At the close of every year, I share a list of the books I most enjoyed reading during the calendar year. There’s usually a mix of theology, cultural analysis, biography, and fiction. Here’s hoping a few of this year’s favorite reads will make their way onto your Christmas wish list or provide good gift ideas.
Here are my picks for 2024.
#1. THEO OF GOLDEN
by Allen Levi
This book wrecked me. The mystery of the storyline captured my imagination, but it was the characters who pushed their way into my heart. I was drawn as if by fire to the central character, whose sanctity gently exposed my innate selfishness and inability to see—really see—people God puts in my path. I wept at the end, stirred with compassion for others, longing for growth in love and holiness. I knew when I closed the book I was unlikely to find another this year that would top it. Nothing else came close. O to be a saint!
#2. THE LORD OF PSALM 23
Jesus Our Shepherd, Companion, and Host
by David Gibson
David Gibson’s careful, contemplative treatment of one of the best-known psalms provides a rich devotional experience that left me longing to simply linger with the Lord in times of prayer and Bible reading. This little book is filled with insight into the goodness and greatness of Jesus as our Shepherd and deserves a place on the shelf as an example of the best devotional literature of the first quarter of this century.
#3. ELISABETH ELLIOT
A Life
by Lucy S. R. Austen
Lucy Austen’s biography of Elisabeth Elliot paints an honest and multifaceted portrait of a remarkable woman, highlighting her courage, theological growth, and humanity. While many recognize Elisabeth as the widow of missionary martyr Jim Elliot, Austen focuses on her life after the tragedy—her resilience, ministry, and struggles with doubt and disillusionment. This biography doesn’t gloss over challenges or romanticize Elisabeth’s life; instead, it shows her as a thinker who grew spiritually through life’s mysteries and contradictions. I closed the book with gratitude for a valiant woman who knew both her sins and her Savior. Read my full review.
#4. THE ANXIOUS GENERATION
How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness
by Jonathan Haidt
This year’s best work of sociology and cultural analysis. Haidt’s book paints a grim picture of the generational challenges inherent in the smartphone era, but his perspective provides hope because he shows we can, collectively, make decisions to shift the window of acceptability in educational outcomes, family life, and the restoration of play. This may become one of the year’s most influential books, as it has prompted conversations among lawmakers and leaders in education across the country. Not to be missed.
#5. CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
by Fyodor Dostoevsky, translated by Michael R. Katz
This translation of Dostoevsky’s classic is superb. It’s been at least 15 years since I last read Crime and Punishment, and it was the older Constance Garnett translation. Even then, despite the older, more stilted prose, I was left breathless several times. Katz takes the experience to another level. This is certainly one of the most disturbing books in Dostoevsky’s corpus (and, I warn you, it’s not for the faint of heart) because the reader is simultaneously drawn to Raskolnikov and horrified by his philosophy and actions. I’m looking forward to reading (again) The Brothers Karamazov in the coming year, but this time in Katz’s translation. He has set a new standard.
#6. KING
A Life
by Jonathan Eig
This biography of Martin Luther King Jr. won the Pulitzer Prize, deservedly so. It’s difficult to pull together exhaustive research and simultaneously tell a story that feels like an adventure. Eig leans into King’s background and education, and his spiritual and theological influences. The biography shines light on King’s personal sense of destiny that was never disconnected from his feelings of inadequacy and guilt-ridden conscience over his sins. King’s relationships are also examined in ways that provide broader context for his ministry and activism. I’ve long recommended Taylor Branch’s trilogy on the civil rights era for the best portrait of King, but now Eig has surpassed Branch by giving us a one-volume biography focused only on King.
#7. THE ATONEMENT
An Introduction
by Jeremy Treat
Jeremy Treat excels at delivering books marked by theological rigor and a pastoral heart. This accessible introduction to the atonement does more than give the scholarly lay of the land. Jeremy shies away from false dichotomies, choosing instead to magnify the greatness of God’s atoning work on our behalf in all its many facets. Along the way, he incorporates memorable illustrations and analogies, always writing with a doxological bent that engenders gratitude and worship. This book succeeds at several levels.
#8. THE DEMON OF UNREST
A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War
by Erik Larson
No one recounts history like Erik Larson. He’s a master storyteller, and his latest offers a gripping account of the chaotic months between Abraham Lincoln’s election and the Confederacy’s shelling of Sumter—a period marked by tragic errors and miscommunications, enflamed egos and craven ambitions, personal tragedies and betrayals. At the heart of this narrative are Major Robert Anderson, Sumter’s commander sympathetic to the South but loyal to the Union; Edmund Ruffin, a radical who stirs secessionist ardor at every opportunity; and Mary Boykin Chesnut, wife of a prominent planter.
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#9. THE MYTHMAKERS
The Remarkable Fellowship of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien
by John Hendrix
John Hendrix has the honor of delivering the first-ever graphic novel to appear on my Favorite Reads list. This genre isn’t one I’m familiar with, but when I saw this book on a bookstore shelf, I knew immediately it deserved attention. The art is beautiful, the storyline compelling, and the frequent asides educational. As someone who has enjoyed multiple biographies of both Tolkien and Lewis, I was struck by how many anecdotes and facts were new and fresh to me. This retelling of the Lewis and Tolkien friendship was delightful in so many ways.
#10. FRANKENSTEIN
by Mary Shelley
It seems like every year one of my Favorite Reads is an older work suggested by one of my kids. Shelley’s classic came recommended by both my oldest son and my daughter, and Karen Prior’s beautifully crafted edition includes an introduction and some guided reading. I had in my mind a caricature of this book’s storyline and main characters, perhaps due to its cultural influence through movies, parodies, etc. The story provokes a number of ethical questions related to humanity, technology, compassion, and justice. There’s a reason we still talk about this novel.
HONORABLE MENTION
LETTERS ALONG THE WAY
From a Senior Saint to a Junior Saint
by D. A. Carson and John Woodbridge
This new edition of an older work from two evangelical scholars is filled with wisdom and insight. The imaginative elements didn’t really work for me (the construct of an older scholar writing for a younger), but those are overcome by the biblical conviction, pastoral heart, and needed reminders that fill these pages. Anyone who wants to step into a role as pastor-theologian should consult this book.
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