Books I’ve read The Bookshelf

Look, the Gabriel Allon series is fun, and Silva is a talented author. But he's running into the same problem that all long-running series authors run into: you keep needing to up the stakes, and you end up with less and less reality. Inevitably, if your hero is in intelligence, you're gonna save the world from nuclear destruction. Allon does. With typical aplomb. When you're on book #23 of a series, I guess you're not aiming for a lot of surprises.

Time’s Mouth

by Edan Lepucki · published 2023 · read 2023-12-25

A story sort of about weird powers and the cult that forms around them, but sort of more about family, the burden it leaves us, and how we deal with it.

The Helsinki Affair

by Anna Pitoniak · published 2023 · read 2023-12-20

A easy read modern-ish spy thriller. Not as thrilling as some, but light and entertaining enough.

My Old Home

by Orville Schell · published 2021 · read 2023-12-17

A beautiful, sweeping epic of life in China through the 20th century.

Making It So

by Patrick Stewart · published 2023 · read 2023-12-06

Sir Patrick's memoir is just as delightful as you would hope. From stories about his humble beginnings in Yorkshire to tales about making ST:TNG, Stewart's tone is engaging. I don't typically do audiobooks but I would go listen to this one simply to hear the book in his own voice. A truly lovely book.

Titanium Noir

by Nick Harkaway · published 2023 · read 2023-11-26

Cyberpunk hard boiled noir detective story. Entertaining stuff.

The New Being

by Paul Tillich · published 2005 · read 2023-11-23

A short collection of short sermons, a few of which are truly brilliant. "What is truth?" is one I need to revisit sometime very soon.

Girl One

by Sara Flannery Murphy · published 2022 · read 2023-11-19

A little bit sci-fi, a little bit adventure thriller. An entertaining easy read.

The Talmud

by Barry Scott Wimpfheimer · published 2020 · read 2023-11-16

I've enjoyed a lot of the Biographies of Ancient Books series but this one left me flat.

The Testament of Mary

by Colm Toibin · published 2012 · read 2023-11-13

A beautiful first-person narrative that considers Jesus' life from a different-than-usual perspective.

Starter Villain

by John Scalzi · published 2023 · read 2023-11-11

by Justin Torres · published 2023 · read 2023-11-05

Ridiculous, cheesy fun.

Blackouts

Framed as an oral history of an old, dying gay man telling his story to a younger gay man. Mesmerizing.

The Phenomenon of Man

by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin · published 2008 · read 2023-11-01

A whole lot to unpack here as Teilhard sees the vision of an evolutionary universe powered by love.

Transitions

by William Bridges · published 2019 · read 2023-10-29

As with all self help books, you've gotta eat the meat and spit out the bones. Some good stuff here particularly about what he terms the "Neutral Zone" between the old thing and the new thing.

The Fifth Season

by N. K. Jemisin · published 2015 · read 2023-10-23

Fantastic world building and beautiful writing. Deserving of the awards it won.

Quantum Reality

by Nick Herbert · published 1987 · read 2023-10-20

A little bit dated at this point, but a very digestible introduction to quantum theory.

The Left Hand of Darkness

by Ursula K. Le Guin · published 1987 · read 2023-10-19

I get what LeGuin was going for, but this one just didn't land for me. Plenty of idea, not enough story.

On the Origin of Time

by Thomas Hertog · published 2023 · read 2023-10-14

Hertog studied quantum physics under Stephen Hawking and here overviews Hawking's progression of thought in quantum physics, ending in a remarkable position regaining the importance of the human perspective within these theories. You don't expect to get to the last chapter of a book like this and have it start quoting Hannah Arendt, and yet this one did. Thoughtful, not overly simplified but simplified enough for nerdy laymen like me to be able to wade through it... quite a book.

Red Queen

by Juan Gómez-Jurado · published 2023 · read 2023-10-07

Entertaining detective novel. Nothing deep, but a nice palate cleanser.

The Odyssey

by Homer · published 2017 · read 2023-09-29

Emily Wilson's translation of The Odyssey pulled me in in a way that other translations have failed to grab me. Obviously an epic story, but her translation choices made it come alive in reading.

Average Jones

by Samuel Adams · published 2022 · read 2023-09-14

Short detective stories in the vein of Sherlock Holmes, but set in early 20th-century America. They're fine, but mostly serve to remind you just how good Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories were by comparison.

Translation State

by Ann Leckie · published 2023 · read 2023-09-05

A brilliant examination of gender and personhood wrapped up in an adventure story. Really enjoyed this one.

