MY 2022 READING

Those in bold are my top ten: 

 January 

1. Eric Newby, A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush 
2. Mark Regnerus, Cheap Sex: The transformation of men, marriage, and monogamy
3. Elizabeth Strout, Oh William!

February 

1. Henry "Chips" Channon, Diaries (Volume 2) 1938-43 (Edited by Simon Heffer)

March 

1. Jane Ridley, George V: Never a Dull Moment 
2. Leon Kass & Hannah Mandelbaum, Reading Ruth: Birth, Redemption and the Way of Israel
3. Kelly M Kapic, You're Only Human: How Your Limits Reflect God's Design and Why That's Good News 
4. Stephen Grosz, The Examined Life: How We Lose and Find Ourselves 
5. Carys Davies, The Mission House 
6. Mia Levitin, The Future of Seduction 
7. Patrick Keifert and Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, How Change Comes to your Your Church: A Guidebook for Church Innovations 
8. Nancy Pearcey, Love Thy Body: Answering Hard Questions about Life and Sexuality

April 

1. Adrian Bell, Men and the Fields 
2. Ros Clarke, Forty Women: Unseen women of the Bible from Eden to Easter 
3. Derek Jarman, Modern Nature

May

1. Peter Baker and Susan Glasser, The Man Who Ran Washington: The Life and Times of James A Baker III
2. Jonathan Walker, The Angels of L19 
3. Adrian Bell, Corduroy
4. Madeleine L'Engle, A Circle of Quiet
5. Robert Penn Warren, All the King's Men 
6. Paula Byrne, The Adventures of Miss Barbara Pym 
7. Frederick Buechner, Brendan 
8. Colson Whitehead, The Nickel Boys 
9. Larry McMurty, Dead Man's Walk 
10. Tara Westover, Educated
11. Douglas Stuart, Shuggie Bain 
12. Amy Liptrot, The Outrun
13. Margaret Laurence, The Fire-Dwellers
14. Richard Ford, Between Them: Remembering My Parents
15. John Berger and Jean Mohr, A Fortunate Man: The Story of a Country Doctor
16. Andy Friend, John Nash: The Landscape of Love and Solace 
17. Rachel Jones, A Brief Theology of Periods (Yes, Really) 

June 

1. John Dickson, Hearing Her Voice: Women Preaching Sermons 
2. HFM Prescott, Son of Dust 
3. Timothy Keller, On Death

July

1. Eugene H Peterson, Eat This Book: a conversation in the art of spiritual reading 
2. Jonathan Franzen, Crossroads 
3. Eric Jourdan, Wicked Angels 
4. Alan Bennett, House Arrest: Pandemic Diaries 
5. Polly Morland, A Fortunate Woman: A Country Doctor's Story 
6. John Meade Falkner, The Nebuly Coat 
7. Max Hastings, Operation Pedestal: The fleet that battled to Malta 1942
8. Louise Perry, The Case Against the Sexual Revolution; A New Guide to Sex in 21st Century
9. Anne Glenconner, Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown 
10. Pablo Martinez, Take Care of Yourself: Survive and thrive in Christian ministry

August

1. Clare Sestanovich, Objects of Desire
2. Dane C Ortlund, Deeper: Real Change for Real Sinners 
3. Barbara Pym, Some Tame Gazelle 
4. Mark Sayers, A Non-Anxious Presence: How a Changing and Complex World Will Create a Remnant of Renewed Christian Leaders 
5. Jane Gardam, The Hollow Land 
6. Emma John, Self Contained: Scenes from a Single Life 
7. Ellis Potter, 3 Theories of Everything 
8. Pat Barker, The Silence of the Girls
9. Katherine Angel, Sex Will Be Good Again: Women and desire in the age of consent 

September 

1. Andy Crouch, The Life We're Looking For: Reclaiming relationship in a technological world 
2. Mary Renault, The Charioteer 
3. Mary Renault, Fire from Heaven 
4. John Garth, Tolkien and the Great War: The Threshold of Middle Earth
5. Wendell Berry, A World Lost

