Pursuing Veritas

Reflections by Jacob J. Prahlow

What I Read in 2024

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Every year, I commit to reading as much and as widely as possible. And as a means of attempting to remember everything I’ve read and holding myself accountable to my reading goals, I track the books I’ve read each year. (Click here to see what I read in 2023.)

A couple of notes on this list. First, this is not a “what you should read” list like some of the others that you might see floating around this time of year. This is what I read this year and it’s a list shaped by my vocation and place in life. Second, I’ve found that breaking down what I read by category is helpful for me, so this list appears that way (and includes some sub-categories as well).

Please also note a couple of special markers. My favorite books (and the ones I actually do recommend you consider reading) are marked with an asterisk and hyperlinked. Additionally, the books I’d read prior to this year but re-read are marked with a [re-read] notation.

Finally, my goal the past several years has been to read 150 books (~3/week) and that was again the case this year. I spent many a sleepless night reading this year, so I’m pleased to note that this year’s list includes 210 titles completed. Without further ado, here’s what I read in 2024:

Biblical Studies – General

  • The Book of Enoch for Beginners, Long
  • Taking God at His Word, DeYoung
  • Coming Home, ed. Carson and Robinson
  • God’s Big Picture Bible Storybook, Wright
  • Jesus Wants to Save Christians, Bell and Golden

Biblical Studies – Old Testament

  • The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Charlesworth [re-read]
  • The Unseen Realm, Heiser*
  • The Scriptures Testify About Me, ed. Carson
  • A Commentary on the Book of the Twelve, Shepherd [re-read]
  • Why the Bible Began, Wright
  • The Lost World of the Prophets, Walton*
  • Spurgeon on the Psalms, Spurgeon
  • The Poets’ Book of Psalms, ed. Wieder

Biblical Studies – New Testament

  • The Second Testament, McKnight
  • To Live Is Christ, To Die is Gain, Chandler [re-read]
  • Practice Resurrection, Peterson
  • The Final Days of Jesus, Kostenberger and Taylor
  • The Eyewitness: The Final Week, Seay and Capes
  • Reversed Thunder, Peterson [re-read]
  • Reading Revelation Responsibly, Gorman
  • Breaking the Code, Metzger
  • Revelation for the Rest of Us, McKnight and Matchett
  • Greek for Life, Merkle and Plummer
  • God is For Us, Newbell
  • A Historical Introduction to the New Testament, Grant
  • Charts on the book of Revelation, Wilson

Churchworld and Pastoral Care

  • Learning to Speak God from Scratch, Merritt*
  • What Is the Mission of the Church?, DeYoung and Gilbert
  • The Pastor as Scholar and the Scholar as Pastor, Piper and Carson
  • The Social Church, Wise
  • My Body Is Not a Prayer Request, Kenny*
  • Sharing Jesus Without Freaking Out, Reid
  • The Genius of One, Holder
  • Pentecost, Alvarez
  • Losing Our Religion, Moore*
  • Why Do Protestants Convert?, Littejohn and Castaldo
  • Sticky Church, Osborne
  • The Post-Quarantine Church, Rainer
  • Planning Sabbaticals, Saler
  • Dear Church, Duncan
  • Lent: The Season of Repentance, McCaulley*
  • The Founder’s Evolution, Ritzheimer
  • The Reluctant Witness, Everts
  • Talk With Your Kids, Parker
  • Christmas: The Season of Light and Life, McGowin
  • Caring Assertiveness, Haugk et al
  • Accidental Saints, Bolz-Weber
  • Deeper, Ortlund*
  • The Monastic Heart, Chittister
  • Rule of St. Benedict, Benedict [re-read]
  • The Book of Pastoral Care, Gregory the Great [re-read]
  • A Time for Wonder, Christianity Today
  • Market Street Pastor, Hoke
  • Epiphany: The Season of Glory, Rutledge

Churchworld and Pastoral Care – Mental Health

  • It’s Ok That You’re Not Okay, Devine
  • Mental Health and the Church, Grcevich
  • The Anxiety Toolkit, Boyes
  • How to Smile, Hanh
  • Tiny Habits, Fogg
  • How to Focus, Hanh
  • Anxiety Rx, Kennedy
  • How to Relax, Hanh
  • The Body Keeps the Score, Van der Kolk*
  • When Panic Attacks, Burns
  • Field Notes for the Wilderness, Bessey

Fiction

  • Bilbo’s Last Song, Tolkien and Baynes
  • The Hobbit, Tolkien [re-read]
  • Things Fall Apart, Achebe
  • The Fellowship of the Ring, Tolkien [re-read]
  • The Two Towers, Tolkien [re-read]
  • Prince Caspian, Lewis [re-read]
  • Hinds Feet on High Places, Hurnard [re-read]
  • The Fall of Numenor, Tolkien
  • The Return of the King, Tolkien [re-read]
  • The Princess Bride, Goldman
  • The Magician’s Nephew, Lewis [re-read]

History – Christianity

  • The Wandering Mind, Kreiner
  • The Quest to Save the Old Testament, Ney
  • Walking with Giants, Bingham
  • Bright Ages, Perry and Gabriele
  • How to Study the Bible, Moody
  • Knowledge, Faith, and Early Christian Initiation, Fogleman

