I love to read, but while I do a fair amount of reading for study and research, or to fuel my preaching and writing, I do not at present get to just sit down and read loads of books cover-to-cover over the course of a year. There are other more pressing responsibilities and activities that must take priority, and that is as it should be. Nonetheless, in addition to the articles, essays, and think-pieces I might digest in a year, I do discipline myself to make time to actually sit down and work through several books cover to cover. This year I finished 15 books (if anyone is wondering, I do not count listening to audio books – something I do only rarely – or skim reading). I will not review these books here, but simply list them below with title, a copied and pasted book description and author bio, and a page count. I will list these books in 3 parts, 5 at a time. Apart from the Bible, these are recorded in order of completion. I enjoy discussing things I have read, so by all means, ask questions if you have them!
"Translated
by more than 100 scholars from 17 denominations, the Christian Standard Bible
fulfils its mission of being as literal as possible to the most reliable
manuscripts without compromising readability. This optimal blend of fidelity
and clarity means the CSB is reliable for serious study, but is also rendered
in engaging, sharable language that stirs hearts, drives understanding, and
changes lives. The CSB is where original meaning is discovered, heart
connection is made, and lifelong inspiration begins."
I used the excellent 5 Day Bible Reading Plan for the first time, completing it on schedule on 31 December 2020. You can learn more about it here, from Tim Challies: https://www.challies.com/resources/the-bible-reading-plan-i-recommend-for-2021/
1920 pages
Book Description
"At once a magnificent love story and a harrowing account of one man's long journey home, Cold Mountain introduces a stunning new talent in American literature. Based on local history and family stories passed down by the author's great-great-grandfather, Cold Mountain is the tale of Inman, a wounded soldier who walks away from the ravages of the Civil War and back home to Ada, his pre-war sweetheart. Inman's odyssey through the devastated landscape of the soon-to-be-defeated South interweaves with Ada's struggle to revive her father's farm with the help of a young drifter named Ruby. As their long-separated lives begin to converge at the close of the war, Inman and Ada must confront the vastly transformed world they've been delivered."
Charles
Frazier grew up in the mountains of Western North Carolina. Cold Mountain (1997), his highly
acclaimed first novel, was an international bestseller, won the National Book
Award in 1997, and was adapted into an Academy Award-winning film by Anthony
Minghella in 2003. Charles's second novel, Thirteen
Moons (2006), was a New York Times bestseller and named a best book of the
year by the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
His third novel, Nightwoods (2011),
also a New York Times bestseller, is a critically acclaimed literary thriller
set in a fictional Western North Carolina town in the early 1960s. Charles's
latest novel, Varina, an instant New
York Times bestseller released in April of 2018, is a fictional reimagining of
the life of Varina Howell Davis before, during, and after the American Civil
War.
Charles received a B.A. from the University of North Carolina, an M.A. from Appalachian State University, and a Ph.D. in English from the University of South Carolina. He taught English at University of Colorado Boulder and at North Carolina State University.
356 pages
Book Description
"Guy
Delisle's newest travelogue revolves around a year spent in Burma (also known
as
Myanmar) with his wife and son. Burma is notorious for its use of
concealment and isolation as social control: where scissor-wielding censors
monitor the papers, the de facto leader of the opposition has been under
decade-long house arrest, insurgent-controlled regions are effectively cut off
from the world, and rumour is the most reliable source of current information.
An
impressive and moving work of comics journalism from the author of Pyongyang and Shenzen."
Guy Delisle
was born in Quebec City, Canada. His bestselling and acclaimed travelogues
(Pyongyang, Jerusalem: Chronicles from the Holy City, Burma Chronicles, and Shenzhen)
are defining works of graphic nonfiction, and in 2012, Delisle was awarded the
top prize in European cartooning when the French edition of Jerusalem was named
Best Album at the Angoulême International Comics Festival. He lives in France
with his wife and children.
272 pages
Book Description
"An astonishing story of the mysteries, truths, and deceptions that follow the odyssey of Ahn Gilmo, a young math savant, as he escapes from the most isolated country in the world and searches for the only family he has left.
An unidentified body is discovered in New York City, with numbers and symbols are written in blood near the corpse. Gilmo, a North Korean national who interprets the world through numbers, formulas, and mathematical theories, is arrested on the spot. Angela, a CIA operative, is assigned to gain his trust and access his unique thought-process.
There, he meets the spirited Yeong-ae, who becomes his only friend. When Yeong-ae manages to escape, Gilmo flees to track her down. He uses his peculiar gifts to navigate betrayal and the criminal underworld of east Asia—a world wholly alien to everything he's ever known."
About the
author
Lee
Jung-myung is a South Korean writer. A popular writer of historical fiction,
his books have sold millions of copies in his native country. Several of his
books have been adapted into successful TV miniseries, e.g. The Deep-Rooted
Tree (2006) and The Painter of Wind (2007).
288 pages
Book Description
In this
unique book, Pastor Eric Redmond confronts the important question of
"Where are the black men in the African-American church?" with a
candid approach that combines wisdom with a conversational tone.
Instead of side-stepping issues, Redmond converses with readers about some of their reasons for not going to church-the church seems geared toward women, the preacher is just an ordinary man, Islam appears to offer more for the black man, organized religion is not necessary, churches are just after your money-and approaches their skepticism with respect but also with corrective truth. On these and other topics, Where Are All the Brothers? speaks about the things that men think about in private or discuss at the barbershop when it comes to church and religion, challenging them to reexamine their long-held assumptions.
Redmond, who
has used this material in a variety of settings with great success, also gives
eight things to look for when considering a good church so that readers can
find a healthy, biblical church home. And it's all in this unintimidating book
that can easily be read in ten minutes a day.
About the
author
Eric C.
Redmond (PhD, Capital Seminary and Graduate School) is associate professor of
Bible at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois, and pastor of preaching
and teaching at Calvary Memorial Church in Oak Park, Illinois. He previously
served on the council of the Gospel Coalition and as the senior pastor of two
churches. Eric and his wife, Pamela, live in Brookfield, Illinois.
112 pages
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