World Magazine has published their list of Books of the Year.
They have four categories:
- Fiction
- Accessible Theology
- Current Events/Public Affairs
- History/Biography
They choose a winner for each category (published between May 1, 2014, and April 30, 2015), along with runner-ups.
Here’s how they introduce it:
Francis Bacon died almost 400 years ago, but his famous description of words on pages still animates our selection process: “Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested: that is, some books are to be read only in parts, others to be read, but not curiously, and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention.”
We—our committee of five WORLD writers—throughout the year looked for books that tempt us to delay writing projects. . . . We look for books that are thoughtful and capable of planting among our readers new ideas consistent with what the Bible teaches.
Below are their selections. You’ll have to go to the article to see a description of each book and why it was chosen.
1. Fiction Book of the Year
Michel Faber, The Book of Strange New Things: A Novel (Hogarth, 2014)
A. Runner-Up
Mo Yan, Frog: A Novel (Viking, 2015)
B. Runner-Up
Marilynne Robinson, Lila: A Novel (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2014)
2. Accessible Theology Book of the Year
Sam A. Andreades, enGendered: God’s Gift of Gender Difference in Relationship (Weaver, 2015)
A. Runner-Up
Dane Ortlund, Edwards on the Christian Life: Alive to the Beauty of God (Crossway, 2014)
B. Runner-Up
Hans Madueme and Michael Reeves, eds., Adam, the Fall, and Original Sin: Theological, Biblical, and Scientific Perspectives (Baker Academic, 2014)
C. Runner-Up
Kevin DeYoung, What Does the Bible Really Teach About Homosexuality? (Crossway, 2014)
3. Current Events/Public Affairs Book of the Year
Bret Stephens, America in Retreat: The New Isolationism and the Coming Global Disorder (Sentinel, 2014)
A. Runner-Up
J. Paul Nyquist, Prepare: Living Your Faith in an Increasingly Hostile Culture (Moody, 2015)
B. Runner-Up
Jason Riley, Please Stop Helping Us: How Liberals Make It Harder for Blacks to Succeed (Encounter Books, 2014)
4. History/Biography
Erik Larson, Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania (Crown, 2015)
A. Runner-Up
Blaine Harden, The Great Leader and the Fighter Pilot: The True Story of the Tyrant Who Created North Korea and The Young Lieutenant Who Stole His Way to Freedom (Viking, 2015)
B. Runner-Up
Mary Sarott, The Collapse: The Accidental Opening of the Berlin Wall (Basic Books, 2014)
