This year’s pandemic gutted tens of thousands of dollars from my business but gave me a lot more free time. Instead of diving into Netflix, I spent more time outdoors and in my car on winding, rural roads—usually alone and often with audiobooks. Also this year, I’ve worked to create boundaries around my phone use and social media intake. That has resulted in me reading in bed many nights. After finishing the manuscript for my own nonfiction book, I found even more time to read the work of others. I felt drawn this year to books about how things work: cultures & belief systems, industries & technologies, and the natures of God & humans.
The listing below is roughly in the order that I’d recommend these titles, not in the order that I read them. The Amazon ratings were recorded when I finished reading & reviewed each book.
The Third Plate
Field Notes on the Future of Food
Outside of the Bible, Dan Barber’s book holds more pages (496) than any other book I’ve read since high school; but he rarely lost my interest on the long journey. That’s no small feat for a chef of his global renown, especially when you consider that I have the diet of a five-year-old. Every few pages held a detail that wowed me. He made farmers, fishermen, and far-flung locations come to life with ironic understatement. I can’t imagine the work of threading this long narrative, of building momentum with meekness and mystery. The complexity of the ecosystems he researched kept pointing me back to wonder for the intelligent design of such symbiotic organic communities. Barber quotes ecologist Frank Egler: “Nature is not more complicated than we think. It’s more complicated than we can think.” The large stack of chapters doesn’t tell you what to think, what to buy, what to cook, or what to eat. Barber just takes you on his journey of discovery in a contagious way that makes you want to explore further for yourself. As a person of faith, I find this illustrative of how I want to live my life, how I want to write.
Amazon rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars
When Breath Becomes Air
During the years I’ve spent exploring the underpinnings and resolutions of midlife crises, people have recommended this collection of Paul Kalamithi’s autobiographical essays to me. I could only long to be as worthy of a eulogy as this young martyr in the war on cancer. I can only hope I would face a seemingly-untimely death with as much dignity. For the past fourteen years, I’ve written for a similar purpose but could only aspire for strangers to read my words, connect with them, and cry like I did the afternoon I finished this book. I’d also like to note that his wife’s writing to conclude the manuscript is even more beautiful and impactful. If you wrestle with legacy, wrestle with the narrative of this book.
Amazing rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars
God and the Pandemic
A Christian Reflection on the Coronavirus and its Aftermath
N.T. Wright masterfully confronts the common (wrong) Christian responses to tragedies and in particular COVID-19. This short read influenced how I’ll respond to questions and comments for the rest of my life. Wright’s admonition on the correct, contextualized application of Romans 8:28 was more than worth the price of this book. He juxtaposes passages I’ve never heard put together. I highly recommend the audiobook version, which the Oxford scholar narrates.
Amazon rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars
Beyond an Angry God
You Can’t Imagine How Much He Loves You
A mentor of mine gifted me this book, and it took me most of the year to read. It’s thick in parts. I had to re-read paragraphs often, but 42% of the pages in my paper copy have highlighter marks on them. No book I’ve ever read has made me reconsider what I believe and how I came to believe it. Steve McVey also reconciled the (seemingly) mutually-exclusive concepts of hell and God’s love in a more satisfactory way than I’ve heard before. He gave me a whole new category for describing the horror of hell. He also challenged false narratives I’ve heard in church my entire life.
Amazon rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars
Better Decisions, Fewer Regrets
5 Questions to Help You Determine Your Next Move
I consumed Andy Stanley’s newest book in a few days after seeing him and his wife promoting it from their kitchen. It arrived in my life at a critical juncture point—a month-long period during which I had a big decision to make. The counsel of this book is solid. Stanley does a fantastic job of making big ideas both granular and practical. Retrospectively, I’ve found the tenets to be rules upon which I’ve either broken myself or propelled flourishing in my life and the lives of others. The advice in these pages isn’t just for huge decisions. It applies to the little moments we might later find had held watershed choices.
