My 2023 Goal Books Update

Each year I set two reading goals for the year, one is a number of books to read (usually 25-30 books) and the second a group of books I will prioritize reading. I set a goal that is attainable but not easily, and since I am a competitive person it pushes me to continue to read throughout the year. And, as happened last year, if I recognize that I am behind my pace I become determined to catch up. I also select books I am very excited to read, I intentionally space these out so that through the year I have at least one book I want to read which can be motivating when I am halfway through a book I am not enjoying but should finish. While I try to read a variety of books each year, there are four categories from which I read at least one book in the year.

• History (I studied history and recognize a need for me to continue to read in this area)
• Fiction (storytelling is an essential part of life and reading novels helps me grow as a storyteller and story hearer)
• Science (I enjoy reading about science and especially the overlap between science and faith, this is an underappreciated field by most Christians and needs to be recovered)
• The Bible (I like to understand what scholars say about the Bible, particularly since it so impacts my life & work)

This is the list of books I set out to read in 2023 and what I thought of each of them. You can check back tomorrow for my Best Books of 2023 and on Friday for those I am excited to read in 2024.

History: An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States (REVISIONING HISTORY Book 3) by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

This book was difficult to read simply due to the subject matter. Dunbar-Ortiz did a expert job researching and presenting the horrendous treatment of indigenous people groups by the US government and citizens from the days of the first British colonies to the present. It was difficult to read about the struggles various peoples had in surviving the United States expansion. The goal of the book is to both document the treatment of peoples in the past as well as help us to understand and eliminate colonialism in the present.

Novel: Hawaii by James A. Michener

This book is certainly not for everyone, Michener tells epic stories and this one covers Hawaii’s story from it’s birth as a land mass to the 1950’s. Each chapter could be its own book and there is little continuity between any of them, because as with many of Michener’s books the land is the main focus, he loves to show how people come and go but the land remains. This is not to say the human characters are poorly done, his depiction of many of the people and cultures makes you think they are real. Thoroughly researched and amazingly well written this book is certainly worth your time in my opinion, but if you are not one for sweeping epics or historical fiction you may not enjoy it as much as I did.

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee;

As I said in yesterday’s post. This book is the reason I say this list is in order of how well I liked the books, because this book might be the best I read this year. The story follows a Korean family who immigrates to Japan shortly before the outbreak of World War II and their lives through the 1980’s. There are some adult themes including some strong sexual content so it is not for children, but the story is well told and helped to consider the difficulties involved in immigration. One element to the story that is both interesting and challenging is that it deals with Korean and Japanese society and so some elements are very foreign to an American audience. But definitely consider reading.

Science: God, Stephen Hawking and the Multiverse: What Hawking said and why it matters by David Wilkinson & David Hutchings

David Wilkinson is brilliant and I have thoroughly enjoyed reading and listening to him. As with most scientific works, I am a bit out of my league, but Wilkinson does a solid job presenting the state of cosmology, particularly Hawking’s view on the multiverse. He then provides a strong critique of Hawking and a full picture of how the some of these ideas can be approached through Christian theology. I always recommend Wilkinson and this is no exception.

Bible: How Repentance Became Biblical: Judaism, Christianity, and the Interpretation of Scripture by David Lambert

This book was well researched and interesting, but perhaps more technical than I was anticipating. Lambert walks readers through the scriptures identifying the various terms and themes that are behind our notions of “repentance”. Perhaps this is not a book for most who do not have some background in Biblical studies but highly profitable for anyone who wants to understand and more appropriately use the biblical term “repent”.

Additional Books: Alienated America: Why Some Places Thrive While Others Collapse by Timothy P. Carney

I was not at all anticipating Carney’s take on alienation in America nor how he was able to tie such a thread to the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. While he does discuss the benefits of wealth and security his overall theme is that a sense of belonging and community has diminished due to the lack of common institutions. As we have given up on civic institutions we have lost touch with our communities and that has led to many feeling left behind, which in turn has led to people attaching themselves to destructive populist ideas. Carney’s many thesis is that if we want to restore the American dream we must begin with restoring a sense of civic pride which comes from support of common institutions like churches and schools.

The Rise and Reign of the Mammals: A New History, from the Shadow of the Dinosaurs to Us by Steve Brusatte

I found this to be a fun read as Brusatte walks us through the historical reconstruction of the mammalian linage. Though I do not have any technical ability in the field I found the book easy to understand and follow. This book is a combination of scientific information historical biography of the scientists involved and vivid stories depicting the animals being described. I highly recommend this for anyone who has an interest in the physical history of the earth.

What do you think of last year’s reads? And what should I pick up next year?