The nominees are in. Here’s what I read this past year. It’s my usual mix of history, some fiction, a couple memoirs, a couple business books and, of course, some IVP books after they were published. The winners will soon be announced.
Genesis, The Story We Haven’t Heard,
Paul Borgman
Making All Things New, R. York Moore
The Other Wes Moore, Wes Moore
How God Became King, N. T. Wright
Good Prose, Tracy Kidder and Richard Todd
The Exact Place, Margie L. Haack
Passing Strange, Martha Sandweiss
Mapping the Origins Debate, Gerald Rau
Battles at Thrush Green, Miss Read
Bleachers, John Grisham
Cod, Mark Kurlansky
Stylish Academic Writing, Helen Sword
Green Leaves for Later Years, Emilie Griffin
Jesus Wars, Philip Jenkins
The Virtues of Aging, Jimmy Carter
The Innovator’s Dilemma, Clayton Christenson
Union 1812, A. J. Langguth
The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse, Louise Erdrich
Decisive, Dan and Chip Heath
Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling, Ross King
The Triumph of Christianity, Rodney Stark
The First Thanksgiving, Robert Tracy McKenzie
I Remember Nothing, Nora Ephron
Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership, Ruth Haley Barton
A People’s History of the United States, Howard Zinn
What was a favorite book you read this past year?
My favorite among many was, “The Sacredness of Human Life” by David Gushee. But there were many more including Jim Belcher’s, “In Search of Deep Faith” & Andy Crouch’s, “Playing God.”
I haven’t read the Gushee book but I know he’s good. I read Belcher in an early manuscript form. He does a good job of using a narrative frame to deliver some excellent content. And yes, I also read Crouch’s “Playing God” several times prior to publication. Whenever I read a book (whether for IVP or for my own purposes), I’m happy if I find one good, new idea. Crouch had six!