My 5 Favorite Reads in 2022
There are approximately a bajillion books published each year, give or take a few. I make many reading choices based on the recommendations of others, and I love to read lists of what they found helpful and worthwhile.
Below is a list of the top-five books I read in 2022 that were especially thought-provoking and edifying. Maybe you’d enjoy them too. In no particular order:
Deeper: Real Change for Real Sinners, by Dane C. Ortlund. In 2020, Dane authored the wildly and deservedly best-selling book Gentle and Lowly. If you loved that book, you’ll love this book. Dane’s style is warm and inviting as he helps us look to Jesus, the friend of sinners. Christians need to think carefully about discipleship and how to encourage growth in the Good News. Deeper will take you deeper.
What Are Christians For? Life Together at the End of the World, by Jake Meador. The question in the title is a must-ask question. How would you answer it? This book stirred in me a fuller sense of the goodness in God’s world and a greater sense of the privilege of being an image-bearer in it. Jake is a great writer with compelling insights. What’s the leadup to our fractured culture and sense of displacement? How can we belong again, and what’s the way forward?
The Genesis of Gender: A Christian Theory, by Abigail Favale. You’re not living under a rock, and neither am I. We see the gender confusion and deception around us, throughout the culture and touted in the halls of academia. Abigail used to teach feminism and gender studies in all the ways that would produce such confusion, and now she sees the truth, wisdom, and beauty in God’s design. A gripping, well-written book on a crucial topic.
A Theology of the Christian Life: Imitating and Participating in God, by Christopher R. J. Holmes. How does God’s existence, invisibility, and infinity relate to the Christian life? These questions and more occupy the pages of this fascinating book. After getting through the introduction, I realized how unique and beneficial this book was going to be. The content is thought-provoking, devotional, and doxological. The trifecta!
Habits of the Household: Practicing the Story of God in Everyday Family Rhythms, by Justin Whitmel Earley. I wish I’d had this book a decade ago. And I may need to read it again soon. This is the perfect book to incorporate at the beginning of a new year. You have twelve months before you. What household rhythms should you establish? What present habits should you tweak or nix altogether? This book lifts your head, strengthens your knees, and points you in the way that is wise and good. Practical, biblical, needful.
If you’ve already read any of these, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were among your most enjoyed books as well. If you’re still building your reading goals for 2023, consider adding any (or all) of them.