Amazon rating: 4.9 out of 5 stars
The Weather Machine
A Journey Inside the Forecast
I can only imagine the amount of work inherent in Andrew Blum’s research. I also wouldn’t want the herculean process of weeding through all the history and data for the succinct amount of information needed to comprehend each concept, craft a narrative out of the science, and make that journey approachable. Fascinating stuff. This book will leave you with an awe of human imagination and ingenuity and a hope that the global cooperation required to keep all of this running will not be undone by jingoism, mistrust, and isolationism.
Amazon rating: 3.8 out of 5 stars
Prisoners of Geography
Ten Maps That Explain Everything About the World
I finished this read utterly impressed by the inherent scope of the journalistic process it must’ve required. Tim Marshall simplifies or at least decodes a lot of the undercurrents upon which global news floats. This is not the book I had expected. The maps aren’t secret or historic or unique. But Marshall uses these maps masterfully to explain the limitations and motivations of people groups around the globe. I enjoyed seeing global geopolitical conflict and economies through the eyes of a foreign writer—particularly the discussion of American involvement.
Amazon rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars
White Fragility
Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism
I wish I could give this book to people I care about, but the people who need it most would never read it. This book can only be fully absorbed when accompanied by the most humble and contrite part of our hearts. Readers have to be willing to be wrong—and even complicit in the systemic realities of 2020. As an adrenaline junkie who has spent tens of thousands of dollars scaring myself into moments of euphoria, I can tell you that you must be willing to embrace discomfort to finish Robin Diangelo’s fantastic guide. Our culture won’t change through comfort. It won’t improve through virtue signaling. We must uproot the weeds of our souls so that beauty and peace can blossom.
Amazon rating: 4.3 out of 5 stars
Tell Me More
The 12 Hardest Things I’m Learning to Say
The subject matter of Kelly Corrigan’s book may not change your life, but her writing style will captivate you. She pulled me into stories of people I don’t know or care about with a fantastic mix of authenticity and polished art. I listened as a writer in awe of the naturalness and beauty of her syntax. While I can’t relate to her experiences, she connected my humanity to hers and to that of the people in her life.
Amazon rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
What if Jesus Was Serious?
A Visual Guide to the Teachings of Jesus We Love to Ignore
I started recommending this book to my friends well before I finished reading it, and I read it with a highlighter in hand. Skye Jethani didn’t just make me think. He made me ask my own soul questions. His succinct chapters landed punch after punch. I wouldn’t call this an entertaining read, even with all of the illustrations; but it is an important one. If you’re skeptical of popular Christianity or new to faith in Jesus, you’ll appreciate the themes of this book. If you’re religiously comfortable or unwilling to change your views on faith, this book will be a burr under your saddle.
Amazon rating: 5 out of 5 stars
The Blue Parakeet
Rethinking How You Read the Bible
I’ve read the works of deconstructionists and theological liberals, as they presented a view of Scripture foreign to the one I inherited. But that’s not Scot McKnight in these pages. I sense a different kind of reverence, a passion for truth. This book reads a bit like an academic dissertation, no doubt because of the author’s work as a seminary professor. But his assertions land as intended: thought-provoking. It takes a while for all of the foundational work to come together, but this book finishes with profound questions—not of the Bible but what we bring to our reading of it.
Amazing rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars
Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man
Emmanuel Acho’s book speaks graciously but frankly about topics related to black and white cultures and the interactions between them. But make no mistake, these are not conversations. Soliloquies at best, I found that at least a couple of these chapters didn’t actually (directly) answer the questions asked by viewers of his hit YouTube videos. Still, Acho gives lots of context to current realities in America, using an approachable and energetic style that made this a quick read.
Amazon rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars
Tubes
A Journey to the Center of the Internet
I enjoyed Andrew Blum’s expedition notes, as his curiosity led him around the globe. I don’t have any way to verify the veracity of his accounts or how dated they might be; but the tour was fun. His writing style and random details turned what could’ve been a dry report into a building narrative. I wonder how much has changed in the years since this book’s first publication or if it’s just a matter of scale of what he described.