October 

1. Adrian Bell, Silver Ley 
2. Dallas Willard, Hearing God: Building an intimate relationship with the creator
3. Salley Vickers, Miss Garnet's Angel 
4. Preston Sprinkle, Embodied: Transgender Identities, the church & what the bible has to say 
5. John Stott, The Living Church: The convictions of a lifelong pastor 
6. Mary Renault, The Persian Boy 
7. Mary Renault, Funeral Games 

November 

1. Andrew Davison, Blessing 
2. Barbara Pym, Jane and Prudence
3. FM Mayor, The Rector's Daughter 

December 

1. Aaron Damiani, Earth Filled with Heaven: Finding life in liturgy, sacraments and other ancient practices of the church
2. Oliver O'Donovan, A Conversation Waiting to Begin: the church and the gay controversy 
3. Andrea Wulf, Magnificent Rebels: the first Romantics and their invention of the self

MY 2021 READING

Those in bold are my top 10: 

January 

1. Elizabeth Strout, Olive, Again 
2. Dane C Ortlund, Edwards on the Christian Life: Alive to the Beauty of God
3. Bryan Washington, Lot 
4. Dr Lisa Oakley & Justin Humphreys, Escaping the Maze of Spiritual Abuse: Creating healthy Christian cultures

February 

1. Chuck DeGroat, When Narcissism Comes to Church: Healing your community from emotional and spiritual abuse 
2. Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace (Translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky)
3. Katherine May, Wintering: The power of rest and retreat in difficult times 
4. Mark D Thompson, A Clear and Present Word: The clarity of Scripture 
5. Bryan Washington, Memorial
6. Diane Langberg, Redeeming Power: Understanding Authority and Abuse in the Church 
7. Tana French, The Wych Elm

March 

1. Wade Mullen, Something's Not Right: Decoding the tactics of abuse and freeing yourself from its power 
2. Stephen McAlpine, Being the Bad Guys: How to live for Jesus in a World That Says You Shouldn't 
3. Suzanne Heywood, What Does Jeremy Think? Jeremy Heywood and the Making of Modern Britain
4. Simon P Walker, Leading out of Who You Are: Discovering the Secret of Undefended Leadership 

April 

1. Fleming Rutledge, Three Hours: Sermons for Good Friday
2. Andy Friend, Ravilious & Co.: The Pattern of Friendship
3. Jane Austen, Mansfield Park
4. Tim Pears, In the Place of Fallen Leaves
5. Greg Johnson, Still Time to Care: What we can learn from the church's failed attempt to cure homosexuality

May 

1. Alan Don, Faithful Witness: The confidential diaries of Alan Don, Chaplain to the King, the Archbishop and the Speaker, 1931-1946 (Edited by Robert Beaken) 
2. Scott McKnight & Laura Barringer, A Church Called Tov: Forming a Goodness Culture  That Resists Abuses of Power and Promotes Healing 
3. Delia Owens, Where the Crawdads Sing 
4. Fiona Stafford, The Brief Life of Flowers
5. Bo Giertz, The Hammer of God
6. David Nicholls, Sweet Sorrow
7. Fiona Robertson, Rules of Belonging: Change your organisational culture, delight your people and turbo-charge your results  
8. Susan Howatch, Scandalous Risks

June 

1. Mark Vroegop, Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the grace of lament
2. Cathy Rentzenbrink, Dear Reader: The Comfort and Joy of Books 
3. Peggy Orenstein, Boys & Sex: Young men on hookups, love, porn, consent, and navigating the new masculinity 

