My first post of each new year always contains the list of books I read the previous year (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018). I do it for personal accountability; knowing I have to post my list helps me stay on track. Reading input decreased this year as writing output increased. I wrote a record number of blog posts on my website (47), a record number of guest posts (22), and published 3 books and 1 ordination paper.

In these “reading list” posts, I’ll often share a few anecdotes about favorite books from the year or other noteworthy items. I’ll just let the list be the list this year. As one year ends and another begins, I’m more tired than other years, and because of other writing projects across the winter I can’t seem to find the energy to analyze the last year—maybe that statement tells enough. In 2020, I gotta do better at keeping gas in the tank if I want the car to drive.

Let me know in the comments your favorite book from last year.

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1.    All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (531 pages)

2.   Expository Exultation: Christian Preaching as Worship by John Piper (336 pages)

3.   Unsettled: Overcoming the Restless Search for Who You Are (The Story of Samson and His Father) by Chase Replogle (242 pages) (Currently Unpublished)

4.   A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society by Eugene Peterson (216 pages)

5.   Your Future Self Will Thank You: Secrets to Self-Control from the Bible and Brain Science (A Guide for Sinners, Quitters, and Procrastinators) by Drew Dyck (224 pages)

6.   Letter from a Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King, Jr. (80 pages)

7.   Sunny Side Up: The Breakfast Conversation That Could Change Your Life by Dan DeWitt (112 pages)

8.   A Gentleman in Moscow: A Novel by Amor Towles (480 pages)

9.   Don’t Just Send a Resume: How to Find the Right Job in a Local Church by Benjamin Vrbicek (204 pages)

10.  Enduring Grace: 21 Days with the Apostle Peter by Stephen R. Morefield and Benjamin Vrbicek (150 pages)

11.   The Beginner’s Guide to Spiritual Gifts by Sam Strorms (200 pages)

12.   The Paradigm: The Ancient Blueprint That Holds the Mystery of Our Times by Jonathan Cahn (272 pages)

13.   A Restless Age: How Saint Augustine Helps You Make Sense of Your Twenties by Ausin Gohn (200 pages)

14.   East of Eden by John Steinbeck (601 pages)

15.   Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work by Eugene Peterson (251 pages)

16.   The Solace of Water by Elizabeth Byler Younts (368 pages)

17.   The Bible: Romans to Revelation, Part 6 of 6 by God (300 pages)

18.   Humble Calvinism: And If I Know the Five Points, but Have not Love... by J.A. Medders (128 pages)

19.   Air & Light & Time & Space: How Successful Academics Write by Helen Sword (280 pages)

20.   Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne (524 pages)

21.   Taking God At His Word: Why the Bible Is Knowable, Necessary, and Enough, and What That Means for You and Me by Kevin DeYoung (144 pages)

22.   Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament by Mark Vroegop (224 pages)

23.   Does the Birth Control Pill Cause Abortions? by Randy Alcorn (197 pages)

24.   The Bible: Genesis to Deuteronomy, Part 1 of 6 by God (300 pages)

25.   Marriage and the Mystery of the Gospel by Ray Ortlund (128 pages)

26.   The Passion of the King of Glory (Retelling the Story) by Russ Ramsey (240 pages)

27.   The Deep Things of God (Second Edition): How the Trinity Changes Everything by Fred Sanders (304 pages)

28.   Before You Open Your Bible: Nine Heart Postures for Approaching God’s Word by Matt Smethurst (96 pages)

29.   Our Secular Age: Ten Years of Reading and Applying Charles Taylor by Collin Hansen and others (176 pages)

30.   True Grit: A Novel by Charles Portis (240 pages)

31.   Connected: Living in the Light of the Trinity by Sam Allberry (176 pages)

32.   Competing Spectacles: Treasuring Christ in the Media Age by Tony Reinke (160 pages)

33.   Dreyer’s English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style by Benjamin Dreyer (320 pages)

34.   The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield (192 pages)

35.   Catch-22 by Joseph Heller (544 pages)

36.   Called Together: A Guide to Forming Missional Communities by Jonathan K. Dodson and Brad Watson (100 pages)

37.   The Bible and the Future by Anthony A. Hoekema (354 pages)

38.   Three Views on the Millennium and Beyond by Darrell L. Bock (336 pages)

39.   Echoes of Exodus: Tracing Themes of Redemption through Scripture by Alastair J. Roberts and Andrew Wilson (176 pages)

