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A book a month

My "To-read" pile

I am currently 42. Based on Psalm 90:10 there is some justification to think I could live another 28 years. On average I can manage to read a book a month (not including my reading of the Bible, which never ends). So, 28 x 12 = 336; a reasonable estimate of how many books I could read before I go home.

That is actually not a lot when you consider all the books out there that might be worth reading (and there a plenty that are not!), so it would be sensible to choose wisely what to invest time into reading. Therefore I am creating this list to help me target my reading.

In choosing books to read, I am trying to aim for literature that will enrich my soul –  quality rather than quantity.

This list is likely to change and morph as I reassess whether certain books are ones I really want to read or not. (The numbers do not indicate priority, they’re just to keep track of how many items are on the list).

  1. The Shack by William Paul Young
  2. Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
  3. The Evil of Evils by Jeremiah Burroughs
  4. Communion with God by John Owen
  5. Transforming Grace by Jerry Bridges
  6. Church History by Eusebius
  7. The Worst Journey in the World by Apsley Cherry Garrard
  8. Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas
  9. The Works of John Newton, Volume 1
  10. The Works of John Newton, Volume 2
  11. The Works of John Newton, Volume 3
  12. The Works of John Newton, Volume 4
  13. The Works of John Newton, Volume 5
  14. The Works of John Newton, Volume 6
  15. When I don’t desire God by John Piper
  16. With Christ in the School of Prayer by Andrew Murray
  17. The Mortification of Sin by John Owen
  18. The Poems by W.B. Yeats
  19. Prayer by John Bunyan
  20. Dig Deeper by Nigel Beynon and Andrew Sack
  21. Spiritual Depression by D. Martin Lloyd-Jones
  22. Imagining the Course of Life by Nancy Eberhardt
  23. The Confessions by St. Augustine
  24. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
  25. The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
  26. Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth by Walter Bruegemann
  27. Praying the Psalms by Walter Bruegemann
  28. Moby Dick by Herman Melville
  29. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
  30. A journey to Victorious Praying by Bill Thrasher
  31. The Cross of Christ by John Stott
  32. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
  33. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
  34. Can You Drink the Cup? by Henri Nouwen
  35. The Trial by Franz Kafka
  36. Nostromo by Joseph Conrad
  37. Scripture by Heart by Joshua Choomin Kang
  38. The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri
  39. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Louis Carroll
  40. 1 Samuel by Dale Ralph Davis
  41. 2 Samuel by Dale Ralph Davis
  42. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
  43. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
  44. The Gospel According to John by Leon Morris
  45. Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry
  46. Herzog by Saul Bellow
  47. The Epistle to the Romans by Douglas Moo
  48. Living on the Maniototo by Janet Frame
  49. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
  50. For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
  51. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
  52. Paradise Lost by John Milton
  53. Collected Poems by T.S. Elliot
  54. Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
  55. Walden by Henry David Thoreau
  56. Selected Poems by Robert Browning
  57. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
  58. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
  59. Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
  60. Letters of William Cowper by William Cowper
  61. A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael by Elisabeth Elliot
  62. Joy Unspeakable by D. Martin Lloyd Jones
  63. Seasonable Counsels by John Bunyan
  64. Interpreting the Pauline Epistles by Tom Schreiner
  65. Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
  66. Zorba the Greek
  67. Treasury of David by Charles H. Spurgeon
  68. The Way of Life by Charles Hodge (edited by Mark Noll 1987)
  69. Practical Christianity by J.C. Ryle
  70. Everything Must Change, Jesus, Global Crises and a Revolution of Hope by Brian McClaren
  71. Future Grace by John Piper
  72. Because He Loves Me by Elyse M. Fitzpatrick
  73. The Gospel for Real Life by Jerry Bridges
  74. The Life of God in the Soul of Man by Henry Scougal
  75. Journals by George Whitfield
  76. The Freedom of a Christian by Martin Luther
  77. Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
  78. The Righteous Shall Live by Faith by R.C. Sproul
  79. Short Stories by Anton Chekhov
  80. Death of A Salesman by Arthur Miller
  81. The Plague by Albert Camu
  82. The Unity of the Bible: Unfolding God’s Plan for Humanity by Daniel P. Fuller
  83. Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
  84. East of Eden by John Steinbeck
  85. The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis
  86. The Shan: Refugees Without a Camp by Bernice Koehler Johnson
  87. Tempted and Tried by Russell Moore
  88. Burmese Days: A Novel by George Orwel
  89. A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael by Elisabeth Elliot
  90. A Faith Worth Sharing: A Lifetime of Conversations About Christ by C. John Miller
  91. Interpreting the Pauline Epistles (Guides to New Testament Exegesis) by Thomas R. Schreiner
  92. Rumors of Water: Thoughts on Creativity & Writ​ing by L. L. Barkat
  93. The Way of Suffering: A Geography of Crisis by Jerome A. Miller
  94. The Scent of Water: Grace for Every Kind of Broken by Naomi Zacharias
  95. Too Soon to Say Goodbye: Healing and Hope for Victims and Survivors of Suicide by Susan Titus Osborn
  96. Kisses from Katie: A Story of Relentless Love and Redemption by Katie Davis
  97. Note to Self: The Discipline of Preaching to Yourself (Re:Lit) by Joe Thorn
  98. Christians Get Depressed Too by David P. Murray
  99. Written in Tears: A Grieving Father’s Journey Through Psalm 103 by Luke Veldt
  100. Neither Poverty nor Riches: A Biblical Theology of Possessions by Craig Blomberg
  101. A Land Without Evil: Stopping the Genocide of Burma’s Karen People by Benedict Rogers
  102. Proverbs (Crossway Classic Commentaries) by Alister McGrath
  103. The Christian Ministry by Charles Bridges
  104. Jesus, Paul and the People of God: A Theological Dialogue with N. T. Wright by Nicholas Perrin
  105. Nowhere to Be Home: Narratives From Survivors of Burma’s Military Regime (Voice of Witness) by Maggie Lemere
  106. From the Land of Green Ghosts: A Burmese Odyssey by Pascal Khoo Thwe
  107. Everything Is Broken: A Tale of Catastrophe in Burma by Emma Larkin
  108. Undaunted: My Struggle for Freedom and Survival in Burma by Zoya Phan
  109. Shepherding a Child’s Heart by Tedd Tripp
  110. Sacred Influence: How God Uses Wives to Shape the Souls of Their Husbands by Gary Thomas
  111. The River of Lost Footsteps: A Personal History of Burma by Thant Myint-U
  112. Is God a Moral Monster?: Making Sense of the Old Testament God by Paul Copan
  113. The Grace of God by Andy Stanley
  114. Spiritual Rhythm: Being with Jesus Every Season of Your Soul by Mark Buchanan
  115. Touching Wonder: Recapturing the Awe of Christmas by John Blase
  116. The Way of the Righteous in the Muck of Life: Psalms 1-12 by Dale Ralph Davis
  117. Genesis Unbound: A Provocative New Look at the Creation Account by John H. Sailhamer
  118. The Trellis and the Vine by Colin Marshall
  119. The Meaning of the Pentateuch: Revelation, Composition and Interpretation by John H. Sailhamer
  120. Preaching & Preac​hers by David Martyn Lloyd-Jones
  121. Between Two Worlds: The Challenge of Preaching Today by John R. W. Stott
  122. The Bondage of the Will by Martin Luther
  123. Seeing with New Eyes: Counseling and the Human Condition Through the Lens of Scripture by David Powlison
  124. Christ-Centered​ Preaching: Redeeming the Expository Sermon by Bryan Chapell