Books

Ryan's bookshelf: read

To Kill a Mockingbird
really liked it
tagged:
literature-usa

Lord of the Flies
really liked it
The corruption of mankind as exhibited by children. This was a rather disturbing story, mostly due to its realism. There are so many good themes to provoke conversation found in this book. Highly recommended to read as part of a group.
tagged:
literature-uk

Ready Player One
liked it
I liked the premise quite a lot – virtual reality and the future. As a child of the 70s and 80s, loved the nostalgic elements.
tagged:
literature-usa

The Bookshop
liked it
Short, but great little afternoon read that drills down the virtuousness of courage.
tagged:
literature-uk

What Are Spiritual Gifts?
liked it
Needed something to read while waiting at the bank. It’s not entirely clear which audience was targeted for this book. Conceptually it’s rather basic, but the delivery is more than most new converts are going to grasp. I read this to det…
tagged:
theology-christian-life

The Reformation: Roots and Ramifications
liked it
Oberman is known for his work on Luther and for illuminating the period between the middle ages and the Reformation. This particular work is a collection of 10 essays (originally written in German) which focus primarily on Luther, though…
tagged:
theology-reformation

The Stranger
really liked it
I first read The Stranger in 2001. I enjoyed it then, but have much more appreciation for it the second time around. The young Monsieur Meursault is the main character. In all things, he is very intentional in his indifference. The story…
tagged:
literature-french

Calvin and the Reformed Tradition: On the Work of Christ and the Order of Salvation
really liked it
A collection of helpful essays that center around correcting a number of erroneous analyses of Calvin and the reformed tradition.
tagged:
theology-calvin and theology-reformation

Restoring Christ's Church: John a Lasco and the Forma AC Ratio
liked it
It’s not easy to find good material on Jan Łaski (pronounced Yan Waski) and his part of the reformation. This book is an adaptation of Springer’s PhD dissertation and is a fairly basic overview of Łaski’s work in London (as the Strangers…
tagged:
theology-reformation

This Present Darkness
liked it
‘This Present Darkness’ was Peretti’s first novel, written in 1986 (the same year that gave us Alf, Ghostbusters, and Teen Wolf). The narrative and dialogue are reflective of this age. Also reflected in the story is Peretti’s goofy AoG/P…
tagged:
literature-christian

The Alphabet of Grace
it was ok
The reviews for this book or nearly unanimously positive. So it was with enthusiasm I picked up ‘The Alphabet of Grace’ hoping to experience the greatness described in those reviews. I finished in it in couple hours and was left confused…
tagged:
theology-christian-life

Calvin
really liked it
Despite what appear to be a few historical errors and distortions (and overall sparse use of footnotes to support the text), this was a pretty spectacular biography of Calvin.
tagged:
theology-reformation and theology-calvin

Calvin: A Guide for the Perplexed
liked it
Supremely strange title for a book that is more-or-less a brief survey of Calvin’s Institutes, with a few pieces of history to anchor its context (the Servetus affair as an example), coupled with a bit of biographical material on Calvin….
tagged:
theology-reformation and theology-calvin

A Study Guide to Calvin's Institutes
really liked it
tagged:
theology-calvin and theology-reformation

Institutes of the Christian Religion, 2 Vols
it was amazing
tagged:
theology-calvin and theology-reformation

Fully Alive: A Biblical Vision of Gender That Frees Men and Women to Live Beyond Stereotypes
it was amazing
This was a great work on the significance of gender. Persuasive. Encouraging.

I only wish Crabb would stop confusing perichoresis with some sort of trinitarian dance that we will one day participate.

tagged:
theology-christian-life and theology-counseling

Kidnapped
liked it
tagged:
literature-uk

A String of Pearls Unstrung: A Theological Journey Into Believers' Baptism
liked it
Popular level and fairly simplistic critique of paedobaptism from a particular Baptist trained at RTS.
tagged:
theology-sacraments-baptism

Adult ADHD: What You Need to Know
really liked it
tagged:
psychology-secular

The Covenant of Works and the Covenant of Grace
it was ok
Matthew McMahon’s biography of Calamy was great. Calamy, not so much.

“Therefore although the law is a perfect copy of the Covenant of Works, yet being given to another end it cannot disannul the Covenant of Grace that was confirmed bef…

tagged:
theology-covenantalism

The Distinctiveness of Baptist Covenant Theology
really liked it
This is undoubtedly the best presentation of the baptistic approach to the old and new covenant. The argumentation is not persuasive, but if you want to understand baptist federalism, this is the place to go.
tagged:
theology-covenantalism

Ephesians: Life in God's Family
liked it
tagged:
theology-nt-commentary

Crime and Punishment
it was amazing
This has always been my favorite book of Dostoevsky. However, reading it again after 20 years, I found it so much more enjoyable the second time around.
tagged:
literature-slavic

Speaking Truth in Love: Counsel in Community
liked it
The chapter on Psalm 119 was spectacular and inspiring. The rest, as is common among this tradition of counseling, was rather shallow (identify presenting problem, address, but it seems never explore why it is a PP in the first place).
tagged:
theology-counseling

