Books I’ve read The Bookshelf

Sharp, brief, and sadly just as applicable to the 2020s church as it was the 1960s church.

Spark

by John Twelve Hawks · published 2014 · last read 2024-12-25

A little hit man thriller set in a dystopian future that very creatively explores the question of what it means to be alive. Well written and paced, with a narrator unlike any you've read before.

Tripwire

by Lee Child · published 2000 · read 2024-12-24

Ah, back when Jack Reacher books had at least some amount of plot to go with the violence.

The Hours of the Universe

by Ilia Delio · published 2021 · read 2024-12-22

A nice summation of Delio's thought in more condensed form than her previous books. Short readings, almost blog post length, not so much new if you've read her other material, just differently organized and expressed.

Never Split the Difference

by Chris Voss · published 2016 · read 2024-12-19

I'm not usually a business book guy, and I intensely dislike negotiating. But one of my leaders at work suggested I'd benefit from this, and I think I have. Will be interesting to try some of the basic tactics when the situation arises.

Shadow of Doubt

by Brad Thor · published 2024 · read 2024-12-14

Every once in a while I read one of these to remember why I don't usually waste my time. Adventure novels have gotten so thin and repetitive these days.

Debt

by David Graeber · published 2011 · read 2024-12-12

Insightful exploration of the history of the concept of debt. Maybe Adam Smith didn't have it all right?

Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America

by Michael Harriot · published 2023 · read 2024-11-30

Harriot tells the hard truths of American history from a black perspective. Employing a deft sense of humor paired with a justified outrage, Black AF History provides an unfamiliar view to those of us who grew up learning the whitewashed version. A must-read for white Americans, really.

2054

by Elliot Ackerman · published 2024 · read 2024-11-23

It wanted to be smart and futurist but ended up being thin and weak. Disappointing.

Rise and Kill First

by Ronen Bergman · published 2019 · read 2024-11-21

A fascinating, detailed story of the Israeli intelligence services up through about 2010. So much to think about here.

Creation Lake

by Rachel Kushner · published 2024 · read 2024-11-02

More vibe than story... underwhelming.

Some Desperate Glory

by Emily Tesh · published 2023 · read 2024-10-27

This story is doing some interesting things. Not sure it quite manages to pull them off, but it's a fine and entertaining entry in the sci-fi universe.

Moonbound

by Robin Sloan · published 2024 · read 2024-10-22

My favorite novel of this year so far. Hints of Monk & Robot and Narnia. Delightful fun.

Die Trying

by Lee Child · published 2005 · read 2024-10-12

Ah, this is back when Lee Child was still spinning real adventure stories. Yeah, Reacher is Reacher. But there's a solid thriller built around it here. Entertaining stuff.

All Things Are Too Small

by Becca Rothfeld · published 2024 · read 2024-10-11

An uninspiring little book of essays. Rothfeld really dislikes the practice of mindfulness and really, really likes sex. To those observations I would only add that her reasoning is often sketchy and her arguments tepid. I was hoping to have my imagination inflamed but only got tired of her endless chapters about sex.

Killing Floor

by Lee Child · published 2006 · read 2024-10-03

Where it all started. An entertaining read for sure.

Extinction

by Douglas Preston · published 2024 · read 2024-09-28

In a Jurassic Park-like setting, Preston has multiple characters say at various times in the story "this isn't Jurassic Park". And it's not... at least, not exactly. Preston knows how to write a brisk, lightweight thriller, and this one doesn't disappoint.

Airframe

by Michael Crichton · published 1996 · read 2024-09-27

I'm sure I read this long ago, but it's an interestingly different read now that I've spent a career in aircraft certification. Crichton's strength is adventure thrillers, but I'll give him credit - he got the cert details pretty much right.

Red Side Story

by Jasper Fforde · published 2024 · read 2024-09-21

A wonderful combination of clever humor and dystopian fantasy of a flavor I have never before encountered. I was afraid for the first 20% that it was just going to be all clever humor, but the dystopian plot balanced it out delightfully.

An Autobiography, Or, The Story of My Experiments with Truth

by Mahatma Gandhi · published 1998 · read 2024-09-08

If one of the Desert Fathers was a lawyer by training and had a Substack newsletter, he would write this kind of autobiography. Gandhi: super weird, writing in short episodes. Published in 1927 but effectively only covers his life up to 1921 when he took leadership of the Indian National Congress. Reasonably informative; unreasonably boring.

The Experience of God

by David Bentley Hart · published 2013 · read 2024-09-02

by Sara Wolf · published 2024 · read 2024-08-25

Extended review to come.

Heavenbreaker (Standard Edition)

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

This thing is trying to be the Hunger Games, set in futuristic space. There's a decent nut of an idea there, but the execution is bad. So much repetition, so much left murky and unexplained, so many clueless choices. Fortunately didn't take a lot of time to read.

