I began this list a while back lol… but still wanted to get it out to the book lovers that follow this blog. Grateful for you!
2022 was a year of change for our family. I changed jobs, becoming pastor of Valley View Church in Louisville, Kentucky. I commuted from January through May to allow my oldest to finish out his Senior year in Little Rock. We sold our house in April, so my family moved in with some generous friends to finish out the school year. In the midst of staying there, my oldest had a near fatal accident while mountain biking that required weeks of recovery and multiple surgeries. At the end of May the family moved to Louisville, picking up our very first dog the day before leaving. New schools and friends (and church/pastor) for our youngest kids. My oldest shipped out to college in Phoenix in September a week after his surgery to reconstruct his eye socket. To kick off 2023, we launched into (and since completed) what I hope is our last kitchen remodel. It was a busy year, but good.
Given everything else swirling in life, I focused my writing efforts on the weekly article I write for our church. But my burden is still to write about the books I’ve been reading to help resource the many other hungry readers out there. Thus I’ve compiled my top reads for 2022 in time to battle the summer reading doldrums. This isn’t focused on the light beach reads many associate with a summer list, but a sampling of some of the top books I enjoyed out of the 100+ books I read in 2022. Lord willing I’ll roll out 2023 and 2024 in the coming months.
I believe 2025 is going to be an amazing year. I believe God has already been doing and is going to do even more amazing things in my life and in yours. And a big part of that change are the books you read and the people you spend time around. I hope some of these books help shape you into the person you know God wants you to be!
Two Books on Ruth: In August of 2023 I preached a four part series on the book of Ruth (watch part 1, 2, 3, 4). Along the way I read two excellent little books. Faithful Bond by Sinclair Ferguson is a great overview and introduction of the book while (Re)reading Ruth by Toomen is a more focused examination of the book.
The Genesis of Gender by Abigail Favale I think this book has the potential to be a defining book for our age on the topic of gender from the perspective of a biblical worldview. Written by a former gender studies professor turned Catholic, she brings insight and weaves in her personal journey.
The Weekly Historian Michael Haykin. October was church history month at our church in 2022. I wrote a series of blog posts featuring different figures from history, and I encouraged everyone to read this little book of 52 short devotions from significant moments in church history. Short stories that are accessible and encouraging. A great entry work for those seeking to learn more about Church history. More church history recommendations to come in the future as I’m teaching a Reformation History class at our church on Wednesday nights in 2025.
Strange New World Carl Trueman. Favale (above) sought to give biblical insight into the confusion around gender in our world today, Trueman, sought to help explain the cultural currents that created the current climate. He shows the factors that lead us to the place where someone can say, “I’m a woman trapped in a man’s body,” and no one laughs, as they would have a mere 50 years prior. Based on his longer work The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self.
Scribes and Scripture by John Meade and Peter. When people ask “how did the Bible get put together?” I’ve always recommended The Journey From Text to Translation by my former seminary prof Paul Wegner. It’s a fantastic book with lots of images, but some find it too long. [Don’t let that scare you off though as it is an excellent book]. A great starting point is Scribes and Scriptures, by two other former Phoenix Seminary professors. It is a great introduction and much more accessible. The trade off is less images, but it’s worth it as the content is excellent.
Working by Robert Caro: I’m a sucker for books about productivity and writing, especially by those that have had success (Faves: Draft No 4, The War of Art, Deep Work). Caro is famous for his Epic multi-volume work on Lyndon Johnson, which are each a work of art and insight in their own right. I’m grateful he paused long enough between volumes to write this short survey of the way he approaches writing and how he got into it. I love reading about his research, “Turn every page,” and how he went to live in the Hill country to learn about what shaped Johnson, how he hunted down copies of Johnson’s college year book to find missing pages (that had been cut from every public copy by Johnson’s team). He and his wife did this research together. He types everything himself multiple times. He has hinted that he’d like to do a longer book on his process some day and I pray he lives long enough to do so.
Bodyguard of Lies Vol.1 Anthony B. Cave – I’ve read so much on WW2, but I don’t think I’ve encountered any other book like this. At over 900 pages (as is Vol.2), it tackles the behind the scenes espionage and trickery that was implemented throughout the war. Churchill said that these efforts were just as important as all of the outward armaments and warfare. Truly astounding. And I’m sure that’s only a small portion of what really happened. Definitely worth the time. Good luck finding an affordable copy!
