone Around the Room
A load of fun. The first book of Collins' poems that I've read.
T. S. Eliot, Four Quartets
Finally read this, Eliot's greatest Christian poetry. “Little Gidding” is especially good.
Stephen Haven, The Last Sacred Place in North America
Haven is the director of the MFA program at Ashland, which I hope to begin one of these years, God willing. I really enjoyed many of his poems. My review is here.
