"What should I read?"
Good question – not all books are worth reading.
Francis Bacon (1561-1626) wrote:
Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested: that is, some books are to be read only in parts, others to be read, but not curiously, and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention.
How reviews help.
Book reviews help you assess whether to taste or swallow, or to chew and digest.
I'll add some reviews, and I invite others to provide reviews, for the benefit of all.
If you have a review you want to post let me know.
Photo Credit: rita_dem via Compfight cc
Click on an underlined title to read a review:
Truth, the Irish, Love, and John (July 4, 2025)
- Truth to Tell by Lesslie Newbigin
- How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill
- The Love That is God by Frederick Christian Bauerschmidt
- The Message of John by Bruce Milne
5 Book Reviews for You (June 14, 2024):
- Lifting the Veil by Malcolm Guite
- Living in Union With Christ by Grant Macaskill
- The Power of Repentance by Barry J. Gibson
- The Fabric of Faithfulness by Steven Garber
- Desiring God's Will by David G. Benner
A Hero Died on November 22, 1963 (November 24, 2023)
- a tribute to C. S. Lewis and a few of his books.
You Can Change by Tim Chester
5 Brief Reviews of Books You Might Want to Read
- God in the Dock by C. S. Lewis
- The Sermon on the Mount and Human Flourishing by Jonathan T. Pennington
- Cultural Apologetics by Paul M. Gould
- Beginning to Pray by Anthony Bloom
- When Church Stops Working by David Wentz
The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self by Carl R. Trueman
4 Helpful Summaries for You (some books read in the last half of 2022)
- Typology by James M. Hamilton
- Rethinking Genesis 1-11 by Gordon J. Wenham
- The Flow of the Psalms by O. Palmer Robertson
- Die Empty by Todd Henry
Some books I have read in the first half of 2022
- Faithfully Different by Natasha Crain
- Taking Jesus at His Word by Addison Hodges Hart
- On Writing Well by William Zinsser
- The Prophetic Imagination by Walter Brueggemann
- Inhabiting the Cruciform God by Michael J. Gorman
- Discovering Genesis by Iain Provan
- Death in La Fenice by Donna Leon
- The Prophets by Abraham J. Heschel
- Aging Matters by R. Paul Stevens
- On the Brink of Everything by Parker J. Palmer
- The Crucifixion of Ministry by Andrew Purves
- The 3D Gospel by Jayson Georges
- I Don't Want to Talk About It by Terrence Real
- Joyful Exiles by James M. Houston
- Understanding Gender Dysphoria by Mark A. Yarhouse
- The Last Lion by William Manchester and Paul Reid
- Between the Beginning and the End by J. H. Bavinck
- Discovering Matthew by Ian Boxall
Mobilizing Movements: Leadership Insights for Discipling Whole Nations by Murray Moerman
The Wonderful Spirit-Filled Life by Charles F. Stanley
Called by God: Exploring Our Identity in Christ by Derek Tidball
Some Books Read in 2020, a selection of short reviews
- Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
- The Jesus I Never Knew by Philip Yancey
- Barth for Armchair Theologians by John R. Franke
- Telling the Truth by Frederick Buechner
- The Openness of God by Clark H. Pinnock and others
- Fool's Talk by Os Guinness
- Paul: A Biography by Tom Wright
- From Dawn to Decadence by Jacques Barzun
- The Suffering of God by Terence E. Fretheim
Washed and Waiting: Reflections on Christian Faithfulness & Homosexuality by Wesley Hill
The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible by Michael S. Heiser
A Bigger Table: Building Messy, Authentic, and Hopeful Spiritual Community by John Pavlovitz
Live Like You Give a Damn!: Join the Changemaking Celebration by Tom Sine
Saving the Bible from Ourselves: Learning to Read and Live the Bible Well by Glenn R. Paauw
Saturate: Being Disciples of Jesus in the Everyday Stuff of Life by Jeff Vanderstelt
Reaching Out: Three Movements of the Spiritual Life by Henri J. M. Nouwen
Restoring Health: Body, Mind, and Spirit by Ed A. Hird
Paul's Covert Use of Scripture by David McAuley
Kingdom First: Starting Churches that Shape Movements by Jeff Christopherson
Reverberations of the Exodus in Scripture Edited by R. Michael Fox
Pray Like a Gourmet by David Brazzeal
Surrender to Love by David G. Brenner
Grand Central Question by Abdu H. Murray
Healing Troubled Hearts by William Day
An Old Testament Theology by Bruce K. Waltke with Charles Wu
Four Views of Moving Beyond the Bible to Theology Edited by Gary T. Meadors