Amazon rating: 3.9 out of 5 stars
Tied to the Dock
Learning to Live Forgiven in a World That Won’t Forgive You
I wanted to read Weston Katze’s memoir for two reasons. (1) He references my friends and our church throughout the book as well as the ministry team I co-lead. (2) I have both sex offenders and sexual assault victims in my family of origin. Weston bares his heart and describes his cross with raw authenticity. He draws comparisons to biblical characters in ways I’d never considered. Several lines challenged my own heart and will. At the same time, he dedicates less than a full page to the victims of his felonies. He doesn’t sit long in the ramifications of the labels and memories and challenges they will face for a lifetime. He turns the label of “sex offender” into a third entity—something beyond a legitimate consequence of a pattern of behavior beyond just the two illegal incidents that led to his life of punitive limitation. This book was self-published, and it shows. An engaging read, it could’ve used the guidance of a content editor to make this a ground-breaking work.
Amazon rating: 5 out of 5 stars
The Liturgy of Politics
Spiritual Formation for the Sake of Our Neighbor
Part of me wishes Kaitlyn Schiess’ whole book was a longer, more fleshed-out treatment of my favorite section. That portion addressed multiple false gospels rampant in the American evangelical church. (A podcast interview about those belief systems is what got me to buy the book in the first place.) But Schiess used the rest of the book to put some interesting ideas on my radar for the first time: new filters through which to look at baptism, communion, fasting, and even eternity. Her writing too often reads like a seminary dissertation, but that’s probably because she’s not only currently attending seminary but apparently getting permission from professors to use portions of her manuscript for class assignments. This is an ambitious book for someone so young, and I’m glad to have financially supported the important work she’s doing as a prophetic voice, speaking to power.
Amazon rating: 4.9 out of 5 stars
The Secret Life of Groceries
The Dark Miracle of the American Supermarket
In his latest book, Benjamin Lorr dives into the machine that is the grocery industry in America. He explores the rigors and realities inherent in both the supply chain and the retail experience but does so through the filter of the people involved at each exchange. Lorr brings humanity to processes we take for granted but also sheds light on the dehumanizing trends that hide behind many of our daily purchases. I will never see the grocery store the same thanks to this well-researched book.
Amazon rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars
Forgiving What You Can’t Forget
Discover How to Move On, Make Peace with Painful Memories, and Create a Life That’s Beautiful Again
Lysa TerKeurst doesn’t pull punches in this book. She doesn’t give the reader easy solutions, either. Because she has sacrificially lived out the principles transcribed here and is vulnerable about her trauma, her stout admonitions land with authority. It’s understandable because of the nature of her wounds and her background in women’s ministry; but the filter, voice, and syntax of this book are utterly feminine. It makes me wonder how a male version of this work would read.
Amazon rating: 4.9 out of 5 stars
God Has a Name
John Mark Comer has a knack for saying hard things in an approachable way. He also helps nebulous concepts make sense (at least to American Dream® Christians). This book does both of those things. The first chapter should be mandatory reading for both conservative and liberal Christians. Rarely does a book I read spend so much time parsing out original languages of the Bible, but the benefits of that etymology prove valuable in shaping a proper perspective on the supernatural in our lives.
Amazon rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars
Loveology
God. Love. Marriage. Sex. And the Never-Ending Story of Male and Female
The fact that this book was written by a pastor in Portland, Oregon, alone is impressive. But John Mark Comer handles the modern-day minefields of gender and sexuality with a dexterity seemingly informed by lots of compassionate conversations. He sells an orthodox perspective of sexual ethic with Scriptures full of carrots instead of sticks & whips. The audiobook comes with answers from Comer, his wife, and another expert to solid questions submitted by attendees at a related conference.
