Best Books I Read in 2021
It’s time for my second annual Best Books I’ve Read list. If you’re so inclined, you can read about last year’s list here. I varied my reading a bit more this year. You’ll find fiction, baseball, history, ministry, young adult, and more! Let me know what I should read in 2022.
On to the list!
Answering God: The Psalms as Tools for Prayer by Eugene Peterson
“Prayers are tools, but with this clarification: prayers are not tools for doing or getting, but for being and becoming.” Being and becoming. Poetry and prayer. I can’t think of a better person to talk about such things than Eugene Peterson. I thoroughly enjoyed this journey through the Psalms with Peterson’s contemplative commentary. His perspective on community, authenticity, beauty, and holiness is uncommon among pastoral peers of his time. It’s hard to categorize this book. It’s not a commentary nor is it purely devotional but somewhere in between. Regardless of the genre, it made me want to immediately immerse myself in the Psalms. Perhaps that’s the highest praise I can give.
Deep Discipleship: How the Church Can Make Whole Disciples of Jesus by J.T. English
As someone who spent time as a Community Groups Pastor, I’ve always found myself interested in the intersection of community, discipleship, and the local church. J.T. is a super sharp guy and I appreciated his thoughts on the subject. I find this a perfect compliment to James K.A. Smith’s book Desiring the Kingdom. Smith’s book raises the bar on the importance of rhythms and liturgy in spiritual formation. English’s book raises the bar on the importance of the mind and doctrine. The church needs both.
The Lord’s Prayer: A Guide to Praying to Our Father by Wesley Hill
Most ministry books I read feel bloated. This book is a rare exception. I found myself underlying portions on seemingly every page. The brevity and writing of this book make it broadly accessible. It’s great for devotional reading but also for study. There are so many treasures to re-discover in the Lord’s prayer and I’m thankful for this book in bringing some fresh life to a familiar text.
Rosefire by Carolyn Clare Givens
“Rosefire is a story of friendship, redemption, and sacrifice. As Karan and Anya, along with Karan’s brother Richard and friend Edmund, begin to seek the promised Rose of the Ancient Writings, they learn that the destinies of kingdoms are forged, not always in the heat of battle, but in the hearts and minds of their leaders.” I don’t read much young adult fiction but the author is a friend so I gave this a read. I thoroughly enjoyed it! And I’m not just saying that because I have to; I’m saying it because I want to. Carolyn (Carrie, as I know her) is a great writer and a few chapters in, I was hooked. The story stands as a good adventure and mystery tale but I deeply appreciated the Christian symbolism weaved throughout.
The Power of Place: Choosing Stability in a Rootless Age by Daniel Grothe
“Rooted” is a concept I think about often. I’ve seen the most fruit in my life when I’ve committed myself to a people and a place. I was preaching on Isaiah 42 a few weeks ago and said the following: “I’m not sure the world needs more Facebook warriors. Perhaps what the world needs is a rooted, consistent, justice-seeking, unanxious presence in the world.” I think Daniel Grothe would agree. What he’s written in this book is an accessible apologetic for a rooted, consistent life. “We have prized duty-free friendships and memberships over obligatory ones simply because they are cheaper and require less of us…The duty-free friendships and memberships that we bounce into and then away from are less valuable — not ontologically less valuable, not intrinsically less valuable, but less valuable because of what we have prioritized: the ascendancy of the free-floating self.”
Art and Faith: A Theology of Making by Makoto Fujimura
I’ve read a number of books on the intersection of art, creativity, and faith. This is probably the best one of them all. Mako does an exceptional job of distilling some of the best sources out there while adding his own perspective. I’m amazed (and jealous) of how this talented visual artist also writes in a compelling, poetic way. People aren’t allowed to be this good at two different things, right? Apparently not.
Nolan Ryan: The Making of a Pitcher by Rob Goldman and Reid Ryan
Mark Twain once said, “Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” Nolan Ryan, like Tom Brady, proved that to be true in sports. Nolan Ryan pitched for 27 years finishing his career at age 44. He won over 300 games, threw a record seven no-hitters, and currently holds 51 MLB records. Yet, his place in history is often debated. He lost 292 games, he was wild, he never won a Cy Young award, and his only World Series victory came when he was very young. There’s a mystique around Nolan Ryan and I was delighted to read more about his career but also the man himself. Nolan was a small town Texas kid who never really let fame and fortune change him. He was known for his work ethic but also embraced innovative ways of training and stretching (much like Tom Brady does now). He was a pioneer in pitching longevity and many of his training methods remain today. He cared about his family deeply. He married his high school sweetheart and seemed to be a good father. Nolan Ryan wasn’t the best pitcher in history but when he was at his best, no one was better. I’m now the proud owner of dozens of Nolan Ryan baseball cards and he has retroactively become one of my favorite players from my childhood.
The Pastor: A Memoir by Eugene Peterson
I read Peterson’s biography earlier in the year so I had some familiarity with his life story. Nonetheless, I appreciated hearing it from his own words. I’m not sure anyone writes on the vocation of the pastor and the identity of the church like Peterson. If there is someone — please let me know! I will forever appreciate a man who writes about the vocation like this: “I wonder if at the root of the defection is a cultural assumption that all leaders are people who “get things done,” and “make things happen.” That is certainly true of the primary leadership models that seep into our awareness from the culture — politicians, businessmen, advertisers, publicists, celebrities, and athletes. But while being a pastor certainly has some of these components, the pervasive element in our two-thousand-year pastoral tradition is not someone who “gets things done” but rather the person placed in the community to pay attention and call attention to “what is going on right now” between men and women, with one another and with God — this kingdom of God that is primarily local, relentlessly personal, and prayerful “without ceasing.”
