Well, it’s that time of the year where folks start sharing their “best of” lists. I’ll likely post a couple myself but I thought this would be a good one for all of us to participate in.
Two very simple questions:
- What was the best book you’ve read this year?
- What’s the one book you want to read in 2010?
Here are my answers.
This past year:
- Christ Plays in a Thousand Places by Eugene Peterson – A magnificent book that helps define a nebulous term – spiritual theology. It’s probably close to being on my ‘must read’ recommendation. Here’s a quote for you“The single most important thing to understand in spiritual theology is that it is not about theology … it is a cultivated disposition to live theology.”
- I’ve also been devouring bits and pieces of Frederick Douglass’ writing. One of these days, I’ll share the letter he wrote to his former “master.” It’s stunning.
For the upcoming year:
- I’m still trying to knock out that book/month goal but on the top of my list is to read Half the Sky by Nick Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. It helps that the ODW staff and interns are reading it together right now.
Alright, how about you?
EUGENE CHO 
Best book of 2009: Exclusion and Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness and Reconciliation by Miroslav Volf.
Want to read in 2010: Strange Virtues: Ethics in a Multicultural World by Bernard Adeney
It’s a toss up between two books, by the same author, as a matter of fact (Markus Zusak):
The Book Thief
I Am The Messenger
Both highly recommended. Go fiction! 🙂
And squeezing in one more…because it’s really just a booklet, but packs a punch! Raymond Fung’s The Isaiah Vision: An Ecumenical Strategy for Congregational Evangelism. Definitely my favorite non-fiction of this past year…if not the last 5 years.
i really need to read more fiction. it’s been way too long.
2009: Live Sent by Jason C. Dukes
One of the first books that made me think more about what it means to see the church as an active, living, breathing organism that must be present
2010: Follow Me to Freedom – by John Perkins and Shane Claiborne
This sounds like a fascinating partnership of writers and looking forward to getting a copy of it!
My coworker loaned me The Book Thief, and I’ve yet to start it, so I guess that’s my 2010 book. Best book this year? Probably Blink by Malcom Gladwell.
Right now it’s a tossup between:
“Contours of Pauline Theology” by Tom Holland – Absolutely amazing. Blows apart the theory of Hellenism influencing Pauline Christianity and examines Paul’s theology from a purely Jewish perspective. It’s groundbreaking.
and
“Jesus, the Bible, and Homosexuality” by Jack Rogers – A bit more controversial than the other one 🙂 But incredibly interesting. It’s one of the more succinct, yet thorough, explanations of Christocentric hermeneutic and its use concerning homosexuality as found in examples in the Bible. Incredibly a worthwhile read.
Best Book of 2009:
Sula by Toni Morrison. So brilliant.
Book I want to read in 2010:
God is Red by Vine DeLoria
I’ve started my “best of 2009” post…hope to get it up today. Best book I’ve read this year?
The Christ of the Indian Road, by E Stanley Jones — which you, Eugene, should appreciate since you prefer books by dead guys!
What do I want read in 2010? Hmm…where to begin?
Half the Sky was the best for 2009
Stones to Schools by Greg Mortenson will be the first read for 2010
2009: The Lexus & the Olive Tree – Thomas Friedman: What a fantastic exposition of globalization and of our incredibly fast-changing world.
2010: Dead Aid – Dambisa Moyo: A look into what we have done wrong in terms of our governmental aid to Africa…and a blueprint for a smarter way forward.
Thanks, Eugene, for your work & ministry. I am excited about ODW!
Warmly,
Chris Horst
I’ve started Half the Sky, too. Haven’t gotten very far yet, but hope to make more headway in Jan.
For this year our c-group has been reading Truly the Community by Marva Dawn. Great book!
I didn’t really read as much this year as I would have liked. Looking back, I think I needed a bit of a break because the previous couple years I was cramming about as much as I possibly could into my head.
Two good books that I read though were Pagan Christianity by Frank Viola, and Teaching as a Subversive Activity by Neil Postman. Both very interesting and mind opening, as they challenge current paradigms.
This next year I think I’ll start with Jesus for President by Shane Claiborne, and God & Empire by Crossan.
