The Year of Books

2007 may well have been a record-setting year for me. This was the year of books for me. I read at least as many books as I did in college throughout the year with the big difference being that I was not being graded on my understanding of the books. Some of the highlights were:

God is the Gospel by John Piper. The title may seem simple, but this was a look into some of the complexities of the Good News that God has called us, over an above anything, to himself. From this book I learned how to think of that more concretely, how that applies to my life, to those around me, and even to the world beyond the human population.

The Inheritance of Loss and Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard by Kiran Desai are both novels. These two stories may share common author, but their differences are many. The former looks into the effects of Colonialism on the lives of villagers living in northern India (and one man trying to make it in New York). The latter follows a young man who wants to escape the mundane life and in doing so creates quite a raucous around him.

The Saffron Kitchen by Yasmin Crowther offers a look into the haunted past of an Iranian women some 30 years after she settles in England. I rarely cry while reading a book, but this one moved me to tears on several occasions. It may top my list for the year.

Salvation Belongs to the Lord by John Frame is a deeply reflective overview of systematic theology that opened my eyes to see a little more clearly many mysteries I have encountered in my Christian life. Frame does a great job of making the doctrines of scripture accessible in a way that made me desire to learn more.

Lost Mountain by Erik Reece is the book that I was reading as 2007 ended and 2008 began. Reece wrote this book as a story of the year-long descruction of Lost Mountain and the effects of strip mining and mountain top removal in eastern Kentucky. I will spend more time on this incredible piece of journalism in a later blog.

The God of Promise and the Life of Faith by Scott Hafemann will draw you closer to God as you realize the sweeping theme of promises made and promises kept throughout Scripture. Over and over again I saw how incredibly trustworthy and merciful our God is as I read through this highly practical look at biblical theology.

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is incredibly well-written account of village life, imperialism, human nature and human bonds.

There are other books that I have read, some in full and many in part, but for me these were the highlights. I am so thankful for people who use their God-given talents of writing so the rest of us can learn--whether that be about God and Scripture or culture and the environment. I hope that as I go into this next year I will continue to grow through these gifts and the many more to come.