It is hard to believe that another year has almost come and gone. I made some new book friends. Others I met and wished I had spent my time in some other way. I also re-visited some old book friends which is always a comforting occasion. Below are a few of the books that resonated with me in the latter half of 2023. The usual caveats:  I am an eclectic reader, so not everything here will be everyone’s cup of tea and a recommendation does not mean that I agree with everything espoused in the book.

How to Stay Married by Harrison Scott Key. The subtitle says it all:  The Most Insane Love Story Ever Told. Key is an award-winning humorist and he brings it to bear as he recounts discovering that his wife is having an affair with a family friend and all that comes after. There are moments that are laugh out loud hilarious and others that will have tears streaming down your face. This is no pie in the sky fairy tale but a beautiful story of grace, brokenness, love, repentance, and redemption.

Finding the Words by Colin Campbell. This is the author’s accounting of what he learned about grief after losing both his children in the same car accident. His main point is that we as a people don’t know how to grieve. The author is not a Christian and his religious connections are Jewish, so the element of Christian hope is missing. However, his common grace observations delivered in poignant prose was moving. I wish I had this book when my son died.

Revelation for the Rest of Us by Scot McKnight. This book cuts through all the Last Days goofiness and instead reads this book of the Bible as a call to faithfulness and hope. It stimulates the imagination and explains many of the key symbols in the book. I was challenged to consider how to discern ‘Babylon’ in our day and what it means to live as a Christian in such a time and place.

How Far to the Promised Land by Esau McCaulley. This is the author’s memoir of growing up in Huntsville, Alabama. It is a ‘tender epic’ of what it was like growing up Black in America. The writing is beautiful and bold. Having read other similar books, I appreciated that the author didn’t fall into a scolding tone or into the blame game. It is a simple but effective re-telling of one man’s life in its joys and sorrows.

Advent by Tish Harrison Warren. Part of the Fullness of Time series which examines the various seasons of the church year, Warren’s writing is as good as ever. The book is brief but she covers the history, theology, prayers, and practices of Advent.  

For fiction:  Peace Like a River by Leif Enger; All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Crosby (the author lives in Virginia and it is the setting for this book. It is a well-written mystery but the language can be crude at times so not for everyone); a reread of the first four books in the Louise Penny Inspector Gamache series.

Upcoming in 2024:  Practicing the Way by John Mark Comer; Reading Genesis by Marilynn Robinson; The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt (this may be one everyone needs to read as it is looking at the rise in mental health issues among the younger generations. Here is the author’s summary - We have overprotected children in the real world and underprotected in the virtual world.)

Whether you read these books or others, I encourage you to make reading a habit in your life.

Note: The blog will be on a brief hiatus for the next two weeks but will resume the first week of January 2024.