It’s time for my characteristically late annual reading list from last year. As I’ve mentioned in prior posts, I do this every year (here). My all-time low was in 2023, only to be outdone this time at a miserable twenty-four. I am not proud of it, but I post it here nonetheless. Chalk it up to busyness! (A lousy excuse.)

Some typical disclaimers: First, this list is pleasure reading. By that I mean books I read “for no reason” other than I’m interested in it at the time. I have a firm no-shame policy when it comes to pleasure reading, and I highly recommend it. This list obviously does not include “work” reading, meaning reading I do for my academic research. Second, reading does not imply endorsement! I try to read broadly in all directions.

Now for the winners of the fake awards:

• Weirdest Read: Definitely Elizondo’s Imminent, which is about UFOs. Close second is Eire’s non-ironic and non-sensationalist account of levitation.
• Most Terrifying: Jacobsen’s Nuclear War was un-put-down-able. Definitely worth reading but not if you’re a worrier by nature.
• Most Insightful: Shrier’s Bad Therapy had me grunting in agreement throughout. A very important read in our overly prescribed and therapy-addicted culture.

Fiction

• John Grisham, The Exchange
• Gregg Hurwitz, Tell No Lies
• Gregg Hurwitz, Lone Wolf
• Gregg Hurwitz, The Kill Clause
• J. R. R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
• J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deadly Hallows

Politics & Current Topics

• Annie Jacobsen, Nuclear War: A Scenario
• Luis Elizondo, Imminent: Inside the Pentagon’s Hunt for UFOs
• Abigail Shrier, Bad Therapy: Why the Kids Aren’t Growing Up

History

• Andrew Wilson, Remaking the World: How 1776 Created the Post-Christian West
• Carlos M. N. Eire, They Flew: A History of the Impossible
• Joe Posnanski, Why We Love Baseball: A History in Fifty Moments

Theology

• Brandon D. Smith, Taught by God: Ancient Hermeneutics for the Modern Church

Biblical Studies

• Gary A. Rendsburg, The Dead Sea Scrolls
• Lester L. Grabbe, An Introduction to Second Temple Judaism: History and Religion of the Jews in the Time of Nehemiah, the Maccabees, Hillel, and Jesus
• John J. Collins, The Dead Sea Scrolls: A Biography
• Timothy H. Lim, The Dead Sea Scrolls: A Very Short Introduction

Christian Topics

• Guy Prentiss Waters, How Jesus Runs the Church
• C. R. Wiley, Man of the House: A Handbook for Building a Shelter that Will Last in a World that is Falling Apart
• Zachary Garris, Masculine Christianity
• Douglas Wilson, American Milk and Honey: Antisemitism, the Promise of Deuteronomy, and the True Israel of God
• Joe Rigney, Leadership and Emotional Sabotage: Resisting the Anxiety that Will Wreck Your Family, Destroy Your Church, and Ruin the World

Other

• Robert T. Kiyosaki, Rich Dad, Poor Dad
• Cal Newport, Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout