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Books, 2009

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I am not a big believer in New Year’s resolutions, but last January I set a goal of reading fifty-two books, an average of one per week, in 2009. I didn’t quite make it. Militating against my goal — and providing a convenient excuse for falling short — were several fat volumes that I couldn’t, and didn’t want to, breeze through quickly. By December 1st, I was getting burned out, and made a new resolution: I would begin no more serious reading projects until January. And so I didn’t. You’ll see the only two books begun in December at the bottom of the list that follows; they are not what you’d call cerebrally taxing. You will also notice that I read a fair amount of fiction, including a couple of volumes that will probably earn me a few scowls from certain quarters. I offer no apologies. I enjoy select fiction, and pity you if you don’t. So there. Three of the books on the list are as yet unfinished. I have noted the page numbers for my own benefit, to give me an idea of how much I have actually read. It amounts to about forty pages, or (very roughly) 15–20,000 words per day; not an extremely large amount, really. While I have no intention of matching the voracious habits of Tim Challies, I hope to meet my goal of fifty-two in 2010. I might do it by reading more short books. Is that cheating? I suppose it is. Well, I’m beginning to ramble, so without further ado, I give you my list of books read in 2009, categorized and with some brief commentary.

Books read in 2009

Theology, Church History, &c.
1. F. F. Bruce, The Canon of Scripture— A good entry-level book on the formation of the canon. 349 pages.
2. David Wells, The Courage to Be Protestant— An excellent commentary on the state of the church today. 253 pages.
3. Voddie Baucham, What He Must Be if he wants to marry my daughter— I began this book expecting to either like it with reservations, or hate it. I expected to like it because I most definitely believe that courtship, as opposed to dating, is the biblical pattern for Christians. Furthermore, I believe the folly of dating is so obvious that even atheists who desire stable lives and marriages ought to be able to see how counterproductive the modern popular method of mate-catching is. My reservations, on the other hand, were due to my experience years ago with the Gothard cult. I am all too familiar with the ability of some to come oh-so-close to the truth before veering off into utter insanity. Thankfully, Baucham did not. In fact, to my great surprise, I didn’t disagree with him at all. If you have daughters and/or sons, you want this book. If there is anyone in your world at all whom you might influence in this area, you want this book. 216 pages.
4. Albert Mohler, Culture Shift: Engaging Current Issues with Timeless Truth— In addition to being an adept theologian and Bible expositor, Albert Mohler is also one of the most astute cultural commentators today; but you already knew that. 160 pages.
5. John Piper, God Is the Gospel— An absolutely wonderful book. I thought it a bit redundant, but excellent overall. Very highly recommended. 190 pages.
6. Leland Ryken, How to Read the Bible as Literature by Leland Ryken— If you have any interest in interpreting Scripture — and I hope you do — you will want to read this. Very interesting, easy reading, highly recommended. 208 pages.
7. Iain Murray, A Scottish Christian Heritage— Iain Murray makes my list of top three Christian authors. This book is another reason why. 403 pages.
8. Joel Beeke, Walking as He Walked— 133 pages.
9. Thabiti Anyabwile, The Faithful Preacher— Enlightening. Profiling three early American black pastors, this was a part of church history I hadn’t known existed. 191 pages.
10. J. I. Packer, Knowing God— A great basic-level book on a profound subject. If you haven’t read this classic, I hope you’ll put it on your list. 316 pages.
11. TMS Faculty, The Master’s Seminary Journal: Volume 19, Number 2 (Fall 2008)— I wouldn’t normally list a journal here, but then I don’t normally read journals from cover to cover. This issue was dedicated to a biblical view of homosexuality. Far from being overly academic and over the head of the average layman (as one might expect of a seminary journal), this issue was quite accessible even to a simpleton like me. If you don’t subscribe, I believe you can still order individual back-issues as long as they remain available by visiting the TMS Journal web page. Articles included are:
    • John MacArthur, “God’s Word on Homosexuality: The Truth about Sin and the Reality of Forgiveness”
    • Michael A. Grisanti, “Cultural and Medical Myths about Homosexuality”
    • Irvin A. Busenitz, “Marriage and Homosexuality: Toward a Biblical Understanding”
    • Richard L. Holland, “Parenting and Homosexuality”
    • Alex D. Montoya, “The Church's Response to Homosexuality”
12. R. C. Sproul, Scripture Alone— 210 pages.
13. Michael Horton, Christless Christianity— 270 pages.
14. Burk Parsons (editor), John Calvin: a Heart for Devotion, Doctrine, and Doxology— Not a biography, but an excellent portrait of the man’s character and applied theology. 257 pages.
15. William Whitaker, Disputations on the Holy Scriptures— Not a light, entertaining volume, but well worth the labor. Read it, and you should understand the fundamental difference between Roman Catholicism and Christianity, and why the Reformation was necessary and is still as relevant today as it was 500 years ago. 718 pages.
16. John MacArthur, Follow Me— A good little book to give young Christians/new believers. 107 pages.
17. Stephen Charnock, The Existence and Attributes of God Volume One— My edition contains two volumes in one, but after completing the first, it was time to take a rest from such meaty fare. Not that it is overly difficult; it is simply extremely dense. Don’t let that put you off from reading it, though. It is much easier going than the Whitaker volume above, and in any case, we benefit from reading things too difficult for us. Our brains, like our muscles, must stretch and hurt in order to grow. 606 pages (volume 1).
18. Leland Ryken, Worldly Saints: The Puritans as They Really Were— Everything you think you know about the Puritans is wrong. 281 pages.
19. James Spurgeon, The Texas Baptist Crucible: Tales from the Temple— I had read this before, but a desire for something different one evening caused me to pick it up again. And this one is certainly “something different.” Spurgeon (no relation) gives a guided tour through the cult-like world of extreme independent fundamentalist Baptists. Read this book; you will laugh (a lot!), cry, be angry, but you will also see how, by the grace of God, a young man was delivered from his bondage. 284 pages.
20. Jerry Bridges, The Pursuit of Holiness— Another good book to give young Christians/new believers, or to read for yourself. 222 pages.
21. Steve Lawson, The Unwavering Resolve of Jonathan Edwards— An excellent introduction to Edwards. Like Lawson’s previous volume on Calvin, it is not really a biography, but more of a portrait of Edwards’ character and thought. 168 pages.
22. John MacArthur, The Jesus You Can’t Ignore— As usual, MacArthur does not beat around the bush. Like the title says: Jesus was very straight-forward about who he is, and only by willful rejection can his message be missed. 256 pages.
23. Iain Murray, Spurgeon v. Hyper-Calvinism— Another excellent number from Iain Murray and Banner of Truth, with a number of good lessons for orthodox Calvinists. 164 pages.
24. Donald S. Whitney, Ten Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Heath— Recommended for Christians of all ages. 112 pages.

