Reading List

My thoughts on some of these books can be found here (all books) and here (novels only).

Currently Reading:

Have recently read (non-fiction):

  • Mass Culture (ed. Pete Ward) – a series of essays investigating the importance of the Lords Supper and it’s intersections with contemporary culture. Some thoughts here.
  • The Blue Parakeet (Scot McKnight) – Reading the Bible as story can help us understand key texts and help us reveal our place in God’s plan.
  • God At Work (Ken Costa) – A christian perspective on the workplace.
  • Simply Christian (Tom Wright) – on the fundamentals of Christianity. Well written and thoughtful. Useful for the thinking Christian or skeptic.
  • The Dawkins Letters (David Robertson) - transcripts of letters written by a Christian pastor to Richard Dawkins following his publication of ‘The God Delusion’. A great introduction to issues of Science and Religion.
  • Total Church (Steve Timmis and Tim Chester) – A fresh vision of church and community. My thoughts are here.
  • Dreams from my Father (Barack Obama) – a wonderfully written auto-biography describing how Obama came to understand himself, his race and his identity.
  • The Life and Work of a Priest (John Pritchard) – the new Bishop of Oxford writes about the role of a priest in today’s society. Practical more than theological.
  • Visualising Hope (Sarah Dunlop) – what do young people actually believe? Sarah Dunlop investigates by actually asking them, and compiles the results into a book the church should read. Well researched and the conclusions are enlightening for the church. See my review here.
  • Velvet Elvis (Rob Bell) – a fresh take on an old message – the gospel in Rob Bell’s words. He opens it out and brings it to life as he explains the point of being a Christian.
  • True Worship (Vaughn Roberts) – discussion of the elements that contribute to a life of worship for the Christian.
  • Luther and his World (Graham Tomlin) – short biography of the church reformer Martin Luther.
  • Mission Shaped Questions (Steve Croft, ed) – a follow up to Mission Shaped Church, it explores the basis for fresh expressions (emerging) forms of church and what aspects they should possess. My six part series starts here.

Have recently read (fiction):

  • The Broker (John Grisham) – A former Washington insider is released unexpectedly from prison and is given a new life in Italy. However, the FBI only want to see who kills him to reveal information about the secrets he is hiding. Fast paced, gripping and a lot of fun.
  • No Country For Old Men (Cormac McCarthy) – loved The Road so much I’m starting on more of McCarthy’s stuff. A man stumbles upon a failed drug transaction and ends up on the run from one of the perpetrators.
  • Emma (Jane Austen) – classic novel in which a young girl dabbles in matchmaking and, of course, gets the guy in the end.
  • The Road (Cormac McCarthy) – a wonderfully written tale of a man who takes care of his son in a post apocalyptic world. My review here.
  • Before I Die (Jenny Downham) – story of a teenage girl getting to grips with life as she suffers from cancer. Some thoughts here.
  • Deep Stuff (Mike Riddell) – a new housemate moves in all of a sudden the whole group of 20-somethings start thinking about big questions of life. See my review here.
  • The Shack (William Young) - A man suffering from depression after the disappearance of his youngest daughter meets God. Described on the cover as “the new Pilgrims Progress”. See my review here.
  • Anna Karenina (Leo Tolstoy) – Big. Russian. Classic. A look at two families and their marriages. Some thoughts here.
  • Two Caravans (Marina Lewycka) - Another novel from the author of A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian. Many-layered, funny, dark and wonderfully written.
  • Good Omens (Terry Pratchett) – An agent of God and an agent of Satan team up to stop the world ending before its time. An amusing fantasy novel.
  • Slam (Nick Hornby) – The story of a teenage skateboarder who comes to terms with getting his girlfriend pregnant. Not as good as some of Hornby’s other books, but it deals with some interesting themes.
  • The Gum Thief (Douglas Coupland) – a great novel about two employees of Staples battling their way through their everyday existence. Coupland again makes an excellent critique of western culture and the meaning of it all.
  • Microserfs (Douglas Coupland) – a novel about computer programmers thoughts on life, the universe, and everything, set in the mid-1990’s at Microsoft.
  • Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (Paul Torday) – A novel about a British scientist who gets sucked into a project to introduce Scottish Salmon to Yemeni rivers. Very funny. Best new novel I’ve read for ages.
  • The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd) – set in the 1950s-60s Deep South, a young girl finds herself and her spirituality by running away from an abusive parent
  • For One More Day (Mitch Albom) – a former baseball star attempts to commit suicide and instead finds himself spending one more day with his (already dead) mother.
  • Sense and Sensibility (Jane Austen) – classic tale of one two young ladies exploits in love and life.

Am about to read (one day hopefully):

Feel free to browse my wish list.

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