10 Book Recommendations for the New Year (2023)
I'm about a month late with this, but these kinds of lists were always helpful to me, and still are, as I look for things to read in the new year. God was so gracious to me last year, enabling me, both with time and physically and mentally, to read a lot. These are ten of my favorites.
You may not take these exact books, but you may take the idea, the topic or the doctrine they present and read something else on it. Some are very practical and others more academic, but all of them are within a very biblical and Reformed view. They aren't in any order.
-
The Westminster Confession of Faith. Something very simple, very fundamental. You can read it straight through, or read a chapter alongside your devotions and then sit and meditate and praise God for His grace and mercy. It goes through adoption, justification, election, perseverance: great doctrines so fundamental to the Christian faith. I'd put it on the list not only for this year, but every year.
-
Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis. Such a classic, and I had never read it. I found it at a used book sale for about three dollars, and I was blown away. It's not the best book on this list, but it has insight into things that were very helpful.
-
With All Your Heart by A. Craig Troxel. I don't typically read new books; this was assigned to me in class. But it's truly fantastic. Troxel goes through almost the entire Bible and argues that the heart is the epicenter of your whole being: your thoughts, emotions, spirit, everything you are. So when the Bible says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart," it isn't saying put your emotions in Him. It's saying put everything into Him. It's probably one of the only modern books I would recommend.
-
Confessions by Augustine. It connects with your heart. It reminds you of your own sinfulness and brings things out of you that you didn't even know were there, and that allows you to recognize those sins and repent of them. A very convicting read and a wonderful book.
-
Faith and Life by B. B. Warfield. Little sermonettes, little chapters. Doctrinally sound, and I don't believe you'll find a more biblical, applicable read than this little book.
-
A Guide to Prayer by Isaac Watts. If you're seeking counsel on how to pray, ways to pray and what to pray, this takes you through different forms of prayer. It's mostly written for new believers who aren't sure how to pray. Highly recommended.
-
Systematic Theology by Louis Berkhof. A huge volume, about 1,200 pages, and a more academic read. It goes through every doctrine presented in the Bible, from God's existence to the final judgment. It takes a long time to get through, but it's totally worth it if you're willing to endure.
-
The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan. I'm reading it again this year, and it blows my mind every time to see the Christian story presented that way. You can gain something from every sentence. So convicting and so devotional.
-
A Christian Manifesto by Francis Schaeffer. A classic, and I believe a very important one today with everything going on around us. He predicted a lot of things that ended up happening. Very well written. (We've since done a whole series on Schaeffer.)
-
Anything by J. C. Ryle. Last year I was able to read all of Ryle's works, at least those in print today, so I recommend anything by Ryle. To give you a little more structure:
- Thoughts for Young Men is fantastic. It's about 70 pages, you can read it in about an hour, and I try to read it every year.
- Holiness is his most popular work. It deals with doctrine but applies it to life in a very practical way.
- The Upper Room, where Thoughts for Young Men comes from, was the last book he wrote. It's full of wisdom, practical advice and the insight of a long life. He was 86 or 88 years old, I believe, at the time. Very old and very wise.
Hopefully this helps guide you in some direction as you look for things to read this year. (You can find more on Ryle in our Ryle Resources.)
Soli Deo Gloria!
.png)
