Another great year of reading! Here are the 2019 books I finished. Some good, some just okay, some really lousy.
The Infinite Game, by Simon Sinek. So very good. It’s a must read for anyone in business, and will resonate with everyone who owns their own business.
Call for the Dead, by John le Carre. Basically how it all began. Really really good.
Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, by David Epstein. It can drift into the academic sometimes, but it’s still well worth reading.
Ten Caesars, by Barry Strauss. An approachable book about ten of the Caesars from Augustus to Constantine who had the most impact on the Roman Empire. Great for history nerds, but interesting enough for everyone.
Evangelicals Incorporated, by Daniel Vaca. Academic look at how the Christian book marketplace became a marketing machine.
Golfing With God, by Roland Merullo. I wanted to like this book, but it was contrived. Fun parts, stupid parts.
South and West, by Joan Didion. Brilliant writing, interesting but simple tales, and as always you finish thinking. Gotta love her work.
To Stop a Warlord, by Shannon Sedgwick Davis. Powerful story that is told well. Well done, Shannon.
Simply Wait: Cultivating Stillness in the Season of Advent, by Pamela Hawkins. I wanted to love this book, but it just wasn’t engaging enough for me.
The Vagabonds, by Jeff Guin. The fun and true story of Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and Harvey Firestone traveling across America together on several road trips.
The Prisoner of Brenda, by Colin Bateman. Love the series, but this book was overly complicated.
Love is an Inside Job, by Romal Tune. Check it out; if this topic interests you, it’s very good.
Strength to Love, by Martin Luther King. Wow. I remember reading this decades ago, but it really hit me this time around. Beautiful, beautiful book of his sermons.
Crash Test Girl, by Kari Byron. Meh. Too much nonsense for me.
Dominion, by Tom Holland. Excellent book about why and how Christianity continues to dominate Western culture. If you think the “secular left” is driving Christianity out of our lives, think again.
Do You Mind if I Cancel?, by Gary Janetti. Wins my award for worse book of the year.
Lead Like Jesus, by Ken Blanchard. I fully expecting it to be filled with cliches. But it’s actually quite good.
Live in Grace, Walk in Love, by Bob Goff. Very good 365-day journey, a collection of Bob’s insights.
Where the Light Divides, by Fred Smith. A collection of Fred’s thoughts. This is fun to read.
The Temptation of Forgiveness, by Donna Leon. Another fun, insightful mystery.
Travel as a Political Act, by Rick Steves. The opening is great. After that it gets preachy.
The Way I Heard It, by Mike Rowe. Very fun audiobook. Definitely get the audiobook.
Letters to a Young Poet, by Rainer Maria Rilke. Some really good stuff here.
2000 Years of Prayer, by Michael Counsell. Good resource.
Making Room, by Christine Pohl. Good insights about Christian hospitality.
Expresso Tales, by Alexander McCall Smith. Slightly better than the book below, but still not my thing.
44 Scotland Street, by Alexander McCall Smith. Surprised by how much this did not appeal to me. Bummer.
We Are Legion (We Are Bob), by Dennis Taylor. Really fun science fiction. Get the audible version.
An Italian Home, by Paul Wright. Meh. Just wasn’t that interesting to me.
Talking to Strangers, by Malcolm Gladwell. Talk about a book for our times; great insights and much needed recommendations.
A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway. Such an amazing book. I try to read it about once a decade.
Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley. Great book to read in Geneva! And it reminded me of what a true horror story is really like.
The Delight of Being Ordinary, by Roland Merullo. What a delightful book (sorry, couldn’t resist). Thoughtful, fun, interesting. Focus on the marriage relationship, not the theology.
Becoming Mrs. Lewis, by Patti Callahan. The interesting story of Joy Davidson, who eventually married C.S. Lewis. The book did nothing for me.
The Professor and the Madman, by Simon Winchester. Who knew that a book about how the Oxford English Dictionary was created would be interesting?
Socialism Sucks, by Lawson and Powell. Two economists travel to socialist countries and drink beer. Insights are often great, often edgy, sometimes off putting.
Alzheimer’s Through the Stages: A Caregiver’s Guide, by Mary Moller. A book I wish fewer people had to read.
Surprise the World, by Michael Frost. Didn’t do anything for me. Not bad stuff, just a bit on the “shrug” side of things.