The Ultimate Quest

by Jordan Haynie Ware · published 2017 · read 2023-09-03

A short handbook intro to the Episcopal Church. The subtitle "A Geek's Guide to The Episcopal Church" tells you where it's going, and it goes HARD. Some of the geek references were helpful; some of them seemed pretty over-the-top, but you can't deny the author's commitment to the bit. Still, it's a book I might hand to my college aged kid if they had any interested in attending.

The Book of Job - a Biography

by Mark Larrimore · published 2020 · read 2023-08-28

I've been a fan of other books in this Lives of Great Religious Books series, but this one didn't really do it for me. Less about how Job came about and more about how it has been interpreted through time. Which isn't bad... just wasn't what I was looking for.

Until the End of Time

by Brian Greene · published 2020 · read 2023-08-20

The bits where Greene is explaining physics are wonderful. The bits where he tries to theorize about how the effects of physics manifest in things like meaning and belief are pretty weak.

Being Heumann

by Judith Heumann · published 2020 · read 2023-08-14

A brisk, moving memoir of a leader in the American movement for disabled rights. I had no idea that the Americans with Disabilities Act wasn't passed until I was in high school.

How Far the Light Reaches

by Sabrina Imbler · published 2022 · read 2023-08-12

A short memoir of sorts, fascinating stuff, beautifully written.

Birth of a Dancing Star

by Ilia Delio · published 2019 · read 2023-08-04

As a review on Goodreads said, it's a little more a recount than a memoir with an overarching theme and narrative. But it's a great companion piece to Delio's theological books; it provides a vivid perspective of the woman behind the ideas and words.

Breathing Under Water

by Richard Rohr · published 2021 · read 2023-07-29

Rohr unpacks the Twelve Steps in the framework of the Gospel. Beautiful, simple, and helpful.

Christ in Evolution

by Ilia Delio · published 2008 · read 2023-07-22

Delio says that Christianity's cosmology needs to keep up with science, and explores through the writing of Teilhard de Chardin, Thomas Merton, Raimon Panikkar, and others just what that might look like. Mind bending in all the best ways.

Secular Faith

by Mark A. Smith · published 2015 · read 2023-07-15

Smith argues from history that American religious beliefs largely eventually adopt broader secular trends. He uses topics like feminism and abortion as examples. The book was published in 2015 - would be very interesting to get his take now after the strong religious backlash and rise of Christian nationalist fascism since 2016.

Trauma-Informed Evangelism

by Charles Kiser · published 2023 · read 2023-07-06

A good overview of spiritual and religious trauma and how Christians wanting to minister to the traumatized should approach the idea. The last couple chapters of practical application were particularly helpful.

Babel

by R. F. Kuang · published 2022 · read 2023-07-05

A fantasy novel that serves as a strong critique of colonialism, a meditation on technology, and remains a moving story of adventure and friendship. The best novel I've read in quite a while.

Oscar Wars

by Michael Schulman · published 2023 · read 2023-06-18

A well-researched an engaging tale of the Academy Awards throughout their almost 100-year history. Politics, personalities, cultural influences... interesting to read about. Schulman makes this book an easy read while painting a vibrant picture of a messy industry.

Digging Up Armageddon

by Eric H. Cline · published 2020 · read 2023-06-15

For an incredibly niche subject, this is a wonderfully interesting and accessible book. A history of the original archaelogial digs at Megiddo that happened in the 1920s and 30s. Chapters alternate between describing the people and their challenges and then the actual archaeological work. Good stuff.

The Book of Genesis

by Ronald Hendel · published 2019 · read 2023-05-30

A delightful short excursion through the "biography" of Genesis examining the perspectives and interpretations of the church fathers, reformers, and philosophers up to the modern day. Very readable, and a nice introduction that takes a broader view than just the JEDP theories of textual criticism.

The Morning Star

by Karl Ove Knausgaard · published 2021 · read 2023-05-28

Ah, Karl Ove Knausgaard. I find his writing at once engrossing and dense. A bizarre multi-viewpoint novel that blurs the line between the living and the dead, with long excurses on the Christian perspective on death... fascinating and baffling in equal measure. Not sorry I read it. Not at all.

Out of the Wreckage

by George Monbiot · published 2017 · read 2023-05-26

An optimistic view of how the political system could be changed through the encouragement and organization of communities. Nice to read something hopeful for a change!

Mystics and Zen Masters

by Thomas Merton · published 1967 · read 2023-05-20

Merton provides a sympathetic overview to both Western (Christian) and Eastern (Buddhist) mysticism. He sees them as far more compatible than I expect most Christian writers would. Interesting stuff.