West with the Night by Beryl Markham: Amazing little memoir by a female pilot and horse trainer in Kenya. Her life was one adventure after another, and her writing was engaging enough to earn the praise of Hemingway. Great summer read. Great to borrow from the library.
The Forgotten Preface Joshua Borzan. This short little book is the original ‘preface’ to the King James Version. All but one modern versions of the KJV (Cambridge) leave it out which is a travesty. Borzan’s book gives the entire preface, but also his own analysis and conclusions from the preface. Here’s the most important part: The preface was primarily written as a defense for why it was important to create a translation of the Bible in updated language the average person could understand. This is critical for the “King James Only” crowd to understand: the original creators of the King James were trying to update previous translations (especially the Bishops Bible) into more readable and accessible language. The irony is that the KJV only crowd wants to keep English stuck in 1600, the very thing the original KJV creators would cry fowl about! Borzan makes the point that it’s certainly fine to prefer the KJV (I agree). But we shouldn’t say it is the only worthy translation (nor is it even the most accurate). Another new book to read on the topic is Authorized: Use and Misuse of the KJV by Mark Ward. Watch Mark Ward interview Josh here.
Fatal Discord: Erasmus, Luther, and the Fight for the Western Mind by Michael Massing. I will admit that this hefty book (weighing in at almost 1000 pages) is a guilty pleasure, but it also was a surprising delight. I’ve long been a fan of reformation church history, and any reader of that era will encounter the quote “Erasmus laid the egg that Luther hatched.” Meaning, Erasmus published the first printed Greek New Testament, and his insights from the Greek text were a significant influence on the theology of Luther. But one should not assume that the two key figures were of like mind. In fact, as the title hints, there was quite a ‘discord’ between them. The book not only speaks to this conflict, but also writes at length to the surrounding contributing factors and conditions. A fantastic read and listen! I enjoyed it so much I read it a second time in 2025.
Discipline is Destiny by Ryan Holiday. A quick read full of inspiring stories about the power of discipline.
Personality isn’t Permanent by Benjamin P. Hardy. Ok I’m likely going to upset a few with my comments on this book. Let me just get the cat out of the bag: I’m biased against almost all personality profile instruments. I could give a long list of reasons why, but it’s best for now to just admit my bias (which I hold loosely and acknowledge it has an emotional and thus also maybe slightly irrational tinge). Thus what I loved about this book is his observation and assertion that your personality isn’t fixed (as the profiles would tend to lead you to believe whether intended or not). Hardy makes the point that you can radically change your personality at any point in your life. This very second can be the beginning of becoming a very different person. Case in point: Think back to yourself at a time in life when you were a very different person. For those of us in the experienced camp (50+), think back to when you were 18. That person is almost unrecognizable compared to whom you are today. This book will be freeing to many who feel stuck where they are. Even if you are a diehard follower of the Enneagram, there will still be pieces that help complement what you’ve already learned about yourself.
Living Fearless by Jamie Winship. Our church read through this book as a part of our “Free and Fearless” vision campaign. Full of amazing stories of finding ones true identity in Christ.
The River War by Winston Churchill: This is a 2vol work. I finished vol 1 and was completely mesmerized by both the backstory of the original writing of the book and of the story behind the release of this new edition. I listened to an interview with the modern editor (aired on a National Review Great Books podcast that has since disappeared), and his 30 year journey to bring the original 2vol version of this book back into print, and his efforts to create a new critical edition, and was enthralled by his commitment and dedication. I’ve been a Churchill fan for decades, but as I learned more about this particular work, snippets of which appear in his own book, “My Early Life,” and how quickly it came about (ONE year!), it increased my interest in reading it. This was Churchill’s second book, and it was almost 1000 pages, in two volumes. He wrote FIVE books before he began in parliament at age 25. What a freak of nature. Reading this was more about the connection to the back story of this edition than even the content itself, though the content was engaging. It’s hard to comprehend that someone would write so well, so clearly, so engagingly in their early 20s. It helped so much that the maps were included. Whenever I was starting to get bogged down in details and losing site of the storyline, I turned to the maps (required a fair amount of flipping back and forth) and that helped to keep me engage. I’ll be turning my attention to volume two now. The series is pricey, but if you are a Churchill fan, it is an essential edition to own. I Finished Vol 2 in August 2022. Every bit as good as vol 1 and even the appendices have some wonderful first person accounts from Churchill. Definitely worth reading for any WSC fan.
Thanks for reading!
The Majors 