Do We Not Bleed?

by Daniel Taylor · published 2017 · read 2024-08-24

by Lee Child · published 2019 · read 2024-08-17

None

Blue Moon

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

Jack Reacher, vigilante, inciting a gang war between rival Eastern European crime syndicates and then killing them all with the help of some friends? This series is in decline, methinks.

Reaching Out

by Henri J. M. Nouwen · published 1986 · read 2024-08-15

A beautiful, practical little book. Need to come back to it in 6 months and absorb some more.

The Midnight Line

by Lee Child · published 2017 · read 2024-08-11

Sometimes you just need some cheap, easy, reliable entertainment. Jack Reacher is still that entertainment.

The Hidden Spring

by Mark Solms · published 2021 · read 2024-08-10

I'm a little (or maybe a lot) out of my depth with this one. Don't remember why I thought it was something that was a must-read. There were parts of interest, but the middle part was far too deep in neuroscience for me.

I Cheerfully Refuse

by Leif Enger · published 2024 · read 2024-08-07

As my friend Amanda said: more a vibe than a story. Still, Enger paints beautiful pictures with his words.

Space Oddities

by Harry Cliff · published 2024 · read 2024-07-28

Cliff is a particle physicist writing about the fun, unexplained quirks of particle physics. Probably a little dense for the casual reader, but hit the sweet spot for me. It becomes clear that he mostly wants to write about his own project - at least, the chapter on his project is about 3x as long as all the others. Still, he communicates really well and his enthusiasm for the subject is on every page.

Making All Things New

by Ilia Delio · published 2015 · read 2024-07-26

Perhaps the most succinct compilation of Delio's theology and philosophy. There are pieces of it that blow me away, and a few other bits that I pretty strongly disagree with.

Lincoln in the Bardo

by George Saunders · published 2017 · read 2024-07-20

Well, that was delightful. Moving. Innovative.

Lamb of the Free

by Andrew Remington Rillera · published 2024 · read 2024-07-19

A brilliant reinterpretation of the lamb sacrifice language of the Bible and how it can upend our view of Jesus' death. So good.

The Revisionaries

by A. R. Moxon · published 2020 · read 2024-07-18

Maybe literary fiction isn't my thing... maybe it's really just as big and confusing and overwrought and overly clever as I think it is.

Cultish

by Amanda Montell · published 2021 · read 2024-06-27

I like the idea... the execution needed some help. I will hold onto the idea of conversation-ending cliches, though.

Martyr!

by Kaveh Akbar · published 2024 · read 2024-06-25

Beautiful. Just beautiful.

Wounded Pastors

by Carol Howard Merritt · published 2024 · read 2024-06-22

Short and quite practical. I can imagine it being helpful to almost every pastor and person in ministry.

The Year of the Locust

by Terry Hayes · published 2024 · read 2024-06-20

Went from a middling espionage thriller to "WTF is this even?" in about 10 chapters. Meh.

A Window to the Divine

by Zachary Hayes · published 2009 · read 2024-06-18

A short but dense treatise proposing a way harmonize Christian perspective on creation with a modern understanding of science. Draws on Teilhard and Whitehead, and while the middle chapters suffer from the author's need to deal with some Roman Catholic nuances, the opening and closing chapters are fully worth the weight of the book.

From the Maccabees to the Mishnah

by Shaye J. D. Cohen · published 2006 · read 2024-06-01

A fairly readable textbook. The chapter on the evolution of the scriptural text was particularly interesting.

A General Theory of Love

by Thomas Lewis · published 2000 · read 2024-05-26

Clinical psychiatrists examining the phenomenon of love. A nice primer on regulation, attachment, and limbic resonance. Annoyingly flowery in some aspects, but helpful for those who want to better understand these principles.

3 Shades of Blue

by James Kaplan · published 2024 · read 2024-05-21

Meticulously researched and compellingly told. Kaplan strings together the development of bebop and the evolution of free jazz and fusion through the stories of Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Bill Evans. I'm struck mostly by the tragedy of it all. Troubled men, forever addicted to and strung out on drugs and alcohol, somehow in the midst of it creating brilliant, amazing music.

Siddhartha

by Hermann Hesse · published 2002 · read 2024-05-17

A simple story attempting to capture the essence of Buddhist teaching. Nice, not quite as profound to me as some made it sound.

The Future

by Naomi Alderman · published 2023 · read 2024-05-13

Alderman's imaginative future in which tech titans selfishly plan for the worst... and get what's coming to them. It's not subtle, and I saw the twist coming about 1/3 of the way in, but it's a fun read.

Neurotribes

by Steve Silberman · published 2016 · read 2024-05-11

Both meticulously researched and highly readable, Silberman's history of neurodiversity is caring and empathetic in all the right ways. What a wonderful book.

The Light Within Darkness

by David Jeffrey · published 2023 · read 2024-05-04

A very nice finale to this series. Maybe the comparison I'd make at this point is that Jeffrey is to the sci-fi genre what Tom Clancy was to the military thriller - too explainy, too many unlikely happenings, but still wildly inventive and entertaining. I really enjoyed this series.

