The 85 Books I read in 2021

2021 was another excellent year reading-wise. I read 85 books and beat my initial goal of 80 and last year’s record of 77. I am still not sure how I read all these books, but I thank God for the fantastic opportunity. I have examined my reading list and managed to identify my ten favorites of 2021 here. What follows is my complete 2021 reading list with links to my reviews if available. I have long given up on writing a review on every Christian book I read. So if there is no review, it may or may not be forthcoming.

Non- Fiction

Theology

1. The Pleasures of God – John Piper
2. None Other – John MacArthur
3. Systematic Theology – Wayne Grudem

Christian Living

1. Praying the Bible – Donald S. Whitney
2. God’s Design for the Church – Conrad Mbewe
3. Rejoice and Tremble – Michael Reeves
4. God Doesn’t Whisper – Jim Osman
5. Final Word – John MacArthur
6. Every Day Matters – Brandon D. Crowe
7. Aging With Grace – Sharon W. Betters & Susan Hunt
8. Passion and Purity – Elisabeth Elliot
9. The Wisdom Pyramid – Brett McCracken
10. The Characters of Easter – Daniel Darling
11. Laughing at the Days to Come – Tessa Thompson
12. Ten Words to Live By – Jen Wilkin
13. Let me be a Woman – Elisabeth Elliot
14. Design Your Day – Claire Diaz-Ortiz
15. A Praying Life – Paul Miller
16. The Path of Loneliness – Elisabeth Elliot
17. Recovering the Lost Art of Reading – Leland Ryken & Glenda Faye Mathes
18. Reclaiming the Lost Art of Biblical Meditation – Robert J. Morgan
19. Men and Women in the Church – Kevin DeYoung
20. Prayer – Timothy Keller
21. Love Your Church – Tony Merida
22. God’s Battle Plan for the Mind – David W. Saxton
23. Spurgeon on the Priority of Prayer – Jason K. Allen
24. Spurgeon on the Power of Scripture – Jason K. Allen
25. What if Jesus Was Serious About Prayer – Skye Jethani
26. Crazy Faith – Mike Todd
27. The Cost of Discipleship – Dietrich Bonhoeffer
28. Deeper – Dane Ortlund
29. How Should a Christian Date – Eric Demeter
30. 8 Habits for Growth – Daryl Dash

Biographies

1. Questions Women Asked – Simonetta Carr
2. R.C Sproul: A Life – Stephen Nicols
3. Yours Till Heaven – Ray Rhodes
4. Through Gates of Splendor – Elisabeth Elliot
5. Shadow of the Almighty – Elisabeth Elliot
6. When Faith is Forbidden – Tom Nettleton
7. Made for the Journey – Elisabeth Elliot
8. The Savage my Kinsman – Elisabeth Elliot
9. Tortured for Christ – Richard Wurmbrand
10. The Hiding Place – Corrie Ten Boom (reread)

Puritans

1. The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment – Jeremiah Burroughs
2. The Art of Divine Contentment – Thomas Watson
3. Meditation – Thomas Watson

Apologetics

1. Confronting Christianity – Rebecca Mclaughlin
2. Questioning Christianity – Dan Paterson & Rian Roux
3. Why I Still Believe – Mary Jo Sharp
4. Person of Interest – J. Warner Wallace

Bible / Biblical Studies

1. The Jesus Bible
2. Let’s Study: Philippians – Sinclair Ferguson
3. Philippians for You – Steven Lawson
4. How to Eat Your Bible – Nate Pickowicz
5. Jesus on Every Page – David Murray
6. Knowing Scripture – R.C. Sproul
7. How to Study the Bible – John MacArthur
8. One Foundation – Jeremiah Johnson

Devotionals

1. The Dawn of Redeeming Grace – Sinclair Ferguson
2. Seasons of the Heart – Donna Kelderman
3. New Morning, New Mercies – Paul David Tripp
4. The First Songs of Christmas – Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth

Writing

1. The Writing Life – Annie Dillard
2. Bird by Bird – Anne Lamott

Culture/ Current Issues

1. The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self – Carl Trueman
2. Irreversible Damage – Abigail Shrier
3. Fault Lines – Voddie Baucham
4. Whatever Happened to the Human Race – Francis Shaeffer
5. Live not By Lies – Rod Dreher
6. Cynical Theories – Helen Pluckrose & James Lindsay

Other

1. How to take Smart Notes – Sonke Ahrens
2. 75 Masterpieces Every Christian Should Know – Terry Glaspey

Fiction

Fantasy

1. Rythm of War – Brandon Sanderson
2. Skyward – Brandon Sanderson (reread)
3. Starsight – Brandon Sanderson (reread)
4. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (reread)
5. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (reread)
6. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (reread)
7. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (reread)
8. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (reread)
9. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (reread)
10. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (reread)

Dystopian

1. 1984 – George Orwell
2. The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood

Other

1. Troubled Blood – J.K Rowling

Reading goals for 2022

1. Read 60 books

This year, I want to read more old books, systematic volumes, puritan works, theology, church history volumes etc. And these require slow readings. I also want to devote time to other projects and hobbies.

2. Read more fiction

I only started reading non-fiction two years ago and prioritized it over fiction to catch up. But after reading 100+ non-fiction books over the last two years, I had a massive burnout in October. I couldn’t read anything but fiction. So I think it’s time to stop binging on non-fiction books and read lots of fiction again. I actually prefer fiction to non-fiction books.

3. Request fewer review copies

I want to prioritize my long TBR and older books this year. Most of the books I read last year were published in 2021 because I requested review copies non-stop. It also made my reading list quite unbalanced.

4. Read more widely

My 2021 reading list was a bit unbalanced compared to 2020. I read way more books in one category than others. So this year, every quarter I will try to read a book from each of the following categories plus fiction books.

1. Old book
2. Puritan
3. Church history/biography
4. Apologetics
5. On reading the Bible
6. Productivity
7. Culture/ current issues
8. Theology proper
9. Christian living

And throughout the year:
1. Bible
2. Devotional
3. Systematic theology
4. Hymnody
5. Prayer collection
6. Poetry anthology

That’s it for now. Do you have reading goals for 2022?

  Grace and peace to you!