40.   The Bible: Joshua to Esther, Part 2 of 6 by God (300 pages)

41.   Enduring Grace: 21 Days with the Apostle Peter by Stephen R. Morefield and Benjamin Vrbicek (150 pages)

42.   The Storm-Tossed Family: How the Cross Reshapes the Home by Russell Moore (320 pages)

43.   Evangelical Convictions: A Theological Exposition of the Statement of Faith of the EFCA by EFCA Spiritual Heritage Committee (321 pages)

44.   The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis (200 pages)

45.   The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (400 pages)

46.   Draw Near: An Advent Devotional by Laura A. Pyne (110 pages)

47.   Onward: Engaging the Culture without Losing the Gospel by Russell Moore (240 pages)

48.   The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith by Timothy Keller (192 pages)

49.   He Numbered the Pores on My Face: Hottie Lists, Clogged Pores, Eating Disorders, and Freedom from It All by Scarlet Hiltibidal (192 pages)

50.   Struggle Against Porn: 29 Diagnostic Tests for Your Head and Heart by Benjamin Vrbicek (171 pages)

51.   Of Mice and Men by Steinbeck, John (120 pages)

52.   Parenting in the Pastorate: “How-To” Faithfully Raise Kids in Full-Time Ministry by Paul Gilbert (110 pages)

53.   Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business by Neil Postman (208 pages)

54.   1–2 Thessalonians: A 12-Week Study by Matt Smethurst (96 pages)

55.   The Bible: Psalms to Song of Solomon, Part 3 of 6 by God (300 pages)

56.   12 Years a Slave by Solomon Northup (248 pages)

57.   Kingdom Come: The Amillennial Alternative by Sam Storms (592 pages)

58.   Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage: Critical Questions and Answers by Jim Newheiser (336 pages)

59.   The Imperfect Pastor: Discovering Joy in Our Limitations through a Daily Apprenticeship with Jesus by Zack Eswine (272 pages)

60.   Evangelical Convictions: A Theological Exposition of the Statement of Faith of the EFCA by EFCA Spiritual Heritage Committee (321 pages)

61.   Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates (176 pages)

62.   How to Write Short: Word Craft for Fast Times by Roy Peter Clark (272 pages)

63.   Writing Tools: 55 Essential Strategies for Every Writer by Roy Peter Clark (288 pages)

64.   The Glamour of Grammar: A Guide to the Magic and Mystery of Practical English by Roy Peter Clark (320 pages)

65.   Choose Love, Not Fear: How the Best Leaders Build Cultures of Engagement and Innovation That Unleash Human Potential by Gary Heil and Ryan Hail (240 pages) (Publishing in March of 2020)

66.   The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway (128 pages)

67.   Help! For Writers: 210 Solutions to the Problems Every Writer Faces by Roy Peter Clark (320 pages)

68.   Joy in the Sorrow: How a Thriving Church (and its Pastor) Learned to Suffer Well by Matt Chandler and Friends (240 pages)

69.   The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups by Daniel Coyle (304 pages)

70.   The Writer’s Diet: A Guide to Fit Prose by Helen Sword (88 pages)

71.   The Bright Unknown by Elizabeth Byler Younts (368 pages)

72.   The Bible: Isaiah to Malachi, Part 4 of 6 by God (300 pages)

73.   Once for all Delivered: A Reformed, Amillennial Ordination Paper for the Evangelical Free Church of America by Benjamin Vrbicek (115 pages)

74.   When Narcissism Comes to Church: Healing Your Community from Emotional and Spiritual Abuse by Chuck DeGroat (200 pages)

75.   The Bible: Matthew to Acts, Part 5 of 6 by God (300 pages)