Sean's Favorite Books - 2023

We're back with another episode of the room for nuance podcast this time. It's just me no guest. Just me and you. The the friends the fans the followers. Dare, I say the family members of the room for nuance podcast.

Here's what we're gonna do in this episode. I'm just gonna walk you through my favorite books from 2023. I have 19 of them, which is an odd number. But the reason why I have 19 is just because these are my favorite books of the year.

They may not even be the best books of the year and some of them are not even from this year. I think maybe most of them are not from this year. But these are the books that I read this year that I enjoyed the most so let's jump right into it starting with number 19.

The biography of Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson. Isaacson. Isaacson has done biographies of Da Vinci and Benjamin Franklin and Steve Jobs. But this one has been my favorite. I think it's just because Elon Musk is this infinitely fascinating individual and the way he Brought SpaceX and Tesla into existence by sheer will of force.

It's just this incredible story and you'd really just have to be a bad writer. To mess it up and and and Isaacson is certainly not that so I really enjoyed this book. It's also on audible. I did it on audible.

It's one of the few books on my list that I did on audible this year and. Yeah, it's it's it's a good listen. Not all audiobooks have good narration and. They're just they're not they're not all. Sometimes you just you try to do a book on audible.

You're like I can't do this, but this this one is very friendly to the audiobook format. Number 18 All the pretty horses by Cormac McCarthy. I put Cormac McCarthy right up there with like an Ernest Hemingway as far as some of my favorite American authors.

This book is fantastic. It's one of the few books that makes my reread list. Life is so short. There are so many books to read. I don't want to reread books if I don't have to. The death of Ivan Ilyich by Tolstoy is on that list.

All the pretty horses by McCarthy is on this list. Absolutely fantastic. I try to come back and reread it maybe every three or four years. Number 17 a peculiar glory by John Piper. Piper takes an interesting.

He has an interesting take on the self Attestation of scripture how its glory speaks to its own divine authorship. It's fantastic. Listen. I'll go on a Piper tear for a while, and then I'll be like yeah, I get it.

You know Christian hedonism. I've been there done that. I've seen you do the thing so many times every book you write is some variation on that. And then I will just pick up a Piper book randomly one day, or I'll watch a sermon.

I'll be like oh, man. It's just as good as I remember and that's how I felt with This book this year. It was so good that I actually kind of went on another Piper tear. And I'm glad that I did because two more of his books made it onto my list this year.

We'll get to those in a minute. Next number 16 the world's largest man by Harrison Scott Key. Here's what I'll tell you about this book. I was I was on a plane with my PA and He was concerned about me because I I was laughing I was wheezing I was crying.

I mean, I just this book was an experience. It's very rare for a book to make you belly laugh to sweat with laughter. But Harrison Scott Key manages to do that with this book. It is absolutely fantastic.

Some of my church members Recommended it to me, and I am so glad they did so I heartily recommend it to you. Number 15 true grit by Charles Portis. I was hesitant. I was hesitant. I've been putting off true grit for a long time.

I love the Coen Brothers movie. It's so good I thought there's no way that I'm gonna enjoy the book because I love I mean Jeff Jeff Daniels no not Jeff Daniels Whoever plays rooster Cogburn in the Coen Brothers movie.

I mean it is just a sight to behold so I I put off. I Also tried to read No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy after watching the Coen Brothers movie. And it was just ruined for me. So I was just really hesitant to do true grit by Charles Portis the book.

Man, I'm so glad that I did it was fantastic. If you have not read it, and if you're a reader of fiction check it out. Plus you get more Calvinism in the book than you get in the movie. And I'm all I'm here for that number 14 echoes of Exodus by Alistair Roberts and Andrew Wilson fantastic superb book on the Exodus they use a Musical metaphor to do a biblical theology of the Exodus through all of the Bible.

I do have to say that I did not quite as I Didn't enjoy this book as much as I could have because I read another book on Exodus just prior to reading this book. That kind of sucked all it sucked all the wind out of the sails of this book for me.

It stole the thunder. But if I hadn't have if I wouldn't have read this other book first. Which I'm going to talk about in a minute this book would have been maybe one of the best books I've read this year.

It's still among the best but Either way just pick up a copy if you want to dive deeper into the book of Exodus. This is a fun easy Deep read that I think you'll really enjoy Number 13 Manson by Jeff.

I don't know if it's gin or Gwynne. He has written other Biographies on like Jim Jones. I think this is his best. The thing that that I love about this book is less that it tells the story of Manson which it does.