The Mountain in the Sea

by Ray Nayler · published 2022 · read 2023-05-14

Nayler really has two or three stories going here which are minimally intertwined. Unfortunately, this means he doesn't fully flesh out any of them enough to make it a really great story. This book feels like it is in the vein of classic Michael Crichton novels - Jurassic Park, The Andromeda Strain, Congo... but Crichton never let the details of science get in the way of writing a rollicking story. I feel like Naylor makes the opposite choice, and so instead we get a story with fewer scientific gaps, but also something less fun than a Crichton novel.

Ordinary Monsters

by J. M. Miro · published 2022 · read 2023-05-12

Gothic supernatural horror... overly long. A few interesting ideas but needed to be 300 pages instead of 550.

All My Knotted-Up Life

by Beth Moore · published 2023 · read 2023-05-09

I mean, the memoir of a 60-something Baptist woman isn't one of those books that a mid-40s exvangelical would be naturally drawn to, right? Beth Moore writes in her own unique voice, and it's definitely memoir more than biography - spending lots of time in certain eras of her childhood, and barely skimming much of her adult life.

God on the Rocks

by Phil Madeira · published 2013 · read 2023-04-15

A sort of collection of short memoir-based essays... Madeira recounts life growing up as a Baptist pastor's kid, the pain of what we would today call religous deconstruction, and the joy of life. Nothing revolutionary, but not a bad read.

Hunting Time

by Jeffery Deaver · published 2022 · read 2023-04-11

Feels like a middle-weight Deaver book. I get that mysteries are supposed to have a twist at the end, but this one seems far too big and unbelievable given the beginning of the book. In addition, the early part of the story seems pretty bland, isn't very twisty. Not bad, but not amazing.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

by Gabrielle Zevin · published 2022 · read 2023-04-06

Maybe more like 4.5 stars than 4. I didn't just adore the book, but I appreciated the characters and the conflict. A memorable, warm story in its own way.

Record of a Spaceborn Few

by Becky Chambers · published 2018 · read 2023-03-27

Becky Chambers invents a universe I would want to live in, and populates it with sympathetic, kind characters. In a genre that frequently gets dark and dystopian, she writes hopeful fiction. I need more of that.

The Technology Trap

by Carl Benedikt Frey · published 2020 · read 2023-03-22

An interesting overview of the impact of revolutionary technology on society at large. In general, the recurring theme, says the author, is that people whose jobs are eliminated are worse off in the short run, but in the longer run everyone is better off.

A Closed and Common Orbit

by Becky Chambers · published 2017 · last read 2023-03-18

Really should be 4.5 stars. Even more enjoyable than the first book in the series.

A Hidden Wholeness

by Parker J. Palmer · published 2004 · read 2023-03-11

Palmer sharing his wisdom and practical principles for operating a 'circle of trust' - a principle where a small group of people care for each other primarily through quiet, acceptance, non-judgment, and loving, non-leading questions. An idea that speaks profoundly to me. Palmer makes me want to find and attend a Quaker meeting.

Not All Who Wander (Spiritually) Are Lost

by Traci Rhoades · published 2020 · read 2023-03-10

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

Flimsy, not particularly well written, and... naive, maybe? Basically 150 pages of "yes, people go to different kinds of churches and sometimes move between them". Not sure that qualifies as "wandering".

Art and Faith

by Makoto Fujimura · published 2021 · read 2023-03-09

A world-class artist and thoughtful believer articulating the deep connection between artistry and faith. Beautiful.

The Bayern Agenda

by Dan Moren · published 2019 · read 2023-03-05

Highly entertaining mixture of war adventure and sci-fi. Now I'm gonna have to read the rest of them.

Joel on Software

by Avram Joel Spolsky · published 2004 · read 2023-03-03

I don't think I was reading Joel Spolsky's blog at the time these pieces were originally published, but it was close. The programming and computer technology he's talking about here is of course 20 years old and thus very dated, but his commentary on management and people dynamics is still spot-on and his writing is still entertaining.

Mindsight

by Daniel J. Siegel · published 2010 · read 2023-03-01

Siegel is basically advocating a practice of mindfulness and emotional integration. The first half of the book is very solid, though it would've benefitted from getting rid of the foofy name. "Mindsight" makes it sound like a ridiculous pop self-help book. The second half of the book, primarily made up of case stories, is less interesting and beneficial.

Fundamentals of Software Architecture

by Neal Ford · published 2020 · read 2023-02-28

A little bit of work reading. A great summary of common software architecture patterns, their strengths and weaknesses.

