Some readers seem interested in what writers read, especially a pastor/author who writes fiction. Shouldn’t I be reading and writing something more substantial? I thought this for a while, until the Father reminded me how I loved reading stories as a boy and how Jesus used the power of story when he walked among us. Stories for children, stories for young people, even stories for adults—stories to entertain, challenge, inspire, teach, and touch. 

 

I am an eclectic bookworm, partly out of necessity as a writer and partly by choice. Some books I read; others I listen to. Some are good, some not so great. The following list is not meant to be a recommended reading list. Not all the novels are Christocentric or reflective of Christian values. Still, some have important stories to tell, such as Kristin Hannah’s *The Women*. This story focuses on women army nurses during Vietnam. A troubling yet realistic tale in Harlan Coben’s *Runaway*, which follows a father’s search for his runaway daughter addicted to drugs. Reading helps me gain a deeper religious and cultural understanding of the world we live in, to grasp history, and to study various writing styles. Here are some of the books and magazines I’ve been reading or listening to in 2024:

 

The Bible 

David Suchet Audio Bible NIV

The Journaling Bible ESV by Crossway Bibles

 

Christian-themed fiction:

The Bowers Files (a series), Steven James

Final Departure, Jeff Walton 

 

Christian-themed nonfiction:

Psalms, Dr. Bill Creasy, Logos Bible Study

Strange New World, Carl R. Trueman

50 People Every Christian Should Know, Warren W. Wiersbe

Pilgrimage into the Last Third of Life, Richard L. Morgan

All Saints: Daily Reflections, Robert Ellsberg

Apostolic Fathers: Early Christian Writings, Maxwell Staniforth & Andrew Louth 

 

Non-Christian themed fiction:

To Die For, David Baldacci,

Total Control, David Baldacci 

Eruption, Michael Crichton, James Patterson

The Women, Kristin Hannah

Persons of Interest, Peter Granger

Runaway, Harlan Coben

 

Substack.com: a platform that lets writers publish newsletters, podcasts, and other content 

Rachel Freed, Reflections at 85 from a retired Jewish psychotherapist

Christopher Rufo, leading the fight against the left-wing ideological regime

Paul Kingsnorth, The Abbey of Misrule, writer, thinker, smallholder, Orthodox 

Christian and aspiring beekeeper

Seasons of Community Living, dispatches from the Bruderhof Christian communities. 

Seeking Heaven, the beauty of Catholicism, sacred tradition of the saints, and biblical reflections movieguide.org by Dr, Ted Baehr, Camarillo, CA an excellent movie/TV entertainment resource

 

Magazines

First Things by The Institute on Religion and Public Life, New York, NY

Christianity Today by Christianity Today, Wheaton, IL

Plough Quarterly by Plough Publishing House, Walden, NY

Hedgehog Review by Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture, University of Virginia 

Influence by the Assemblies of God, Springfield, MO

The New Criterion by The Foundation for Cultural Review, New York, NY

The Christian Century by Peter W. Marty, Chicago, IL

Poets & Writers by Poets & Writers, Inc., New York, NY

Wisdom of the Cloister 365 daily readings, John Skinner, by Doubleday, New York, NY

 

What’s ahead in 2025?

The Bible, of course

The Vanishing American Adult, Ben Sasse

Brave New World, Aldous Huxley

And beyond these, I have no idea at the moment. 

 

Do you have a favorite read you’d like to tell me about?

Keep on reading, my friend. And may Jesus keep us close.

 

 

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2 Corinthians 3:1-3                                                                                                       

1 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? 2 You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. 3 You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. (NIV)

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A Jobian-like contest has begun… and Satan wants to make a world-shaking statement!

Book one in the exciting new series

SEPTEMBER STRIKE: A Cain Family Thriller 

is available online in softcover or e-book at

Amazon or Barnes & Noble; or ask for it at your favorite bookstore.

 

And coming in the spring, PRIZE CHILD. What happened to Jessica Cain? Twelve years old and last seen near the Dead Sea, Israel!