The 4 best books I have read so far this year
I feel like a broken record sometimes.
When interacting with pretty much anyone since returning home from the hospital, at some point they are bound to hear something along the lines of, “Now that I am so much more alert, it’s amazing how much my world has opened up.” One big benefit of having my mind back and not drifting off to sleep every few minutes has been the ability to read consistently once again.
My preferred genre? Without a doubt, nonfiction.
When Stephanie introduced me to the movie Forrest Gump, I slowly turned to her at the end of the movie, confused. “What was the point of that?”
“Of what?”
“The movie. It wasn’t a true story?”
Unless something actually occurred in real life, I have a hard time justifying giving it the time of day. Hence why I am still dragging my feet on giving fiction books a chance. I will at some point…but not quite yet. (Although my atheist friend is quick to correct me by declaring that I read lots of fiction; which, according to him, is anything related to the Bible.)
My nonfiction preferences fall into four (sometimes overlapping) categories: Self-help, Faith, History, and Business. Here are my top picks from each bucket from the first half of 2019:
Business:
The Big Short by Michael Lewis
How was I so oblivious to the housing bubble at the beginning of college that I missed most of this? While fascinating to learn the behind-the-scenes of the select few who foresaw the impending doom and profited as a result, getting a firsthand glimpse into the arrogance, greed, and carelessness on display on Wall Street in 2008 proved to be an enlightening experience.
What I will take with me: I found myself almost surprised at the sheer emotion elicited by this book. Shame and regret were brought to the surface as I was reminded of past habits of acting out of greed and- when contemplating job opportunities- being concerned only with cachet. Grateful the past decade has given me the opportunity for a renewed perspective. More to unpack in a future blog on this one.
History:
Undaunted courage by Stephen Ambrose
Lewis and Clark, Sacajawea, and Thomas Jefferson take center stage as the American West is officially opened up. We can fly across the country in a few hours; yet, just over 200 years ago it took a year canoeing upstream and scaling the Rocky Mountains before reaching the Pacific Ocean for the first time.
What I will take with me: Looking back on history with immensely less technology than we are now equipped with elicits the temptation to fall into chronological snobbery. How did they not know about germs? Was there really no more efficient means of transportation than canoeing upstream? With flight, highways, medical breakthroughs, and the internet available at our fingertips, it’s easy to forget how far we have come. But being privy to knowledge of aspects of life that were not even yet discovered in no way makes later generations superior. We would be hard-pressed to find a person today as widely versed in zoology, botany, geography, medicine, astronomy, and anthropology, with the physical fitness to journey across the unsettled continent and the vision and intellect to record it all to be preserved in history, as the men in this book were.
Faith:
All Things New by John Eldredge
We have lost many things as we have passed through the battlefields of this war-torn world. It’s easy to wonder, “Is life ever going to get better?” During these times, as well as in times of hopefulness, joyous experiences, and rich relationships, it is imperative to remember nothing will ever remotely compare to the paradise that awaits in eternity. Restored relationships. Seeing our creator face-to-face. Perfect bodies with endless time to enjoy the vast beauty of creation with God. I can’t wait. This book is a great reminder of how unnecessary a bucket list is.
What I will take with me: There is no better way to be free of the fear of death than to fixate on the paradise that God has lavishly prepared for us to enjoy for eternity. Additionally, keeping this in mind reminds me how trivial temporary trials are on the present earth, while fueling an excitement for what is to come.
Self-help:
The Rhythm of Life by Matthew Kelly
I was given a copy of this book at a high school assembly and have reread it every few years since. I was hooked immediately by some of his basic ideas for extracting the most out of life. Profound, yet simple. Deep, yet easy to understand. Full of lofty ideas that are quite practical to implement.
What I will take with me: The countless mini biographies inform as well as inspire and are worth the price of admission. One of my all-time favorite quotes also comes from this book and reminds to me to ensure I am allocating my time effectively: “What are we all too busy doing? For the most part, we are too busy doing just about everything, that means just about nothing, to just about nobody, just about anywhere…and will mean even less to anyone a hundred years from now.” Touché.
