2023 In Review: Favorite Books

Here are my favorite books I read in 2023:

1. Practicing Affirmation by Sam Crabtree

   This book addresses the question, “if only God is good, why and how should I affirm the good in others?” Perhaps not many of you have asked the question this book answers, but this is a terrific book to encourage and inspire you to be a top-notch affirmer to others in your life. I read it twice this year.

2. The Supper of the Lamb by Robert Farrar Capon

   I received some very strange looks this year every time I told someone I was reading a cookbook. This is a profound book about a mundane topic. Robert Farrar Capon sees much grace from God in the details of what we eat.

3. Talking About Race by Isaac Adams

   This was a fantastically creative book that gives down-to-earth help for those who want to think well about racial issues in our day.

4. The Wager by David Grann

   A fascinating look at a fascinating story. A shipwreck, a marooned crew, and accusations of mutiny. A great read from the author of Killers of the Flower Moon.

5. Worship and the Reality of God by John Jefferson Davis

   This was a thought-provoking look at the theology of the Lord’s Supper. Is it merely a memorial meal by which the church remembers the death of Jesus? Or is Jesus somehow present to us in the Lord’s Supper? I greatly appreciated the way John Jefferson Davis challenged my thinking in this book.

6. The Tiger by John Vaillant

   A gripping and well-told story about a killer tiger. What more needs to be said?

7. Worship Matters by Bob Kauflin

   Bob Kauflin is one of the most helpful voices out there when it comes to effectively pastoring God’s people through the songs we sing.

8. Here Are Your Gods by Christopher J. H. Wright

   Christopher J.H. Wright incisively writes against the idols of our culture, especially those national and political idols that are dominating our collective attention.

9. The Shining by Stephen King

   I can hardly articulate why I decided to read this one. A writer I follow on Twitter asked his followers what the scariest book they had read was, and nearly all of the top responses were “The Shining.” That inspired my curiosity, so I borrowed it from the library ASAP. Loved it, and read several more King novels in the next couple months. None topped The Shining though.

10. Jack by Marilynne Robinson

    Marilynne Robinson’s latest installment in her series revolving around the town of Gilead. As a pastor, I loved to get to know Jack better in this book. The first three books made Jack out to be one of the most fascinating and enigmatic characters in this story. His side of the story has been a long time coming.