Well I only finished 6 books this year. The amount of books per year that I’m reading has been trending downward as of late.

Here’s my list of all the books I read in 2015 with my comments on each one:

Killing Lions: A Guide Through The Trials Young Men Face by John & Samuel Eldredge

I enjoyed this book. I love to read anything John Eldredge has to say on the topic of manhood. This book was different in that it’s basically a conversation between John and his son Sam. The father/son dynamic was rich and the rawness and realness added to the book’s potency.

Mansfield’s Book of Manly Men: An Utterly Invigorating Guide To Being Your Most Masculine Self by Steven Mansfield

This was a good book overall. Four chapters in particular were really good. Mansfield has four chapters on what he calls “manly maxims” which are, in my opinion, worth the price of the book.  He has a particular emphasis on action as indispensable to masculinity, which I particularly liked.

Saturate: Being Disciples of Jesus in the Everyday Stuff of Life by Jeff Vanderstelt

I highly recommend this book. This is a very practical book full of real life examples, written by a practitioner, not a theorist. If you’re wanting a clear picture of what life on mission in the everyday stuff of life can look like, read this book. I ordered one for every member of our church.

The Duggars: 20 and Counting!: Raising One of America’s Largest Families–How they Do It by Michelle & Jim Bob Duggar

I read this book before Josh Duggar’s fall became public. At the time it was a faith building book. With seven kids, I thought I could learn a few things from a family that has 19. There were some very practical things in it along with faith building personal testimony.

Biblical Eldership: Restoring the Eldership to Its Rightful Place in Church by Alexander Strauch

Excellent 48 page book on the topic of Eldership. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the topic.

Surprised By The Power Of The Spirit: Discovering How God Speaks and Heals Today by Jack Deere

This was a great book on the topic. Extremely biblical and extremely insightful from a former Dallas Theological Seminary professor. I had the privilege of being at a conference that Jack Deere spoke at in 1997 (wow, almost 20 years ago!) that had a great impact on me and I’ve been wanting to read this book for quite a while. I finally got to it and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Read any good books this last year?

(Image adapted from: Jason Bowler – cc)