So as we all know, 2020 has been a weird year. And that’s the nice way to say it. One positive that has come out of it is that with the shutdown last Spring I managed to achieve and bypass my yearly reading goal. (This minor positive is in no way intended to diminish all the many, many negatives of 2020.) Which means my ‘best of 2020’ list might be a bit longer than years past. But like years past, this is only a list of the best books I read this year. It is not a list of the best books that were published this year. It is also not a list of the best books that anyone could have read this year. But it’s the list of the best books I read this year.
If reviews are available here I’ve provided links, otherwise I’ve given a short blurb about the book.
Fiction
Lest Darkness Fall by L Sprague de Camp (reviewed here)
Uprooted by Naomi Novik. This is a surprisingly good book, given how much it relies on some fairly standard tropes.
Hyperion by Dan Simmons. This book is Chaucer in space. Need I say more?
The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis (reviewed here–though the review was published before the COVID shutdown, if you can remember such a time; so somehow a book review published in 2020 about a book set during a plague didn’t say much about plague at all)
Theology
Encouragement for the Depressed by Spurgeon and Expulsive Power of a New Affection by Thomas Chalmers, both published by Crossway in “Short Classics” editions this year (the one by Edwards, reviewed here, was also excellent). Reviews on these two classics will be forthcoming.
Christian Worldview by Herman Bavinck (reviewed here)
Not Home Yet by Ian Smith (reviewed here)
Redemptive Reversals by G.K. Beale (reviewed here)
Here are your gods by Christopher Wright (reviewed here)
Family Discipleship by Matt Chandler (reviewed here)
Divine Blessing by William Osborne (reviewed here)
Biography
With Malice Toward None by Stephen Oates
An Introduction to John Owen by Crawdord Gribben (reviewed here)
Becoming C.S. Lewis by Harry Poe (reviewed here)
Abraham Kuyper: Modern Calvinist, Christian Democrat by James Bratt (reviewed here)
Lion of Liberty by Harlow Unger (reviewed here)
Goodbye to a River by John Graves. Okay, okay, as of this writing I’m technically not done with this book, but so far it is an excellent read and well worth your time. But plan to go slow–this book takes about as long to read as it took him to get down the river. That’s not a complaint–like his trip it’s a pleasant one that meanders peacefully.
Politics
Alienated America by Timothy Carney. This is a quick read exploring just how things have gone so wrong politically in America (hint: the problem isn’t political at heart).
Invisible Women by Caroline Perez. You know, I thought I wrote a review of this book. The fact that either I didn’t or I can’t find it just goes to prove the point of the book–that women are far too often overlooked.
A Time To Build by Yuval Levin. At a time when it’s easy to criticize as everything falls apart, in this book Levin challenges us to begin the hard work of building. Rather than going after our political and cultural enemies, this is the moment to re-invest in our institutions and begin the long, uphill, trudge to bring them back to some semblance of health.
The American Healthcare Paradox by Elizabeth Bradley (reviewed here)
Dual Citizens by Timothy Padgett (editor). A selection of the best writings on politics from the pages of Christianity Today since the magazine was founded in the mid-1950s.
Strategikon by the Emperor Maurice. This is certainly the odd man out on this list, not because it’s outside of my interest (I love that ancient stuff, and tolerate this kind of Medieval stuff) but because it’s not the usual fare for Schaeffer’s Ghost. And yet, I think it’s important that Christians be dipping occasionally into ancient texts other than Scripture. And while a Byzantine military manual may not be the most usual place to start, Maurice’s Strategikon is an easy place to dip your toes in. The bits that are overly complex can be skimmed easily enough, and the rest is both interesting and provides good fodder for reflection–should a Christian value winning in combat over anything, even to the point of lying and setting ambushes for the enemy? Maurice has thoughts, and his answers are great conversation starters.
Happy reading for 2021!
Dr. Coyle Neal is co-host of the City of Man Podcast and an Associate Professor of Political Science at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, MO
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