Books

I love books and I don’t care who knows it. “The books you read and the people you meet will determine where you are in five years.” __ Charlie ‘Tremendous’ Jones. Books are second only to relationships when it comes to the trajectory of our lives. I set out with a goal of reading 52 books this year. In case you’re wondering, an 8.5 hour plane ride across the Atlantic last week helped me get back on track, and I’ve officially completed 28 books, putting me on pace to hit 52 for the year. [Full disclosure: A couple books are pretty short, around 100 pages, so that’s lame, but I’ll work on getting my page count up, ok, you guys?] So, I thought it was time for some musings on books. ...

Reading books is helpful, but remembering and putting into practice what you’ve learned are equally important. There’s no sense in learning something but not applying it (especially true when it comes to the Bible, see Luke 11:28). I’ve struggled for a long time to figure out the best way to track things I’ve read and store the life-changing pieces of text to reference later and continue to apply. I love what John Piper says about sentences. What I have learned from about twenty-years of serious reading is this:It is sentences that change my life, not books. What changes my life is some new glimpse of truth, some powerful challenge, some resolution to a long-standing dilemma, and these usually come concentrated in a sentence or two. I do not remember 99% of what I read, but if the 1% of each book or article I do remember is a life-changing insight, then I don’t begrudge the 99%. Well-written sentences that deliver a thought in a new way can change the trajectory of your life. Here’s my process of maximizing a book’s impact, making sure I remember (and apply) the 1% of the book that was most significant (and any percent beyond that is just gravy). ...

I love hearing about what other people are reading, so I wanted to do unto others as I would have them do unto me–share books I’m hoping to read. There are now hundreds of thousands of books published every year In a world of information abundance, I hate picking up a book that isn’t worth my time. Here are the topics I’m most interested in: Jesus Marriage Stewardship Discipleship Leadership Theology Missiology Exegesis Christian Living Biography Here’s this year’s partial list. I’m sure I won’t read all of these books, and there are others I’ll likely come across and pick up instead of some listed below. I’ve listed the book title and author and they’re sorted by category. If you want to find the list on Amazon organized by title, click here. ...

Reading is one of my favorite ways to spend my free time. One of my least favorite things is making it partially through a book not worth finishing. Here are two handfuls of books worth finishing in 2013. 10. [More Than Enough by Dave Ramsey ][1] I’m a self-diagnosed Dave-oholic. The principles Dave teaches in his courses, books and radio program are spot on. This is one of his shorter books, but it’s still chock full of lots of solid principles on money management. His philosophy, managing money God’s way, will flip your financial world right-side up. ...