July 

1. Susan Howatch, Absolute Truths 
2. Catherine Lacey, Pew 
3. William Trevor, The Old Boys 
4. Grayson Perry, The Descent of Man 
5. Samantha Harvey, The Western Wind 
6. Adam Sisman, John le Carré: The Biography 
7. RC Sheriff, The Fortnight in September 
8. Katherine Langrish, From Spare Oom to War Drobe: Travels in Narnia with my Nine Year-Old Self   
9. Francis S Schaeffer, The Church Before the Watching World
10. Matthew Mullins, Enjoying the Bible: Literary Approaches to Loving the Scriptures
11. Rachel Gardner, The Sex Thing: Reimagining conversations with young people about sex

August

1. Larry McMurtry, Lonesome Dove
2. Andrew Wilson, God of All Things: Rediscovering the sacred in an everyday world 
3. Jan Morris, Thinking Again
4. Brad House & Gregg Allison, MultiChurch: Exploring the Future of Multisite 
5. John le Carré, Absolute Friends

September 

1. Brandon Taylor, Filthy Animals 
2. An Yu, Braised Pork

October 

1. David James Poissant, Lake Life 
2. Natalia Ginzburg, The Dry Heart
3. Stewart O'Nan, The Odds: A Love Story
4. Natalia Ginzberg, The Little Virtues
5. John Stott, But I Say To You....Christ the Controversialist 
6. Darrin W Snyder Belousek, Marriage, Scripture, and the Church 
7. Susan Howatch, Mystical Paths 
8. Christos Tsiolkas, Loaded 
9. Amia Srinivasan, The Right to Sex 

November

1.  Michael Jenkins, A House in Flanders 
2. Henry "Chips" Channon, Diaries (Volume 1) 1918-38 (Edited by Simon Heffer) 
3. Gregg A Ten Elshof, I told me so: self-deception and the Christian life

December

1. Sally Rooney, Beautiful World, Where Are You
2. Beth Allison Barr, The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth 
3. Margaret Bullard, Endangered Species: Diplomacy from the Passenger Seat
4. Karen Soole, Liberated: How the Bible exalts and dignifies women 
5. Peter Davidson, The Lighted Window: Evening Walks Remembered
6. Gavin Francis, Island Dreams: Mapping an Obsession 
7. Jenny Offill, Weather 
8. Toby Faber, Faber & Faber: The Untold Story
9. Alistair Macleod, No Great Mischief

MY 2020 READING

For the first time since I was about 12 I've kept a record of all the books I finished in 2020. Those in bold are my top 10: 

January 

1. Guiseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, The Leopard 
2. Douglas Murray, The Madness of Crowds: Gender, Race and Identity 
3. Brit Bennett, The Mothers: A Novel 
4. James M Hamilton Jr. Work and Our Labor in the Lord
5. Mary Oliver, Blue Horses 
6. Jan Morris, Conundrum 
7. Tim O'Brien, In the Lake of the Woods 
8. Pablo Martinez, Praying with the Grain: How Your Personality Affects The Way You Pray 
9. Chris Mullin, The Friends of Harry Perkins 
10. Martin Boyd, The Cardboard Crown

February 

1. Paul M Gould, Cultural Apologetics: Renewing the Christian Voice, Conscience and Imagination in a Disenchanted World
2. Andrew Holleran, Dancer from the Dance  
3. Tomasz Jedrowski, Swimming in the Dark 
4. John Mark Comer, Garden City: Work, Rest, and the Art of Being Human 
5. Richard Scott, Soho

March 

1. Emma Ineson, Ambition: What Jesus said about power, success and counting stuff 
2. Charles Moore, Margaret Thatcher - The Authorised Biography (Volume Three): Herself Alone
3. Philip Roth, Everyman 
4. Anne Lamott, Imperfect Birds 
5. David Brooks, The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life 
6. Penelope Fitzgerald, The Gate of Angels
7. William Fiennes, The Snow Geese