Those are my top four picks so far this year. What about you? What have you read this year? I would love to hear some suggestions below that I can check out this summer.
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My top reads of the year so far are:
The Power of Off by Nancy Colier (How technology is affecting our society)
The Rhythm of Life by Matthew Kelly (I read this every year or so just as a reminder)
Point Man & Finishing Strong by Steve Farrar (Both great books for men about leading their family…)
Scary Close by Donald Miller (Book about relationship.)
I am reading Scary Close right now. Pretty fascinating to see how similar I feel to Miller in various points he has mentioned so far
Here are my 3:
Twelve Ways Your Phone is Changing You by Tony Reinke and a related book iGen by Jean Twenge. Tony looks at electronics from a biblical perspective, Jean from a sociological and statistical perspective. I read these because I work with youth.
The 3rd book is Hillbilly Elegy by J D Vance. If you can bear the foul language, it helps understand the work ethic and life motivation of many large segments of displaced workers.
Randy, Thanks for the titles. Hillbilly Elegy was a great one. Pretty interesting we grew up on opposite sides of the same city at the same time. The phone one definitely sounds interesting and much needed
love love love matthew kelly. i think non-fiction is great but you may be underestimating the power of story in fiction for speaking to us about life in general and our lives in particular.
I keep saying I will check out fiction this year but something else always moves to the front of the line. Any must reads for fiction?
One note about the value of fiction. I myself try to encourage people not to live vicariously through someone else’s imagination. But if there was a value in it, it expresses what people’s fears and hopes are. Fears and hopes are what drive people’s actions. It shows what is in people’s hearts.
Any specific recommendations in this area regarding what you mentioned?
It’s funny you ask that because if I have time to read, I don’t want to spend hours and hours on the imaginary, so I avoid reading fiction, though like David mentioned, C S Lewis fiction books were interesting. I liked his space trilogy series. Like many, I would rather wait till the movies come out.
That said, the Joel Rosenberg series have been interesting though somewhat violent. They show the great fears people have about the Middle East, but done with quite a bit of insight into what is happening in the real world.
Randy, Thanks for mentioning these. What are those specific series called?
The series I read was called the J. B. Collins books, named for the news reporter who is the main character through all three books. They were, in order, The Third Target (2015), The First Hostage (2015) and Without Warning (2017).
Just looked up that series on the Middle East. Reminds me of the show 24. Sounds right up my alley. Thanks for the recommendation.
Great to see you writing man, hope you are well! 😉
A little something on C.S. Lewis on fiction. He has set many of the brightest minds in Christianity aflame past and present through His fiction, as has Tolkien;-)
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justin-taylor/c-s-lewis-on-why-you-should-read-fiction-get-in-and-get-out/
Was thinking about “The Great Divorce” by Lewis. Have you read it?
I haven’t, will be a while before I do, my wife doesn’t want me to buy any more books because of the huge unread pile I have 😉
One of the books I’m reading is C.S. Lewis biography by Alistair McGrath right now though.
Ryan,
Blessings to you! Your blog continues to be great encouragement for so many of us! You’re a gifted man!
Another summer read you would LOVE!! True story and fascinating!! My husband’s favorite book this year…
“Red Notice” by Bill Browder!
Happy Summer Reading!
Praying for you today. 😊
Thanks for praying Sarah! I will look into Red Notice as well.
Great recos. Thanx, Ryan. Try Conn Iguldens historical fiction series series on Ghengis Kahn and you will get a dose of non-fiction with the imagination of fiction.
I like the imagination added in historical series like this such as Francine Rivers’ Sons of Encouragement series. I have read the first two so far (Aaron and Caleb.) I guess I forgot that this genre was still technically fiction.
Looks like a cool series. I know very little about Asian history. Thanks For the recommendation… Just reserved a Copy of the first one online at the library.