Flickering Pixles by Shane Hipps
I know a lot of people did not like it, but it gave me a lot to think about and cleared a lot of things up for me.
Best of 2009: either Slaves, Women, and Homosexuals by William J. Webb or Organic Community by Joseph Myers or Justification by N.T. Wright
Looking forward to: The Teaching of the Twelve by Tony Jones
Favorite Read of ’09 – Keller’s
Looking Forward to ’10 – Goodwin’s
Don’t know what happened there…
Keller’s “Prodigal God”
Goodwin’s “A Team of Rivals”
How great is Prodigal God. It rocked my world.
’09–A Failure of Nerve by Edwin Friedman.
I usually am not too keen on leadership books but this was truly fascinating, especially on a sociological level.
’10–I’m really looking forward to finally reading The Politics of Jesus by John Howard Yoder.
Failure of Nerve was fantastic. It really challenged a lot of my ideas of effective leadership – and I find myself continually coming back to his thoughts on ” empathy”.
Yoder is awesome. Almost convinced me to go pacifist.
Last year the most significant book was “The Holy Fire: The Teachings of Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira: the Rebbe of the Warsaw Ghetto.” The manuscript was found in the rubble many years after the war ended. I have 3 books coming for Christmas from my wish list: “Time on Two Crosses” by Bayard Rustin. (a key figure in the civil rights movement, early gay rights advocate, communist, poet, adviser to Dr. King). “The Dialectics of Reason” a dialog between Jurgen habermas and Pope Benedict XVI, and “How To Do Things With Tears,” a book of poems by Allen Grossman. I’m thinking of putting “Half The Sky” on the list given all the recomendations above. Have a blessed Holyday all.
Banana: the Fate of the Fruit that Changed the World.
After reading this, you will know a lot about bananas and its crazy history.
2 Favorites are:
The Hole in Our Gospel – Richard Stearns
Scared – Tom Davis
Best book of 2009: it’s a tie between Take This Bread by Sarah Miles and Girl Meets God by Lauren Winner
Want to read in 2010: The Next Evangelicalism by Soong Chan Rah
The best books I’ve read in 2009:
– “In 6 steps, what would Jesus do?” (available only in Portuguese) by Paulo Brabo, ISBN: 978-85-62877-01-8. My rating: 1000 stars.
– “Understanding Postmodernity” (available only in Portuguese) by Mary Rute Gomes Esperandio. My rating: 1000 stars.
– “What Would Jesus Deconstruct: The Good News of Postmodernism for the Church” by
John D. Caputo.
– “Adventures in Missing the Point”, by McLaren & Campolo.
For 2010, I’m reading some more South American authors:
– Comments on the Lausanne Covenant by Stott
– What is Integral Mission, by René Padilla
– They Shall Inherit the earth, by Carlos Queiroz
– The church, the country and the world: challanges of an engaged faith, by Robinson Cavalcanti, ISBN 85-86539-14-7.
– The classics of Liberation Theology: Boff, Enrique Dussell, Juan Luiz Segundo and Miguez Bonino.
my favorite book this year was “the trouble with black boys… and other reflections on race, equity, and the future of public education” by pedro noguera.
and i also really liked “the curious incident of the dog in the night time” by mark haddon.it’s not cool for lit snobs to confess enjoying pop literature, but i really liked this one. it’s one of the funniest novels i’ve ever read, and i read it while on my honeymoon, so it brings back happy memories.
next up, i have nocturnes by kazuo ishiguro. i loved his previous novels, and this is his first foray into short stories.
Best read of 2009 is a toss-up between:
1. The Blue Parakeet – Scot McKnight
2. Island: The Collected Stories – Alistair McLeod
3. The Politics of Jesus – Yoder
4. Narratives of a Vulnerable God – Placher
Forced into a decision, I’m inclined to go with the collected stories of McLeod, because they “moved” me most and I can’t take one of those theological books over the others.
Hope to read in 2010:
The New Testament and the People of God – N.T. Wright
Ah jeez. This has been a great year for reading so I don’t know how I’ll whittle things down…
fiction:
Beloved by Toni Morrison
memoir:
The Writing Life by Annie Dillard
theology:
Models of God by Sallie McFague
For 2010 I’d like to read Malcolm Gladwell’s new book of essays, and finish Catherine Keller’s theology of creation that I’ve been plugging away at.
