I Read an Astonishing Number of Books in 2015

At the start of 2015, I set out with the goal to read five books by the end of each month. This goal was achieved, but the extra time several months of sickness gave me, boosted the total number of books read up to 72. 72 books! That’s my record since I left school. 

It’s March, long past the respectable window in which one can publish such lists. But several have asked for a list, and several more have asked for reading suggestions, so here at last is something. Before I dive in, I have three reflections on this year of reading:

1. Our reading time is precious. So there is nothing worse than looking back over several months of reading and realizing that nothing from that list was worth my time. How do you ensure the books you choose to read are worth reading? Some books fall into my life, others I seek out after receiving a recommendation. Coming to end of a year and having such a long list of memorable titles is a gift I can’t take for granted. 

2. Douglas Wilson has a great article with tips on how to read more books. I was surprised by how many of these tricks I’ve already used to great effect. Keeping a list of books I finish was an early incentive for me to finish books. Having many different types of books on the go at once is also a big help. (I currently have 15 titles on my “actively reading” list.) Are there any tricks you deploy?

3. But with all this rapid reading, is there a place for settling into and slowly reading just a single book? Both a friend and my pastor have recently challenged me with this suggestion. How do you find a balance between reading many books and integrating what you read into your life?  

Here then, is my list, my favourite titles followed by honourable mentions.

Cry, the Beloved Country
I listened to the Michael York’s audiobook narration of Alan Paton’s novel Cry, the Beloved Country. I had started this story while sick and looking for a story to listen that might help me fall asleep. As the narration began, I slowly started to sit up in bed, intently listening to every word. My eyes grew wide in the darkness. This was truly something different. The story, of an Anglican priest from a Zulu tribe on his way to Johannesburg in search of his lost son, is both gut wrenching and life affirming. The prose is laced with poetry that will make your heart break. And Michael York’s narration exceeds the quality of ever other audiobook I’ve listened to. This book shows Christ at work with an honesty that’s rarely seen.

The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment
Every month my pastor recommends a book for our church to read. The month of May was one of the toughest in my life, and this book, by the Puritan Jeremiah Burroughs arrived at exactly the right moment. I wrote elsewhere about it’s impact. I doubt its cordial of medicine will remain bottled up on my shelf forever. I will need its council and wisdom again.

Culture Care: Reconnecting with Beauty for Our Common Life
Makoto Fujumura is walking a path faithful to both the community of Christ and the professional art world. In this book, he outlines the theology and philosophy behind this balance, a new paradigm that seeks to care for what is good in the culture, rather than simply combatting what we don’t like. In a year of political division in both Canada and the US, this book is especially needed. It is theology and it is art, it is doctrine laced with imagination and example, both personal and historical. Seek it out. 

Jayber Crow
I spent many happy hours on my summer vacation wandering the forests and sea cliffs of Hornby Island, taking pictures while listening to this book by Wendall Berry. Its story of a small-town barber, his private spiritual journey, and the public life of the community he lives amongst is a story to nestle amongst. Paul Michael’s recording gets the Kentucky accents just right.

Music at Midnight: The Life and Poetry of George Herbert
I’ve always wanted to understand and appreciate the poetry of George Herbert, but it insisted on eluding my grasp. John Drury’s own Cambridge roots makes him the perfect biographer, but what I didn’t expect was also an illuminating guide to understanding Herbert’s poetry, which I now treasure.  His story was also personally affecting, giving me much to ponder about the visible fruits of a man’s ministry.

The Book of the Dun Cow
A blurb on the book’s cover describes it as “ belonging on the same shelf as Animal Farm, Lord of the Rings, and Watership Down”. Walter Wangerin wove a terrifying and memorable fable filled with very real characters I won’t be forgetting soon. The audiobook recording is worth seeking out.

Ambition: Essays By Members of the Chrysostom Society
This year I wrestled with how to reckon with my ambitions as a humble and content Christ-follower. These essays by the members of the Chrysostom Society, gave me hope, reframing my perceptions, comforting me with their experiences, and challenging me in my contentment.

To Kill A Mockingbird
This is my sister’s favourite book. After confessing that I had never read it, I came home one night to find it on my pillow with a hand written note: “READ ME!”. My sister was right.

The Gospel: How the Church Portrays the Beauty of Christ
Another Calvary Grace Church “book of the month”, this volume by Ray Ortlund was as clarifying and refreshing as stumbling upon fresh spring of water amid a dry and weary land.

Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God
Tim Keller’s guide to prayer gave me a guideline and a handbook to what’s gradually changing from a mysterious to achievable process.