April 

1. Kate Fall, The Gatekeeper: Life at the Heart of No.10 
2. James KA Smith, On the Road with Saint Augustine: A Real-World Spirituality for Restless Hearts 
3. William Maxwell, Billie Dyer and Other Stories
4. William Maxwell, Bright Center of Heaven 
5. Doug Worgul, Thin Blue Smoke
6. Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline 
7. Martin Boyd, A Difficult Young Man

May

1. Olivia Fane, Why Sex Doesn't Matter
2. Julian Hardyman, Fresh Pathways in Prayer 
3. Peter Korn, Why We Make Things & Why It Matters: The Education of a Craftsman
4. Randy Alcorn, Does God want Us to Be Happy? The Case for Biblical Happiness
5. Kenneth Rose, Who's In, Who's Out: Journals - Volume One, 1944-1979 (Edited by DR Thorpe)
6. Stewart O'Nan, Henry, Himself
7. HG Bissinger, Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream
8. Kenneth Rose, Who Loses, Who Wins: Journals - Volume Two, 1979-2014 (Edited by DR Thorpe)
9. Rowan Williams, Being Human: Bodies, minds, persons 
10. Frederick Buechner, The Son of Laughter

June

1. Hilary Mantel, The Mirror & the Light 
2. Garth Greenwell, Cleanness
3. Justin Whitmel Earley, The Common Rule: Habits of Purpose for an Age of Distraction 
4. Elliot Clark, Evangelism as Exiles: Life on mission as strangers in our own land 
5. Stewart O'Nan, Wish You Were Here 
6. Stewart O'Nan, Emily Alone

July 

1. Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment 
2. Erich Fromm, The Art of Loving
3. Martin Boyd, Outbreak of Love 
4. Ben Lindsay, We need to talk about race: understanding the black experience in white majority churches 
5. Martin Boyd, When Blackbirds Sing 
6. Tim Winton, The Turning 
7. Francis Spufford, Golden Hill 
8. Basil Macdonald Hastings, Memoirs of a Child 
9. Tim Winton, That Eye, The Sky
10. Adam Nicolson, The Making of Poetry: Coleridge, the Wordsworths and their year of marvels 
11. Tim Pears, The Horseman
12. Louisa M Alcott, Little Women 
13. John Williams, Butcher's Crossing

August 

1. Wesley Hill, The Lord's Prayer: A Guide to Praying to Our Father 
2. Louisa M Alcott, Good Wives
3. Hermione Ranfurly, Hermione - After to War with Whitaker: the continuing diaries of Hermione Countess of Ranfurly 1945-2001
4. Jessica Martin, Holiness and Desire 
5. Brandon Taylor, Real Life 
6. Dane Ortlund, Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers 
7. Paul Mendez, Rainbow Milk 
8. Jo Ind, Memories of Bliss: God, Sex, and Us 
9. Max Hasting, Did You Really Shoot the Television? A Family Fable  

September 

1. Calvin Trillin, Remembering Denny 
2. Aimee Byrd, Recovering from Biblical Manhood & Womanhood: How the Church Needs to Rediscover Her Purpose  
3. James Salter, A Sport and a Pastime 
4. Tim Pears, The Wanderers 
5. Veronique Mottier, Sexuality: A Very Short Introduction 
6. Grant Macaskill, Living in Union with Christ: Paul's Gospel and Christian Moral Identity 
7. James Lees-Milne, The Fool of Love 
8. Tim Pears, The Redeemed
9. Arthur Ransome, Swallowdale

October

1. Sasha Swire, Diary of a MP's Wife: Inside and Outside Power
2. Tom Holland, Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind 
3. Marilynne Robinson, Jack
4. Cynthia Long Westfall, Paul and Gender: Reclaiming the Apostle's Vision for Men and Women in Christ

November 

1. Arthur Ransome, Secret Water 
2. Paul David Tripp, Lead: 12 Gospel Principles for Leadership in the Church 
3. Lydia Davis, Break It Down: Stories 
4. Barack Obama, A Promised Land 

