Books I Read in 2022

This list is also available in GoodReads.

Awards:

• Book of the Year: John Wesley, Journals of John Wesley
• Surprise of the Year: Daniel Gordis, Israel
• Worst of the Year: Machiavelli, The Prince

Scoring:

0     The book was notable for lacking this category repeatedly.

1     The book dipped into this category at times.

2     The book consistently demonstrated this category.

Non-Fiction Categories:

• Weight: Did the book ask and answer the most germane questions about an important topic?
• Research: Did the writer demonstrate a thorough command of the subject?
• Style: Did the theme, vocabulary, and composition represent an enduring standard?
• Logic: Did the book model logic in definitions, formatting, and focus?
• Affections: Was some truth presented powerfully to the affections?

	NON-FICTION: Annotated Bibliography	W	R	S	L	A	Score
	Lewis, C. S. The Four Loves. 1960, 192 pages. Love in its several forms must be carefully inspected in order to live with others and worship God. He sees three different categories of love: Need, gift, and appreciation that can be applied to the four loves: Affection, friendship, eros, and charity.	1	1	2	2	2	8
	Gordis, Daniel. Israel. 2016, 546 pages. A history of the birth of the modern Jewish state from approximately 1880-2010. Audio, twice.	1	2	2	2	2	9
	Murray, Iain. Wesley and Men Who Followed. 2003. 272 pages. The power of God came on Wesley and men like him as they practiced denial of the flesh and devotion to Scripture. Reading it with Wesley’s Journals.	2	2	2	2	2	10
	Wesley, John. The Journal of John Wesley. Reprinted by Moody. 1731-1791. 419 pages. A 50 year record of constant evangelism and churchplanting. Inspiring for its consistency, character, and courage, but repetitious.	1	2	2	2	2	9
	Roberts, Maurice. The Thought of God. 1993. 232 pages. 30 insightful articles with lively use of Scripture, history, and application.	1	2	2	2	2	9
	Smith, Ralph. Paradox and Truth: Rethinking Van Til on the Trinity. 2002. 143 pages. Author’s point: Van Til controlled his Trinitarian logical conclusions with the presupposition of transcendence when he should have chosen “covenant” as the guiding presupposition.	2	2	1	1	1	7

	Mathison, Keith. Postmillennialism. Author’s point: Since PM is supported by exegesis, theology, and history, it is the best eschatological system. On important passages, his interpretations separate the word from its meaning repeatedly. E.g. Matt. 24:29-31; Luke 13:24; 2 Tim. 3:1; etc.	1	2	2	1	0	6
	Cook, Faith. Singing in the Fire. 1998. 203 pages. Short stories of suffering Christians, many lesser known. Because so many of the best have suffered in the past and are now fully recompensed in the light of history and with God in Heaven, let us be strong in our hardships.	1	2	1	2	1	7
	Beechick, Ruth. Adam and His Kin. 1990. 176 pages. A history of the first 2,000 years of the world. Early men were advanced and civilized, but they also rejected God and His prophets.	1	2	1	2	0	6
	Duhigg, Charles. The Power of Habit. 2014. 383 pages. Since habits heavily affect and sometimes control our lives, we should give careful attention to the fascinating study of how they are formed.	2	2	2	1	1	8
	Ortlund, Dane. Gentle and Lowly. 2020. 224 pages. Discouraged, frustrated, weary, disenchanted, cynical, and empty people who believe they are Christians (p. 13) may rest on Jesus because His gentle heart for sinners is the most important aspect of His character for them to think about. Important categories of verses left out of his counsel to such people.	1	2	1	0	1	5
	Philbrick, Nate. In the Heart of the Sea. 2010?. 240 pages. 21 men set out to make a fortune hunting whales in 1819, but they shock the world when a whale attacks their boat and forces them to live for three months on rafts. Fascinating story with a few rubbish lines thrown in.	2	2	1	2	1	8
	Scougal, Henry. The Life of God in the Soul of Man. Letters to a young pastor’s supporter on how to be a true Christian—lively, short, and cutting.	2	2	2	2	2	10