The Man Who Knew the Way to the Moon, by Todd Zwillich. Little known story about the guy who …. well, knew how to get to the moon. Audible version only.
The Eternal Current, by Aaron Niequist. Well written, mostly good insights, but stuff I’ve known for decades.
Heavy on the Dead, by G.M. Ford. One of my favorite mystery writers does it again. If you enjoy smart aleck detectives, check it out.
Seeing in the Dark, by Nancy Ortberg. Thoughtful insights about suffering.
Vindolanda, by Adrian Goldsworthy. One of my favorite Roman history writers takes on a fictional story set in Britain.
Top Ten Sights Geneva, by Mark Jones. Can you guess where I’m going on vacation? Not a very good book, actually, but it’s Kindle Unlimited thus free.
The Second-Worst Restaurant in France, by Alexander McCall Smith. Fun if wandering….took 3/4ths of the book for it to get to the real plot. Still, a fun summer read.
Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas, by Safi Bahcall. Just once could we get a book that doesn’t point to outliers like Steve Jobs as models for the rest of us? This book had me rolling my eyes several times.
The Dead Drink First, by Dale Maharidge. Powerful and very personal audio story of a son seeking truth and understanding about his World War II veteran father and what happened in the battle for Okinawa. Wowser, this one is powerful.
Your Business, Your Family, Their Future, by Emily Griffiths-Hamilton. If you’re interested in the subject, buy me a drink and we’ll talk. You’ll learn just as much and have more fun.
The Halo Effect, by Phil Rosenzweig. Great book about how much bias there is when judging the “greatness” of certain companies. Wish I’d read this book before I wrote Salvaged.
The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry, by Rachel Joyce. Wonderful story, very engaging.
Shrewd Samaritan, by Bruce Wydick. Brilliant book about philanthropy and effectiveness. On the top of my list for books of this genre.
My Antonia, by Willa Cather. Classic book showing the struggles of immigrants in America during the mid-1800’s.
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal, by Christopher Moore. Seriously funny, irreverent, borderline heretical. I loved it.
My Italian Bulldozer, by Alexander McCall Smith. Fun, lightweight, silly book. Perfect for summer.
The Last Pirate of New York, by Rich Cohen. Interesting, sorta, but no maybe not. I don’t know. Mixed feelings about this one.
Discover Your Team’s Potential. Each chapter has a different author and the book is a helpful collection of insights, ideas, and practicalities.
The Lost Airman, by Seth Meyerowitz. The true story of Arthur Meyerowitz (the authors grandfather) being shot down over France in 1943 and his amazing journey to escape the Nazis. We get a lot of GREAT works of fiction from World War II, but it’s stunning to read the true stories. This is a great book for anyone who loves history, suspense, even mystery.
Faith Unraveled, by Rachel Held Evans. With the authors recent untimely passing it seemed appropriate to read more of her work. The first half of this book drove me crazy because she wrestles with questions that for me were resolved decades ago. It felt a bit (to me) like listening to the incessant ramblings of an adolescent trying to reconcile realities with idealism and tradition. The authenticity here is real, as is the transparency. And the last third of the book is very thoughtful. It’s not a book for me — but only because I’ve been blessed to have a different faith tradition and spiritual guides who pushed me in the best ways.
Dead Mountain, by Donnie Eichar. New take on the mystery of how nine hikers died in the Ural Mountains of Russia in 1959.
Diversity Explosion, by William Frey. American’s diversity has hit a tipping point and things are only just beginning to change. A nerdy statistics book in some ways, but good insights into how the shift is changing our nation.
Making Time, by Bob Clagett. Don’t bother.
Every Tool’s a Hammer, by Adam Savage. The Mythbuster’s legend shares his thoughts on….well, lots of things, from cardboard and glue to the meaning of life. Fun book if you enjoyed the series.
Spying on the South, by Tony Horwitz. I’m going to miss Tony’s books — always interesting, balanced, and thoughtful.
The Tattooist of Auschwitz, by Heather Morris. Fascinating and powerful story.
The British Are Coming, by Rick Atkinson. Wow, this is way more than most people would ever want to know about the Revolutionary War. But if you are interested, it’s a great book.
Becoming, by Jim Branch. Quick, simple, easy read with some nuggets.
Boom, by Tony Horwitz. Dated of course, but still interesting (mainly because Horwitz is such a great writer).