December 

1. Brit Bennett, The Vanishing Half 
2. Mary Beard, Women & Power: A Manifesto
3. E Randolph Richards and Brandon J O’Brien, Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes
4. Beckett Cook, A Change of Affection: A Gay Man's Incredible Story of Redemption 
5. Julian Hardyman, Jesus, Lover of My Soul: Fresh Pathways to Spiritual Passion 
6. Dorothy L Sayers, Gaudy Night
7. Stewart O'Nan, The Good Wife
8. Shaun Bythell, Seven Kinds of People You Find in Bookshops 
9. Andrew O'Hagan, Mayflies 
10. James Rebanks, English Pastoral: An Inheritance 
11. Jon Ronson, So You've Been Publicly Shamed
12. Will Young, To be a Gay Man 

TOP BOOKS OF 2018

In the order I enjoyed them: 

• HFM Prescott, The Man on a Donkey 
• Brad & Drew Harper, Space at the Table: Conversations Between an Evangelical Theologian and His Gay Son
• Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion: Understanding the Death of Jesus Christ  
• John Bew, Citizen Clem: A Biography of Attlee
• George Eliot, Adam Bede 
• John D Inazu, Confident Pluralism: Surviving and Thriving Through Deep Difference 
• Rankin Wilbourne, Union with Christ: The Way to Know and Enjoy God 
• Thomas Savage, The Sheep Queen: A Novel 
• Hermione Lee, Penelope Fitzgerald: A Life 
• Karen Swallow Prior, On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life Through Great Books 

TOP BOOKS OF 2017

In, yet again, no particular order (other than the rough order I read them in):

• Glynn Harrison, A Better Story: God, Sex & Human Flourishing
• Roger Deakin, Notes from Walnut Tree Farm 
• Peter Hedges, What's Eating Gilbert Grape?
• Thomas Savage, The Power of the Dog 
• Tim Winton, The Boy Behind the Curtain
• Peter Scazzero, The Emotionally Healthy Leader
• Barbara Pym, Crampton Hodnet
• Tish Harrison Warren, Liturgy of the Ordinary
• Andy Angel, Intimate Jesus: The Sexuality of God Incarnate
• Alan Jacobs, How to Think: A Guide for the Perplexed

TOP BOOKS OF 2016

In, as ever, no particular order (other than the rough order I read them in):

• Sigrid Undset, Kristin Lavransdatter
• Jonathan Grant, Divine Sex: A Compelling Vision for Christian Relationships in a Hypersexualized Age
• Mark Edmundson, Why Teach? In Defense of Real Education 
• Hanya Yanagihara, A Little Life
• Rebecca Konyndyk DeYoung, Glittering Vices: A New Look at the Seven Deadly Sins and Their Remedies
• Tim Winton, Scisson [Especially the story: A Blow, a kiss]
• Penelope Lively,  Ammonites and Leaping Fish: A Life in Time
• Godfrey Hodgson, JFK and LBJ: The Last Two Great Presidents
• Belden C Lane, Ravished by Beauty: The Surprising Legacy of Reformed Spirituality
• Henri JM Nouwen, Love, Henri: Letters on the Spiritual Life

TOP BOOKS OF 2015

In, as ever, no particular order (other than the rough order I read them in):

• Annie Dillard, The Maytrees
• Harriet Arnow, The Dollmaker
• Willa Cather, O Pioneers!
• Jonathan Haidt, The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion
• Kent Haruf, Benediction 
• J Budziszewski, On the Meaning of Sex 
• David Brooks, The Road to Character
• Helen Macdonald, H is for Hawk 
• Wendell Berry, A Distant Land  
• Ray Bradbury, Dandelion Wine

TOP 10 BOOKS OF 2014

In, as ever, no particular order (other than the rough order in which I read them):