History
25. Stephen Ambrose, D-Day June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II— Incredible! You must read this before observing another Memorial Day. 655 pages.
26. Martin Gilbert, The Second World War: A Complete History— Recommended to me by history maven and friend Tim Challies, this one-volume treatment of WWII (including a thick section of maps) gives an excellent overview of the war. My only complaint is that, in my inexpert opinion, the war in the Pacific could have been given more space. But then, Sir Martin is an Englishman (and Churchill’s biographer), so it’s understandable that his focus would be on Europe. 846 pages.
27. Hugh Sebag-Montefiore, Enigma: The Battle for the Code— Another WWII book, this one about the crucial work of the Allied code breakers. 422 pages.
28. Simon Baatz, For the Thrill of It: Leopold, Loeb, and the Murder That Shocked Jazz Age Chicago— A shocking, true story of justice mocked. The emasculation of the American justice system can be traced, at least in part, to this eighty-five-year-old miscarriage of justice. 560 pages.
29. Desmond Tutu, No Future Without Forgiveness— As you might suspect, I had to completely ignore the author’s theology to find the benefit of this book. While I’m no authority on the subject, I think No Future is a fairly accurate account of events in post-apartheid South Africa. While I found it a quite interesting and educational read, I think 200 pages could have sufficed. 304 pages.

