I love to read.
Normally I stick to the same rhythm every year with when and what I read. I try to read 3 to 4 books a month, I don’t always succeed, but I try. I read because I enjoy reading. I used to set reading goals, but then it would become more about the goal then the reading and it would lose all the joy.
I usually don’t read any books except the Bible and a selected prayer book during the season of Lent, this is just one way I keep myself focused on that season. I also read the Chronicles of Narnia every year around November or December. I read the Narnia series every year at the same time for two reasons, 1) I really love this series, 2) this is usually the time of the year that my brain is fried and I want to “wind down” my brain.
I tend to read the same genre of books, mostly about prayer, spiritual formation, and church history. I will also throw in the occasional fiction every now and then. I do always seem to read in “chunks”, meaning I will read several books about the same subject, or I will read through a single authors collected works before moving on to the next thing.
I will attempt to read any book someone suggests I should read, but I make no promises that I will finish them.
You can follow along with a *mostly* up to date list of what I’m reading on Goodreads.
Suggested Reading
I get asked a lot about what books I recommend, this is usually where I start. (I read several of these every year)
- “Dark Night of the Soul” by St. John of the Cross
- “The Way of the Heart” by Henri Nouwen
- “The Divine Conspiracy” by Dallas Willard
- “Night” by Eli Wiesel
- “Falling Upwards” by Richard Rohr
- “Humility” by Andrew Murray
- “The Naked Now” by Richard Rohr
- “Celebration of Discipline” by Richard Foster
- “The Pastor” by Eugene Peterson
- “The Return of the Prodigal Son” by Henri Nouwen
- “A Tale of Three Kings” by Gene Edwards
- “The Chronicles of Narnia” by C.S. Lewis
- “A Long Obedience in the Same Direction” by Eugene Peterson
- “Surrender to Love” by David G. Benner
- “The Ragamuffin Gospel” by Brennen Manning
- “People of the Lie” by Scott M. Peck
- “A Generous Orthodoxy” by Brian McLaren
- “How the Bible Actually Works” by Pete Ennes
- “Why Revival Tarries” by Leonard Ravenhill
- “Dirty Glory” by Pete Greig