Over the last few years I have developed a reading system, which I shared about in a previous post (Reading Two Five), so I thought I would share my reading lists from the past few years as I developed the system.
Here are the books I read in 2016. It was a year full of some really great books. As the categories are loosely defined, there are books that could fit in more than one category, but I had to place them somewhere.
LITERATURE:
- Notes From The Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky
- The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
- Meditations In An Emergency by Frank O’hara
- Death Of A Salesman by Arthur Miller
- The Five People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom
- The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time by Mark Haddon
Standout: Death Of A Salesman. I enjoyed this beautiful, sad play so thoroughly that I included a moment of it in the conclusion of my MA Thesis.
ACADEMIC:
- Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places by Eugene Peterson
- Fiery Holy Spirit by Jonathan Kienzler
- The Theology Of The Book Of Revelation by Richard Bauckman
- Thinking In Tongues by James K.A. Smith
- The Responsibility Of The Church For Society by Richard Neibhur
- A Christian Manifesto by Francis Schaeffer
- The Cost Of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Standouts: Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places, and The Theology Of The Book Of Revelation. I used a lot of highlighter in the first book in Peterson’s Conversations in Spiritual Theologies series. Reading Bauckman’s book has changed my perspective on the Book of Revelation.
Bonus: It was special to read the doctoral work of one of my favourite professors, Jonathan Kienzler, in his book, Fiery Holy Spirit.
CRAFT:
- Amusing Ourselves To Death by Neil Postman
- Worship By The Book ed. by D.A. Carson
- Emerging Worship by Dan Kimbal
- Extravagant Worship by Darlene Zschech
- Worship Through The Ages by Elmer L. Towns & Vernon M. Whaley
- The Artisan Soul by Erwin McManus
- We Become What We Worship by G. K. Beale
- Desiring The Kingdom by James K.A. Smith
Standouts: Worship By The Book, and Amusing Ourselves To Death. Worship By The Book is one of the best books on worship that I have read. I first read Postman’s prophetic book in college, but had to read it again.
EXPERIENCE:
- Walden by Henry David Thoreau
- I’m Your Man: The Life Of Leonard Cohen by Sylvie Simmons
Standout: I’m Your Man. When I started listening to Leonard Cohen in high school, I knew nothing about him, so I greatly enjoyed reading this biography of his life.
PROCESS:
- Pastor as Public Theologian by Kevin J. Vanhoozer & Owen Strachan
- Thanks for the Feedback by Douglas Stone & Sheila Heen
- Simple Church by Thom S. Rainer & Eric Geiger
- Leading in Disorienting Times by Gary Nelson & Peter Dickens
- Crucial Conversations by Kerry Patterson & Joseph Grenny
- The Five Love languages by Gary Chapman
- Scary Close by Donald Miller
- Contemplative Prayer by Thomas Merton
- A Beautiful Mess by Danielle Strickland
- Rising Strong by Brené Brown
- Jesus For President by Shane Claiborne & Chris Haw
- Here And Now by Henri J.M. Nouwen
Standouts: Thanks For The Feedback, and Pastor As Public Theologian. Feedback is a tricky thing, and this book is incredibly valuable to navigating how to receive it better. Transitioning from being in school to being a full-time pastor was a bit strange, but Pastor As Public Theologian helped me understand myself.
Here are other reading lists:
2015 Reading
2017 Reading
What are some of your best book recommendations? Let me know in the comments below.
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