	Weir, Alison. The Six Wives of Henry the VIII. 1992. 643 pages. In his search for a male heir, Henry ruined the lives of 6 women. Audio.	2	2	2	2	0	8
	Clear, James. Atomic Habits. 2018. 320 pages. Four simple strategies can allow you to remake your life by changing your habits. References to Buddhist thinking throughout. Leans heavily on Duhigg. Very practical.	1	1	2	1	0	5
	McCullough, David. Pioneers. 2020. 352 pages. The story of Ohio’s founding is a hero’s tale of common Puritans like Ephraim Cutler.	1	2	2	2	1	8
	Machiavelli, Niccolo. The Prince. 1514?. 114 pages. Power is a good that a political leader must strive for even if it requires him to lie, cheat, or kill. He did not research the Bible in his writing. Pragmatic and influential because men have always loved the pride that comes from power.	1	0	1	1	0	3
	Herbert, George. The Temple. Collected poems. 2nd time reading. Better than the first.	2	2	2	2	2	10
	Wells, Paul, ed. Various authors. A Covenantal Vision for Global Mission. 2020. 355 pages. Authors’ point: All the good the church has done over the centuries throughout the world can be traced back to Covenant Theology in one way or another. The footnotes are more important to this work than the Scripture references making the entire collection of essays a demonstration of confirmation bias. Two exciting stories from church history, but neither convincingly sprang from CT.	1	1	1	1	0	4
	Mbewe, Conrad. God’s Design for the Church. 2020. 281 pages. A faithful introduction to the most important theological and practical questions facing the church, but the author does not treat false Christianity with NT firmness. He should have raised the question of whether the religion of southern Africa is in fact Christian, rather than assuming it is.	1	2	1	2	1	7
	Johnson, Andy. Missions. 2017. 125 pages. While he included many good comments and faithful statements, he should have emphasized church planting more as well as the total depravity which has degraded the nations to whom we go.	2	1	1	2	1	7

	Brooks, Arthur. Gross National Happiness. 2008. 277 pages. The people—specifically American Christians—who work hard, give money, have a family, and go to church are significantly happier than those who don’t.	2	2	1	2	1	8
	Boston, Thomas. The Art of Man-Fishing. 96 pages. A stirring, practical call to evangelism and faithfulness in ministry. Not as lively as Baxter’s Reformed Pastor or Call to the Unconverted, but still gripping and helpful.	1	1	2	2	2	8
	Trueman, Carl. Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self. 2020. 425 pages. Argument: Today’s moral insanity is the fruit of the philosophical movements of men like Rousseau, Marx, Freud, and Marcuse. Evaluation: Too wordy, no Scripture, and neglected the roles of technology, wealth, and globalization. Further, the subject is so vile, it is a pain to holiness even to trudge through such filth. Yet as an historical reflection on these evil men, it is interesting and perhaps necessary.	1	1	1	2	2	7

Scoring:

0     The book was notable for lacking this category repeatedly.

1     The book dipped into this category at times.

2     The book consistently demonstrated this category.

Fiction Categories:

• Biblical: Did the author honor Scriptural truth or a Christian worldview even if unwittingly?
• Creative: Did the author grip the imagination by inventing characters, situations, or other aspects of reality?
• Style: Did the theme, vocabulary, and composition represent an enduring standard?
• Credible: Were the characters, plot turns, and relationships believable?
• Affections: Was some truth presented powerfully to the affections?

	FICTION: Annotated Bibliography	B	C	S	C	A	Score
	Dante. The Divine Comedy. The horror of hell, the pressure of perseverance, and the beauty of paradise all quickened by rhyme and metaphor. Dante puts many popes in hell and rebukes the corrupt constantly. It is both terrifying and amazing, threatening and beautiful that an eternity of divine wrath or glory awaits us after this testing time. Read with Amy	1	2	2	2	2	9
	Lewis. Out of the Silent Planet. Read with Amy	1	2	2	2	1	8
	Lewis. Perelandra. Read with Amy and kids	2	2	2	2	2	10
	Tolkien. Lord of the Rings. Read with Amy and kids	2	2	2	2	2	10