Man, what a story it is. But that it also really helps you understand That era in American history as the best biographies often do they don't just help you understand the person but they also help you understand the times that shaped the person and This was just a great read so highly recommended.

Number 12 can women be pastors by Greg Gilbert? I know what you're thinking the book only has to be one page. You just say no, and then you cite some scriptures, and then you move on. Well in the day and age in which we live you need a book.

That's a little bit longer not too much longer. That's what you get with Greg Gilbert. This is part of the nine marks Church questions series and wow it is lucid clear ironic kind charitable powerful.

The exegesis that he does and one of the more difficult or ostensibly difficult Texts on the subject is is rigorous and clean. This is the kind of book that I'm just it's a booklet really that I'll just keep on hand to give away to anyone who?

Has any questions about this and I would recommend you do the same Number 11 broken bread by Tilly Dillehay. I think I'm saying that right so I read a book that she wrote on Envy Last year, and it was so good.

I went to the Amazon her Amazon page, and I said what else has she written and I saw this book broken bread. I bought it it sat around on my desk for a while finally picked it up. It was so good that I immediately implemented it into our church's women's discipleship cohort she talks about four different kinds of food related sins, and I won't tell you more than that but Wow, so useful convicting for me.

Still convicting for me. I find myself often processing the way I think about food. And how I relate to it spiritually through the lens of some of the things that I've learned from this book so highly recommended.

Number 10 Spurgeon in the poor by Alex de Prima. Here's what I'll tell you about this book. I was like I Don't really want to read another book about Spurgeon. I think sometimes in our world we idolize Spurgeon.

We put them on a pedestal. I don't really want my church to look like the Metropolitan Tabernacle. I want my church to look like a faithful biblical church where I am where our church is situated. But I picked it up and as I dug into it I just could not believe how useful it was and and it was useful because it helped me better understand some things from Scripture.

About how we should do benevolence ministry and how the church is obligated to care for the poor it reveals some blind spots in my ministry. And for our local church, and so I immediately got Alex de Prima on to talk about that.

I think by the time this comes out his episode will also be out. But if it's not just make sure if you don't get the book that you at least but do get the book. But if you don't get the book At least check out the interview because then what's gonna happen is the interview is gonna be so good.

You're gonna go want to go buy the book and probably buy a couple copies of the book to give To like the deacons and elders in your church. Moving on number nine the uncontrollability of the world by Hartmut Rossa.

Interestingly, I know I'm the anti critical theory guide. This is a book written by a critical theorist in I think Germany. It's fantastic it towards the end it he does start to tip his hand a little and show some of his Marxist Underpinnings, but the majority of the book really is not.

The the majority of the book is him just saying hey You can't control the world and I know you think you can and let me show you just with like layer after layer after layer of logic while the world is ultimately uncontrollable and why the fact that you think you can control it and try to control it is actually bringing an Abundance of stress and anxiety and depression to your life.

You know it's interesting a book written by someone who I think is an atheist and a critical theorist actually, just I mean really strengthened my confidence in the Lord because Theologically he never gets there.

But what you understand from the book is what we see in the very beginning of Genesis namely that we are not God only God Is God and only the one who creates the world can control the world and anytime the creature tries to control the creation He's going to be severely disappointed.

So this was an interesting take on that and I found it so helpful. Number eight impossible Christianity by Kevin de Young. I'm not gonna say anything else about this if other than Kevin de Young wrote it.

And if you feel like it's impossible to live out the Christian faith according to the standards that have been set for you. You should read this book even if you don't wrestle with that you should read this book.

It's really good. Number seven come Lord Jesus by John Piper. If someone would have given me This book as a young Christian. I probably would have cared a lot more about eschatology a long time ago. You know how eschatology is taught you know here are the four views and Millennium.

You know yeah, and there's debates and there's charts and Piper says listen. There should be a yearning a desire in us for the return of Christ come Lord Jesus. We love you Jesus. We want to see you we want to behold your glory.

And if that's if we have that desire then that desire should spur us on To caring about eschatology and that will even affect the way that we study eschatology. We'll we'll do it from a place of devotion.

Rather than polemic. Wow what a good book. Definitely good, and you don't have to agree with his premium Premillennialism to appreciate the book. Get a copy. Number six Exodus old and new by Michael Morales.

Listen don't argue with me. Just go buy the book. Buy his book on Leviticus. Buy this book on Exodus. It's the kind of book look at. I have this here on my desk if you're a listener. You won't be able to see this, but it's the kind of book that like You you like oh, I'm gonna underline some stuff and highlight some stuff.

But then you just end up underlining and highlighting like the entire book. It's just so good. It's so useful. You'll not only understand the Exodus more you'll understand Your Bible better, and you'll understand the gospel and the story of your own salvation.

