Although it seems I do this later in January with each passing year, I was once again able to carve out a little time to share about the books I found most interesting throughout 2022. Here are my top five (as well as an honorable mention), and a few thoughts about each one (below their cover image):
I spent much of last year slowly chipping away at The Space Trilogy by C. S. Lewis, which comprises three books: Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra and That Hideous Strength. I would loosely describe this as the adult version of The Chronicles of Narnia series as Lewis not only delves into the more complex subject matter of life on other planets, but also the relationship between humans and cosmic beings from other worlds. Having read this trilogy, my respect for Lewis has reached new levels as his creative brilliance truly is otherworldy. I have long considered him to be among the most eminent thinkers and writers from a theological perspective, but he has also clearly mastered fantastical notions. His ability to weave theological and philosophical thought into a sci-fi type of genre is something I really enjoyed. Admittedly, I thought he was borderline excessively creative at times, especially in the latter parts of Perelandra, but perhaps that was the point of it all—to stretch the mind of the reader to new, almost excruciating places with impeccable details involving never-before-thought-of places and creatures. Also of note, and equally as compelling as his celestial creativity, was the psychological insight into human relationships, which I thought especially shined through in That Hideous Strength. In THS, Lewis explores rather extensively the inner thoughts of main characters, which amounted to a sub-theme that I found to be quite fascinating. I highly recommend these works, but also offer a friendly fair warning that a careful reading is important in following the story. It makes for slow and at times taxing progress, but I do believe it’s worth it to be able to say you’ve journeyed to new planets with the one-and-only Clive Staples Lewis, and learned many new lessons along the way.
Dane Ortlund’s Gentle And Lowly was a very welcome and refreshing work on the person of Christ. I typically don’t purchase a book because of the buzz around it, but this one offered a subject that was near and dear to me. The fact that Jesus describes Himself as “gentle and lowly in heart” (Matthew 11:29) has always intrigued me and informed my own understanding and teaching of Him. This being the case, I was eager to take a gander. A very well-written book, it was also accessible in terms of how easy it was to take in. Theological works on specific subjects or doctrines can sometimes be unnecessarily difficult, but not this one. I read it like a daily devotional for a couple weeks, and upon completion I immediately placed it at the top of the “definitely must re-read” stack that exists in my head. I enjoyed gleaning from the Puritan writers that Ortlund referred to throughout. Best of all, I was left with the distinct sense of Jesus being better than I ever imagined Him, which I cannot say I often think of when I finish reading theological material. The person of Jesus Christ is such an incredibly glorious subject matter worthy of much time and thought, and I consider Gentle And Lowly to be like precious gold at the entryway of an even larger goldmine just waiting to be explored and mined for much more. Well done, brother Dane.
Madeleine L’Engle’s classic was a really fun one for me because I decided to read it along with my teenaged son who’d been assigned to read it for his eighth-grade language class. I can’t recall ever reading it as a grade-schooler (boy, that’s been awhile), and so I wanted to read it and be able to talk it over with Caleb. It was cool because we would discuss things like the possibility of a tesseract or tessering and the rest of the family would be left scratching their heads. It was an inside conversation for awhile so we had fun with it. Despite not being much of an audio book guy, I actually listened to the audio version through twice because the story so intrigued me, and I wanted to make sure I really followed it since it was admittedly a bit out there. (By the way, there’s a free version of it available on YouTube. Each chapter is a new video. The quality isn’t perfect, but it’s decent enough to listen to.) I’m a big fan of “children’s books” like A Wrinkle In Time because they help adults like me remain childlike and imaginative. Intellectually speaking, we tend to grow up all too easily and, in the process—without even knowing it—lose the joy that simply wondering about things brings about. What I like about the story is both its inventiveness as well as its theme of sacrificial love—among many others. The healthy dose of random quotes, quips and truths sprinkled throughout were a neat aspect as well. Oh, and (spoiler alert!) happy endings are my favorite. Check this one out if you like those, too, as long as you can appreciate a very interesting journey in getting there. By the way, if you had told me I would happen to read not just one, but two books this past year involving a mysterious brain-like arch-nemesis, I probably would have passed them over. Nonetheless, I’m better for it, and think most curious readers like me will enjoy this one as well.
I’m adding in this little jewel of a book as an honorable mention. The ministry I run often receives all sorts of books by donation and I go through them every once in awhile to find unique ones I’ve never heard of. I found Christmas Stories For The Heart compiled by Alice Gray while putting Christmas decorations up at the house of prayer this year and had to give it a go. I absolutely adore Christmastime and so heartwarming stories both true and fanciful on the subject is something I couldn’t pass up. Each one of the short stories by various Christian authors (Max Lucado, Chuck Swindoll, Ruth Graham, James and Shirley Dobson, Joni Eareckson Tada, etc.) brought the true spirit of the holidays to life for me, and more than a few of them had me fighting back tears. Anything that can renew my appreciation for that newborn Christ, and inspire me to do good in His name, is a welcome read. I’m so glad I “coincidentally” found it in an old box mixed in with a bunch of others. It definitely helped make this past Christmas season that much more special. Hope you find this one in your stocking this coming Christmas.
Thanks so much for taking the time to read through my Most Interesting Books 2022 list. I hope to post something like this each year as time allows. I would love to know if you plan on reading some of them this year. Also, what were some of your favorite or most interesting books from 2022? I might just add some of them to my 2023 list. Thanks once more for reading and sharing!
I’m always looking to improve and grow as a writer. If you spot any grammatical, punctuation or spelling mistakes, please let me know in the comments, or via email at derek@gphop.org so I can update the post. Also, feel free to send along any writing advice or pointers you may have picked up over the years as well. I appreciate it and would be in your debt!
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Images used from Amazon.
At His Feet 