Reading List—2024
A Glimpse into 2024's Reading Log
Greetings and welcome to the 2nd edition of my “Reading Log” posts! (Here is my list from 2023)
Last year I posted about what books I had been reading, and I really enjoyed chatting with several of you about some of them after that post went live. Notably, a few of you picked up some of the books (such as Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series or Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere), and the subsequent discussions have been refreshing and joyful.
So this year I set out to again list them out. Not all of these were physical books. Many of the fiction books were via audiobooks with Libby or Hoopla. I will put in bold one of my favorites from each section. I honestly enjoyed all the books I finished this year except for one (noted as unrecommended below). But I digress. On to the reading log!
Biblical Studies
(For those getting worried about my educational depth by this short biblical studies list, see down below the subscribe button for my more academia-oriented list😉)
Abolition of Man by C. S. Lewis
Why We Pray by William Philip
The Necessity of Prayer by E. M. Bounds
Fiction
Towers of Midnight by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
A Memory of Light by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson
The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab [not recommended]
Mistborn: The Last Empire by Brandon Sanderson
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson
The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson
Out of the Silent Planet by C. S. Lewis
Perelandra by C. S. Lewis
That Hideous Strength by C. S. Lewis
The Frugal Wizard's Guide to Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson
The Sunlit Man by Brandon Sanderson
Dawnshard by Brandon Sanderson
Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson
Elantris by Brandon Sanderson
Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson
Shadows of Self by Brandon Sanderson
The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson
The Lost Metal by Brandon Sanderson
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien
Nonfiction, Christian Life, & Philosophy
Timothy Keller: His Spiritual and Intellectual Formation by Collin Hansen
On Getting Out of Bed by Alan Noble (x2)
Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry
Christian Academic Writing by Benjamin Merkle and Adrianne Miles
Keep reading for a glimpse into some of my PhD reading lists. I’ll highlight a book that I recommend among the rest there, too.
The following list consists of several books that I engaged with in my PhD courses in 2024. I hope this is a window into some of the works expected for a biblical studies PhD with a biblical theology focus. If any of my readers are considering a PhD in biblical studies, maybe the following reading list will give him or her an idea for some of the topics to peruse. (If you want the full bib info on any of these, feel free to send me an email, and I’d be happy to pass it along.)
A New Testament Biblical Theology: The Unfolding of the Old Testament in the New by G. K. Beale (x2)
Return of the Kingdom by Stephen Dempster
Church Dogmatics (1.2, S19-21) by Karl Barth
The New Testament and the People of God by N. T. Wright
Biblical Theology: Old and New Testaments by Geerhardus Vos
Understanding Biblical Theology Edward Klink and Darian Lockett
The Nature of New Testament Theology edited by Christopher Rowland and Christopher Tuckett
New Testament Theology by Eckhard Schnabel
The New Testament and the People of God by NT Wright
Unity and Diversity in the New Testament by James Dunn
Between Two Horizons edited by Joel Green and Max Turner
Making Sense of New Testament Theology: Modern Problems and Prospects by A. K. M. Adam
Challenges to New Testament Theology: An Attempt to Justify the Enterprise by Peter Balla
A New Testament Theology by Craig Blomberg
Theology of the New Testament by Rudolf Bultmann
New Testament Theology by G. B. Caird
Biblical Theology in Crisis by Brevard Childs
The Apostolic Preaching and Its Developments by C. H. Dodd
New Testament Theology: An Introduction by James Dunn
New Testament Theology: Basic Issues in the Current Debate by Gerhard Hasel
New Testament Theology: The Proclamation of Jesus by Joachim Jeremias
A Theology of the New Testament by George Ladd
New Testament Theology: Many Witnesses, One Gospel by I. Howard Marshall
Beyond New Testament Theology: A Story and a Programme by Heikki Räisänen
The Theology of the First Christians by Walter Schmithals
New Testament Theology: Magnifying God in Christ by Thom Schreiner
Biblical Theology of the New Testament by Peter Stuhlmacher
The Concept of Biblical Theology: An Old Testament Perspective by James Barr
The Old Testament and God by Craig Bartholomew
Interpreting Scripture with the Great Tradition: Recovering the Genius of Premodern Exegesis by Craig Carter
Israel’s Scriptures in the Early Church edited by Matthais Henze and David Lincicum
Beyond the Bible: Moving from Scripture to Theology by I. Howard Marshall
Old Testament Theology: Reading the Hebrew Bible as Christian Scripture by R. W. L. Moberly
Reconstructing Old Testament Theology After the Collapse of History by Leo Perdue
In All The Scriptures: The Three Contexts of Biblical Hermeneutics by Nicholas Piotrowski
The Trinity and the Bible: On Theological Interpretation by Scott Swain
The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible’s Grand Narrative by Christopher Wright
Throughout my studies this year I’ve also delved into (a) the importance of Saul in the biblical storyline and (b) the Deuteronomic influence in Paul’s instruction in 2 Timothy. While it would be of no benefit to regurgitate the bibliographies for that research with journal articles, books, chapters, etc., below are a few books I enjoyed reflecting on the most that might be more approachable than some of the others:
The Reign and Rejection of King Saul by Philips Long
A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Pastoral Epistles by I. Howard Marshall in collaboration with Philip H. Towner
1-2 Timothy & Titus (Biblical Theology for Christian Proclamation series) by Andreas Köstenberger
Blessings, friends, and I pray you had a wonderful holiday season remembering Christ’s birth and relishing family and friends.