If you can’t tell, I like making lists. And at the end of the calendar year list making seems to be the thing to do. I’ve been hearing a lot about the best movies of 2007, but I hardly saw any movies this year so I can’t comment in that area. But I can list the books I read this past year and comment on my favorites. And yes, this is mostly for my own personal benefit…
Faith/Spirituality/Theology/Church
Metaphorical Theology
by Sallie McFague
Everything Must Change by Brian McLaren
It’s A Dance by Patrick Oden
Inspiration and Incarnation by Peter Enns
Postcolonial Imagination and Feminist Theology by Kwok Pui-lan
Misquoting Jesus by Bart Ehrman
Graven Ideologies by Bruce Ellis Benson
Visions and Longings by Monica Furlong
Healthy Congregations by Peter Steinke
Evil and the Justice of God by N.T. Wright
An Emergent Manifesto of Hope ed. Doug Pagitt and Tony Jones
Hagar, Sarah, and their Children Edited by Phyllis Trible and Letty Russell
Sex God by Rob Bell
How (not) to Speak of God by Peter Rollins
Justice
Sex, Economy, Freedom, Community by Wendall Berry
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
Justice in the Burbs by Will and Lisa Samson
The Ethics of What We Eat by Peter Singer and Jim Mason
Urgent Message From Mother by Jean Shinoda Bolen
Memoir/Reflections
A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf
The Faith Club by Ranya Idliby, Suzanne Oliver, and Priscilla Warner
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
Dance of the Dissident Daughter by Sue Monk Kidd
Grace (Eventually) by Anne Lamott
History
Books on Fire by Lucien X. Polastron
Goddesses and the Divine Feminine by Rosemary Radford Ruether
Spirituality in the Land of the Noble by Richard C. Foltz
In Search of Zarathustra by Paul Kriwaczek
When God was a Woman by Merlin Stone
Mysteries of the Middle Ages by Thomas Cahill
Empires of the Word: A Language History of the World by Nicholas Ostler
Parenting
Beyond Discipline: From Compliance to Community by Alfie Kohn
The Homework Myth by Alfie Kohn
Fiction – General
Fantasy
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter Books 1-6 by J.K. Rowling
Kushiel’s Justice by Jacqueline Carey
Belladonna by Anne Bishop
Dark Moon Defender by Sharon Shinn
Star Wars
Outbound Flight by Timothy Zahn
Allegiance by Timothy Zahn
Betrayal by Aaron Allston
Bloodlines by Karen Traviss
Tempest by Troy Denning
While I think I’ve made myself clear how much I like the Harry Potter conclusion, I must restate that it was a highlight of the year. In the category of just purely enjoyable reads, I would also have to list Empires of the Word: A Language History of the World by Nicholas Ostler. The process of tracing the history of civilization through linguistics was a new perspective for me and one I found utterly fascinating. But if I were to choose two book from this year’s list that I would recommend to just about anyone as “must reads”, I would have to say Graven Ideologies by Bruce Ellis Benson and The Ethics of What We Eat by Peter Singer and Jim Mason. Both selections I think are vital for understanding the world we live in today. Benson’s work is a brilliant introduction to the philosophical undercurrents of our time as well as a primer for a Christian understanding thereof. Singer and Mason delve into popular philosophy as well as they seek to help readers understand how ethics should inform our food choices. Both offer needed perspectives for those seeking to live a thoughtful and moral life in the 21st century. I highly recommend them both.
Anyway, I have a long and eclectic list of books on my “to read” list for 2008, I just need to find more time to actually read.