Not all these books released in 2010, but these are the best books I read in the previous year. They are in no particular order, but the bolded title was the best of the best.
Counted Righteous in Christ by John Piper
World War Z by Max Brooks
Vermont: A History by Charles T. Morissey
The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell
Too Far to Go by John Updike
For the Fame of God's Name: Essays in Honor of John Piper ed. by Sam Storms and Justin Taylor
Commentary on Galatians by Martin Luther
Mere Churchianity by Michael Spencer
The Bruised Reed by Richard Sibbes
What Did You Expect? by Paul Tripp
5 comments:
How important is it do you believe it is to read older books from previous centuries? I've noticed Rick Warren suggest reading something like 25% from over 100 years ago (not sure his accurate breakdown). Most Puritan writers are very difficult to read and it gets harder from there. Do you beleive that it's a necessary exercise to read tough "old" works? Do you practice that in your own life? Appreciate your insights.
Other Jared ;-), I think it's very important to read books from history. They have stood the test of time. CS Lewis before Warren said something similar:
It is a good rule, after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between. If that is too much for you, you should at least read one old one to every three new ones.
His argument is that new books aren't tested yet. Although they are certainly hyped.
There are many updated versions of older books, where editors work diligently to give the older language a more modern sound.
But even the older language stuff can be picked up with patience and exposure. The first few will be difficult, but like any kind of exercising, it gets easier the longer you go.
Good questions.
Per Jared #2's note about older book's being more difficult to read - turns out being harder to read increases retention. See this Wired.com article http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/01/the-benefit-of-ugly-fonts/ Now I'm actually grateful for all the plainly-typeset Banner of Truth books.
Heck yes!
World War Z!
That book gave me nightmares for months. I LOVED it.
Thanks to both of you guys for your comments. The link you sent Christ was extremely encouraging to continue to plow through a John Owen book I'm in. Jared #1 (haha), the Lewis quote was awesome and inspiring. The Lord is continuing to challenge me to increase my "spiritual exercise" so we'll hope this improves my conditioning!
Thanks!
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