Amazon rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars
You’re a Miracle (And a Pain in the Ass)
Embracing the Emotions, Habits, and Mystery That Make You You
Mike McHargue’s vulnerable anecdotes grab and hold your attention. He then leverages that connection to encourage the reader, to assure them they aren’t alone. While he bases his assumptions on freak chance and survival of the fittest across millions of years, the incredible intricacies of the human brain and the chemical realities of the human body kept pointing me back to incredible and sovereign design. This manuscript benefits from the experienced podcaster reading his own words in the audiobook version. This book introduced me to the concept of performative vulnerability: “I tap into my brain’s powerful undercurrents of trauma to get the thing I need most: for people to love me through my faults.”
Amazon rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars
It Didn’t Start With You
How Inherited Family Trauma Shapes Who We Are and How to End the Cycle
Full warning: Mark Wolynn’s premise is wild. It’s either ground-breaking or snake oil. He posits that trauma and guilt can be passed through our genes and that we can be profoundly influenced by the tragedies and choices of ancestors up to two generations back—including stories we’ve never heard and family members we’ve never met (or even knew existed). I’m not sure if the therapies in this book will work for everyone bumping up against self-destructive or self-limiting behavior; but it probably wouldn’t hurt to wrestle with them, just in case they do.
Amazon rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars
From Social Media to Social Ministry
A Guide to Digital Discipleship
The first two chapters of Nona Jones’ guidebook should be required reading for anyone who leads, teaches, or preaches in an American church. Before she delves into using Facebook for discipleship, she tackles key perspectives and motivations for ministry. As a Facebook executive, this book does end up being a sales pitch for her products; but the product is free. Jones really wants churches to adapt to a changing culture and has a lot of experience facilitating that adaptation. Her advice rang true with my experience over the past five years as a social media professional.
Amazon rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars
Get Your Life Back
Everyday Practices for a World Gone Mad
I finished listening to John Eldredge’s latest book while watching lightning for three hours from the side of a mountain. I found the meanderings of this book to (1) affirm moments, habits, and practices I’ve been incorporating into my life over the last year and (2) give me new language and expressions to infuse into them. Instead of didactic, his calm voice kept saying, “I’ve found this helpful.” Not theory. Not lessons. Eldredge weaves commiseration with inspiration. He really caught my attention with the robust defense of the concept that Christianity was intended to be neither a religion nor a relationship. I highly recommend the audiobook format. Not only does it come with bonus content, but Edredge’s kind, gentle delivery of the content enriches the recollections and recommendations of each chapter.
Amazon rating: 4.9 out of 5 stars
Becoming Better Grownups
Rediscovering What Matters and Remembering How to Fly
Brad Montague’s latest book makes for a great palate cleanser between heavy reads. I didn’t start connecting much with the content until about halfway through, but that turn brought a lump in my throat and moist eyes. Most of the didactic lines won’t land as a surprise, but some of Montague’s phrase turning grabbed my attention. His prose is so simple but at times seemingly original. His anecdotes reveal the serendipities that happen when we lean into both whimsy and a lifestyle of encouraging others.
Amazon rating: 4.9 out of 5 stars
Born Again This Way
Coming Out, Coming to Faith, and What Comes Next
Rachel Gilson’s autobiography makes a great companion book to Jackie Hill Perry’s Gay Girl, Good God. Gilson’s cerebral approach leverages her Yale education, her ministry experience, and her commendable authenticity. She offers a lot of grace and mercy but doesn’t shy away from immutable realities. She says hard things softly. I find it interesting that both of these same-sex-attracted writers talk more glowingly about sex, sexuality, and sensuality than almost every straight female Christian writers I’ve read.
Amazon rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars
Dream Big
Know What You Want, Why You Want It, and What You’re Going to Do About It
At the end of 2018, I attended Bob Goff’s Dream Big Framework, a 2.5-day, $4,200 workshop that I found worth every penny. I came to this book with skepticism—a worry that it’d cheapen an indelible, expensive experience. Thankfully, the content from the retreat and this book prove mostly different. In true Bob fashion, this new book includes lots of incredible tales of serendipity. As always, he finds life principles and application in weird places. The voice of this book is not as polished and consistent as that of Love Does and Everybody Always, but I was thankful to support his mission with the cost of this book.
