2025 Books
I wrote yesterday that 2025 was a fairly "safe" year for my music listening. By contrast, this was one of the most varied reading years that I have had in a long time!
I set a goal to finish 12 books in 2025 and ended the year at 14. Short books still count! This list includes my usual mix of physical, digital, and audiobooks and, as always, is in addition to my daily Bible reading. For the third year in a row, I followed the M'Cheyne reading plan for my personal devotions, and I continue to find it to be a well-balanced reading system with a realistic time commitment. I have been planning to use the M'Cheyne system again in 2026, but recently, I've been getting the itch to do a straight read-through. I guess I have a day to decide!
The rest of my reading this year breaks down into a few broad categories:
Christian Living and Devotionals:
- Lent with the Desert Fathers (Thomas McKenzie): A moving and thoughtful daily devotional for the Lenten season, based on sayings of the early desert monastics.
- The Advent of Glory (R.C. Sproul): My wife and I enjoy reading a daily Advent devotional each year, and this is an excellent one drawn from Sproul's preaching and published recently.
- Consider the Lilies (Jonny Ardavanis): A biblically informed approach for those struggling with anxiety (and isn't that all of us, at one time or another?)
- A Bit of Earth: A Year in the Garden with God (Andrea G. Burke): My last book of the year, and one of the best. This beautiful book is hard to classify as it blends prayer, devotional writing, and a gardening manual. But what it conveys is the care that God has for creation, and the ways that we can steward that gift.
Favorite Writers:
- The Art of the Commonplace (Wendell Berry, ed. Norman Wirzba): A curated collection of Berry's essays, and an excellent introduction to his expansive thought and work.
- Another Day (Wendell Berry): An entirely different set of writing from Berry, this is a beautiful collection of "Sabbath poems" written over a decade from 2013 to 2023. Stunning and thought-provoking.
- How to Beat ChatGPT and Daily MEDS (Nicholas Bate): Bate has been one of my favorite bloggers for several years and I'm glad that he has started packaging some of his ideas into these short, easily digestible ebooks. They are inexpensive and frequently on sale!
Bookstore Finds:
I am fortunate to live in the same city as The Book Loft, and a certain number of my books each year are items from their shelves that pique my interest. Here are a few of those!
- The World Walk (Tom Turcich): An incredible memoir from a man who spent 7 years walking around the world with his dog. As an avid walker, this was a fascinating and engaging read.
- The Book of Tea (Kakuzo Okakura): A brief classic on Japanese culture and the tea ceremony from the turn of the 20th century.
- Just Enough Design (Taku Satoh): Another short book by a Japanese author, this one focused on the concept of Hodo-hodo, a philosophy of restraint that is needed more than ever in our distracted, overstimulated culture.
Fitness:
- The Armor Building Formula (Dan John): Much of my 2025 fitness routine focused on kettlebells, where Dan John is a valuable resource. I picked up this book when it went on sale for Black Friday, and I plan to implement Dan's program into my 2026 exercise planning.
Books for Work:
- The Duolingo Handbook: Yes, I read another company's handbook this year. And I would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone working in product. A great example of a company defining its culture and priorities.
- Who Moved My Cheese? (Spencer Johnson): We read this quick parable about dealing with change with our Acceptd leadership team this year.
There wasn't much from this year's list that I wouldn't recommend (you could probably skip the cheese book), but the definite highlights were A Bit of Earth, Another Day, and The World Walk. I have books lined up on the shelf for 2026 (and a couple already in progress), and I'm excited to see where the new year will take me!
As always, thanks to those who have read this blog in 2025. I'm grateful for your time and engagement with my words, and I wish you a happy and healthy start to 2026!
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