Yesterday I shared by Top 10 films of 2023 – here is a list of my Top 10 books, for the readers in the room!
Not every book here is a 2023 release, but these were the particularly formative reads (or re-reads) from my 44 books read this last year). In no particular order:
1. To Know As We Are Known, by Parker Palmer – a concise and profound exploration of the nature of education as a spiritual journey; a healthy undermining of the post-Descarte, Enlightenment reduction of education to an individualized, purely intellectual endeavor to a more holistic and and healthy picture of education. Has shaped my approach to the church and to the classroom!
2. After Evangelicalism, by David Gushee – for all the deconstructors/skeptics/spiritual wanderers out there, this is a helpful, accessible, and solid guide to reconstructing faith. While I land in different places than Gushee on a few issues, I find his perspective as a Christian ethicist particularly informative for our present moment in American Christianity.
3. Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison – a re-read for me, but even better this go round. A clever, piercing, funny and tragic examination of the black experience in both the South and the North, with an intentionally nameless protagonist invisible to the world around him. A must-read essential 20th century novel.
4. Women and the Gender of God, by Amy Peeler – a thoroughly researched, cleverly written, nuanced approach to a topic which has unhealthily polarized Christians for centuries, and particularly the contemporary evangelical world. Peeler sees with clarity through history and scripture, centralizing the incarnation as her basis for understanding God and God’s relationship to male and female gender designations. Heady and academic, but worth the slog for those patient enough, leading to a deeper and richer understanding of the imago Dei and informing Christian understanding of gender for a contemporary audience.
5. The Ballot and the Bible, by Kaitlyn Schiess – as we move into another national election year sure to be fraught with continued polarization, Schiess’ work is a must-read for any and all Christians to pierce through the rhetoric that politicians have and will continue to co-opt in favor of political agendas. She shrewdly navigates U.S. history in relation to the bible and religion, revealing far more complexity than any ideological perspective will admit, and prompting deeper, more robust reflection on the way the bible informs our political maneuverings in the world. For those who have any interest in faith and how it informs their politics, you need to make sure you read this book this year.
6. Killers of the Flower Moon, by David Grann – originally chose to read this upon hearing about Scorsese’s film adaptation, but the book is remarkable in its own right. Written as a sort of journalistic crime procedural, I couldn’t stop turning the page, as the degree of corruption, racism, and abuse continued to deepen. A needed tale of an oft-overlooked part of American history, at once heartbreaking and sobering.
7. No Bad Parts, by Richard Schwartz – an application of the Internal Family Systems model of therapy for individuals to navigate internally, Schwartz brings together helpful psychological, spiritual, and social dynamics that are still very much simmering in my heart and mind but remain helpful in the midst of our mental health crisis.
8. The Christian Imagination, by Willie James Jennings – finally got around to this seminal historical and theological work which traces the ways in which Western Christianity has established and reinforced–with abusive theological rhetoric–racism in many of the forms we have known and experienced it over the last few centuries. Jennings is a world-class scholar, and in a church culture that tends to be quite selective with the reading and understanding of our own history, this one is a necessity.
9. On Tyranny, by Timothy Snyder – another must-read as we move into a national election year. Snyder writes a no-fluff examination of a myriad of lessons learned from the 20th century when it comes to sociology and politics, providing practical and needed lessons for our contemporary world. To be an informed voter this season, I’d highly recommend picking this one up: it is concise and comprehensive!
10. Renovation of the Heart, by Dallas Willard – a classic of spiritual formation from one of our 20th century stalwarts, this was a read I had not yet gotten around to in my own personal spiritual life, and it immediately vaulted near the top if my all time list! Willard sees with clarity through the shallow, sentimental, consumeristic religious facade of contemporary culture that has caused so many in our culture to reject the church and faith altogether and calls forth an undeniably appealing and holistic picture of discipleship of Jesus that is desperately needed in our world today. Pick this up asap!
The Leavitt Lens 