My Favorite Books of 2019

I read 112 books in 2019 and it seems appropriate the pick 12, instead of 10, favorite books. The criteria to earn a spot on my top list are the following:

• I learned something new
• I was reminded of something awe-inspiring
• I would re-read it later on.

Note that giving it a 5-star rating on my Goodreads is not on my criteria list. I rated a few books 5-stars that didn't make it here (e.g., Hole in our Holiness, Closer Than a Sister, The Blessings of Humility). That is because, though I agree with and would recommend those books, they didn't really give me new insight. They felt like something I've read or heard before, but nothing earth-shattering.

Some of the books that made it to my top list I didn't rate 5-stars, mainly because I cannot 100% recommend them to anyone, though they fulfill my criteria above. These books require discernment to be enjoyed and proved useful.

So here are my favorite books of 2019. The links will lead you to my Goodreads reviews:

1. A Hobbit, A Wardrobe and a Great War by Joseph Loconte
This book made me fall in love even more with the works of JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis. It also portrayed WW1 and its aftermath in ways I never thought of before.

2. Remaining Faithful in Ministry by John MacArthur
This is a must-read for anyone involved in ministry. As someone who has been serving alongside her husband for 20+ years in a country semi-hostile to the Gospel, I found this to be so refreshing and a balm to my sometimes weary soul.

3. In the Land of Blue Burqas by Katy McCord
This is an account of the author's time in Afganistan and her determination to help the women while sharing the story of Jesus that made sense to them. Even as a missionary of 21+ years, I learned so much on how to reach a people group so different from my own.

4. Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper
One of the classic works by a favorite author, this book should be read by everyone, especially the young people.

5. The Bastard Brigade by Sam Kean
Written by one of my favorite science authors, this book is both scientific and historical. This fact-filled non-fiction, about the group of men whose main purpose was to search for and destroy Hitler’s nuclear program, reads like a novel.

6. Incredible Victory by Walter Lord
I read this before I went to see the movie, Midway. What an incredible story about the Battle of Midway and Walter Lord did an exceptional job putting down into paper what transpired in that fateful event in WW2 history. 

7. Escape from Reason by Francis Schaeffer
I have not read anything by Schaeffer that I have not loved. I must have taken 20 pages of notes from this. Escape from Reason is a must-read Christian classic that is a short introduction to the history of philosophy and how it has affected our culture and general thought processes.

8. Faith Among the Faithless by Mike Cosper
This book, which excellently explains the context and message of the story of Esther, that it is definitely “less VeggieTales, more Game of Thrones” as the author describes it, is one of those that didn't earn my 5-star rating. The reason is because of the author's exaltation of Mother Teresa as an example of Christian virtue. (On a side note, why do Evangelicals use her as a good example all the time? She followed a works-based gospel that doesn't align with Scripture).

9. A Theory of Everything (That Matters) by Alistair McGrath
This explains the life, work and beliefs of Albert Einstein. It’s a good introduction to his scientific theories and how those were influenced by his beliefs in an Intelligent Designer. It makes a good apologetic book as Christians face more opposition from the world and accused of being anti-science.

10. Disruptive Witness by Alan Noble
This insightful book is about evangelism, philosophy, and anthropology. Itis one of those rare books that forced me to read it slowly and often repeatedly. However, Mr. Noble’s proposed applications are lacking, but his assessment on our problem is excellent.

11. Devotedly by Valerie Elliot Shepard
Written by the daughter of Jim and Elisabeth Elliot, Devotedly is like a sequel/extended version of Elisabeth’s Passion and Purity, which I read in college and revolutionized the way I viewed dating. This couple's unwavering devotion to Christ that they were willing to give up being together if necessary, is a great example to emulate in the church that sometimes thinks singleness is a disease to get rid of.

12. Chasing Contentment by Erik Raymond
A book we read with our girls that is reminiscent of the weightier Jeremiah Burrough's The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment.