• Wallace Stegner, Remembering Laughter
• James Agee, A Death in the Family
• Cornelius Plantinga Jr., Reading for Preaching: The preacher in conversation with storytellers, biographers, poets, and journalists. 
• Rod Dehrer, The Little Way of Ruthie Leming
• Gregory the Great, The Book of Pastoral Rule 
• John Williams, Augustus
• Wendell Berry, Hannah Coulter
• Marilynne Robinson, Lila
• David Kinnaman, You Lost Me: Why Young Christians Are Leaving Church....And Rethinking Faith
• Jason B Hood, Imitating God in Christ: Recapturing a Biblical Pattern

TOP 10 BOOKS OF 2013

In no particular order:

• Richard  F Lovelace, Disciplines of Spiritual Life: An Evangelical Theology of Renewal  
• Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy, The President's Club: Inside The World's Most Exclusive Fraternity
• Flannery O'Connor (Edited by Sally Fitzgerald), The Habit of Being: The Letters of Flannery O'Connor 
• John Flavel, The Mystery of Providence
• Wendell Berry, Jayber Crow
• Alan Paton, Too Late the Phalarope
• Wallace Stegner, The Big Rock Candy Mountain 
• Christopher West, Fill These Hearts: God, Sex and the Universal Longing
• John Williams, Stoner 
• Bruce A Ware, The Man Christ Jesus: Theological Reflections on the Humanity of Christ 

TOP 10 BOOKS OF 2012

As ever, in no particular order (although if there was a No.1 it would be the Wallace Stegner):

• John Cheever, The Journals of John Cheever
• Wallace Stegner, Crossing to Safety
• Alan Paton, Cry, The Beloved Country
• Frederick Buechner, Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy and Fairy Tale
• Henri JM Nouwen, The Wounded Healer
• John Flavel, Keeping the Heart
• Jenell Williams Paris, The End of Sexual Identity: Why Sex Is too Important to Define Who We Are
• Andrew Sullivan, Love Undetectable: reflections on friendship, sex and survival
• Timothy Keller, Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City
• Robert A Caro, The Years of Lyndon Johnson, Vol.4: The Passage of Power

TOP 10 BOOKS OF 2011

In no particular order...

Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
Nancy Pearcey, Total Truth: Liberating Christianity from its Cultural Captivity
Mariano Magrassi, Praying the Bible: An Introduction to Lectio Divina
Tim Keller, The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God
Roger Steer, George Muller: Delighted in God
Jan Struther, Mrs Miniver
William Fiennes, The Music Room
William Wilberforce, A Practical View of Christianity 
John Cheever, Collected Stories
Russell D Moore, Tempted and Tried: Temptation and the Triumph of Christ

TOP 10 BOOKS OF 2010

In no particular order....

Thomas Brookes, Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices
Deborah Devonshire, Wait for Me! Memoirs of the Youngest Mitford Sister
Paul David Tripp, Broken-Down House: Living Productively in a World Gone Bad
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together
Susan Hill, Howards End is on the Landing: A year reading from home
Wesley Hill, Washed & Waiting: Reflections on Christian Faithfulness and Homosexuality
William M Struthers, Wired for Intimacy: How pornography hijacks the male brain
Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
Eric Metaxas, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy
Richard Baxter, The Reformed Pastor

TOP 10 BOOKS OF 2009

In no particular order (selecting 10 was hard enough):

Julian Barnes, Nothing to be Frightened Of
Paul E Miller, A Praying Life
Lauren F Winner, Real Sex: the naked truth about chastity
Richard Bauckham, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses:The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony
Dorothy L Sayers, Creed or Chaos? And other essays in popular theology
Tobias Woolf, Old School
Humphrey Carpenter (Ed.), The Letters of JRR Tolkien
Andrew Marin, Love is an Orientation: Elevating the Conversation with the Gay Community
Tom Hovestol, Extreme Righteousness: Seeing ourselves in the pharisees
Timothy Knatchbull, From a Clear Blue Sky: Surviving the Mountbatten Bomb