Amazon rating: 4.9 out of 5 stars
Better Together
How Women and Men Can Heal the Divide and Work Together to Transform the Future
I attended the conference that Danielle Strickland mentions at the start of the book and credits for this book’s genesis. I was utterly wowed by her message there and then again recently on a long-form podcast. Unfortunately, I got most of the content of this book in those places; but I was happy to contribute to her cause by buying this book. Not a single pastor of any church I attended the first 20 years of my life would support Strickland’s message, but I wish they had. She offers a compelling way out of the #churchtoo pandemic.
Amazon rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars
Honest Advent
Awakening to the Wonder of God-With-Us Then, Here, and Now
This book lives up to its curious title. Scott Erickson brings candor to themes in the Christmas story that we don’t always address in church. He’s not crass or irreverent—just relaxed in a conversational tone. Erickson taught me a new aspect of the Christmas story and made me reconsider things I’ve long assumed about the narrative that actually aren’t in there. I didn’t sit and ponder each chapter as a daily Advent reading. Instead, I zoomed through the short book in about a day. I don’t doubt that caused me to miss profundity that would be part of its intended consumption. Several of the illustrations distracted me from the writing rather than enhancing it, but art is subjective that way.
Amazon rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Emotionally Healthy Spirituality
It’s Impossible to Be Spiritually Mature While Remaining Emotionally Immature
My biggest takeaway from Peter Scazzero’s work was the story of Rabbi Zusya, who told his congregation, “When I die and have to present myself before the celestial tribunal, they will not ask me, ‘Zusya why were you not Moses?’ They will say ‘Zusya why were you not Zusya?’” My pastor quoted this book in a sermon, and my therapist leads a small group study based on its content. Maybe that’s what I found most of the content redundant to other voices in my life.
Amazon rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars
The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry
I read the latest John Mark Comer book because dozens of people in my church did. It’s good content; he is the person I trust the most in America on the topic of rest and Sabbath. Comer is a prophet for inconvenient truth in the American Dream® version of Christianity. I liked his last book on work/life-balance, Garden City, and found it more engaging and impactful than this book. As with all of his other books I’ve read, Comer’s conversational style makes his assertions easier to digest.
Amazon rating: 4.9 out of 5 stars
Left of Bang
How the Marine Corps’ Combat Hunter Program Can Save Your Life
I was recommended this book by the fantastic instructor at my church’s training for active shooter emergencies. I attended the class twice and still don’t know how good I’d be at sussing out a situation before it goes down or responding to a situation correctly. I’m even more convinced of that after reading this book—not because
Amazon rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars
All Things Reconsidered
How Rethinking What We Know Helps Us Know What We Believe
Knox McCoy’s second book isn’t consistently funny. When it is, though, it helps land some hot takes consistent with those on his Popcast podcast. I had unsubscribed from that podcast right before I read this book because of a growing discomfort with the lightness that he covered objectional content in media. I withdrew my Patreon support from his Bible Binge podcast after reading this insidious book. After warming the water with reconsiderations of Big Bird and Uncle Joey on Full House, he bares his deconstruction of orthodoxy to build a faith system he’s more comfortable espousing. He even admits to giving up the concept of prayer. As someone with a second book on the cusp of publishing and a new podcast on the horizon, I found this book to be a cautionary experience to put guardrails on my journey.
Amazon rating: 5 out of 5 stars
The Preacher’s Wife
The Precarious Power of Evangelical Women Celebrities
I was wowed by the amount of research that Kate Bowler must’ve done to compile this book and yet also how much absorbed content that she probably didn’t use. She thoroughly paints a dystopian view of the evangelical church. Because she focused only on celebrity women leaders, she failed to find—or at least convey—hope or inspiration from the thousands of women who are positively impacting the American church. The light she shines needs to be shown, but she tends to sit in the seat of the scornful rather at the desk of a prophet. Maybe I missed it, but I didn’t see a suggestion on how to escape the current realities she describes.
