I graduated in May, which meant I got a little more variety in my reading this year. (It’s nice to have a list not completely made up of religion textbooks.) If anything, this year I had a trend of reading too much Rob Bell and Billy Shakespeare—they weren’t too bad. Unfortunately, they were not able to make the list because I read even more fun stuff in 2019:
10. Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis, J.D. Vance – Hillbilly Elegy delves into the plight of the Appalachian hillbilly, a culture both disappearing and marginalized. I appreciate the aim of this work as well as Vance’s personal story, though I wish more time had been spent on the greater trends of these people.
9. Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance, Barack Obama – This autobiography is an inspiring recounting of the previous president’s upbringing and path to national leadership. His reflection is both elegant and perceptive.
8. Seinfeld and Philosophy, William Irwin – When I bought this book, I didn’t realize I was purchasing an anthology—which is my fault. Some of the essays within only deal with Seinfeld coincidentally, which is the book’s fault. Still, a few of the more intriguing chapters (particularly the last two) make it well-worth the read for any fan of Seinfeld or philosophy.
7. The Tech-Wise Family: Everyday Steps for Putting Technology in Its Proper Place, Andy Crouch – Andy Crouch (no relation) has delivered here an excellent work in the genres of self-improvement, cultural diagnosis, and Christian living. It would be an achievement to write a fine book in any of those categories but to excel in all three as he does is a true accomplishment. Admittedly, the book begins slow, drifting through generalized and notional advice—be wise and courageous, something you might see on a bulletin at a church. But as he moves through his ten steps, not only does the advice become practical and piercing, his writing becomes more nuanced and personal, and the import of technology on biological life become increasingly clear. The last few chapters—and particularly the last one—are excellent descriptions of the human situation. I hope that very soon Lauren and I will be able to put into practice some of the advice gleaned from Andy’s book.
6. Night, Elie Wiesel – It’s been some time since I’ve read anything on the Holocaust, and the reminder of the potential for human cruelty is always staggering.
5. The Return of the King, J.R.R. Tolkien – I finished both this and The Two Towers this year, but The Return of the King barely edges it out as the better of the two. The third book in the Lord of the Rings series is a worthwhile ending to these enduring fantasy classics. Filled with intriguing worldbuilding, poetic speeches, and heartfelt moments for the characters we’ve grown to love over the course of the trilogy, the book’s final chapters leave readers with a bittersweet denouement.
4. The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure, Jonathan Haidt – The Coddling of the American Mind is another excellent book from Jonathan Haidt with help from Greg Lukianoff. Together they tackle the epidemic of shout-down cultures on the leading college campuses as well as soaring depression and self-harm rates among adolescents. The research they gather points to changes in early childhood and schooling, including the presence of social media and parenting tactics, that have harmed the next generation. They end, however, with hope and recommendations for how we as a society can reverse course.
3. The Story of Christianity – Volume 1: The Early Church to the Reformation, Justo L. González – Like Volume 2 which I read first, Justo L. González’s The Story of Christianity – Vol. 1 is a fantastically written history of the Church, finding the perfect balance of academic interest and novel-esque suspense. I learned more than I can measure regarding the development of the Church and especially appreciated the few pages on Occam and late scholasticism—a topic I had never before explored. I recommend it to anyone interested in an introduction to Church History.
2. Think: A Compelling Introduction to Philosophy, Simon Blackburn – Blackburn’s ideas are interesting in their own right, but his creative ways for presenting and explaining the biggest questions of philosophy makes his primer a worthwhile starting point for anyone interested in the subject. By his analysis that continuously builds on itself, he introduces the reader to questions of self, the mind, choice, reality, and even God.
1. A Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawking – In this science-nonfiction classic (of which I imagine there are only a few), Hawking presents the history of physics as well as current scientific theories in an understandable and engaging way. This book makes my #1 spot purely for the feeling of understanding it gave me regarding the physics of the universe—of light and planets and molecules and stars. He explained the created order more clearly than even my teachers had through all my years of school, and you can’t help but feel excited as the mysteries of the cosmos are opened up to you.
Richard III was the best thing I read from Shakespeare, Love Wins was surprisingly focused for Rob Bell, and Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane was a pleasant albeit juvenile delight. For this next year, I’ve increased my reading goal, so I’m hoping for even more variety and even more great books.