Favorite Books A.D. 2023
Every year since 2015 I've taken a look at my favorite books of the past year. It sure is fun to be able to look at past lists and think about what was going on in my life that year and what I was learning. And so here we go, for the year of our Lord, 2023.*
Be Thou My Vision (Gibson)
Excellent aid to daily prayer.
The Great Alone (Hannah)
I don't think this was amazing literature, but this book gripped me. I read the second half in one evening, which then gave me a restless night. Like how you feel after an exhilarating movie. Just really enjoyable (except for the anxiety).
Winter Fire: Christmas with G.K. Chesterton (Chesterton/Smith)
I love Christmas and Chesterton puts that love into words.
Christianity and Liberalism (Machen)
I don't know why it took me so long to read this, but it was so much better than I imagined it to be. Machen is a great writer. Also found it personally interesting, having grown up in the PCUSA and then had the first few formative years of my faith in another liberal denomination (UMC).
The Pilgrim's Progress (Bunyan)
I didn't love this book as others do, as in I didn't find it enjoyable to read at times (it's me, not Bunyan). But there are some lines and moments that are great and moving. And I'm glad to have finally made the pilgrimage with Christian and Christiana.
The Elder and His Work (Dickson)
I chose this book for the King's Cross elders to read having not read it before. Very encouraging and simple. Perfect length for sessions to read together.
Depression, Anxiety, and the Christian Life (Baxter/Packer/Lundy)
Excellent work by Baxter, and really amazing how applicable his counsel still is. I think some of us would imagine Puritans saying simply, "Stop it." But instead we have Baxter counseling someone in thick of it to keep their prayers very brief so they don't over-extend themselves! A very patient and understanding counselor.
God's Grace in Your Suffering (Powlison)
I read this book while meeting with a friend and greatly appreciated it. Powlison was a gift to the church.
Perfection and Presence: "God with Us" According to the Christian Confession (John Webster)
Thanks to Jacob Rush for sending me this transcription of lectures from the late John Webster. High theology for the Advent and Christmas season.
*I initially listed Schlehlein's John G. Paton biography as my top book, only to realize I read it in 2022. It was just that good.
Click here for all books read in 2023.
Previous years: 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015