I really enjoyed “Team of Rivals” by Doris Kearns Goodwin. In-depth look at how Lincoln navigated the political waters to save the nation.
I’m onto: “An Imperfect Offering” by James Orbinski. Thoughtful, painful, narrative reflections from the former head of Doctors Without Borders
I can’t pick a favorite book of the year; it’s like asking me to pick a favorite child 🙂
I’m going to read “Stones Into Schools,” Greg Mortenson’s latest, in 2010 for sure.
Favorites – Harry Potter series. I read for a living (teaching college writing) so the pure pleasure value puts them at the top.
In January (when I’m off) I plan to read Origin of Species (Darwin) because I’ve never read it and I think Christians should read it before forming an opinion about it.
Best book of ’09 was fiction, “A Fine Balance” by Rohinton Mistry. Indian book, fantastic… I mean really. Read it.
Looking forward to in ’10 – I hope to read “The Help” by Kathryn Stockett.
My theology reading has been almost fully in “The Mission of God” by Christopher Wright, which is good but a lot more in depth than I expected and I have slugged through the exegesis of it. Whew.
Best book read this year: Fasting by Scot McKnight
He’s got some great insight into the practice of fasting and what it means
To read: ??? Not sure yet… there are so many!
I think it might have come out in ’08, but Wright’s “Surprised by Hope” was an important read. “The Monkey and the Fish” by Dave Gibbons was formational to my ideas of leadership in the church. But the book that had the greatest affect on me is Joseph Barndt’s “Dismantling Racism”. It’s been in print for quite some time now, but I just read it this year!
The Best book I Read This year:
1. The Medici Effect – Frans Johannson
2. Have a Little Faith – Mitch Albom
3. The Prodigal God – Tim Keller
What I want to read in 2010:
1. Creating a World Without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism by Muhammad Yunus
Best of 2009:
The Reason for God by Tim Keller
Failure of Nerve by Edwin Friedman
They Like Jesus But Not the Church by Dan Kimball
Looking forward to in 2010:
Something by N.T. Wright
Surprised by Hope by N.T. Wright was incredible
What is the What? by Dave Eggers
can’t say i look forward to any books…they usually find me!
Don’t you just love it when books find you!
Well, 2009 isn’t over yet, so I can only say that *so far* the most impactful read of the year was Soong-Chan Rah’s The Next Evangelicalism….
…but that led me to some really great novels by so-called ethnic authors. The biggest stand-outs were probably Khaled Hosseini’s “The Kite Runner” and “A Thousand Splendid Suns” (both set in Afghanistan), and Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie’s “Purple Hibiscus” and “Half of a Yellow Sun.” (Look up her talk on TED.com — it’s fabulous.)
First on the list for 2010 is Scot McKnight’s “A Community Called Atonement.” I’ve got some wrestling to do with that doctrine.
2009 toss up:
Forgotten God by Francis Chan
Prodigal God by Tim Keller
life changing for any good person out there
next year:
I will do MUFHH by Oswald Chambers religiously 🙂
For some reason, for me this was the year of the memoir. I love reading first-person accounts of life, especially ones in which people change and grow… in one direction or another. It’s the process that fascinates me.
CRAZY FOR GOD – Frank Schaeffer (Francis’s son’s journey away from Evangelicalism.)
SAME KIND OF DIFFERENT AS ME – Ron Hall (Homeless man and art dealer become friends, lives changed.)
SON OF A PREACHER MAN – Jay Bakker (Jim & Tammy’s boy tells all.)
THE UNLIKELY DISCIPLE – Kevin Roose (Agnostic undercover at Liberty U.)
BEAUTIFUL BOY – David Scheff (Meth addiction from a dad’s perspective.)
TWEAK – Nic Scheff (David’s son’s perspective. Read this one second.)
THE YEAR OF LIVING BIBLICALLY – A.J. Jacobs (Esquire writer lives by every command in the Bible for a year.)
I really appreciated these books as well:
LOVE IS AN ORIENTATION – Andrew Marin (Elevating the Conversation between the Church and the LGBT community.)
