My Favorite Books of 2024
The history, theology, and sports books that captured my interest in 2024.
Books are a great gift. They can challenge our thinking, change our lives, take us to another world, help us see the world from another person’s point of view, and instruct us about the world in which we live. I read 45 books this year, which is not as many as I’ve averaged over the last few years, but enough that a book had to stand out in my mind to make this list.
This is not a list of the best books written in 2024, but rather a list of my favorite books that I read this year. I try to read widely, but my primary interests are history and theology, as you’ll see from this list. No novels that I read made the list this year. I read several, but none that I enjoyed as much as the books that grace this list.
The Bible
By recommending the Bible, I make no effort to be cheeky, clever, or cute. As I looked back on the year-end lists I curated, I never mentioned the Bible, which is the best book any of us could give our attention to. If you have never read the entire Bible, today is a great day to start. Read a few chapters every day and take in the unfolding wonder of the works and majesty of God.
Churchill’s Citadel
This book by Katherine Carter examines Churchill’s “wilderness” years. It shows how Churchill used invitations to his home, Chartwell, to gather knowledge on the growing Nazi threat and to build alliances to confront it. The author offers great insight into the relationship between Churchill and his wife, Clementine, as well as painting a portrait of the man outside his time in the halls of power.
The Good Gift of Weakness
We live in a culture that prizes strength and detests weakness. We keep striving to look young even when we aren’t and tuck away our elderly to languish out of sight. Eric Schumacher unmasks our pretensions to demonstrate strength at all costs. He argues from the Bible that we are weak dependent people who thrive the most when we rely on the strength that only God can supply.
Life in the Negative World
Aaron Renn offers an intriguing thesis. We no longer live in a world that is positive towards the Gospel or even neutral towards it. Instead, we dwell in a negative world where the citadels of influence actively oppose the truth of God’s word. After arguing the thesis, Renn points to how the church should adjust its methods to reach the negative world.
The Message of Revelation
I read Michael Wilcock’s contribution to the Bible Speaks Today series while studying to preach Revelation in January. He centers the reader’s attention on the glory of Christ throughout Revelation. His efforts leave the reader inspired to live for Christ and look forward to our future hope in the face of adversity rather than speculatively trying to connect the dots between Revelation and current events.
Charlie Hustle
Keith O’Brien’s biography of Pete Rose reads like a Shakespearean tragedy. Through interviews and research, he narrates Rose’s rise from a working-class kid growing up in Cincinnati to his standing at the pinnacle of the sporting world. For anyone who knows the story, the specter of Rose’s gambling problem hangs over everything, like the sword of Damocles waiting to drop.
Just Show Up
One word comes to mind when I think about Drew Dyck’s approach to life, family, ministry, and work–sanity. He doesn’t propose that we try to be supermen and superwomen who take the world on our shoulders. He encourages us to be faithful and consistent. This approach saves us from franticly rushing around riddled with anxiety over all we need to accomplish. At the same time, he points us to the way we will actually get more done while preserving our joy and sanity.
Slow Productivity
This is not Cal Newport’s first appearance on my year-end list and I doubt it will be his last. In previous years, I recommended So Good They Can’t Ignore You, Deep Work, and Digital Minimalism. Newport’s newest work continues to focus on how we can make valuable contributions through our work. Here, he focuses on the kind of work that can’t be done in a hurry. Most of the best breakthroughs and deepest insights take place over time. He serves up a helpful template for how we can generate our best work.