I read several, excellent post-apocalyptic books in 2020 so to finish 2021, I thought I would circle back to this familiar genre. I think I read this book in two days. It’s an adventurous, page-turning thriller with a good bit of introspection. This book does what all good, post-apocalyptic books do: wrestle with what it means to be human. Is it enough to just survive? What does surviving at all costs do to your soul? Do we even have a soul? And this is why I love the genre. I’m sure there are more post-apocalyptic books in my future.
Hannah Coulter: A Novel by Wendell Berry
“Members of Port William aren’t trying to ‘get someplace.’ They think they are someplace.” This is the second book I’ve recently read from Wendell Berry (Jayber Crow was my favorite book from last year) and it has very similar themes: the importance of community and place. I’m learning that Berry’s novels are slow burns but very much worth the wait. Having grown up in a small town, I can appreciate much of the sort of life Berry heralds. I miss it. Yet, at the same time, this way of life is not necessarily confined to a small, farming community. Anytime we take seriously our commitment to a place and a people, we are tapping into this sacred membership. “Oh, yes, brothers and sisters, we are members one of another…A man is a member of a woman and a worm. A woman is a member of a man and a mole. Oh, beloved, it’s all one piece of work.”
K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches by Tyler Kepner
There’s an adage that says the hardest thing to do in sports is hit a baseball. There’s a reason for that. “The pitcher is the planner, the initiator of action. The hitter can only react. If the pitcher, any pitcher, finds a way to disrupt that reaction, he can win. You need a little luck and relentless curiosity.” For 150+ years, pitchers have been pursuing that curiosity, learning how to spin (or not spin, in the case of the knuckleball) a ball to confuse hitters. Sometimes that luck and curiosity leads to great results. One hitter commented on Joe Niekro’s knuckleball, “[hitting it was] like trying to eat Jell-O with chopsticks.” If you love baseball, or just innovation, you’ll enjoy this book.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Jane Austen is a fantastic writer. Somebody should take notice of her after all these years! There’s a lot to mine from this story, particularly about social class, character, and love. I especially enjoyed the progress of Elizabeth and Darcy and how they overcame their prejudices to mature and sharpen each other. The dialogue in this novel is probably the best I’ve ever read. The argument/debate Lady Catherine and Elizabeth have near the end of the book was superb. With the completion of this book, I have now finished the Holy Trinity of Romance Classics: Little Women, Jane Eyre, and Pride and Prejudice. If I were to rank the three, I would put this novel second behind Little Women.
News of the World by Paulette Jiles
Itinerant news reader, Captain Kidd, travels from town-to-town in Texas delighting in informing country folk on current events from around the world. Texas is a divided and lawless land in the aftermath of the Civil War so his journeys are filled with danger. In Wichita Falls, he reluctantly agrees to deliver a young orphan to her relatives in San Antonio making his travels even more treacherous. This novel has a Western setting with some of the dystopian elements of The Road — so I was sold immediately! The story sucks you in and stands on its own but also serves as an insightful meditation on courage, character, and trauma. Captain Kidd and Johanna are endearing characters and are ones I’m not soon to forget.
I was mesmerized by this book. I marveled at Jefferson’s vision for the expedition, how quickly Lewis was trained, how well Lewis and Clark worked together, the grittiness of the team, the ingenuity and creativity involved in solving problems, the newness of discovery, the will to survive, etc. While there is much to celebrate in this book, there is also much to lament: Lewis was often brutal toward his own soldiers. The expedition had one policy toward the Native Americans: “get out of the way or get killed — and it was nonnegotiable.” The interactions with the Native Americans was based on threat and empty promises. This expedition represented all of the dignity and depravity of the American way.
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
“Adversity presents itself in many forms; and that if a man does not master his circumstances then he is bound to be mastered by them.” That line from the novel just about sums up this whole story. The year is 1922 and Count Alexander Rostov has been sentenced to house arrest at the Metropol hotel in Moscow. If he leaves the premises of the hotel, at any point, he will be shot. It would be easy for a plotline like this to turn into a tragedy, if not a horror story but it doesn’t. Instead, this novel is an uplifting story of a man making the best of circumstances and enjoying the adventure of life. This was an absolute delight to read. I’ve described this novel as a mixture of Ted Lasso and a Wendell Berry novel. The story is full of relentless optimism (a la Ted Lasso) and is mixed with the intentional placing of deep roots in community (like Berry so masterfully articulates in his books). Not to mention, the last few chapters are full of mystery, keeping you on your toes as you guess the fate of the main character. If you’re looking for entertainment, great writing, and a good story to get lost in — here’s your book.
From afar, Eugene Peterson has impacted my view of the local church and pastoral ministry as much as anyone. Yet, I didn’t know much of his story so I was eager to read this authorized biography. Winn Collier does an excellent job weaving Eugene’s journal entries and interviews into the narrative of Eugene’s life. I found myself intrigued by many things: He went to seminary on a whim, his first job was a church planter which lasted exactly 18 hours, he was friends with Pat Robertson and Pat offered him a job with the 700 Club, his first few books had little acclaim, he played banjo, and liked Bob Seger music. It was also humbling to see the behind-the-scenes life of a hero from afar. Eugene wrestled with alcohol, he had an emotional affair, he often prioritized the church over his family, he struggled to find contentment, and he was more ambitious than I would have thought. They say you should never meet your heroes because they will ultimately disappoint you. Eugene didn’t disappoint me though. His biography was a sober reminder that our heroes aren’t flawless and it’s wrong for us to expect them to be. Eugene was merely a man. He was a man with a robust view of the pastoral role and an uncommon commitment to the local church. His perspective and poetic writing is a gift to the church. A gift that will keep on giving though he has passed.
