Reading List 2025
A list of every book I read last year and some reasons you might want to read a few of them too.
My first post of each new year always lists the books I read the previous year. If you’d like to see the previous posts—and I’m not completely sure why—you can find them here: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. Mostly I do this for accountability, but I also know a few other book nerds who enjoy these sorts of posts. This year I got through 64 books, some longer and some very short. For what it’s worth, my Excel spreadsheet shows that my reading log from 2013–2025 includes 868 books and 225,849 pages.
As is typically the case, several of the books cluster around themes. For example, I read several books on heaven, preaching, writing, prayer, 1 Corinthians, and a few in a cluster we could call “books by Ray Ortlund.”
The books in the “prayer cluster” and “1 Corinthians cluster” were closely related to our preaching at church. The cluster of books by Ray Ortlund was included because he is awesome. His book The Death of Porn is fantastic. Still, my favorite of his comes from several years ago, his biblical theology of marriage called Marriage and the Mystery of the Gospel (see my review from 2017). And there’s also the cluster related to freelance book design and other writing work, which probably accounts for five books this year.
I’ll offer a few comments below, starting with some of the standouts from a few of the clusters.
From the “writing cluster” . . .
I read two reference books not meant to be read: The Christian Writer’s Manual of Style: 4th Edition by Robert Hudson and The Chicago Manual of Style, 18th Edition by The University of Chicago Press Editorial Staff, also known as CMOS. Together these books are almost 2,000 pages. I posted a picture of CMOS on social media when I finished, and the responses were hilarious to me. A bunch of friends had questions about why anyone would do that. I can only say that in this reading quirk I’m a mystery to myself and that I resonate with the apostle Paul: “I do not always do what I want to do but what I hate I do.” (On a serious note, CMOS is the gold standard for editing and formatting, and I need to be familiar with it for my freelance work.)
I also read several books on the craft of writing, three of which are worth brief highlights. Two were re-reads, and one was new. The first was The Writer’s Diet: A Guide to Fit Prose by Helen Sword. It’s so short, but so good. The second was Stein On Writing: A Master Editor of Some of the Most Successful Writers of Our Century Shares His Craft Techniques and Strategies by Sol Stein. This one is good, too, but readers should be advised that it has some adult content and language. The new book was The Storied Life: Christian Writing as Art and Worship by Jared C. Wilson. I’m always a fan of Wilson’s books, and it was delightful to have Wilson writing about writing.
From the “heaven cluster” . . .
My favorite book from this cluster, and maybe my favorite book all year, was Nancy Guthrie’s Blessed: Experiencing the Promise of the Book of Revelation. I have always believed that God gave us the book of Revelation for our good. How could a Christian think otherwise? Yet all the imagery, all the debates, and all the confusion sometimes make that belief difficult and have given me hesitation about teaching the vision John received on Patmos. Guthrie’s book, however, made it easier to see that Revelation, with all its twists and turns, is not only eminently preachable by ordinary pastors to ordinary believers but also eminently believable and livable.
I enjoyed Heaven: A Comprehensive Guide to Everything the Bible Says About Our Eternal Home by Randy Alcorn. The book is huge. A friend once complained to me about it, claiming that Alcorn makes too many extrapolations from the Bible text into mere inference and relies too much on C.S. Lewis. I was ready for these criticisms. There is a lot of Lewis, but I find the criticism overstated.
Another book, The Bible and the Future by Anthony A. Hoekema, was a reread for me. It’s a bit more technical and thus not as easy, but it’s really good too. I’m not sure whether Hoekema includes any Lewis quotes, but he will gently show you why the amillennial view of the end times best fits the Bible.
From the “prayer cluster” . . .
One of our church’s goals was to pursue a culture of prayer. Our church leaders felt we had people who prayed, but we weren’t sure we could be described as a church that prayed. So I tried to help our church in this regard and also grow in prayer personally. I think we did all right, and I think I did too.
My favorite book from this cluster was Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools: An Invitation to the Wonder and Mystery of Prayer by Tyler Staton. I do need to flag that a few of his comments about the Bible could be worded better. So for me, it’s a qualified recommendation for discerning readers already established in their faith. Still, I see why so many people like the book. He’s a great storyteller. (Older readers might not like this book as much.)
And of course, Timothy Keller brought conviction and heat in his book Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God. We found his definition of prayer so helpful: “Prayer is continuing a conversation that God has started through his Word and his grace, which eventually becomes a full encounter with him” (48).
Against the Machine . . .
