In previous articles, I wrote about my top 20 books of 2022.
But what am I currently reading? And what do I plan to read in 2023? Thanks for asking.
You can also check out my follow-up articles, How To Get Engaged In Good Books Again, and How I Keep Notes When I Read Nonfiction (11 Ideas).
What Am I Reading Now?
I always have several books going at the same time. I’ll outline the benefits of that strategy in an upcoming article.
Camera Man: Buster Keaton, the Dawn of Cinema, and the Invention of the Twentieth Century
by Dana Stevens
Loving it, so far! An entertaining way to look at the way America and the world changed in the first half of the twentieth century.
The Great Omission: Reclaiming Jesus’s Essential Teachings on Discipleship
by Dallas Willard
Every three or four years I’m drawn to another Dallas Willard book. For some reason, I can’t read him in large doses, but I always enjoy a book every few years.
The Lord Is My Courage: Stepping Through the Shadows of Fear Toward the Voice of Love
by K.J. Ramsey
A fresh look at Psalm 23.
Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books
by Azar Nafisi
Great literature, profound courage, and real-life stakes. Sounds like a compelling combination.
What’s On My Shelf For 2023?
No guarantee I’ll get to all of them. Like most book lovers, I’m likely to tackle some, while getting distracted by an entirely new set that I don’t even know about yet. Either way, I expect to dearly love the journey they’ll take me on – even the ones that won’t make my best-of list next year.
The Chosen
by Chaim Potok
After being bowled over by Potok’s My Name Is Asher Lev last year, I plan to read this classic as well.
Jerusalem: The Biography
by Simon Sebag Montefiore
I don’t know as much about this essential city as I should.
Life and Death In Shanghai
by Nien Cheng
One of my wife’s favorite books. It’s time for me to trust her judgment (which I wholeheartedly do) and read it for myself.
Mudbound
by Hillary Jordan
I’ve heard good things about it.
Interior Castle
by Teresa de Jesús
A Christian spiritual classic that, somehow, I haven’t read yet.
The Road Trip that Changed the World: The Unlikely Theory that will Change How You View Culture, the Church, and, Most Importantly, Yourself
by Mark Sayers
Recommended to me by a young associate pastor whose opinion I value.
Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible
by Randolph Richards
I’m always up for an attempt to remove cultural blinders from my reading of the biblical text.
Reading Evangelicals: How Christian Fiction Shaped a Culture and a Faith
by Daniel Silliman
The premise has me hooked. I read three of the five books back in the day, and my impression of them was largely at odds with the prevailing evangelical subculture, so I’m looking forward to a fresh look through someone else’s eyes.
Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare
by Stephen Greenblatt
I love a biography that looks at the life of a familiar person with a new twist.
Fresh Expressions in a Digital Age: How the Church Can Prepare for a Post Pandemic World
by Michael Adam Beck
For obvious reasons.
The Patient Ferment of the Early Church: The Improbable Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire
by Alan Kreider
Recommended by a podcast guest last year. I’m guessing it will shed some helpful light on our current state of affairs.
A Hole in the World: Finding Hope in Rituals of Grief and Healing
by Amanda Held Opelt
Recommended by Clay Knick in a comment on my recent “best of” article. (See? I do read them!)
Got Any Recommendations?
Have you read any of these?
Did you read anything you’d recommend?
Let me know in the comments, below. Or on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
(Disclosure: I will receive a small percent of the purchase price of any books you buy through clicking the Amazon links in the article.)
(Photo by Gerald Murphy | Flickr)
