As we near the Christmas season, we begin searching for good gifts for our loved ones. Books provide an endless supply of unique and meaningful signs of our affection. Below you will find some of our most recent finds and old favorites that may be meaningful for you and those on your Christmas list. Some selections are classics of the Western literary tradition while others are fresh releases from popular, academic, and ministry publishers. We think you’ll be able to find something of value in each selection.
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Aesop, Aesop’s Fables, ed. Jack Zipes (New York: Signet, 2004), 288 pages.
As good as new books can be, they don’t often stand the test of time. For that reason, I believe you should include a classic that has proven itself valuable to many generations in your reading diet at any given time. As a child, I didn’t like reading, so I feel like I have been playing catch-up for much of my adult life.
I recently read the classic Aesop’s Fables. Aesop was a Greek fabulist. I had heard some of these stories before; many I had not. Aesop’s Fables addresses the challenges and struggles of life—pride, deception, selfishness, nobility, friendship, justice, and so forth—in a manner that is charming and instructive. Most of these stories are two or three pages long. If you’re interested in making your way through these tales, I recommend reading three or four every night, thereby giving your mind time to process the implications of these stories and avoiding potential oversaturation.
—Recommended by Matthew Steven Bracey
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Jane Austen, Lady Susan (with The Watsons and Sanditon) (London: Penguin, 2003), 228 pages.
Though Jane Austen is most well-known for her six long novels, she also wrote several novellas, most of which were not published until after her death. Lady Susan is one of these lesser-known works, but it is nonetheless delightful, showcasing Austen’s keen social perception and masterful use of wit. Because of its epistolary style, the plot is revealed to the reader through letters of the main characters, giving unique insight into their true thoughts and feelings and juxtaposing these against the perceptions revealed in letters between other characters. Lady Susan Vernon, the titular character, is a conniving flirt who cares only for herself and her own advantage. The great joy of the novella is to discover whether or not Lady Susan will prosper in her schemes. After you’ve read Lady Susan, be sure to watch the 2016 film adaptation of the novella entitled, oddly enough, Love and Friendship.
—Recommended by Christa Thornsbury
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Wendell Berry, Fidelity: Five Stories (New York: Pantheon, 1992), 201 pages.
The Wendell Berry stories gathered in this collection are about the everyday events of life and their profound significance. Indeed, Berry focuses the reader’s attention on what it means to live in community, what it means to live in light of the past, and what it takes to face the triumphs and tragedies that comprise human life. His stories reflect the true, the good, and the beautiful. They draw the reader’s attention to these traits and call him to identify them in his own life. Berry invites his audience to ponder these things and calls them to live the truly good life.
—Recommended by Christa Thornsbury
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Kate Bowler, Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I’ve Loved (New York: Random House, 2018), 183 pages.
I first learned of Kate Bowler when I saw her name on the cover of a book bearing a jewel encrusted cross. The Oxford Press publication was entitled Blessed, and it was a history of the prosperity gospel in America. So I was a bit surprised when this book, Everything Happens for a Reason, came out—a popular-level book published by an academic. I was also gripped by the title.
In Everything Happens for a Reason, Bowler brings together her research on the prosperity gospel and her experience with having an incurable form of cancer. Bowler’s writing is honest and powerful as she struggles to reconcile the prosperity gospel with real life. Interestingly, she rejects these prosperity promises intellectually but seems to wish they were true practically. Bowler’s conclusion is that the prosperity gospel sees healing as a sign of divine blessing and favor, but maybe the good news is primarily that God is with us and cares for us. Maybe we don’t need trite replies like, “Well, everything happens for a reason” or to pretend that divine healing and wealth are the only signs of divine blessing and favor. Maybe His presence is enough.
I was hesitant to recommend this book to you: I don’t agree with everything Bowler says. But she provides remarkable insight to the reality of human suffering and the Christian faith.
—Recommended by Jesse Owens
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Mark Dever, Understanding the Great Commission (Nashville: B&H, 2016), 55 pages.
Jesus’ final marching orders before ascending into heaven instructed everyone to go into the whole world and make disciples. Grammatically speaking, there is one imperative verb in the entire passage: Make disciples (Matt. 28:18-20). Last words are important, and Christians should carefully consider how they are applying the Great Commission to their entire lives. In Understanding the Great Commission¸ Mark Dever helps lay-people do just that. I recently picked up this book at a 9Marks conference, and I found it to be a good primer on this command. The book is part of the series Church Basics.
—Recommended by Zachery Maloney
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Homer, The Odyssey: The Story of Odysseus, trans. W. H. D. Rouse (New York: Mentor Books, 1937), 304 pages.
This classic work of literature details Odysseus’ return journey from the Trojan War. However, this epic poem is more than just an entertaining adventure story. Homer deftly portrays the ideals of ancient Greece through the ordeals of Odysseus, his wife Penelopeia, and his son Telemachos. Though the gods are fickle, Odysseus and his family seek virtue and justice at all costs, looking to be reunited against all odds. A relevant work in all times and for all age groups, I especially recommend it to younger readers who are still forming their moral consciousness.