The Advantage, by Patrick Lencioni. One of his best books — no idea how I missed this one! But glad I finally read it.
Growing Kingdom Wisdom, by Tom Yeakley. The publisher sent me a copy of this and asked for an endorsement, which I gave and they printed.
The Pioneers, by David McCullough. I read everything McCullough writes and am never disappointed. This isn’t his best work, but still interesting for history nerds.
The Giver and the Gift, by Peter Greer and David Weekley. Good overview of the healthy way to understand fundraising.
The Board and the CEO, by Peter Greer and David Weekley. Solid little book with advice about maintaining healthy relationships in nonprofit leadership.
How the Bible Actually Works, by Peter Enns. An ambitious title, obviously, but it definitely does give a broader perspective (some would say heretical) on how to read the Bible.
Thanks a Thousand, by A.J. Jacobs. This could’ve been such a good book, but it lacks adventure and becomes like “city kid goes to see how the real world works.”
An Economist Walks into a Brothel, by Allison Schrager. Take a boring subject — risk assessment — and study it from the angle of sex workers, professional gamblers, the Minibon, and Hollywood. Idea is great. Execution is meh.
The Second Mountain, by David Brooks. One of the most personal books from Brooks, a deep dive into what makes us seek a moral life.
Confronting Old Testament Controversies, by Tremper Longman. Well researched and (relatively) easy to understand book focusing on four complicated issues. The author has his take on each which I find well balanced even if somehow incomplete.
The Way of Unknowing, by John Main. Fascinating book about meditative prayer.
Once We Were Strangers, by Shawn Smucker. Nice look at two different people becoming friends.
Love Your Enemies, by Arthur C. Brooks. Fantastic book — best I’ve read so far. Brooks calls for the end of our culture of contempt. Brilliant.
Giftology, by John Ruhlin. Helpful book about the use of giving to build a business, a network, or simply be remembered.
Irresistible, by Andy Stanley. Stanley comes really close to explaining something well….but it’s just a touch short. Plus what he is so excited about isn’t original thinking; it’s been preached and around a long time.
Paradise Salvage, by John Fusco. Fun read set in a junkyard, of course.
Ajax Penumbra 1969, by Robin Sloan. Fun, short, simple mystery based in the Bay Area.
Sacred Pace: Four Steps to Hearing God, by Terry Looper. Excellent book.
The Third Pillar: How Markets and the State Leave the Community Behind, by Raghuram Rajan. Wow wow wow….the author absolutely nails what is wrong with our economic system and why it’s angering so many people.
The Wealth Creators Playbook, by John Christianson. Great book of financial advice that isn’t all spreadsheets and number crunching. The author looks at the “why” of how we can embrace all of life.
Light Horse Harry Lee, by Ryan Cole. Great history of a fascinating Revolutionary leader.
Wait Till Next Year, by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Second time I’ve read this book; always a great way to start baseball season!
The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger. Classic that I didn’t like in high school and still find depressing.
Wit’s End, by James Geary. Interesting and often funny book.
The Death of Truth, by Michiko Kakutani. An important topic, well researched. Just wish it was less biased.
Irresistible Faith, by Scott Sauls. Well done, Scott.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll. As C.S. Lewis wrote, “Someday you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.”
Company of One: Why Staying Small is the Next Big Thing for Business, by Paul Jarvis. I enjoyed this book a great deal, especially as one who has intentionally chosen to keep a “small” business. But I think it has a few flaws that could have been easily fixed. Contact me if you want to hear more.
Gandhi: Portrait of a Friend, by E. Stanley Jones. Brilliant and honoring look at a brilliant thinker by a Christian missionary.
Driving Big Davie, by Colin Bateman. This is probably the last of his books I’ll read. Loved them at first, but growing weary of the cynicism.
Farsighted, by Steven Johnson. Very, very interesting look at how we make decisions that impact us in the long term.
Bigger Than Business, by Jeff Holler. If you’re a person of faith and own your own business, it’s worth a look.
The Parker Inheritance, by Varian Johnson. Sometimes you just need a fun kids book.
It’s Momplicated, by Debbie Alsdorf and Joan Edwards Kay. Obviously a book about mothers and daughters isn’t written to me, but I sure know a lot of people who need this resource.
Jesus, My Father, The CIA, and Me, by Ian Morgan Cron. Great, great book. Wonderful way to begin the New Year.