Tag: Book Reviews

Reading Roundup for November 2025

~ Joseph McBee ~ Leave a comment

I finished 11 books in November for a total of 64 so far this year so it was an excellent month in the stacks!

Lead by Paul David Tripp is a book I have been discussing with a group of guys from my church. It strikes that delicate balance between deeply convicting and encouraging. Tripp pulls no punches and some of them land squarely in your gut, but then he is quick to point you to the glorious truth of the gospel. It’s like every page is shouting, “Yes, you really are a mess! And Jesus loves you and desires to work through you in the church.” As we have discussed this book, there have been some tears and a deeper desire to stay close to Jesus as we work to serve His people. This book is going on my annual reading list.

Spiritual Direction for the Care of Souls edited by Gary Moon was more academic than I anticipated and I got a lot out of it. This book covers the major traditions like Catholic, Orthodox, Methodist, Reformed, and Pentecostal and explores how they approach the ministry of spiritual direction in soul care. Each chapter provides an overview of that tradition’s approach, highlights some practices within the approach, and discusses its interactions with psychotherapy. It was an interesting read and while a couple of the approaches aligned far more with my theology, there were others that resonated with me at least in part and I was grateful to learn from them.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. I cannot believe I’ve never read this before! I think it must be because I approached it with a child’s mind of, “This is going to be dull!” It was anything but. I was moved to tears when I read about the redemption of Scrooge and the clear and immediate evidence of his transformation and how the joy he experienced was only made complete when it was shared with others. All Biblical stuff. I read this one for book club but I am adding it to my list to read each December.

Hideki Smith and the Omukade. Welcome back to Portersville, the sleepy town in the mountains of North Carolina and home to Hideki Smith and his sister Em, and to a prison under a mountain filled with monsters from Japanese folklore. Oh, and some have escaped!

A.J. Hartley brings us back to the heroics of the “loser” Hideki, his newly discovered powers, and his sister’s ability to transform herself into a fox as they are once again called upon to perform the thankless job of saving the lives of everyone they know!

I enjoyed the first book in this series and this one is even better. Hartley is able to do more with the cast of interesting characters he established in Hideki Smith: Demon Queller, and the writing itself feels richer and deeper and even personal. Not just for Hartley, but for us as readers too. We know these people. We ARE these people.

This is not just an adventure story with battles, monsters, magical beings, mystery, thrills, and quite a few chills. And it has plenty of that.

It is also a story about love and family and rejection and loss and community and connection and trying to figure out who you are and where you fit in and all the things that make up rich, full, and challenging lives.

Don’t be surprised if you lose some sleep staying up reading this and don’t be surprised if you laugh out loud, shed a few tears, and even shout in triumph and terror.

This is a “just one more chapter” page-turner of a book. It’s one you can get lost in and it’s one you’re thinking about days after you’re done.

The Steadfast Love of God by Sam Storms was not what I was hoping for and I think that may warp my opinion a bit. It read like a series of transcribed sermons, which is fine, but I am used to far more theological meat from Storm’s books. This one was more pastoral. There are a few chapters where I have massive amounts of underlined passages and others that looked like I skipped over them.

Foster by Claire Keegan was fantastic. I read this one for book club and have fallen in love with Keegan’s writing. I will faithfully read everything she writes for as long she practices her craft. The depth she can go to with such economy of words is a massive gift that so few possess. And it seems to me that her writing is crafted with a love for language and story and for her readers. Keegan is the kind of writer you celebrate.

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan is another one I loved for all the reasons I loved FOSTER and more besides. There is a weight to this book and it grows on you as the story advances. You can feel an inevitability in it. You know it is working toward an ending that you will carry away with you. I am going to read this again. In fact, I am going to study it. Keegan’s writing is a master class in craft.

The Singer Trilogy by Calvin Miller is collection of poetry in the tradition of C.S. Lewis, or so the book blurb goes. I can see how it was inspired by Lewis, but this is something different. The trilogy is a retelling of the New Testament with the first volume being about Jesus, the second is about the growth of the church, and the third is about the end of all things. It felt a little heavy handed in places and in others there was far more depth. I don’t know if I would call this “good” but it was interesting. And I enjoyed the art work.

