Books I Read in 2024

It was a good year for book reading. My 2024 reading was up 25% from 2023. I don’t expect 2025 to be so bookish—so many books, so little time. All book ratings are based on a 5-point scale. “Started & Stopped” books are not rated but ranked by how much of the book I read before stopping out of disinterest or dislike. “The writing of many books is endless.”

THEOLOGY & PHILOSOPHY

  • You Are a Tree (Joy Marie Clarkson) - 5

  • The Wood Between the Worlds (Brian Zahnd) - 4.5

  • What Is My Calling? (William W. Klein, Daniel J. Steiner) - 4.5

  • Her Gates Will Never Be Shut (Bradley Jersak) - 4.5

  • That All Shall Be Saved (David Bentley Hart) - 4.5

  • Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God (Brian Zahnd) - 4

  • Inspiration (Gerald O'Collins) - 4 (2nd read)

  • Inspired Imperfection (Gregory Boyd) - 4 (3rd read)

  • The Bible vs. Biblical Womanhood (Philip B. Payne) - 4

  • Beauty Will Save the World (Brian Zahnd) - 3.5

  • Invisible Jesus (Scot McKnight, Tommy Presson Phillips) - 3

BIBLIOLOGY & HISTORY

  • Mary's Voice (Amy Orr-Ewing) - 5

  • The Story of the Cosmos: How the Heavens Declare the Glory of God (Daniel Ray, Paul Gould, eds.) - 4.5 (3rd read)

  • The Star That Astonished the World (Ernest L. Martin) - 4

  • The Making of Biblical Womanhood (Beth Allison Barr) - 3.5

  • Seven Things I Wish Christians Knew About the Bible (Michael F. Bird) - 3 (2nd read)

CHRISTIAN LIFE & DEVOTION

  • Prayers for the Pilgrimage (David O. Taylor, Phaedra Taylor) - 5

  • Open and Unafraid: The Psalms As a Guide to Life (David O. Taylor) - 4

  • This Homeward Ache (Amy Baik Lee) - 3.5

ARTS & FAITH

  • Van Gogh Has a Broken Heart (Russ Ramsey) - 5

  • David’s Crown: Sounding the Psalms (MalcolmGuite) - 5

  • Beate Not the Poore Desk (Walter Wangerin, Jr.) - 3.5

  • Rules for the Dance: A Handbook for Writing and Reading Metrical Verse (Mary Oliver) - 3.5

  • Art + Faith (Makoto Fujimura) - 3

  • Unless It Moves the Human Heart (Roger Rosenblatt) - 3

GENERAL & FICTION

  • Revenge of the Tipping Point (Malcolm Gladwell) - 4.5 (audio)

  • The Bomber Mafia (Malcolm Gladwell) - 4 (audio)

  • I Cheerfully Refuse (Leif Enger) - 4 (audio)

  • Red Rex (Matt Mellema) - 4

  • The Tipping Point (Malcolm Gladwell) - 3.5 (audio)

STARTED & STOPPED

  • Piranesi (Susanna Clark) (audio) - 20%

  • The Silent Patient (Alex Michaelides) (audio) - 20%

  • Talking with Strangers (Malcolm Gladwell) (audio) - 20%

  • The Humble Creative (Matthew Niermann) - 20%

  • Fairy Tale (Stephen King) (audio) - 10%

  • The Wager (David Grann) (audio) - 10%

  • All the Colors (Chris Whitaker) (audio) - 10%