Amazon rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
That Sounds Fun
The Joys of Being an Amateur, the Power of Falling in Love, and Why You Need a Hobby
For pre-ordering the physical book, I was able to download the audiobook two months before the print edition was released. The second chapter felt so true to me—almost autobiographical. I even mentioned a discovery to my counselor. I bought a second copy of the book to give a friend. Then, sadly, the chapters after that moved farther away from my lived experience. As someone trying to get a book publisher to buy my hard-fought manuscript, I grew annoyed that the content of this book could be so frivolous, that it could get published because of the subcultural fame of the author instead of the compelling nature of the content.
There were no Amazon ratings for this book when I purchased it.
Winners Take All
The Elite Charade of Changing the World
Anand Giridhararadas sufficiently unveils a dystopian view of philanthropy, and he levels his cannon at both Republicans and Democrats. He directs his ire at both popular and unpopular figures. His Marxist view taints his use of “winner” to be that of a lottery rather than that of a competition. While he thoroughly acknowledges the bastardization of both capitalism and charity, he closes his eyes to the bastardization of democracy. He concludes that social justice and equality can come only from the hands of the government—or at least wealthy people constrained by it. His critique of companies like Cinnabon and PepsiCo ironically underscores that the populism he espouses as the solution can’t be trusted, either. If the citizenry cannot protect itself from sugar through self-governance, how will it protect itself from any other social ill? He finishes with a unique acknowledgments chapter, using the word “acknowledgment” in both of its primary definitions.
Amazon rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
On the Bright Side
Stories about Friendship, Love, and Being True to Yourself
I read Melanie Shankle’s book as a palate cleanser in between heavy reads. It’s the epitome of the suburban, white, female wing of the Christian industrial complex. It’s full of clichés and humblebrags and public therapy, but the writing is engaging. This is a beach read at best. If you’re a momma who shops at Nordstrom and self-medicates with wine, this book is for you. If you pronounce “naked” as “necked,” even better.
Amazon rating: 4.9 out of 5 stars
I Am Not But I Know I Am
Welcome to the Story of God
Little of Louie Giglio’s content is a new concept, but its profound reminders came at an advantageous time for me. Louie and I share the same two primary spiritual pathways that lead us first to wonder and then to worship. I listened to this book while on a nature hike and a scenic drive, which only accentuated the content. I recommend this content to any control freak and any Christ-follower who needs a strong exhale.
Amazon rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars
The Starfish and the Spider
The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations
Few of Ori Barman and Rod Beckstrom’s starfish examples are actually leaderless. It’s just that the organizations have a different organizational structure. Maybe that’s the point? I wonder how much more relevant this book would’ve been in 2020 if it had been written in the social media era and how this principle would apply to the proliferation of conspiracy theorists. The opening chapter describes something I wish had been covered in history classes at the schools I attended.
Amazon rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Faith for Exiles
5 Ways for a New Generation to Follow Jesus in Digital Babylon
David Kinnaman and Mark Matlock’s last two books addressed why unchurched people outside the church don’t connect with it and then why churched youths are leaving the church. This third in the series addresses what is going right in the lives and churches of young people who don’t just stay in church but make faith a lifestyle. They sprinkle their exclusive Barna data enough to make it to the end. I absorbed this book via audio, which made it more difficult. The narrator was a hybrid of Dan LaFontaine (the guy who gave us “In a world…” for countless movie trailers) and the Mac OS accessibility assistant, Alex.
Amazon rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars
The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl
I read this because a podcaster recommended it, not because I’ve seen any of Issa Rae’s work. The memoir follows the tropes of famous other comedienne autobiographies with a chapter on food, a chapter on body image, a chapter about awkward teen years, a chapter on regrettable relationships, and several chapters on hustle. Like many of those books, this one left me with an overall sadness at the resignation to a coarse life where sex is a currency rather than a gift. As the father of an African American teenager, this opened my eyes to some cultural influences very different from my teen years.
Amazon rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars
