Reading in 2011

Something I started doing a few years ago and have greatly enjoyed is keeping track of the books I read each year.

Here is my reading list for 2011:

1. The Speed Of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything, by Stephen M. R. Covey
2. The Historical Books (Interpreting Biblical Texts Series), by Richard D. Nelson
3. Joshua to Chronicles: An Introduction, by Antony F. Campbell
4. The Art of Biblical History, by V. Philips Long
5. A Biblical History of Israel, by Iain Provan, V. Philips Long, and Tremper Longman III
6. God’s Potters: Pastoral Leadership and the Shaping of Congregations, by Jackson W. Carroll
7. Crossing the Wire, by Will Hobbs
8. Leading the Congregation: Caring for Yourself While Serving the People, by Roger Heuser and Norman Shawchuck
9. Accompany Them With Singing: The Christian Funeral, by Thomas G. Long
10. The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho
11. Crucifixion, by Martin Hengel
12. Crazy Love, by Francis Chan
13. The Dawkins Delusion? Atheist Fundamentalism and the Denial of the Divine, by Alister McGrath and Joanna Collicut McGrath
14. 1776, by David McCullough
15. A Little History of the World, by E.H. Gombrich
16. The Soul of Baseball: A Road Trip Through Buck O’Neil’s America, by Joe Posnanski
17. Kingdom Come: Embracing the Spiritual Legacy of David Lipscomb and James Harding, by John Mark Hicks and Bobby Valentine
18. Show Us How You Do It: Marshall Keeble and the Rise of Black Churches of Christ in the United States, 1914-1968, by Edward J. Robinson
19. Reviving The Ancient Faith: The Story of Churches of Christ in America, by Richard T. Hughes
20. The Death Collector, by Justin Richards
21. The Problem of Pain, by C.S. Lewis
22. The Greenest Island, by Paul Theroux
23. Night, by Elie Wiesel
24. Convicted: A Scientist Examines the Evidence for Christianity, by Brad Harrub
25. The Restoration Movement in Northwest Arkansas, by Virginia Lynn Vego
26. Baseball in Blue and Gray: The National Pastime During the Civil War, by George B. Kirsch
27. The Way of Life: Church History, Reformation and Modern, by Everett Ferguson
28. Gorky Park, by Martin Cruz Smith
29. Pea Ridge and Prairie Grove, by William Baxter
30. Youth: A Narrative, by Joseph Conrad
31. The Conquest of the North and South Poles, by Russell Owen
32. A History of Arkansas College: 1850-1860, by Robert Dockery
33. Early Christians Speak: Faith and Life in the First Three Centuries, by Everett Ferguson
34. Undenominational Christianity, by J.N. Armstrong
35. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, by John Le Carré
36. My Turn at Bat: the Story of My Life, by Ted Williams (with John Underwood)
37. The Third Man, by Graham Greene
38. The Fallen Idol, by Graham Greene
39. More Strength for the Journey: A Daily Devotional Guide, by Danny Boggs, Kirk Brothers, Bobby Dockery, and Neal Pollard

Once again, I did a poor job of writing reviews of the books I read this past year, and that’s something I hope to improve upon in 2012. Regardless of my lack of reviews, there were a few books I read that I thought were great. The Art of Biblical History and A Biblical History of Israel were both excellent, and I would readily recommend them to anyone with an interest in biblical history. Other favorites for the year included 1776 (fascinating reading on the early days of the American Revolution), Night (gut-wrenching, personal account of the Holocaust), and The Soul of Baseball, which was possibly the best baseball book I have ever read (which is saying a lot). In the category of fiction, Gorky Park and The Spy Who Came in from the Cold were both very enjoyable.

On the flip side, The Death Collector was undoubtedly the worst book I read this year (the dangers of choosing young adult audio books for my drives to and from Memphis). The only other real disappointment for the year was The Alchemist, which I had high hopes for but ended up being weird and uninspiring.

Sadly, my overall book total decreased (down to 39 from 41 in 2010). Part of this was caused by an unproductive January, and also by the fact that I took one less reading-intensive graduate course this year. Hopefully I’ll reverse the trend and be back up over 40 books in 2012.

As always, I have some books set aside to read in 2012, but I always like recommendations for good stuff. Any ideas?

(For comparison’s sake, you can see the books I read in 2010, 2009, and 2008).