Unwind
really liked it
tagged:
literature-usa

Prince Caspian
liked it
tagged:
literature-christian

Taxation: A Very Short Introduction
it was ok
great quote: "Why do so many people pay their taxes, when the risks of non­compliance are so small?"
tagged:
economics-general

The Horse and His Boy
really liked it
But run, run: always run.
tagged:
literature-christian

The Church of Christ
really liked it
19th century summary and defense of Presbyterian polity and distinctives. If you’re already familiar with the tradition, there’s not a lot of depth that will likely glean new insights. The chapters on ordination and modes of baptism were…
tagged:
theology-ecclesiology

The Death of Doctor Island
liked it
tagged:
literature-usa

The Zookeeper's Wife
liked it
There were moments when this story was in the 4-5 star range, but those moments were brief. Overall, it gets bogged down in the minutia of zoological details that I found distract from the story.
tagged:
literature-german

Pastel Orphans
it was amazing
tagged:
literature-usa

The Justification of Knowledge
liked it
tagged:
theology-apologetics and philosophy-epistemology

Hawthorne's the Scarlet Letter
liked it
It’s been over two decades since I read Hawthorne’s Scarlett Letter. It was in college where I had little interest in fiction. Ryken’s analysis of the book was spectacular and offered some profound insight into the characters of this sto…
tagged:
literature-usa

What Did You Expect?: Redeeming the Realities of Marriage
liked it
Supremely anecdotal and superficially formulaic.
tagged:
theology-counseling

The Marriage Builder
it was amazing
This is the best book I’ve read on marriage to date. Highly recommended and one in which I intend to use frequently going forward.
tagged:
theology-counseling

In the Penal Colony
really liked it
tagged:
literature-german

The Mystery of the Last Supper: Reconstructing the Final Days of Jesus
really liked it
Humphreys makes a rather persuasive argument for the Last Supper occurring on Wednesday, reconciling all sort of chronological challenges the traditional view raises.
tagged:
theology-nt-commentary

The Whisperer in Darkness
really liked it
tagged:
literature-usa

Animal Farm
really liked it
All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others. 🙂
tagged:
literature-uk

Freedom beyond Forgiveness: The Book of Jonah Re-examined
did not like it
The author of this book rated it 3-stars. I thought he was being humble. After reading the book, I think he was rather generous.
tagged:
theology-ot-commentary

Augustine and the Trinity
liked it
Ayres does a great job dispelling the myths surrounding Augustine and the psychological model of the trinity.
tagged:
theology-trinity

Race: A Theological Account
did not like it
tagged:
history-christian

The Papa Prayer
it was amazing
tagged:
theology-christian-life

The Judgement
really liked it
that ending. ha.
tagged:
literature-german

A Hunger Artist
really liked it
I think I have greatly underestimated Kafka due to my inability to appreciate the insights he has into the human soul. I read The Metamorphosis a few decades back and thought it utterly absurd and an entire waste of time. Perhaps this mi…
tagged:
literature-german

Introduction to the New Testament
liked it
tagged:
theology-nt-commentary

The Fox and the Forest
really liked it
tagged:
literature-science-fiction

Law and the Bible: Justice, Mercy and Legal Institutions
really liked it
surprisingly good -this is certainly worth reading.

A Sound of Thunder
really liked it
spectacular!
tagged:
literature-science-fiction

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
really liked it
The material covered in this book was eye-opening and dispels many of the myths that surround black culture in the US.
tagged:
sociology

The Christological Controversy
it was ok
tagged:
theology-christology

A Walk Thru the Book of Jonah (Walk Thru the Bible Discussion Guides): Experiencing God's Relentless Grace
really liked it
It’s not easy to find a good commentary on the Book of Jonah. So I took a chance with this one today and found it was packed with all sort of gems! I would have rated it 5-stars, but it was just too short.
tagged:
theology-ot-commentary

David Livingstone
liked it
I hear a lot of references to Livingstone from the American pulpit. So not having much familiarity, I read this book and watched a number of biographies. I very much enjoyed the first hundred pages of the book which deal mostly with Livi…
tagged:
biographical and theology-missions

The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment
really liked it
tagged:
theology-christian-life

The Grand Weaver: How God Shapes Us Through the Events of Our Lives
liked it
I’ve always enjoyed Ravi. He seems to have an endless list of fascinating stories from his life’s experience. This book is similarly filled with anecdotes, but it’s hard to understand where he intended to go with it. The book seems to la…
tagged:
theology-christian-life

To Live Is Christ to Die Is Gain
liked it
Popular level commentary on the book of Philippians which were taken (nearly verbatim) from Chandler’s sermon series.
tagged:
theology-nt-commentary

War of Words: Getting to the Heart of Your Communication Struggles
really liked it
tagged:
theology-counseling and theology-christian-life

Mises on Money
liked it
tagged:
economics-austrian

Economics in One Lesson: The Shortest & Surest Way to Understand Basic Economics
it was amazing
If only people would read books like this. It is as relevant today as it was when it was written in 1946.
tagged:
economics-austrian

