My Favorite Books of 2013

Looking back over the books I read in 2013, here’s a list of those I most enjoyed and heartily recommend.

Fiction

To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
The Chronicles of Narnia, volumes 4-7, by CS Lewis – Ben and I finished reading these together this year to complete the whole set, read in the order in which they were originally published: The Horse and His Boy, The Silver Chair, The Magician’s Nephew, and The Last Battle
The House at Pooh Corner, by AA Milne – Another book read to the kids. Classic stories.

History and Biography

The Fall of the House of Dixie: The Civil War and the Social Revolution that Transformed the South, by Bruce Levine
The Passage of Power, by Robert Caro – The fourth volume in Caro’s series on Lyndon B. Johnson, this one covers his failed bid for the Democratic nomination in 1960, his Vice-Presidency under John F. Kennedy, his ascension to the presidency upon JFK’s assasination, and the first couple months of his presidency as he established himself and his administration.

Faith and Theology

King’s Cross: The Story of the World in the Life of Jesus, by Timothy Keller
Longing for Enough in a Culture of More, by Paul Escamilla
Creed: What Christians Believe and Why It Matters, by Luke Timothy Johnson
Speaking of Sin, by Barbara Brown Taylor
The Illumined Heart: Capturing the Vibrant Faith of Ancient Christianity, by Fredrica Mathewes-Green
Epic of Eden: A Christian Entry into the Old Testament, by Sandra Richter

Other Non-Fiction

Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World has Never Seen, by Christopher McDougall – Really fun read by a good storyteller
The Post-American World, release 2.0, by Fareed Zakaria
The Rare Find, by George Anders
The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion, by Jonathon Haidt
Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in LIfe and Work, by Chip Heath and Dan Heath