Well, this wasn’t my best year for reading. I had shimmering visions of reading two or three times as many, but things both good (writing!) and challenging (a move) managed to interfere.
Here is the somewhat shorter than usual list:
Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers: A Lord Peter Whimsey murder mystery. I don’t really go for murder mysteries but my mom has recommended these to me, and I did LOVE Sayers’ non-fiction, Mind of the Maker, so I gave it a go. It was okay, and I may yet read more in the series as I’ve heard it gets MUCH better once Harriet Vane enters the picture, but I can hardly remember anything about it, so…there you have it.
Fool’s Talk: Recovering the art of Christian Persuasion, by Os Guinness: Not bad, by any means, but I think I was hoping to get more out of it. The one thing that I appreciated was the emphasis on there not being one specific way or formula, and really trying to understand the people you’re talking to (as opposed to just throwing memorized points at people).
I am Malala, by Malala Yousafzai: The memoir of the young girl who was shot by the Taliban for her education activism. There was a lot to learn and appreciate here, but the one thing that sticks with me is how lonely and isolated she felt when she moved to the UK. She had security and much better living conditions, but not community, and that seems like a terrible trade to have to make.
All the Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr: A tale of a German boy skilled with radios, a blind French girl, and a treasure, during WWII. This book had beautiful, evocative prose and some very memorable scenes, though I don’t know that the whole quite exceeded the sum of the parts, excellent though those parts truly were. I enjoyed reading it, but have no desire to revisit it, and not much that left a long-lasting mark. But it really was beautiful and I would recommend it.
Genesis: the Book of Beginnings, by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks: The best new read of the year for me (I did some re-reads). Sacks has a whole series for the Torah, only Deuteronomy is not published yet, and it is sectioned of by Parsha (Torah reading portion), with a few essays per portion. The essays are insightful, rich, full of truth and both help to understand that which is hard in the text, and present the opportunity to make deep metaphysical connections, to get so much more out of each reading. Highly recommended.
Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ, by John Piper: A short, solid book about focusing on who Jesus Christ really is, to help us know and love Him. I think I might recommend it generally with the caveat that I suspect the book won’t offer much if you’re not in the right frame of mind. It was a good book, but I don’t think I myself was in the right frame of mind. I think I was wanting something more.
A Canticle for Liebowitz, by Walter M. Miller Jr.: A re-read. I love this book so much. It is a deep, theologically-driven Sci-fi, written during the height of nuclear war fear. Recommended for everyone, and worth re-reading.
Villete, by Charlotte Bronte: I love Jane Eyre, so I read this. I am glad I did. It was interesting and worthwhile, but somewhat grave and depressing without much payoff for that cost. There was an underlying hopelessness to the narrative that was never resolved. Some interesting (and oft ungracious) discussions of Catholicism versus Protestantism, and England vs. the Continent, and a heroine that was exasperating only because she was very real.
Bright Smoke, Cold Fire, by Rosamund Hodge: A Young Adult novel, starting at the end of Romeo and Juliet, in a world full of blood sacrifice and revenants. Full disclosure, I have found Young Adult novels to be generally very disappointing, and have pretty much given up on them. But every now and then, a particular author makes me want to give it another shot. I follow this author on twitter and she’s lovely, and has a lot of theological insights that I appreciate, so I read this very-not-my-wheelhouse book. It was…still not my wheelhouse. Full of interesting imagery and ideas, and hinting at some rich themes, but a little too young and rushed in tone for me.
Surprised by Joy, by C.S. Lewis: I have read this many, many times. It is a go-to comfort book that I never fail to enjoy. Lewis’ conversion memoir, full of incredible insight, and always, always recommended to everyone.
This is How we Pray, by Adam Dressler: I read this because the pastor who wrote it is the pastor of the church I was attending at the time (a church I love). He is a gifted, humble pastor for whom I am very grateful, but I can’t say that I particularly enjoyed it or gleaned much from it. I hate saying that. There were several times I thought “Oooh, so-and-so would appreciate this part” so I think that it actually might be a really good read for some, at the right time. Perhaps it was a disparity in expectation, because I always feel convicted and edified by his sermons, but I did not find these essays (on prayer, obviously) to impact me similarly.
Emma, by Jane Austen: A classic that I had somehow never managed to read. It was lovely. I enjoyed it thoroughly, and not any less for already being so familiar with the story.
J. L. Odom 