DEEP CHURCH – Jim Belcher (Finding a “Third Way” between Evangelicals and Emergent.)
THE BLUE PARAKEET – Scot McKnight (How do we read the Bible. And how does that apply to women in ministry?)
THE NEW CHRISTIANS – Tony Jones (Kind of a memoir. This is Tony’s history of Emergent.)
Fiction… I loved Kent Haruf’s PLAINSONG & EVENTIDE.
Sorry. That was more than one book. 🙂
cheater.
I can’t remember what I read this year vs. last year.
I just finished reading Half the Sky. Its a must read for everyone. We must be informed and choose to be Jesus to women struggling against oppression.
Amazing the influence of N.T. Wright. Not that long after his passing in the future, he may be known as the formative writer post C.S. Lewis.
By the end of this year, I should hit 40 books. Here are a few of my favorites.
1. N.T. Wright’s Surprised By Hope.
2. Daily Life in Ancient Rome – Florence Dupont
3. A Million Miles in a Thousand Years – Donald Miller
4. The Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas
5. The whole Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan
Definitely a 3-way tie:
1)Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren
Comment:
Definitely an eye opener. Sometimes it’s good to know clear instructions about leading a Christian life and this book is great for new Christians.
2)Captivating, by John Eldredge
Comment:
I love what captivating brings to a Christian woman. I love that God woos us 🙂
3)The Shack by William P. Young
Comment:
I love the grace that the book offers. I feel like it’s a prayer of forgiveness from the Lord.
Want to read:
Crazy love by Francis Chan
Comment:
I started reading the first chapter already. It’s quite challenging. It certainly makes you think about how you are living out your Christian life.
Man am I grateful for all those wonderful books that bring me closer to knowing God.
I could cheat like some of you have and list multiple books but i’ll restrain myself. Just finishing up A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken – beautiful book – a must read if you ask me. CS Lewis’ letters to Vanauken hold so much wisdom.
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry is my favorite read of 2009.
As for 2010, too many to count! But, for the immediate future: Sky Burial by Xin Ran.
I can’t believe I forgot Soon-Chan’s The Next Evangelicalism. Really helpful and eye-opening.
Exclusion and Embrace and The Next Evangelicalism were 2 of my favorite reads from this year that were already mentioned.
Another one on my list of 2009 faves: When Helping Hurts by Brian Fikkert. A must-read for those interested in global and local poverty alleviation.
Favorite of 2009 was Strength in What Remains by Tracy Kidder (possibly because I just finished it and it’s still fresh in my mind but it was a really amazing book!).
Top of the list for 2010 is a reread of the Poisonwood Bible–one of my all-time faves that I haven’t reread in several years, time to enjoy it again.
Definitely ” Half the Sky… and 6th grade bio. fiction(which is an easy read in the kids section) – I, Juan de Paraga
“The Principle of the Path”. We read/shared that book for our Bible study and it was definitely an eye-opener, to say the least
My wife just gave me “God In Search of Man” by Abraham Joshua Heschel for Christmas, so that jumped to the top of my list for next year.
Deep Economy by Bill McKibben rocked my world. Looking forward to The Emergent Gospel: Theology from the Underside of History.
2009 = “Monkey and Fish” by Dave Gibbons
2010 = living out what have read & learned in past
I always end up enjoying good fiction more than non-fiction … wonder what that says about me???
If I have to pick just one I would say my favorite this year was The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (I know, I was late reading it since it came out in 2003, but I had no idea how much I was going to love it)
2 picks from 2009:
Irrisistible Revolution by Shane Clairborne
Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein
next book I want to read:
Show Them No Mercy: Four views on ot genocide (and what it means for today)
OH! I’m answering your questions out of order. I have Half the Sky on order from Amazon right now, I’m reading it and Modern Slavery: the Secret Lives of 27 million people for school, independent research for my Senior Essay which will compare Human trafficing in Seattle and Stockholm.
Anyway, best books of 2009, both by Rob Bell: SexGod and Velvet Elvis. Loved them both.
I’ve posted my top ten reads of the year……
http://www.teapottheology.com/2010/12/best-ten-books-of-2010/