I don’t know what to think of Against the Machine: On the Unmaking of Humanity by Paul Kingsnorth. I keep seeing others talk about it, and my friend Joe recommended it. To get me excited about the book, my friend even read me a paragraph over coffee. In that paragraph, from the end of the nearly four-hundred-page book, Kingsnorth fumes about how much he wants to break all the screens that so transfix us, especially when he sees children at restaurants hypnotized by them. The whole book is one long, sophisticated, and enjoyable rant. I’m not sure he convinced me. You’ll still find me on the grid and even online. But I am sure I am more disturbed about where humanity has been and where it is heading. We should all use our phones less.
A Little Theology of Exercise . . .
Twice this year, I listened to A Little Theology of Exercise: Enjoying Christ in Body and Soul by David Mathis. It’s so short and so good. A particular benefit is his focus on connecting the stewardship of our bodies with greater delight in God, a classic David Mathis and DesiringGod theme.
Unpublished books . . .
I always read a few unpublished books (or, hopefully, yet-to-be-published books). Some of them are my own, and some are from friends.
After I finished the manuscript and two rounds of editing on my book about the return of Christ, I went back to a passion project I’ve had in the background for the last five years. The title has changed over the years, but it’s something like Writing Through the Wilderness: What Abraham Teaches Us About the Writing Life (A Memoirish Essay to Encourage Christian Writers). I hope to make publishing decisions about it in the next few months. Let me just say that it’s been tricky. But after this rewrite of the whole book, it feels more cohesive and compelling. I hope someday a reader or two will be able to say the same.
The Bible . . .
This year was something like the twentieth time I’ve read the Bible in a year. If pressed, I’d say it was number twenty-two. But I can’t be sure because I’m not sure when I started doing this. Still, I plan to keep it up.
Yes, because I move through this quickly, I’m sure I miss stuff. But we all still miss stuff, even when we slow down and zoom in. The Bible is just that big and rich. Also, as a pastor, I get plenty of chances to zoom in and slow down, so I tend to like that my personal Bible reading covers the full story.
I’m not sure if you’ve read the Bible cover to cover before, but you can do it. If you skip one day a week (as I do on Sundays), you still only have to read about 3–5 chapters a day. That probably takes twenty minutes a day and two hours a week. You probably have two hours in your weekly schedule. And don’t be afraid to hold a physical Bible and let an audiobook read the story to you. That can be really helpful for keeping you going at a steady pace and staying focused. I didn’t do this last year, though I have in years past.
Reading the Bible cover-to-cover might change everything about everything for you in just that first year. And it might not. But I’m banking on the fact that reading the Bible cover-to-cover every year will certainly change a person.
Did you have any favorites from last year? Let me know in the comments below.
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Books per Year
Pages per Year
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In order of completion, this year I read . . .
The Toxic War on Masculinity: How Christianity Reconciles the Sexes by Nancy R. Pearcey (352 pages)
Walking with God through Pain and Suffering by Timothy Keller (368 pages)
Heaven: A Comprehensive Guide to Everything the Bible Says About Our Eternal Home by Randy Alcorn (560 pages)
Embodied Hope: A Theological Meditation on Pain and Suffering by Kelly M. Kapic (205 pages)
Heaven: Priceless Encouragements on the Way to our Eternal Home by J.C. Ryle (105 pages)
Creation Regained: Biblical Basics for a Reformational Worldview by Albert M. Wolters (155 pages)
Work and Our Labor in the Lord (Short Studies in Biblical Theology) by James M. Hamilton Jr. (128 pages)
Broken But Beautiful: Reflections on the Blessings of the Local Church by Edited by Benjamin Vrbicek (144 pages)
Green Zone: Attachment and Flourishing for Christian Leaders by Jesse Gill (208 pages)
The Visitation by Frank E. Peretti (528 pages)
The Case for Amillennialism by Kim Riddlebarger (336 pages)
The Blessed Hope: A Biblical Study of the Second Advent and the Rapture by George Eldon Ladd (167 pages)
Creationland (a currently unpublished play) by Stuart Reese (150 pages)
