With the new year approaching and lots of people listing their top books of the year, or of the decade, it is inspiring me to be intentional about what I will read this coming year.
I am finding that I am back into reading, partly because I am doing an internship that requires it but partly because I am desiring the growth that comes from it. I love truth, and how it transforms my being into being more like Jesus. I love humble yet creative stories and authors who write in first person. Even though I have not read too many, I want to peruse through a few solid biographies this year as well.
For my own sake and for accountability sake I am going to list some books that I am intentionally planning to read this year. I was first approaching this as a number of books I would read this year but I don’t operate like that, that doesn’t inspire me. What does inspire me are great proven books, ones that I can have high expectations for and watch how they meet those or exceed those expectations. Those kind of books, are the ones I will work to read.
On with the 10 for 2010. BTW – these are books I have either wanted to read for a long time or ones that at some point in my life I have been interested in.
Enjoy.
- When I Don’t Desire God by John Piper
- The Way of the Heart by Henri Nouwen
- Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Faith in Community by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
- Let The Nations Be Glad by John Piper (re-read)
- Reflections on the Psalms by C.S. Lewis
- Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit by Francis Chan
- Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters by Timothy Keller
- Worship Matters: Leading Others to Encounter the Greatness of God by Bob Kauflin
- This Momentary Marriage: A Parable of Permanence by John Piper
- Love and War: Finding the Marriage You’ve Dreamed Of by John Eldredge
& Staci Eldredge
This looks like a great list! I find, though, that there’s a conspicuous absense of novels. And I know that conventional wisdom holds that nonfiction is the only way to expand our consciousness. Yet, the most thought-provoking text I read last year about marraige and the family was The Lost Daughter by Daralyse Lyons. It’s what I’d call a psychological recovery text and deeply evocative. Got me thinking… I suggest reading it to provoke thoughts and emotions and also as a break from some of the nonfiction reading listed here which (while good) can feel a bit dry…