Fiction
30. Ian Fleming, Casino Royale— Early last year, I got caught in a debate over the fitness of Daniel Craig to be the new 007. I didn’t like him, still don’t. I’m a Sean Connery fan. However, a certain blogger who wishes to remain nameless assured me that, if I had read any of the novels, I would certainly see my error. Well, that cut me to the quick. I have long disdained those illiterates who see movies rather than read books, so I hurried to rectify the situation. I hunted down a used hardcover Casino Royale (the 1st Bond novel, and the setting of Craig’s 007 début). In the end, I must confess that Craig fit the part well enough, but not as well as Connery. I couldn’t picture either Moore or Brosnan in the part. It might interest you to know that 007, in this episode, never utters the phrase “vodka martini — shaken, not stirred.” He drinks mostly brandy and champagne — lots of Champaign. And he has a cocktail of his own invention that sounds suspiciously like something more likely to be drunk by a woman. All this is just to make an excuse for having read something so vapid. The novel itself was unremarkable in any way. Quite dull, really, but mercifully short. 187 pages.
31. George Orwell, Animal Farm— A parable of “redistributive justice” I hesitate to list this under fiction. 113 pages.
32. George Orwell, Ninteen Eighty-Four— Another work of nonfictional-fiction. As of 2008, with a dedicated White House email for reporting dissenters and school children being taught to sing praises to Big Brother the President, this classic seems less far-fetched than ever. 326 pages.
33. Tom Clancy, Red Storm Rising— A re-read of my favorite Clancy novel. 652 pages.
34. Michael Crichton, State of Fear— Read this book! send a copy to Al Gore! If you really dislike ignorant celebrities spouting off on their pet issues, parroting propaganda ginned up by “scientists,” this book has a treat in store for you on page 553. 603 pages.
35. G. Gordon Liddy, The Monkey Handlers— A good story, but poorly written. 338 pages.
36. Agatha Christie, Murder on the Orient Express— My first reading of Agatha Christie. An engaging, enjoyable story, but the genre just doesn’t grab me enough to compel me to run out and get another. 295 pages.
37. Stephen King, Duma Key— Possibly King’s best so far, at least of the few I’ve read. 611 pages.
38. Lars Walker, West Oversea: A Norse Saga of Mystery, Adventure and Faith— Being a mighty Norseman myself, Viking lore attracts me. Lars Walker is an aficionado of Nordic history, and his knowledge of that history brings authenticity to his work. West Oversea is not all realism, however. It does include a few elements of fantasy and magic that I could have done without (Tolkien and Lewis bore be to death, so Mr. Larson shouldn’t feel bad). Nevertheless, I enjoyed it more than might be expected, considering my anti-fantasy predjudice. 277 pages.
39. Elizabeth Prentiss, The Little Preacher— Read this one with the kids. Everyone, including Dad, enjoyed it. Even the seventeen-year-old who feigned boredom secretly liked it. 175 pages.
40. Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol— Another one read with the kids. I love this book, even though Dickens’ Christmas is entirely secular, making Fred’s protest that Scrooge doesn’t “keep Christmas” ring hollow. 175 pages.
41. John Knowles, A Separate Peace— I saw this one as I was Christmas shopping this year and, remembering it as one of the few books assigned in high school that I actually enjoyed, picked it up and read it again, and enjoyed it again. 186 pages.
42. Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan of the Apes— I know, a bit juvenile. Sometimes I just need a rest. This book, which I had not picked up since I first read it some thirty-plus years ago, fit the bill perfectly. If I tell you how much I enjoyed it, you’ll laugh at me; so I won’t. 392 pages.

Unfinished
43. J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels Volume 3, John 1–10— I am presently including the expository portion of this work in my Lord’s Day posts. I really can’t recommend it highly enough. Each chapter begins with a brief exposition of the text (averaging only about 1500 words, these would make an excellent step up from any daily devotional you might be reading), followed by several pages of commentary notes. Easy, enjoyable reading. 636 pages.
44. William Gurnall, The Christian in Complete Armour— A must-read classic (and I rarely use that term). Bring your longest attention span. 1189 pages.
45. William L. Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich— If you want to understand the why of WWII, you really need to read this book. 1245 pages, small print!
46. Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life— Yikes. This book is old news, and I’ve already read the reviews, as well as several excerpts, so I already knew it was a bad book. I just didn’t really know how bad. How bad is it? really bad. “It’s not about you,” says Warren; then he proceeds to write a book all about you. Have I mentioned that this is a bad book? I haven’t decided if it’s as bad as The Prayer of Jabez. I think probably not, but that’s the best praise I can give it. Even at $1.50 from a second-hand store, I got took. I didn’t finish it, and, unlike the previous three, probably never will. 334 pages.
    

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