—Recommended by Phillip T. Morgan
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Larry W. Hurtado, Honoring the Son: Jesus in Earliest Christian Devotional Practice (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2018), 95 pages.
Did the earliest Christians believe that Jesus was God? This is an essential question that Larry Hurtado’s newest book, Honoring the Son, seeks to answer. Hurtado answers this question with a resounding “yes,” but the way he seeks to prove that the earliest Christians believed that Jesus is God is somewhat unique. Hurtado doesn’t dig for doctrinal statements regarding the deity of Christ. Instead, he focuses on the fact that, amongst the earliest Christians, particularly those of Jewish heritage, Jesus was worshiped alongside God the Father.
The Jews were strict monotheists (believers in only one God), and they worshiped God alone. But the earliest Jewish-Christian circles saw Jesus as worthy of divine worship. Hurtado summarizes his thesis this way: “Although the theological consequences of this occupied Christians in the following centuries, the decisive step in treating Jesus as sharing in some way in divine glory and status was taken remarkably early, and was expressed both in Christological rhetoric and, most importantly, distinctively, and remarkably in this dyadic [Father and Son] devotional pattern” (68).
—Recommended by Jesse Owens
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Steven Lawson, The Passionate Preaching of Martyn Lloyd-Jones (Sanford, FL: Reformation Trust, 2016), 188 pages.
I can’t recommend this book enough. Not only is it a fascinating study into the mind of Lloyd-Jones, one of the most important expositors of the twentieth century, but also it is instructive to preachers and teachers of God’s Word. Steven Lawson’s writing is clear, concise, and inspiring. With only nine chapters stretched across less than two hundred pages, those interested in this volume could easily get through it in less than two weeks.
—Recommended by Matthew Steven Bracey
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Kenneth R. Mitchell and Herbert Anderson, All Our Losses, All Our Griefs (Louisville: John Knox Press, 1983), 173 pages.
If you are involved in any type of ministry, you are going to deal with people who struggle with grief and personal loss. Sometimes we struggle with what to say or how to minister effectively in these types of situations. All Our Losses, All Our Griefs is a wonderful resource for pastoral care. The framework of the book consists of three parts: the genesis of grief, the nature of loss and grief, and pastoral responses to those who grieve. I highly recommend this resource to any pastor or lay-person struggling through grief and loss.
—Recommended by Zachery Maloney
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Jordan Peterson, 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote for Chaos (Toronto: Random House Canada, 2018), 409 pages.
Jordan Peterson, though Canadian, is arguably the most discussed (and controversial) public intellectual in America right now. In this bestseller, Peterson brings together social psychology, biology, neurology, philosophy, and other disciplines to produce what is probably the most sophisticated self-help book published in decades. Peterson is a professor and clinician who has been trying to help people for decades. Much of the controversy surrounding him is focused on his views of political correctness and identity politics. Though he appeals to conservatives and libertarians, Peterson defies traditional political categorization. For this reason, his work is fascinating, even when one may disagree with him.
What I found especially insightful about this book was his extensive engagement with the narratives of Scripture. Though not a Christian, Peterson’s counsel about hard work, emotional development, cultivating resilience, and even parenting coheres at many points with traditional Judeo-Christian values. His work has certainly found an audience among many young men who are looking for direction in life. For this reason and others, Christians should take seriously Peterson’s ideas and seek to subject them to rigorous theological reflection.
—Recommended by W. Jackson Watts
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Chris Whipple, The Gatekeepers: How the White House Chiefs of Staff Define Every Presidency (New York: Crown, 2017), 384 pages.
Surprising as it may be to some politicos, one of the most consequential positions in American politics is not found in the Constitution. Of course, as this book’s title indicates, I’m talking about the chief of staff to the president. In this page-turner, Chris Whipple explores the role that chiefs of staff have played in the administrations of presidents from Richard Nixon through Barack Obama. Interestingly, though previous presidents had advisors, none before Nixon had a traditional chief of staff. Whipple argues that the failure of presidents like John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson to have such a staff member hindered their leadership in significant ways. He then surveys each subsequent presidential administration, showing where chiefs of staff have either contributed to the success of presidencies, or contributed to scandal or ineffectiveness.
Whipple’s book draws largely from interviews with the men themselves, since many former chiefs of staff are still alive today. Much as do former presidents, former chiefs of staff belong to something of a special fraternity. What a satisfying way to scratch a political itch!
—Recommended by W. Jackson Watts
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Andrea Wulf, Founding Gardeners: The Revolutionary Generation, Nature, and the Shaping of the American Nation (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2011), 349 pages.
Design historian Andrea Wulf’s 2011 book, Founding Gardeners, has been my favorite find of the year! It is almost impossible to write something fresh and insightful about the founding era, especially when dealing with George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison. However, Wulf does so with alacrity by arguing that the founders can be fully understood only in light of their fundamentally agrarian sensibilities. She details how each founder’s engagement with agriculture and gardening was an expression of and guiding principle for their political thought. This fascinating book is well written and well worth the time to read.
—Recommended by Phillip T. Morgan
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