Reading in 2020 + 2020 Readings (and Listenings)

  2020 was an unusual year in so many respects. Two of those reasons have been the available time for reading and the current will for reading. On the one hand, the events of the year led to extra space and time at home, which invited extra reading and study. In many ways, this was an ideal time to try to catch up on long-awaited reading projects, to find new literary friends and mentors. 

  On the other hand, as a couple friends and I have discussed, the events of the year often made it quite difficult to focus on deeper or more extensive reading. The exact reasons for this are not clear to me, but it was interesting to hear this theme among friends who love to read. Due to this second factor, I read the majority of the books listed here during the earlier part of the year. 

   And now, the tenth annual list of recommended readings:

Christian Life and Belief

Every Good Endeavor by Tim Keller (2012) - If I were going to recommend a single book this year, it would be this book on work. It might be better to describe it as a book on 'how to steward our time, energy, giftings, and environment.' It is a book about how to be the gardeners we were designed to be. If you work, and if you seek to follow the Bible, this book would probably have areas that would benefit you in your living and thinking. 

Christianity: Fundamental Teachings by The Joint Commission of Churches in Turkey (2017) - This is an excellent consideration of biblical faith, translated from Turkish. It is the work of a commission including the Catholic, Orthodox, and conservative Protestant believers proclaiming the core of faith based on the Bible. I can almost hear the skepticism about such a work growing in your mind. I'd suggest buying it and reading it first. (If you'd like it in hard copy, message me. I can buy copies locally quite easily.) 

Practically, one major function of the book locally was showing the unity of the faith in the face of polemic opposition. Another major function was a pastoral distillation of the central tenets of the Christian faith. It fulfilled both of these functions well.  (A friend did a review of it at ETS this year; that also might be of interest to some.)

Orthodoxy by G. K. Chesterton (1908) - I listened to Chesterton's Orthodoxy as an audiobook this year. He has a delightful way with words! Furthermore, the reactions to, disagreements with, or attacks on Christianity, which he dealt with over a century ago, are surprisingly familiar today. Thus, his response to them, which is semi-autobiographical, also still resonates. This might sound as if he's writing high philosophy against great opponents, but in much of the book, his antagonist is within - his doubts, fears, beliefs, and opinions. There was much to ponder and appreciate here.

Hidden in Plain View: Undesigned Coincidences in the Gospels and Acts by Lydia McGrew - A cousin recommended this book to me a couple months back as having an interesting line of evidence for the reliability of the New Testament. Since it was free on Kindle Unlimited, I decided to look at it while we have the free trial. I'd never heard the argument for undesigned coincidences developed, although apparently it's a couple hundred years old. It has value both as commentary linking the gospel accounts and as an apologetic argument for their reliability. (my post about it)

Additional reads of value: One Gospel for All Nations by Jackson Wu; The Message of Acts by Stott; Honor, Patronage, Kinship, and Purity by David deSilva (related post)

Fiction

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay - This novel exploring the French participation in the Holocaust during World War II was deeply moving. The book's impact on Bethany as she read it was what got it onto my list to read; it was worth it. It is a well-crafted story full of pathos.

A Man of Means by P. G. Wodehouse (or... My Man Jeeves, The Inimitable Jeeves, Uneasy Money) - A friend has been telling me for years of the beauty to be found in reading Wodehouse. This year, I finally started exploring. He was right, of course. You should try them too; all the ones above are in the public domain (aka free). Clever British humor...

Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan - In a reverse from Sarah's Key, Echo was such a good book that I got Bethany to read it.  This is a novel for young people, but it is also a compelling tale for the rest of us. More accurately, it is several tales woven together with a delicate touch.

Princess of Wind & Wave (and others) by Melanie Cellier - The re-imagining of the ancient fairy tales is very nicely done in this series; the old tales guide core details of the plot, but they do not govern harshly. One is always left to wonder how the new tale will end and how the critical nuances of each tale will be intertwined in the book. (Bethany says Cellier's Spoken Mage series may be even better.)

Others: The Good Earth by Peal S. Buck; Call for the Dead by John de la Carré (who passed away very recently); and The Chosen by Chaim Potok (related post)

Re-reads: the Wrinkle in Time series; the Dune series by Frank Herbert (related post)

Nonfiction

Third Culture Kids by Van Reken and Pollock - This book is not the sort that you necessarily read through. I've benefitted from it since I first picked it up in Albania in 2005 and realized that "I was a TCK": I was a normal person from an unusual culture. Now, I'm looking at it more from the perspective of a parent. How does one raise children between cultures in the best possible ways?

   BONUS FICTION: Three Names of Me by Mary Cummings is a book about a little girl raised between cultures and struggling with her identity. It's a beautiful book for kids. (The main character is not technically a TCK, but her questions are similar, so I include her story here.)

Lions of the West by Robert Morgan - This biographical history followed a series of lives to explain the expansion of a small group of British colonies to cover the breadth of the American continent. Morgan shows the tragedies (personal and societal), the visions (also, personal and societal), the courage, the pettiness, and the conniving that went into a century of expansion and conquest, growth and heartbreak. The book is aptly subtitled "Heroes and Villains."

Religion and the Growing Mind by Basil Yeaxlee (one post among several from earlier this year) 

Music from the Year

Psallos' "Hebrews" album - These meditations on the book of Hebrews captured the family's collective musical ear. There's a variety of styles to fit the variety of topics in Hebrews.

Andrew Peterson's "Resurrection Letters" albums were also prominent in our listening this year. Volume 1 is my favorite, but all of them are impacting.

Finally, "The Hound + The Fox" are a musical team whom we have often enjoyed listening to. Check them out; I'd start here with "What Child is This / Child of the Poor." (Then save it for next Christmas!)

Recommendations from years past: 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011