How People Change
really liked it
tagged:
theology-counseling

A Libertarian Critique of Intellectual Property
liked it
Too much more could be said to rate this above three stars. Some of the analogies are rather weak (eg, what if language was copyrighted?!) Even so, it’s a quick read that has a general argument that is persuasive.
tagged:
economics-austrian

The Radical Reformission: Reaching Out without Selling Out
it was amazing
This book was spectacular.
tagged:
theology-christian-life and theology-ecclesiology

On Church Leadership
liked it
Some good things. Some things with which I do not agree. Overall worth reading.
tagged:
theology-ecclesiology

Real Marriage: The Truth About Sex, Friendship, and Life Together
really liked it
Great book and highly recommended.
tagged:
theology-christian-life

Culture of Corruption: Obama and His Team of Tax Cheats, Crooks, and Cronies
really liked it
This book has a great beginning. It is well written and the claims well supported. What an absolutely brutal period of American history in the making.
tagged:
politics-usa

Christology: A Biblical, Historical, and Systematic Study of Jesus Christ
liked it
While there are certainly some redemptive aspects to this book; overall, O’Collins liberal leanings often undermine much of what he has to say. This is strange, because he identifies as a Jesuit and I’ve never read a Jesuit this liberal….
tagged:
theology-christology

The water that divides: The baptism debate
really liked it
An excellent summary of paedobaptism and credobaptism. A helpful historical summary and presentation of strengths and weaknesses of each view. This would be a great book to read in a group as it raises some fine points for discussion.
tagged:
theology-sacraments-baptism

God Incarnate: Explorations in Christology
really liked it
Crisp’s incorporation of analytic philosophy into theology makes for some of the best material I’ve read on the subject.

‘God Incarnate’ follows the same pattern as ‘Divinity and Humanity’ where Crisp introduces a number of christologi…

tagged:
theology-christology

True Community: The Biblical Practice of Koinonia
really liked it
I really enjoy Bridges books. He communicates a simple message that is important to hear with frequency.
tagged:
theology-christian-life

Divinity and Humanity: The Incarnation Reconsidered
really liked it
This is my second book of Crisp’s, the former being one of his books on the Trinity. This book on Christology was much better, much deeper in analysis, with really solid reasoning. Crisp is very gracious. He interacts with a number of Ch…
tagged:
theology-christology

Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God's Will
liked it
If there were half stars, I would have gone with 3.5.

DeYoung writes on an important topic and although it will likely be familiar to Christians of minimal maturity, it is still a wonderful subject to continually contemplate.

tagged:
theology-christian-life

Why Johnny Can't Preach: The Media Have Shaped the Messengers
really liked it
Although Gordon displays some rather gross generalizations (anecdotal evidence derived from a supremely small sample space), much of what he says does parallel my experience. The explanation he provides also rings true, at least intuitiv…
tagged:
theology-homiletcs

Don't Call it a Comeback: The Old Faith for a New Day
it was ok
Although there are a few nuggets of value, this book is all over the place.
tagged:
theology-christian-life

The Nature of True Virtue
liked it
tagged:
philosophy-ethics and theology-ethics

A Brief History of the Presbyterians
liked it
There is some value to this book if you have little familiarity with Presby history. Smylie writes from an apostate perspective that identifies itself as Presbyterian, so his focus in the latter portions sway toward that direction. Even …
tagged:
history-christian

The Lord's Supper: Eternal Word in Broken Bread
really liked it
Letham is one of my favorite authors and this little book only reinforces that position. If only it were available in Spanish.
tagged:
theology-sacraments-eucharist

The Healing Path: How the Hurts in Your Past Can Lead You to a More Abundant Life
it was amazing
absolutely spectacular – one of Allender’s best.
tagged:
theology-christian-life and theology-counseling

Father, Son, & Holy Spirit: Relationships, Roles, & Relevance
liked it
Ware attempts to tackle the subject of subordinationism within the Trinity. His position is that Christ is eternally generated (whatever that means) and thereby eternally subordinate. He writes at the popular level and almost seems entir…
tagged:
theology-trinity

Richard Baxter: The Pastor's Pastor
really liked it
I have loved everything I’ve read of Baxter’s. Reading *about* Baxter was just as enjoyable. What an extraordinarily difficult life.
tagged:
biographical and theology-christian-life

MERIT AND MOSES A critique of the Klinean  Doctrine of Republican
it was amazing
excellent summary and refutation of the republication doctrine – highly recommended!
tagged:
theology-covenantalism

Who's Tampering with the Trinity?: An Assessment of the Subordination Debate
it was amazing
This was the best book I’ve read on the subordination debate. Erickson gives the most balanced and fair approach of any other author I’ve read on the subject. Though he sides more with Giles on the complimentarian side (which he calls eq…
tagged:
theology-trinity




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2018 Reading Challenge

2018 Reading Challenge
Ryan has
read 19 books toward
their goal of
52 books.
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