History – General and Biography

  • The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self, Trueman*
  • The Dictionary People, Ogilvie
  • Killing the Witches, O’Reilly and Dugard
  • Milton Friedman, Burns
  • War, MacMillian
  • Churchill, Roberts
  • Israel, Tishby*
  • Apollo 8, Sandler
  • The Legendary Harry Caray, Zminda
  • Power Ball, Neyer
  • Apollo 8, Kluger
  • Speeches that Changed the World, Annan et al
  • The Essential Wisdom of the World’s Greatest Leaders, ed. Kelly-Gangi
  • Greenlights, McConaughey
  • Killer Angels, Shaara
  • SPQR, Beard*
  • Delete That, Crist
  • Maimonides, Nuland
  • The American Civil War, Keegan*
  • Disney War, Stewart

Homesteading & Outdoors

  • Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World, Welch
  • The Scouting Guide, Fears
  • Assume the Worst, Hiaasen
  • Prepared, Glover
  • Emergency, Strauss
  • When All Hell Breaks Loose, Lundin
  • US Army Survival Manual (FM 21-76), DOD
  • Old-Fashioned on Purpose, Winger

Leadership

  • From Generation to Generation, Friedman
  • What Got You’re Here Won’t Get You There, Goldsmith
  • The Ideal Team Player, Lencioni
  • Leadership, Strategy, and Tactics, Willink
  • Creativity Inc (Expanded Edition), Catmull

Philosophy & Literature – General

  • Meditations, M. Aurelius
  • Writing for Busy Readers, Rogers and Lasky-Fink
  • The Christian Imagination, ed. Ryken*
  • Phantastes, MacDonald
  • Selected Poems, Donne
  • Where the Sidewalk Ends, Silverstein
  • The Complete Poetry, Angelou
  • A Light in the Attic, Silverstein
  • The Poetry of Pablo Neruda, Neruda
  • Paradise Lost, Milton [re-read]
  • Poems, Dickinson
  • Falling Up, Silverstein
  • You Are Here, Limón
  • Living Nations, Living Words, Harjo
  • The Lost Tools of Learning, Sayers

Philosophy & Literature – Tolkien

  • The Song of Middle Earth, Harvey
  • J.R.R. Tolkien’s Sanctifying Myth, Birzer
  • Realms of Tolkien, Various
  • The People’s Guide to JRR Tolkien, Challis
  • The Fellowship, Zaleski and Zaleski
  • Tolkien’s World, Naismith et al
  • Lord of the Rings Location Guide, Brodie
  • On Fairy Stories, ed. Flieger and Anderson
  • Tolkien’s Ordinary Virtues, Eddy Smith

Politics & Culture

  • How Infrastructure Works, Chachra
  • Hope in the Dark, Solnit
  • We Need to Talk about Antisemitism, Fersko
  • Compassion & Conviction, The & Campaign [re-read]
  • The Wisdom of Plagues, McNeil
  • Truth Over Tribe, Miller and Simon*
  • The Address Book, Mask
  • Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order, Dalio
  • The After Party, Chang and French
  • Woke Inc, Ramaswamy
  • The Quest for Cosmic Justice, Sowell
  • Second Treatise on Government, Locke
  • Our Ancient Faith, Guelzo
  • So You Want to Talk about Race, Oluo
  • The Coddling of the American Mind, Lukianoff and Haidt*

Science & Math

  • Black Hole, Bartusiak
  • A Briefer History of Time, Hawking
  • Love and Math, Frenkel
  • The Boglehead’s Guide to the Three-Fund Portfolio, Bogle
  • USA National Parks, Lomax
  • The One-Page Financial Plan, Richards

Theology – General

  • The Apostles’ Creed for Today, Gonzalez
  • Answers from Aslan, William
  • All In, Batterson
  • The One Thing You Can’t Do In Heaven, Cahill
  • The Christian Worldview Handbook, ed. Dockery and Wax
  • The Creed, Bauman [re-read]
  • The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God, Carson
  • A New Kind of Christian, McLaren
  • Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility, Carson
  • God Never Gives Up on You, Lucado
  • Imagine the God of Heaven, Burke
  • Love in Hard Places, Carson
  • Excellence, Kostenberger
  • Collected Writings on Scripture, Carson
  • The Gospel as Center, ed. Carson and Keller
  • Crossing the Threshold of Hope, Pope John Paul II
  • Faith Across Traditions, Conciliar Post
  • Exiles, Sprinkle
  • When I Don’t Desire God, Piper
  • Proof of Heaven, Alexander
  • You Are a Theologian, Wilkin and English*
  • Remember God, Downs
  • In His Image, Wilkin
  • An Interpretation of Christian Ethics, Niebuhr
  • A Compassionate Call to Counter Culture, Platt
  • On Living Well, Peterson*
  • On the Soul and Its Origin, Augustine
  • Love Matters More, Byas
  • Learning to Walk in the Dark, Brown Taylor*
  • Think Ahead, Groeschel

Theology – Gender and Sexuality

  • The Biblical World of Gender, ed. Durgin and Johnson
  • Understanding Transgender Identities, ed. Beilby and Eddy
  • Talking Back to Purity Culture, Welcher
  • A Letter to My Congregation, Wilson
  • The Zimzum of Love, Bell and Bell
  • Shameless, Bolz-Weber

Theology – Spiritual Disciplines

What about you: what did you read in 2024? Which books did you find the most helpful for you this past year?

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