Saturday, December 31, 2011

2011 Books

There isn't a prize for book reading, yet I find it useful to keep a list of the books I've read to remind myself what they were about, and some of the useful things I've found in them. The reviews may hopefully have been of some use to some of my readers as well. Here are the books I've read this year:

1. Inside The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - Devin Brown
2. In The Days of the Kings - Michael Wilcock
3. We Don't Know What We're Doing - Adrian Chiles
4. The Archer and the Arrow - Phillip Jensen and Paul Grimmond
5. The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ - Philip Pullman
6. Holiness by Grace - Bryan Chapell
7. Life and Laughing - Michael McIntyre
8. On Being a Pastor - Derek Prime and Alistair Begg
9. Commentary on The Gospel According to John - DA Carson
10. Penguins Stopped Play - Harry Thompson

11. The Empty Cross of Jesus - Michael Green
12. The Confession - John Grisham
13. The Orange Order - Mervyn Jess
14. A Time to Dance - Stanley Gamble
15. Collected Writings on Scripture - DA Carson
16. This Momentary Marriage - John Piper
17. How the Irish Saved Civilization - Thomas Cahill
18. One-to-One Bible Reading - David Helm
19. Parson's Pitch - David Sheppard
20. The Long of it - Ernest Long

21. True Spirituality - Vaughan Roberts
22. Johnny Cornflakes - Denise George
23. Respectable Sins - Jerry Bridges
24. Compelled by Joy - Michael Green
25. One Day - David Nicholls
26. A History of the Gunpowder Plot - Philip Sidney
27. Going for Growth - Ken Clarke
28. The Scholar as Pastor and the Pastor as Scholar - John Piper and Don Carson
29. Iron Sharpens Iron - Orlando Saer
30. The Preacher's Portrait - John Stott

31. God's Executioner - Michael O Siochru
32. Gospel and Wisdom - Graeme Goldsworthy
33. The Ulster Crisis - ATQ Stewart
34. The Christ of Christmas - James Montgomery Boice
35. The People Next Door - Christopher Ransom
36. Harry Ferguson: Inventor and Pioneer - Colin Fraser
37. The King is Here - Marcus Loane

Not just as many books this year as last (52), but there have been changing circumstances and less opportunities to read. Perhaps in the new year I need to work harder at my diary to carve out opportunities to read. Wasn't it John Stott who endeavoured to read an hour a day, an afternoon a week, a day a month, and a week every year? My figures would drastically improve if I could give myself to that! Another factor I've found is that I'm more likely to play with my phone than sit down and read - the ever-present lure of Facebook/Twitter/Words With Friends/blogs and websites. The challenge is set - reading more books and less social media in 2012.

The top five books of 2011 have to be:
1. Harry Ferguson: Inventor and Pioneer - Colin Fraser
2. This Momentary Marriage - John Piper
3. Holiness by Grace - Bryan Chappell
4. The Ulster Crisis - ATQ Stewart
5. Respectable Sins - Jerry Bridges

Previous reading lists can be found for 2010, 2009, 2008, and 2007.

No comments:

Post a Comment