I had never heard of the reading challenge until about February of 2016. I set out a goal of 30 books, which I thought was pretty ambitious. I basically had the idea that I would be able to do 2.5 book a year. Well, that really got me going, and back in the reading heavily, as by the end of the year I had read 51 books, and about 850 pages of War and Peace. That is 15,607 pages, but who’s counting?
The biggest book I attempted was obviously War and Peace, but the biggest I completed was The American President: From Teddy Roosevelt to Bill Clinton
On the other hand, there is a bit of a feeling like you are just powering through. Yes, powering through can make you finish a book you started that you might otherwise have discarded, but it can almost give you the feeling of reading for school. You are reading to finish the book, not because you are necessarily interested in it. It effects some of your choice, too. The three largest books I completed had page counts of 685, 704, and 886; plus War and Peace has over 1,300. This makes shorter books seem more appealing, simply because it will help add to your book count. Though, in my defense, my average book was 289 pages.
Anyway, it can be a fun way to challenge yourself, but this year I will put less on the Challenge. Probably the biggest difference going forward will be to lay out a number of books first. So, not just say 24 books, but say this book, that book, and then 10 more, or something to that affect. I won’t know completely what will be on the list, as I hope to receive more review copies. This year, I received 13 review copies, so that is kind of cool. I also already have about five or six that I need to review. More on that later. See below for my challenge list and check out my book review page for all the books for which I have written reviews.
J.K.’s bookshelf: 2016-challenge
My Rating –Put it on the ListLevel – Not very readable, seems longer than it is
Summary
The book is exactly what you think it is based on the title. He jumps straight in with the first chapter explaining what he thinks (based on scrip…
My Rating – Must ReadLevel – Easy, short
Summary
This book is exactly what the title says it is a guidebook to understanding and reading Genesis. Longman explains what the book (Genesis) is, who wrote it, whom it was written to as wel…
My Rating – Put it on Your ListLevel – Somewhat technical, requires a higher level knowledge of Genesis and some theology, somewhat short, but at times reads longer than it is.
Summary
This book is exactly what the title says, though …
My Rating –If You are Looking for SomethingLevel – Easy & quick, medium length
Summary
It’s about pirates. If you are like me, what more do you need? Actually, it’s technically not about pirates, it’s about privateers and they are ver…
My Rating –If You are Looking for Something – about Baptist view of church, Probably Not Worth Your Time – if you are already familiar with Baptist viewsLevel – short, easy read
Summary
This book could basically be a few sections in…
My Rating – PassLevel – Short, writing can be long and choppy, knowledge of history and philosophy would be helpful
Summary
Basically random thoughts from a guy who thought he was going to die. Most ideas are a reflection of the tim…
My Rating – If You are Looking for SomethingLevel – Short, easy
Summary
It’s difficult to write a summary of a biography. The book itself is a biography of the life of John Knox. To hit some high points: Knox was friends with John Cal…
My Rating – Must ReadLevel – Fairly Easy, moderate in length
Summary
The book seeks to look at broad topics in American politics and see what we can determine about them from the Bible. Bock does this mostly by listing verses and how …
My Rating –Put it on the ListLevel – Tough, dense, fairly long
Summary
Rodion (Rody) Románovich Raskolnikov is a poor college student in St. Petersburg who decides to murder an old pawnbroker with an ax so that he can rob her. Things …
My Rating – Put it on the listLevel – Easy, Medium length
Summary
The first chapter is a short biographical stretch of the man many consider to be the greatest American Theologian of all time. The rest of the chapters are devoted to E…
My Rating – Must ReadLevel – Moderate read, short
Summary
Sometime in the future a man is caught using someone else’s pharmacy card for access to sleeping pills. He is evaluated and sent to a psychologist and sleep specialist to whom …
My Rating – Must ReadLevel – Easy read, medium length, but reads quickly
Summary
Blue zones, so named because while researching the first one, a blue circle was drawn around they area under discussion, are areas in the world where peo…
My Rating – Must ReadLevel – Easy, fast read; medium length
Summary
The story, broadly, is about the CIA field office in Moscow and its operations. Under different CIA directors and even field office directors, their focuses change or…
My Rating – Must ReadLevel – Easy, quick read
Summary
The book is broken up into two main parts, C.V. and What Writing is, Toolbox, and On Writing, plus a longish post-script chapter, which is followed by two more short post-post-scri…
My Rating – If You Are Looking for SomethingLevel – Quick, easy read
Summary
Arthur Dent is trying to stop bulldozers from demolishing his house when his friend Ford Perfect stops by and convinces him to go to the pub instead. Perfect…
My Rating – Put it on your listLevel – short, easy. A quick read, but I’m also going to add compelling, especially as you read the personal stories.
My Thoughts/Summary Mix
This is an important and timely book. I think two overarching…
My Rating – Put it on your listLevel – moderate to difficult read, it is well written but some of the concept are tough, fairly long, but ready a little quicker then the 400+ pages
Summary
Broadly speaking, this book is about thinking…
My Rating – Put it on the List – if you struggle with spending/consumerism, Probably Not Worth Your Time – if you don’tLevel – Short, easy.
Summary
Title pretty much sums it up. Dannemiller comes to a realization that he and his wife…
My Rating – Put it on the list (if you are a fishermen; if not, pass)Level – Short, easy, requires some familiarity with fly fishing.
Summary
It is hard to summarize this book. Basically it’s just a guy writing a few short essays/stor…
My Rating – Must ReadLevel – Medium length, fairly easy and does not require more than a basic knowledge of the Bible or Theology.
Summary
The book is essentially an exposition of The Apostles’ Creed. That is, he goes line by line and…
My Rating – If you are looking for somethingLevel – Choppy read, short but reads longer than it is
Summary
First of all, if you’ve been recommend this book by a friend or pastor and they tell it is written by a guy named Guinness, no …
My Rating – Put it on your listLevel – Easy read, medium length
Summary
This is another book that is hard to summarize with just repeating the title or copy/pasting the table of contents. I guess the title isn’t super clear, it comes …
My Rating – Must ReadLevel – Fairly easy read, moderate length
Summary
As the title implies, this is a book about disciplines for men who are trying to live a ‘Godly’ life. After the introduction Hughes goes into the 17 disciplines he…
My Rating -Put it on the listLevel – Medium length, get’s mildly technical, but overall fairly easy.
Summary
As the title say, the book argues four thoughts on hell. Well, really it is three views of hell, and another who goes on a ta…
My Rating – Put it on your listLevel – His style makes it moderate, but the book covers topics like biology, physics, philosophy, anthropology, economics, and of course, history. So, not everyone will be able to jump right into this bo…
My rating – Put it on your listLevel – easy, a little wordy, medium length but reads quickly
Summary
The title might be a bit of a misnomer. People expecting this book to be about whether or not America was founded as a Christian nati…
Rating – Put it on you listLevel – Easy, moderate in length
Summary
First of all, do not be thrown off by the cover/title. This is not a fluffy self-helpy type book. Instead Dr. Crabb challenges the readers to love like Jesus, but not…
Rating – Must ReadLevel – Medium length, reads quickly and easily
Summary
The book, as the title indicates, is about homosexuality in the church and the world today. Dallas covers a large swath of the topic, from how to talk to people…
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– Mark Dever
or 
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– Marcus Aurelius
by Tremper Longman, III
Monday Morning Theologian 