Top Book Recommendations From 2021 Reading

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"An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge."

Proverbs 18:15

At the beginning of the year for the past several years, I set a goal for how many books I want to read before the year ends. In 2021 I read 35 books, many of them were books of theology and Christian living that were recommended to me by Christian friends in my life. In this post, I would like to share with you my top 3 Christian recommendations from my book reading list (they are not in order as it is too difficult to pick a favorite) and how these books have already helped me so much in understanding who God is and what it means to live as a child of God.

1. What’s the Difference?: Manhood and Womanhood According to the Bible by John Piper

Before I married Denver this last December, I read a handful of popular Christian books on dating and marriage preparation. Something that struck me was the lack of information in each book about the significance of a man and woman dating, not just two people. While being a woman does not mean I am some sort of different species from a man, God certainly designed men and women to have some differences, and this becomes much more apparent when a man and woman are trying to learn what it means to start a life together as husband and wife. Since the meaning of being a woman or man was never made clear to me, I was confused as to why it mattered that I was a woman. In our gender-denying culture today, it is hard to wade through the waters of progressive and traditional beliefs in our culture about men and women to discover what is actually from the inerrant and timeless truth of the bible. Understanding God’s design of what it means to be a man or woman is essential for any stage in life. Some of these truths are naturally learned as we grow, but most of the truths are ones we must learn and submit to from the scriptures. I found it was helpful for me to read this with Denver as we prepared for marriage so that we could better understand God’s design for us according to the Bible and how our differences as a man and woman strengthen and complement one another. Whether you are dating, married, single, young or old, I recommend this book to anyone. It is a short book under 100 pages (a very simplified version of Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood by Piper and Grudem), yet John Piper provides powerful and direct statements that stand the test of time and can be compared to God’s word. If you choose to read this book, consider looking up verses from the bible over sexuality and gender (man/woman/husband/wife) to ponder and have handy before diving into the book.

1. Transforming Grace by Jerry Bridges

I asked a pastor what his number one recommendation would be for a book on grace and sanctification, and this was the book he told me about. It is not a hefty systematic theology book, but it is no less compelling as Bridges explains what it means for the Holy Spirit to shape and mold us as children of God because of the work of Christ rather than because of our own works or merit. He addresses topics such as freedom in Christ, being saved by grace alone, conscience vs sin, legalism, and judging others. Reading this book has helped me recognize more what it means to be free in Christ as He makes us into a new creation - hating what is evil and loving what is good because of the Spirit within us. It has also helped me understand how harmful legalism is and how to recognize it. Bridges directly addresses various verses and passages to discuss what the balance is between the extremes of legalism and the abuse of our freedoms in Christ.

I recommend this book to anyone, especially if you are wanting to know how to rest in Christ while serving Him. If you read this book - don’t try to rush through it. Instead, allow the message of each chapter to soak in, and prayerfully ask God to help you understand and apply the wisdom in this book.

1. Competing Spectacles: Treasuring Christ in the Media Age and Lit!: A Christian Guide to Reading Books by Tony Reinke

Okay, so perhaps “three” recommendations from my reading list is technically “four,” but these books address different topics that are connected in a way by the same author, and I find Reinke to be an excellent and intelligent writer with insightful and perspective-shifting things to say.

In his book Competing Spectacles, Reinke offers wisdom and biblical insight over the growing influence of media in our world today. It is hard to find a book that addresses the topic of media from a Christian perspective as in depth as this one - even a book at all. He covers areas of media such as social media, television, video games, smartphones, and media entertainment in general, to dive into how these things influence us - how they have shaped not only society but our individual minds. Reinke writes on the intention behind media - that it is designed to be a spectacle for consumers like us that competes for our attention. What should concern the Church is how often this spectacle of flashing and buzzing entertainment competes with the spectacle that should be the center of our lives: Jesus Christ, and His presence in the tangible reality beyond the screen. I have recommended this to many of my friends, and those who have read it came away with positive comments such as, “I have a hard time putting this book down - he explains it so well,” and “I wish the book had been longer. It has helped me understand so much.” This book is for everyone, just as the media is everywhere. Reinke provides many resources, statistics, bible verses, and theologian references to support the reality he shows to the reader. You will come away from this book with a clearer lens of the world around us.

I grew up in a home of avid readers and was not sure what a book about how to read would teach me, but Lit! is a wonderfully insightful book that explains reading from a desire to discover truth. We live in a world where easy entertainment is much more accessible and desirable than a book. Being able to read well is becoming a rare skill, but it is also becoming a skill that is seen as increasingly less valuable in our society. The famous speaker and American slave abolitionist, Frederick Douglass, wrote in the story of his life as a slave Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave, Written by Himself how he was discouraged and even punished by his slave masters for learning how to read. He explains that his masters feared that he would desire independence and would become a “thinker” if he ever learned how to decipher a book. Douglass taught himself in secret and indeed found that when he was able to read a book, it was as though a whole new world of thought had opened up to him. He began to see the injustice of his bondage and desired to be a free man, all because he learned to think for himself by learning to read books, which are essentially the written thoughts of others. Douglass’s story is one of many that shows the necessity of reading, and Tony Reinke explains in Lit! the necessity of learning not only to read but to read well, and that it requires the discipline that our age defies and the patience that our distractions battle against. He also provides ways to engage with reading, how to enjoy reading, and how to make time for reading (because frankly, society only makes us busier and busier on an individual level). Similar to Competing Spectacles, Reinke has great discretion in saying what must be said without making it feel like a waste of time. It is written for book lovers and haters alike, but wherever you are on the spectrum, his book will teach you how to cherish books and learn how to explore the mind by diving into the written thoughts of others. Reinke’s book will motivate you to cherish the art of reading and the words that convey the meaning of our reality not out of shame but out of conviction and inspiration.

Final Thoughts

While all of these are, in my opinion, great books, they are not the bible. These books were written by men who certainly desire to serve God faithfully, but they themselves are not God. All things that we read and inform ourselves with must be taken to God and the scriptures. These books have been very helpful for me in learning more about how I can live for Christ, but we must never put authors on a pedestal above the divine author. My greatest recommendation for reading is the bible, especially if you have not read all of it yet, because all wisdom we receive must have its root from scripture. That being said, I believe that all of the above books would do good to any Christian soul who is eager to learn.