My favorite books of 2014
That season has come around once again, where top ten lists abound! As you know, reading is one the few hobbies I have, regularly reading around 100 books a year. With that much reading, it’s no surprise that there’s a range of quality. Most are in that “good, but not earth-shattering” category, a few were so bad I wished I had a back… but a few were legitimately great. Here are the ones that made the cut this year.
Prayer by Timothy Keller. From my review:
Keller’s message challenges us, but reminds us of the grace of God. … It is rich in its theology, winsome in its approach and wise in its application. There may be few good modern books on prayer, but Prayer is one of them—and among the finest I’ve read of any era.
Buy it at: Westminster Bookstore | Amazon
Taking God at His Word by Kevin DeYoung. From my review:
Taking God At His Word is one of the few books I want to hand out to everyone I know. It really is that helpful. Its punchy and powerful message is exactly what so many new and mature believers need, and I trust it will be a great benefit to all who read it.
Buy it at: Westminster Bookstore | Amazon
United by Trillia Newbell.
This is a wonderfully encouraging and challenging book on a really big problem: racism and the need for ethnic diversity. In it, Trillia presents a compelling argument for the necessity of reclaiming a sense of diversity within the church from a perspective one doesn’t see often enough: that of someone who has experienced racism firsthand. Learn more about this book from my conversation with Trillia.
Buy it at: Westminster Bookstore | Amazon
Evangelism by Mack Stiles. From my review:
We should want this for our churches. We should want to be the kind of people who take risks in order to share the gospel with others, who understand that entertainment doesn’t equal ministry, that God truly rejoices when one lost sheep is found. This is the vision Mack Stiles presents in Evangelism.
Buy it at: Westminster Bookstore | Amazon
The Gospel at Work by Sebastian Traeger and Greg Gilbert. From my review:
The Gospel at Work may not be a theology of work proper, but make no mistake: it is as intensely theological as it is practical. Idleness and idolatry in work are theological problems and they’ve got serious practical implications. One makes work a burden, the other makes you work’s slave. But the gospel frees us from both idleness and idolatry.
Buy it at: Westminster Bookstore | Amazon
The Book with No Pictures by B.J. Novack.
Funny story: My daughter, Abigail, and I were in Chapters a while back enjoying a post-dance class hot chocolate, and we picked up this book to read together. As I told her, “I am a monkey who taught myself to read,” her eyes lit up. As I read the entire book, a big smile never left her face. When I put it down, I asked her, “So, did you like it?”
She looked me right in the eye, and said, “Not really.”
Liar.
Buy it at: Amazon
Is it My Fault? by Justin and Lindsey Holcomb. From my review:
What I hope [this book] does is remind us all that none of us can stand by when abuse occurs in our homes or in our churches. In those situations, our goal should always be to bring hope into the darkness of abuse of all kinds. To humbly, earnestly and uncompromisingly call perpetrators to repentance, and allow them to experience the consequences of their actions. To offer compassion to victims and allow them to begin to experience some form of healing, while holding out the promise of the final restoration Jesus will bring when He comes to wipe every tear from every eye. This is what victims of abuse need, and by God’s grace, it’s what we can offer, if we’re willing.
Buy it at: Westminster Bookstore | Amazon
The Gospel by Ray Ortlund. From my review:
Though particularly aimed at pastors and church leaders, The Gospel is valuable for any reader. It is not a how-to for ministry; it is a rallying cry for revival. It leaves you with a desire to see the kind of culture Ortlund talks about (and has nurtured at Immanuel) birthed in your own life and church. … Where even as some are hardened to the gospel, others are softened and welcomed into God’s family. When that happens, when our gospel doctrine leads to a gospel culture, it’s a wonderful thing indeed.
Buy it at: Westminster Bookstore | Amazon
Fierce Convictions by Karen Swallow Prior.
I love good biographies, and Karen Swallow Prior has produced an excellent one in this volume on Hannah More, the most important social reformer you’ve probably never heard of.
Buy it at: Amazon
PROOF by Daniel Montgomery and Timothy Paul Jones. From my review:
There’s nothing stealth about the Calvinism in PROOF. There’s nothing hostile or conspiratorial. This is not a grim tome filled with condemnation. What Montgomery and Jones offer is a picture of grace—grace that is to be meditated upon, sung about, worshiped through. Pure, undiluted grace; the kind that truly changes lives, the kind that is meant to be engaged in all of life.
Buy it at: Westminster Bookstore | Amazon
The Most Encouraging Book on Hell Ever by Thor Ramsey.
Two things that never (usually) go together: Hell and humor. But Thor Ramsey makes it work, and rarely goes over the top. Instead, he presents a clear case for what we lose when we lose Hell and why it matters. If you’re looking for a good entry level book on the subject, this is the one for you.
Buy it at: Westminster Bookstore | Amazon
The best of what wasn’t released in 2014
Not everything I read (thankfully) was released this year, nor were all my favorites. So, as a bonus, here are my top three vintage (ish) books read in 2014:
How Should We Then Live? by Francis Schaeffer.
This should be required reading for every Christian.
Every.
Single.
One.
You can tell I feel strongly about this, huh?
Buy it at: Westminster Bookstore | Amazon
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. From my review:
I can imagine some reading this book as though it were an authoritative treatise—that this is the way that demons act in our world and act against us, in the same way some treat Left Behind as gospel truth on the end times. But this would only do injustice to what Lewis is doing here.
Lewis doesn’t want his readers to be looking for the devil behind every corner after reading this book. Nor does he wish for them to be shouting, “the devil made me do it!” whenever they go astray.
Buy it at: Westminster Bookstore | Amazon
Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Few authors can blend the mundane with the absurd as masterfully as Adams. This is probably my favorite work by Adams (I know, heresy!). I’ve read it multiple times over the year, and I never tire of it.
Buy it at: Amazon
So that’s my list—what were a few of your top reads this year?
See what made the cut in years past:
Reader interactions
One Reply to “My favorite books of 2014”
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I added your list to my collection of end of the year book lists at my blog Semicolon. Thanks for the recommendations. I’ve already ordered a copy of Fierce Convictions because it seems like a book that I would enjoy and benefit from reading.