The Romantic Rationalist: God, Life, and Imagination in the Work of C.S. Lewis
This collection of essays from one of the final Desiring God conferences contained a sentence that continues to direct my thoughts to this day. It came to mind even as I typed this blog post.

Honourable Mentions:

U2's Achtung Baby: Meditations on Love in the Shadow of the Fall by Stephen Catanzarite
Brendan by Frederick Buechner
Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald S. Whitney
The Office of Assertion: An Art of Rhetoric for the Academic Essay by Scott F. Crider
Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
The Wes Anderson Collection: The Grand Budapest Hotel by Matt Zoller Seitz
Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist (Revised Edition, 2011) by John Piper
The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction by Alan Jacobs
Edwards on the Christian Life: Alive to the Beauty of God by Dane C. Ortlund

Here's a stack of my favourite books from last year, at least the books I could find around the house. The rest I had leant out, some I had borrowed, a few had been returned to the library. It was a lot of work putting all these books back on the shelf. 

Reflecting on 2015

On New Years Day I was up at 5:30 a.m.,  driving to Estavan, Saskatchewan so I could celebrate a dear friend's wedding. This necessarily cut short any time for typical New Year’s reflections. I had hoped to write something, at least list of my favourite albums, books, and films of 2015, but as January rolled into February and nothing happened, such plans seem ridiculously late to implement now.

But taking the time to celebrate what God has done is surely worthwhile, especially during the boring and wearisome month of February. And I've written a fair bit about about some of the trials of this past year. Now I want to take some time to reflect on the blessings and joys of 2015. So here is a list of (some) my favourite things from the year; the experiences that I’m so thankful for, the riches that "overflow and flood the plain" of my life.

Travels 2015

My vacation to Hornby Island and Portland was, in so many ways, just what I needed. I left in great uncertainty and arrived home rejoicing in how God used the trip to build me up in His Gospel and to clarify my plans for the year ahead. My time at Hornby was in turn relaxing and convicting, preparing me for a trip to Portland. Here I was able to witness the creativity and faithfulness of its local church, through visits with The Bible Project and Humble Beast.

Writing about Portland

In late Autumn I was sick for about a month and a half, which gave me time to pull out the recordings I took during the interviews I conducted in Portland. I edited these into a couple of essays, with the proofreading and morale support of my friend Andrew. The essay on The Bible Project was well received when it was published and I plan on releasing the one on Humble Beast soon. Hopefully this is just the start of many more interviews, essays, and even trips.

The Troubles

“Things might have been different, but they could not have been better” says a character in Tolkien’s autobiographical short story Leaf by Niggle. It’s funny how the darkest bits of your life are the bits that you can’t do without. It was hard. And I wish it happened differently, but I see now the reasons why it might have happened. Working through this whole experience was a challenge, but a delight. A handful of people have thanked me for writing about the experience in this trilogy of short essays, and I pray that’s just a small sampling of the fruit that He is growing in me.

Music with Jason

In 2014, the music team that I played with disbanded and I was heartbroken. But this last year I was invited to play with Jason Hoffer, who’s headed a number of bands, including International Cold Beat. Our music practices are more like music lesson. I’ve learned so much from playing with him, and I’ve had a hoot of fun in the process. Our style started to gel over the year (satisfying to watch), and we have some bold (and scary!) plans for 2016.

Learning Coffee

Last Christmas, my parents gave me a gift that had an impact on my next year: a Chemex, an electric scale, and a hand-powered bur grinder. Since then I’ve added a gooseneck kettle, an areopress, and an electric burr grinder. Over the year, my skill and knowledge of the art of fine coffee increased along with my equipment collection. (For example, I took cream at the beginning of the year. I now take my coffee black.) The practice of learning to craft such an exquisite beverage daily has enriched my life in so many ways. I’ll never take it back.

A Year of Reading

In 2015, I finished 72 books. My goal was to reach the end of each month having read at least 5 titles, but vacation time, exhaustion, and a month and half of sickness gave me more time. I always hope that when I look back on my list of books read, I’ve read works worth reading, works that shape the mind and cultivate the soul. This year, I can say that the titles I chose did so more often that they did not. Soon I hope to publish a list of the 22 books that impacted me the most. I was especially encouraged by the number of times certain books were exactly what I needed to read at that moment of my life.

Apple Watch

It was great fun to be part of the first generation of users for a brand new Apple device.

Well, those are (some) of my most treasured 2015 experiences. What were yours? Let’s think back and rejoice together.