Unmasking Autism

by Devon Price · published 2022 · read 2023-02-25

A fantastic primer on Autism writen by an Autistic man. Very helpful as a neurotypical person to better understand and support Autistics around me.

My Bright Abyss

by Christian Wiman · published 2014 · read 2023-02-23

Some really stirring stuff here. I often struggle with poetry but Wiman hits a sweet spot of poetry along with elegant prose.

The Three-Body Problem

by Liu Cixin · published 2014 · last read 2023-02-19

On re-read: still one of the most inventive sci-fi books I've read. Liu explores what interaction with an alien race of immense technology might be like, working at the quantum level as well as the interstellar. The first half of the book struggles to get going, but once the reveal happens and the book includes the alien civilization, the story comes alive.

The Peaceable Kingdom

by Stanley Hauerwas · published 1983 · read 2023-02-18

Maybe it's just a bit dated, but Hauerwas seems most focused here on non-violence among all the Christian ethic, and his heavy reliance on Yoder feels painful given what we now know about Yoder's personal conduct.

Sanctifying Interpretation

by Chris E W Green · published 2020 · read 2023-02-17

One of the most helpful theological books I've read in a long time. Green looks first at the Christian vocation for the sake of others, then at how Christians are called to holiness, and only then finally to how the Scripture may be interpreted in a way that works holiness within us for the sake of others.

The Passenger

by Cormac McCarthy · published 2022 · read 2023-02-07

On one hand, it feels like if I'm not rating a McCarthy book highly, it's a shortcoming on my part, not his. And yet it doens't feel like top-tier McCarthy. Still distinctly his voice, but not quite in the tier of his classics.

Heretic

by Jeanna Kadlec · published 2022 · read 2023-02-06

If there was ever a time for a 3.5 star rating, this is it. The writing is uneven in spots - the first chapter, and near the end. It gets tight and compelling when she starts describing her first queer relationship, and at the end when she talks about finding community and interacting with Jesus.

Reparations

by Duke L. Kwon · published 2021 · read 2023-02-04

Meticulously researched and footnoted, two evangelical authors making an impassioned plea to their evangelical compatriots to acknowledge the history of white supremacy in the US and move toward repentance and reparations. The fact that it fell on deaf ears is not the fault of the authors.

Don’t Cry for Me

by Daniel Black · published 2022 · read 2023-01-31

A novel written as a series of letters from a black father to his son. There's a huge amount of trauma being worked out in this book, both by the characters in the story and by the author who is writing this, per the Author Note in the front, as his own imaginative work of healing in his relationship with his father who is dying of Alzheimers.

Agent Josephine

by Damien Lewis · published 2022 · read 2023-01-29

This book tried to be too long with too little source material. The author (a British journalist) was working from 3 short books written by primary characters in the story, and with so little material he leaves us with nothing about Baker's life before or after the war, and gives us large swaths of WWII history that have little to do with Baker.

On The Soul and the Resurrection

by Saint Gregory (of Nyssa) · published 1993 · read 2023-01-25

A lucid, short treatise from a 4th-century father. Very readable translation, too!

Dead Lions

by Mick Herron · published 2014 · read 2023-01-21

Second book in the series, similar to the first. A little bit oblique, written with a little more style than your usual pop spy novel.

The Evolution of Knowledge

by Jürgen Renn · published 2020 · read 2023-01-17

A thick book, Dr. Renn spends most of the time overviewing how human knowledge has accumulated over time. He spends frustratingly little time theorizing how those insights might lead us to think about the future. The "future" part is only about 15 pages at the end. I'm glad I read it just to stretch my brain, but I didn't come away from it with any deep thoughts about the future.

Out of the Embers

by Bradley Jersak · published 2022 · read 2023-01-14

Jersak describes the experience of spiritual deconstruction and the path through it to something better in gracious, loving terms. Rich in grace and wisdom, filled with the assurance of God's love, Jersak encourages those going through deconstruction to consider the words of (among others) Doystoevski and Simone Weil. The strongest bits of the book, though, are the first and third sections where he speaks pastorally to the challenged. Wonderful stuff.

Still Just a Geek

by Wil Wheaton · published 2021 · read 2023-01-07

Wil Wheaton is one of those guys I just admire. He's been so open about his challenges with his parents, his mental health, his career... and equally so open about his love for his family and his care for others who struggle. His updated, annotated memoir is a combination of his old blog posts, narrative pulling it together, and copious, almost Infinite Jest-ian footnotes. It's a delight.

Every Good Boy Does Fine

by Jeremy Denk · published 2022 · read 2023-01-06