Get a copy. Read it do it now. Go do it. All right. Number five foundations for lifelong learning. What a superb book. I think John Piper is just getting better and better with age. This is a book that he wrote primarily for his seminary students.

But I think you if you have Teenagers read this book with him. If you're a youth pastor. Buy copies and read this with your church members if you just are in a discipleship group or a small group. You know like I don't know what to do next.

Get this book you will not regret it. Number four reforming criminal justice by Matthew Martins. This book won all kinds of awards rightly. So Tim Talley says it was his favorite book of the year. I think this is going to be a textbook.

In many Classrooms at law schools across the country. That's how good it is. I think it's it's gonna have it's gonna have a very narrow impact in that you know I don't know in broader evangelicalism how Sustained the ministry of this book will be over the next 50 or 100 years, but if law is being practiced Especially by Christians.

This is going to be the book that they're gonna want to read to make sure that they're biblically Calibrated in their view of justice. Matthew is a good friend of mine. We recorded a three and a half hour episode of room for nuance about this book.

It is absolutely stunning even if you don't agree with everything he says chapter 11 on the the bail system. Worth the price of entry alone. Get you a copy of this book and at least read chapter 11, but hopefully read more.

Number three murder your darlings by Roy Peter Clark. Here here's the deal. If you don't write much you may not understand how hard it is. To be a ruthless editor of your own work, but it's very difficult.

It's very difficult especially when sometimes you think you have to kill a sentence or a paragraph or a page. That you love you love. I think this is a beautiful sentence. This is a beautiful paragraph this page.

I don't want to give it up it. It's just it feels like I'm killing a child to delete this sometimes I won't even do it. I'll just I'll just cut it out and put it at the bottom of the of the word document just so I can save it if I ever want it later.

And Clark argues, and I think persuasively. For how if you want to be a better writer you have to learn to kill. You have to murder your darlings. You have to kill some of your favorite Pieces of your some of the your favorite pieces of your writing so that your writing will ultimately be better.

The book itself even if you're not a writer or like a very serious writer. It's just a fun read. It's well-written. I think you would enjoy it. It's my number three. Number two the epic story of the Bible by Greg Gilbert another Greg Gilbert book on the list.

Listen, this is another popular level Biblical theology book, but I think it may be the best one. I'm not gonna give away any more Graham Goldsworthy stuff on Or or the Nick Roark book, which I love by the way.

If there's ever anyone who goes like what is biblical theology, and how do I do it? I'm gonna give them this book. It was so good that when I finished it. I incorporated it as well into the women's discipleship program.

I told you I did that with another book earlier on the list. I incorporated this this was the only book that Universally all the women in our women's discipleship group said wow. Wow, this is a good book.

They said it was fantastic. Every other book that they read some people loved some people didn't like some people weren't different. This was the only book that all the ladies in in the group enjoyed.

Which I find interesting because it's written from a but I feel like is a particularly man manly perspective. It's about you know conquering mountains and such so. This was a surprise hit of the year for me to be honest with you.

I think this is Greg's best writing and I have a bunch of copies that I'm gonna give away to as many people as I can for a long time to come. And then finally number one Authority by Jonathan Lehman we also did an interview with him on room for nuance.

Remember what I do on room for nuance. Sometimes I'll interview people that I don't agree with about resources that I'm not fully in alignment with but I just want to explore a difficult subject matter.

But I also sometimes would just read a book and think it's so important and I want to try to get the author on to talk to them because I want as many people as possible to hear these ideas and authority by Jonathan Lehman is is A book that that that caused me to want to interview him for those reasons.

We live in an anti-authoritarian age. We're Americans. I think most of us Watching this listening to this we tend to distrust authority as it is. Scandals with pastors and politicians have only made it worse.

We're reformed so total depravity even it, you know sort of ratchets that up even more. We understand the sinfulness of the human heart. It's hard for us to trust authority and yet Godly authority is a good thing.

It's a blessing. Nobody will help you understand authority better than Jonathan Lehman. He's been thinking about it basically for 30 years and he is a Fantastic writer stories Illustrations his his text work is fantastic.

I laughed during the book. I literally I cried during At one point in the story while I was reading the book I'm coming off the rails now, but but listen, this book is so good. Please buy a copy. Read it buy two copies.

Give another one to a friend. You will not regret it. I think that's all I got for this year. I Think I'm gonna do another video on some of the books that I'm planning on reading this year. So stay tuned for that.

But for now, I'm signing off. Thank you for Tuning in see you next time.