The Bible and the Future by Anthony A. Hoekema (354 pages)
Heaven Is a World of Love by Jonathan Edwards (128 pages)
The Bible: Romans to Revelation, Part 6 of 6 by God (300 pages)
The Nehemiah Way: Mobilize a Church Full of Leaders by John Wilson and Amy Lynch (240 pages)
Reflections on the Psalms by C. S. Lewis (192 pages)
Flannery O’Connor and the Scandal of Faith (Audiobook course) by Jessica Hooten Wilson (128 pages)
The Writer’s Diet: A Guide to Fit Prose by Helen Sword (88 pages)
A Week in the Life of Corinth (A Week in the Life Series) by Ben Witherington III (159 pages)
The Cross and Christian Ministry: Leadership Lessons from 1 Corinthians by D. A. Carson (160 pages)
The Christian Writer’s Manual of Style: 4th Edition by Robert Hudson (624 pages)
The Bible: Genesis to Deuteronomy, Part 1 of 6 by God (300 pages)
Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools: An Invitation to the Wonder and Mystery of Prayer by Tyler Staton (272 pages)
A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World by Paul E. Miller (304 pages)
Preaching and Preachers by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (352 pages)
Prayer: How Praying Together Shapes the Church by John Onwuchekwa (144 pages)
Praying in Public: A Guidebook for Prayer in Corporate Worship by Pat Quinn (176 pages)
Four Seasons in Rome: On Twins, Insomnia, and the Biggest Funeral in the History of the World by Anthony Doerr (224 pages)
Praying Backwards: Transform Your Prayer Life by Beginning in Jesus’ Name by Bryan Chapell (208 pages)
Why Johnny Can’t Preach: The Media Have Shaped the Messengers by T. David Gordon (112 pages)
Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God by Timothy Keller (336 pages)
Tim Keller on the Christian Life: The Transforming Power of the Gospel by Matt Smethurst (240 pages)
Good News at Rock Bottom: Finding God When the Pain Goes Deep and Hope Seems Lost by Ray Ortlund (160 pages)
Stein On Writing: A Master Editor of Some of the Most Successful Writers of Our Century Shares His Craft Techniques and Strategies by Sol Stein (320 pages)
Writing Through the Wilderness: What Abraham Teaches Us About the Writing Life (Not Yet Published) by Benjamin Vrbicek (176 pages)
Known and Loved: Experiencing the Affection of God in Psalm 139 by Glenna Marshall (176 pages)
The Bible: Joshua to Esther, Part 2 of 6 by God (300 pages)
Essentials: Five Core Beliefs of the Christian Faith by Guy Kneebone (192 pages)
The Restoration of All Things: How the Promise of Christ’s Return Brings Us Comfort Today by Benjamin Vrbicek (192 pages)
The Death of Porn: Men of Integrity Building a World of Nobility by Ray Ortlund (144 pages)
Offering and Embracing Christ: The Marrow Theology of John Colquhoun of Leith (1748–1827) by John C. Biegel (304 pages)
Synapse (a novel) by Steven James (384 pages)
Writing Through the Wilderness: What Abraham Teaches Us About the Writing Life (Not Yet Published) by Benjamin Vrbicek (176 pages)
A Little Theology of Exercise: Enjoying Christ in Body and Soul by David Mathis (128 pages)
On the Preparation and Delivery of Sermons by John A. Broadus (368 pages)
Help! I’m Married to My Pastor: Encouragement for Ministry Wives and Those Who Love Them by Jani Ortlund (128 pages)
Christ-Centered Preaching: Redeeming the Expository Sermon by Bryan Chapell (448 pages)
The Bible: Psalms to Song of Solomon, Part 3 of 6 by God (300 pages)
To Live Is Christ to Die Is Gain by Matt Chandler with Jared C. Wilson (224 pages)
The Storied Life: Christian Writing as Art and Worship by Jared C. Wilson (224 pages)
You’re Not Crazy: Gospel Sanity for Weary Churches by Ray Ortlund and Sam Allberry (176 pages)
Blessed: Experiencing the Promise of the Book of Revelation by Nancy Guthrie (272 pages)
Free to Weep: Finding the Courage to Grieve and Embracing the God Who Heals by Brittany Lee Allen (176 pages)
Minister’s Tax & Financial Guide by Michael Martin (206 pages)
The Philosophy of Composition by E. D. Hirsch (216)
Against the Machine: On the Unmaking of Humanity by Paul Kingsnorth (368 pages)
The Chicago Manual of Style, 18th Edition by The University of Chicago Press Editorial Staff (1192 pages)
The Bible: Isaiah to Malachi, Part 4 of 6 by God (300 pages)
Spirit-Filled Singing: Bearing Fruit as We Worship Together by Ryanne J. Molinari (208 pages)
A Little Theology of Exercise: Enjoying Christ in Body and Soul by David Mathis (128 pages)
Lost Gifts: Miscarriage, Grief, and the God of All Comfort by Brittany Lee Allen (200 pages)
The Bible: Matthew to Acts, Part 5 of 6 by God (300 pages)