The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain

by Sofia Samatar · published 2024 · read 2024-05-03

A stunning little novella. Spare and keen.

Reading Genesis

by Marilynne Robinson · published 2024 · read 2024-04-27

I wasn't sure what to expect from Robinson writing on Genesis, but I enjoy her writing enough it was definitely something I was going to read. Structured as a narrative commentary, Robinson doesn't employ chapter breaks or other touchpoints within the text itself. It's fascinating to read a commentary by a Christian writer who takes the text seriously but not necessarily literally. If there is a broad "point" to her book, it is to feature the uniqueness of Genesis among the Ancient Near Eastern texts, and to highlight the theme of unmerited grace that runs through it. From God's forgiveness of Cain to Joseph's forgiveness of his brothers, Robinson tells us that Genesis is set apart from the other ANE texts this way.

Sun Wolf

by David Jeffrey · published 2020 · read 2024-04-25

Again, a book full of fun ideas that needs a better writer to make it amazing.

Through a Forest of Stars

by David Jeffrey · published 2020 · read 2024-04-15

I wanted to love this book. Jeffrey's ideas and balance of science and tech with a good story is right in my wheelhouse. He's just not a strong enough writer to take it from being good to being amazing. To much telling, not enough showing. Too much omniscient narrator waxing eloquent. Still a good book, and I immediately took up the sequel.

The Exvangelicals

by Sarah McCammon · published 2024 · read 2024-03-24

McCammon has written the book that tells the Exvangelical story as clearly and simply as anyone will. Her story is largely my own story; the differences are incidental, the similarities huge. If there's anyone looking for an understanding of why the exvangelical movement has been a thing over the past decade. this is the book to put in their hands. I appreciate both McCammon's directness and her gentle humility. Good stuff.

This American Ex-Wife

by Lyz Lenz · published 2024 · read 2024-03-21

Lyz writes beautifully. I am happy that she gets this chance to tell her story, and happy that she is finding happiness.

The Grand Contraption

by David Park · published 2005 · read 2024-03-16

An engaging history of science from our earliest history to the present. Not too stuffy or too detailed; manages to hit the high points and explain them well without bogging down.

Exordia

by Seth Dickinson · published 2024 · read 2024-03-15

A bonkers book that can't quite decide if it wants to be Michael Crichton or H.P. Lovecraft. 100 pages too long, and an odd combination of physics, philosophy, and horror that kept me reading but never really engaged me the way I had hoped it might.

Ringmaster

by Abraham Riesman · published 2023 · read 2024-02-23

Painstakingly researched and grippingly told, this story of Vince McMahon's life running the WWF kept me reading, and I care nothing for professional wrestling.

In Universes

by Emet North · published 2024 · read 2024-02-16

Not fully sold on this one. I think I see what the author is trying to do, but there is too much disconnect in the middle chapters for it to hold together and make sense to me.

The Murder of Professor Schlick

by David Edmonds · published 2020 · read 2024-02-10

A remarkably engaging and readable introduction to the Vienna Circle and the dynamics in Vienna leading up to the Second World War.

Finding Zero

by Amir D. Aczel · published 2016 · read 2024-02-02

Less a treatise on ancient mathematics, more an adventure story of the author's quest to find an ancient Cambodian stele with the oldest known inscription of the digit zero on it. Still, the guy knows how to tell a story.

The Lost World of the Prophets

by John H. Walton · published 2024 · read 2024-01-27

Dr. Walton continues his "Lost World" series with a focus on the Old Testament Prophets. The book is structured as a series of propositions, in each of which Walton advocates for a way we should think about Biblical prophecy. Readable even for laypeople, Walton is clearly trying to steer his audience away from a fundamentalist literalist reading, from a reading that directly ties all OT prophecies to much later fulfillments, and instead to understand prophecy as bringing a message from God that may have various interpretations and applications over time. Well worth a read.

Hell Is a World Without You

by Jason Kirk · published 2023 · read 2024-01-20

Oh man. A coming of age story full of spiritual awakening, but an awakening that is more like deconstruction. Kirk captures the authentic inner and outer voices of youth growing up in conservative Evangelical circles, grappling with love, loss, and church teachings that just don't make sense.

Varieties of Christian Universalism

by David W. Congdon · published 2023 · read 2024-01-16

Four chapters, containing four distinct perspectives on Christian Universalism. Some more familiar than others, all helpful as an exploration of various angles Christian theologians have taken in support of that view. Aimed probably a little bit above my head, but still manageable and accessible. The fourth option, Existential Universalism, was new to me and will have me thinking for a while.

The Downloaded

by Robert J. Sawyer · published 2024 · read 2024-01-10

I've enjoyed a lot of Sawyer's stuff, but this one left me cold. More a novella than a full-length novel, The Downloaded is entirely narrated in first-person interviews. There are a couple interesting technical ideas but they aren't explored in enough detail to really be compelling. All in all, a disappointing book.

The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory

by Tim Alberta · published 2023 · read 2024-01-07