10 Books That Changed Me This Year

The ten books below are not ranked; you’ll not find here “the best books of the year according to Lianna,” “a list of books I endorse,” or even “my favorite books I read this year.” Instead, my list is comprised of a handful of books that drove themselves into my thinking—in the assorted ways described below—and changed me this year. (Note: In order to avoid redundancy, I excluded any books that I mention in Keeping the Faith.)

On the Incarnation, by Athanasius

Athanasius’ meditations on Jesus, God Incarnate, upholding the universe imparted to my spirit true Christmas joy. He wrote: “Existing in a human body, to which He Himself gives life, He is still Source of life to all the universe, present in every part of it, yet outside the whole; and He is revealed both through the works of His body and through His activity in the world.” (Pg. 15) To read Athanasius’ reflections was beauty imbibed!

Provence, 1970: M.F.K. Fisher, Julia Child, James Beard, and the Reinvention of American Taste, by Luke Barr

For all of this book’s discussion on good taste and foods that taste good, its greater value for me was in the distaste it produced: never before had I quite identified that what I call excellence might sometimes be snobbery. And, purchasing the book on a whim to read about Julia Child for fun, it was a surprise lesson no less.

American History: A Very Short Introduction, by Paul S. Boyer

Largely, Boyer carried me through a sweep of American events—but this book also made me grieve. The author wrote: “The means have changed—from open-air exhortation to televangelism and suburban megachurches—but evangelical faith and missionary zeal remain alive and well in the twenty-first-century America.” (Kindle Loc. 361) Can George Whitefield and Joel Osteen possibly be seen as belonging to the same group worshiping the same God? 

Agnes Grey, by Anne Brontë

Prior to reading this novel, I had dwelled on character as a reward in itself—and most of all, as a response to God’s grace of godly perseverance in suffering (Romans 5:3-5). But this book propounded that being able to interact in robust and substantive ways with other people also rests on good character—another reward. 

Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, by John Bunyan

Bunyan influenced me as a writer. From him I received that divulging how one’s personal, developing faith interacts with the truths of Scripture can be a writing pursuit timelessly of aid. Bunyan writes, for example, of an illness that brought him near death. After confessing that he had once been afraid of death, he relayed: “Now death was lovely and beautiful in my sight; for I saw we shall never live indeed till we be gone to the other World. Oh, methought this life is but a slumber in comparison with that above; at this time also I saw more in those words, Heirs of God (Rom. 8:17), than ever I shall be able to express while I live in this world. Heirs of God! God himself is the portion of the Saints.” (pg. 50)

Eight Women of Faith, by Michael A. G. Haykin

Lady Jane Grey: an Evangelical Queen—she was (very briefly) queen of England prior to her execution by “Bloody Mary.” Her debate with Roman Catholic John Howman, or John of Feckham, about why she was an evangelical; her words for her younger sister about the treasure of Scripture; and her final speech prior to death all reveal an abiding faith in Christ—whom she knew through Reformation doctrine. Addressing those who would soon witness her execution, she said: “I do look to be saved by no other mean, but only by the mercy of God, in the blood of his only Son Jesus Christ.” (Kindle Loc. 424) I pray that her conviction printed on Haykin’s page would be assumed in my heart with the same black-and-white clarity. 

The Four Loves, by C. S. Lewis

Under Lewis’ tutelage, friendship became less amorphous a concept to me. He wrote, “To the Ancients, Friendship seemed the happiest and most full human of all loves; the crown of life and the school of virtue.” Another of his thoughts: “. . . [Friendship] is a relation between men at their highest level of individuality.” And then: “The very condition of having Friends is that we should want something else besides Friends. Where the truthful answer to the question Do you see the same truth? Would be ‘I see nothing and I don’t care about the truth; I only want a Friend,’ no Friendship can arise—though Affection of course may. There would be nothing for the Friendship to be about; and Friendship must be about something. . . .” I often want my friends involved in one endeavor or another that I undertake—and I have sometimes noticed the same tendency in others too. Lewis puts words to why. (Kindle Loc. 742, 859—Note: The Kindle edition I own is no longer available, so I have linked to another.)

Christianity & Liberalism, by J. Gresham Machen

Even if anti-intellectual Christians have existed, God cannot be described as such. I mused throughout reading Machen that the God who created the intellect gives it the satisfaction of His inscripturated word. My reasons for desiring knowledge, and anticipation of how knowledge can augment my faith expressed, grew meatier.

The Short Life of Jonathan Edwards, by George Marsden

For this entry on my list, I make an exception to my premise for this post. I must reveal my appreciation for this book—that if I were ranking books I read this year, this would be among the top. The even writing, the marked detail, the unexpected pieces of history interwoven—I fell ravenous over this little feast. (I say “little” because, in full, it registers at 176 pages as compared with Marsden’s Edwards: A Life at 640). The whole of it fed me; so, I can do no better than humbly raise it for your to-read-in-2020 considerations (if you haven’t read it already).

The Soul in Paraphrase, By Leland Ryken

I am certainly not familiar with all of George Herbert’s poems—simply reading one here or there over the years or using a topical guide when I want to feel with him on a given subject. So, when might I have found Prayer (I) had I not read The Soul in Paraphrase? I stand indebted to Ryken for introducing me to a poem that I anticipate carrying into the next year and still remembering the year after that.