Book Review: A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War

I cannot express enough how much I loved this book. I have been a fan of JRR Tolkien’s LOTR books for many years and have read a few of C.S. Lewis’s great works. I knew they were friends and Tolkien was instrumental in Lewis’s conversation to Christianity. What I didn’t know was their military service during WW1. I knew very little of that war until a recent visit to the Imperial War Museum in London. What I learned astounded me. It was the most brutal war the world had ever known at that point. 

A Hobbit, A Wardrobe and A Great War (HWGW)added another layer of insight how all three (Tolkien, Lewis and WW1) produced the most beloved and timeless books like The Chronicles of Narnia and the Lord of the Rings series. HWGW is part history, part philosophy, and part biography, interwoven with excerpts from these famous authors’ works. Understanding the temper of the times made me appreciate more how remarkable these books were and are. 

Before WW1, there was a general sense of optimism, fueled by the new discoveries in science that led to progress and advancement people had never seen before. The myth of progress declared science as the new religion and man, the new god. Even people of faith were deceived by the “virtues” of man-centered science that propagated eugenics and the evolving man. There grew a crisis of faith, but optimism in humanity. 

Believing the advancement in science had to lead to peace, nations naively entered into war unprepared for the devastating consequences of the use of their modern weapons. The war that was supposed to end all wars went on for years without a clear winner, but left almost 40 million casualties, a third of which were killed.

WW1 was a turning point in world history, not just in military, but socially, politically and spiritually. It led to worldwide disillusionment that made people cling to modernism further. Rejecting the old systems (democracy and religion) and empires (Ottoman, AUSTRIAN-Hungarian, German monarchy, and Tsarist Russia) that failed them, society then embraced the new (fascism, communism, atheism). Darwin, Nietzsche and Freud were the new prophets that would lead the way to the salvation of man. Society had no more need of God since science could explain everything better than religion.

Astonishingly, it was in this state of gloomy social landscape did the works of Tolkien and Lewis’s works begin. This is due to these great writers’ counter-cultural view of reality. They saw progress as an assault to human dignity and hated the machine. Tolkien and Lewis viewed the degradation of society and faith, but they had a more optimistic outlook. They responded by embracing the value of friendship, the power of storytelling, and by “reclaiming some of the older beliefs and virtues. (p. 180)” 

Their experience in the war did not make them lose hope. They saw the sometimes necessity of war in order to preserve freedom, to save the oppressed, and to protect what made life good. “As veterans of this conflict, Tolkien and Lewis chose to remember not only its horrors and sorrows: they wanted to recall the courage, sacrifice, and the friendships that made it endurable” (p. 170). This was made evident in the beloved books they authored. They created characters that exemplified both fierceness and gentleness. They brought back the old-fashioned ideals of chivalry, nobility, courage humility and perseverance in the face of evil.

Tolkien and Lewis saw the worth of the everyday, seemingly insignificant hero, as we see in Lucy in Narnia and the Hobbits in LOTR. They exalted the virtues of loyal friendships, as exemplified by Sam, Pippin and Merry as they courageously faced what seemed like defeat for the sake of their friend Frodo. They brought hope in the form of a returning king, Aragorn in LOTR and Aslan in Narnia. 

Through their mythological and magical stories, they communicated biblical truths. Man is corrupt and cannot save himself. He cannot face evil alone, but can defeat it in community. Good will win in the end. These were truths that society needed to hear, but was blind to accept. Tolkien and Lewis offered an alternative answer to the plight of man and it wasn’t found in science. Rather, it was found in the myth because it gave way to the supernatural, destroyed the lie of the autonomous man, and pointed to a God who is good and just.

I always knew Tolkien and Lewis did humanity a great kindness through their writing. But HWGW explained why that is and how it came about, and for that reason I highly recommend HWGW to everyone, not to just Tolkien and Lewis fans. It’s a compelling, eye-opening and heartwarming read that I will cherish all my life.