2021 was another great year of reading. I am so thankful for the gifts of books and eager to get into some new ones in 2022. Some of these were re-reads, some were audio, and some we read aloud together as a family.
Here’s a few highlights from 2021:
Most Culturally Insightful Book
![](https://www.ttschmidt.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/rise-and-triumph.jpg)
“The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self” by Carl Trueman was most culturally insightful book I read this year. He puts his finger well on what is going on around us and how we got here. It was a hard read, but worth it; his insights have really helped me think about the culture around me.
Most Spiritually Helpful Book
![](https://www.ttschmidt.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/taking-root.jpg)
As a family we read aloud a book called “Taking Root: Devotional Stories about Conversion” by Diana Kleyn. I loved the stories (true stories) and the questions and talking points I had with my children through it.
Best Historical Book
![](https://www.ttschmidt.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/we-the-fallen.jpg)
I think “We the Fallen People” by Tracy McKenzie was the best historical book I read this year. He helps us see how the Founders viewed human nature–VERY different from how we do today–and the danger of populism.
Most Fun
![](https://www.ttschmidt.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/green-ember.jpg)
We read aloud the “Green Ember” series by S.D. Smith with our kids this year. Great stories and a lot of fun to read together.
LIST OF 2021 READS:
- “Becoming a Pastor Theologian” Edited by Todd Wilson and Gerald Hiestand
- “The Wingfeather Saga: The Monster in the Hollows” by Andrew Peterson
- “An Ark for all God’s Noahs” by Thomas Brooks
- “Heidi” by Johanna Spyri (read aloud as family)
- “The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self” by Carl Trueman
- “The Wingfeather Saga: The Warden and the Wolf King” by Andrew Peterson
- “Charles Simeon of Cambridge” by Hugh Evans Hopkins
- “The Pilgrim’s Progress” by John Bunyan (audio, reread)
- “The Science of Virtue” by Mark R. McMinn
- “Why Johnny Can’t Preach” by T. David Gordon
- “The Privy Key of Heaven” by Thomas Brooks
- “The Stranger” by Albert Camus
- “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne
- “The Wingfeather Saga: On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness” (reread; read aloud as a family 1st time)
- “Against God and Nature: The Doctrine of Sin” by Thomas H. McCall
- “Worldly Saints: The Puritans as they Really Were” by Leland Ryken
- “The Time Machine” by H.G. Wells
- “The Final Days of Jesus” by Andreas Kostenberger and Justin Taylor
- “How to Reach the West Again” by Tim Keller
- “Heaven on Earth” by Thomas Brooks
- “Confessions” by Augustine (reread; audio)
- “The Heart of the Church: The Gospel’s History, Message, and Meaning” by Joe Thorn
- “Christian Meditation” by Edmund Clowney
- “Founding Brothers” by Joseph J Ellis
- “Grace to the City: Studies in the Gospel from China” Edited by S.E. Wang and Hannah Nation
- “ The Character of the Church: The Marks of God’s Obedient People” by Joe Thorn
- “The Life of the Church: The Table, Pulpit, and Square” by Joe Thorn
- “Benjamin Franklin” by Edmund S. Morgan
- “All of Grace” by Spurgeon (audio)
- “The Pastor as Counselor” by David Powlison
- “Spiritual Leadership” by J. Oswald Sanders
- “A Cabinet of Jewels” by Thomas Brooks
- “Virtual Reality Church” by Darrell Bock and Jonathan Armstrong
- “Deacons” by Matt Smethurst
- “The Mind of the Maker” by Dorothy Sayers
- “Swift and Beautiful” by David B Calhoun
- “Bible” by God (reread)
- “The Green Ember” S.D. Smith (read aloud as family)
- “Christianity at the Crossroads” by Michael J. Kruger
- “Brothers, We Are Not Professionals” by John Piper (reread)
- “Phantastes” by George MacDonald (reread)
- “The Hiding Place” by Corrie Ten Boom (audio; reread)
- “Green Pastures: A Primer on the Ordinary Means of Grace” by J. Ryan David
- “Surviving Religion 101” by Michael J. Kruger
- “The Lost Fleet: Dauntless” by Jack Campbell
- “The Screwtape Letters” by C.S. Lewis (reread)
- “The Abolition of Man” by C.S. Lewis (reread)
- “The Hobbit” by Tolkien (reread; audio as family)
- “The Mortification of Sin” (abridged) by John Owen (reread)
- “Things Unseen: A Systematic Introduction to the Christian Faith and Reformed Theology” by Machen
- “Ember Falls” by S.D. Smith (read aloud as family)
- “When God’s Voice is Heard: the Power of Preaching” edited by Christopher Green and David Jackman
- “Taking Root: Devotional Stories about Conversion” by Diana Kleyn (read aloud as family)
- “We the Fallen People” by Tracy McKenzie
- “Beowulf”
- “God and the Transgender Debate: What Does the Bible Actually Say About Gender Identity?” by Andrew Walker
- “Am I Just My Brain?” by Sharon Dirckx
- “Created to Draw Near” by Edward T. Welch
- “The Crown and Glory of Christianity” by Thomas Brooks
- “Discipling” by Mark Dever
- “Dune” by Frank Herbert (reread)
- “The Pastor Theologian” by Gerald Hiestand and Todd Wilson
- “Bearing Fruit” by Diana Kleyn (read aloud as family)
- “Robert Murray M’Cheyene” by Andrew Bonar
- “Ember Rising” by S.D. Smith (read aloud as family)
- “The God Who Became Human” by Graham A. Cole
- “The Golden Key to Open Hidden Treasures” by Thomas Brooks
- “Providence” by John Piper
- “Ember’s End” by S.D. Smith (read aloud as family)