2020 Reading List

 2020.

Well, that was silly. 

Ironically, I read less in a year of lockdown than I did in most other years. First, I consciously focused on gathering because it was 2020 that made me realize that gathering is a large part of what we are made for. Second, I found it really hard to focus. I read many paragraphs multiple times this year. I did manage to get through these, though...

Purloined Boy by CR Wiley. Looked good. Didn't really move me.

Conceiving Parenthood: American Protestantism and the Spirit of Reproduction by Amy Laura Hall. If you told me I was going to agree with an ordained female universalist Methodist minister, and on theological grounds, no less, I, who am a complementarity Calvinist, would have said you lost your mind. Boy was I wrong! In the opening years of the Twentieth Century, 'the baby' became a demographic in its own right; it was all downhill from there. Families were sold a bill of goods about the 'ideal' family, two children, three at most, all 'properly' nourished, 'properly' educated, and 'properly' under a doctor's care. 'Hygiene' was teh magic word. Family planning--and all the ugliness that entails--was the inevitable result, with a population of nervous mothers on the verge of breakdowns. Fascinating read!

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen. Austen at her satirical best. 

Notes from the Tilt-a-Whirl by ND Wilson. Third annual read. Gets me in the right frame of mind every January.

Thirty-nine Steps by John Buchan. The first in the series about the escapades of Richard Hannay. I love a good spy novel, and Buchan is the best.

Adorning the Dark by Andrew Peterson. Not gonna lie, artistic communities weird me out. But Peterson cautiously wins me over enough that I recommended it to a few artistic friends.

Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien. Because Tolkien.

Monster in the Hollows by Andrew Peterson. I cried. Fourth (maybe fifth?) time through. I know how it ends. And I cried. Again.

Stuff Matters by Mark Miodownik. A series of essays on man-made materials from concrete to porcelain to chocolate. Miodownik is a materials engineer and entertaining writer, to boot.

Man in the Dark by Douglas Wilson. Romantic mystery. 

Bomb by Steve Sheinklin. Page turner about the race to build the bomb and the ensuing spy activity.

Two Towers by JRR Tolkien.

Murder in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allen Poe.

Different Shade of Green by Gordon Wilson. Neither a virulent tree-hugger, nor a virulent capitalist, Wilson finally makes the intelligent case for conservation.

Return of the King by JRR Tolkien. This is the first time I actually read the appendices. After multiple, did-you-know's to Brett, he felt compelled to remind me this was fiction. Dork. 

Right Behind by ND Wilson. Laugh out loud funny.

Classical Me, Classical Thee by Rebekah Merkle.

Gospel and Kingdom by Graeme Goldsworthy. LOVE this book and the two others in the trilogy. Great again!

Nine Tailors by Dorothy Sayers. A Lord Peter Wimsey mystery! I love Lord Peter!

Coronavirus and Christ by John Piper. My first thought was, do we really need a whole book about this? But, actually, it was really good. 

Glass Houses by Louise Penny. Not particularly thrilled with the last two Gamache books. Read on. 

Whose Body? by Dorothy Sayers. Lord Peter's first mystery. 

The Warden and the Wolf King by Andrew Peterson. Oh, my heart.

Kingdom of the Blind by Louise Penny. So done with Penny. If it weren't a library book, it would be in the garbage where it belongs. 

Letter to My Son by Jasmine Holmes. Facts are more useful than feelings, but if you want to hear the heart of a black woman for her black son, this is a really good book. I gave it out many times. 

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. Third time. I can finally see why this is a classic. 

Beautifully Distinct by Trillia Newbell, et al. Love Newbell, but I was hoping for deeper, I guess. 

The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien. Because it was time to introduce the 6 yr old to Bilbo.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. One of the best American novels. I have no idea how many times I've read it. And this year, Brett and I each, independently of each other, ordered another copy before it gets banned. 

Knowing Scripture by RC Sproul. How to, and not to, read scripture correctly. A gem. 

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis. Because it was also time to introduce the 6 yr old to Narnia.

Prince Caspian by CS Lewis.

Moby Dick by Herman Melville.It's about a whale. Or is it?

Voyage of the Dawn Treader by CS Lewis.

Beowulf. Heroes and monsters. What's not to love?

The Silver Chair by CS Lewis.

Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis. Eerily relevant in 2020.

How the Nations Rage by Jonathan Leeman. BEST book on political worldview ever. My high schoolers have to read it for government. 

Rolf and the Viking Bow by Allen French. Too long. Land the plane already.

Out of the Silent Planet by CS Lewis. Not a big sci-fi fan, but this one is really great.

The Man Who Was Thursday by GK Chesterton. Super fun adventure. 

The Horse and His Boy by CS Lewis.

Door in the Wall by Marguerite D'Angeli.

Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry. Sweet story, sweet, sweet ending. Classic Berry.

New Testament Biblical Theology by GK Beale. This was my magnum opus this year. I love the preaching ministry at church and regard that as my corporate Bible study. But personal Bible study is just that for me: personal. It took me most of the year to work through this book, and it absolutely changed my perspective. I was blessed!

Even Better Than Eden by Nancy Guthrie. Traces nine biblical themes. Very, very good. 

Fidelity by Wendell Berry. Sweet short stories about the folks in Port William.

Treasure at Glaston by Eleanor French. Could have been a fun adventure. Way too mystical, I edited as I read it out loud.

Once and Future King by TH White. One of my all-time favorites. Whimsical and sad. 

Magician's Nephew by CS Lewis.

Flags Out Front by Douglas Wilson. What ensues when a prankster flies the Christian flag higher than the American flag outside a Christian school. Too funny. 

According to Plan by Graeme Goldsworthy. Bibical theology.

Death by Living by ND Wilson. If there was a philosophy we all needed in 2020, it was this. 

Repeat the Sounding Joy by Christopher Ash. A book about Advent that I read all year. Lovely.

Confessions of a Food Catholic by Douglas Wilson. By all means, make your own food rules for your family. But Managers of Their Homes should be able to at least articulate this perspective. Both informative and snort-a-french-fry-out-your-nose funny. 

The Ten Commandments by Kevin Deyoung. What would a year in reading be without a Deyoung? One of my favorite blogger/theologians.

The Last Battle by CS Lewis. Just kidding. I hate this book. I hate Tashlan. This is Lewis at his worst and why you always have to read him with buckets of salt. For the first time, I skipped it entirely.

Happy 2021. May there be better news and good books.