The Songs of Jesus by Timothy Keller is a year-long devotional through the Psalms, in which Keller constantly points to Jesus, which of course, I loved.

On the TBR Stack

Here is what I am reading as I finish out the year:

  • On the Incarnation by Saint Athanasius
  • Multiply by Francis Chan
  • The Last Gunfight by Jeff Guin
  • The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald
  • The Affections of Christ Jesus by Nijay Gupta
  • The Complete Short Stories by Flannery O’Connor
  • Letters and Papers from Prison by Dietrich Bonhoeffer (this will probably carry over into January)
  • The Complete Poems by Langston Hughes (ditto on this one)

Reading Roundup for September 2025

~ Joseph McBee ~ Leave a comment

I only finished 1 book in the month of September for a total of 46 books this year.

It wasn’t a great month for reading, but here’s why that doesn’t bother me:

  • It’s NOT about quantity. I like to keep track because I enjoy it. That’s the same reason I set reading targets and goals, but I don’t feel like I have “failed” if I don’t reach those targets or achieve those goals. I just love to read and I enjoy keeping track of my reading. I’m weird like that.
  • I had the joy and privilege of preaching multiple times this month and so much of the time I would have spent reading I spent studying for and writing sermons. There is ZERO regret in that.

So, here is my one single book for September 2025…

RED SIDE STORY by Jasper Fforde.

Fforde is one of my favorite authors. I will read absolutely any novel he writes, and I have. His creativity, originality, and general oddity make his books nearly impossible to categorize and that’s part of their irresistible charm.

This book is a long-awaited sequel to SHADES OF GREY. It is a dystopian novel that takes place in the Land of OZ, and that’s about as much as I can really tell you about them both.

The world Fforde created in these two books is so complex it makes them difficult to explain. Basically the characters that populate this world live in a society that is based on a class system where your class is determined by what you can see on the color spectrum. Purples occupy that highest level and Grays (who can see no color at all) occupy the lowest. And no, I did not misspell the title of the first book.

Like all of his books, the prose here is imaginative, humorous, and engaging. Once you’re in, you don’t want to stop reading.

If you want to start reading Fforde, the Thursday Next series, specifically THE EYRE AFFAIR is the best place to begin. I have recommended this book to MANY people and anyone who has ever read it has enjoyed it.

I love finding a writer whose work I enjoy so much, I would read everything they ever wrote. That’s a short list for me, but Jasper Fforde is near the top and he has never failed to delight.

Reading List for October

I’d like to finish the year strong, so I will ramp up my reading for October.

  • A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving is a book I am re-reading for the book club I am a part of.
  • Lead by Paul David Tripp is for another book club I am in.
  • Spiritual Direction and the Care of Souls edited by Gary W. Moon is one I have been reading through slowly, because it’s that kind of book.
  • The Emotional Craft of Fiction by Donald Maass I am reading to help my craft for the novel I am SLOWLY writing.
  • Hideki Smith and the Omuhade by A.J. Hartley is a sequel to one I enjoyed earlier this year.
  • Encouragement by Larry Crabb is nearly finished, but I didn’t want to rush it just so I could add it to this month’s list.

Reading Roundup: August 2025

~ Joseph McBee ~ Leave a comment

I finished 5 books in August for a total of 45 so far this year.

There was some good stuff in this stack and I am excited to share them with you in the August Reading Roundup.

I’ll start with the one that was a bit of a disappointment. A Powerful Mind : The Self-Education of George Washington by Adrienne M. Harrison read like a dumbed-down doctoral dissertation. I am fascinated with self-education in general and self-education through books in particular.

That’s what I was expecting in this book. What I got was a list of the books in Washington’s library and the same stories I’ve read in multiple Washington biographies. There was a nice chapter about the first President’s reading habits and their utilitarian nature but I probably should have stopped reading after that. I’m not suggesting that no one should read this book. It’s well-written and thoroughly researched. It just wasn’t for me.

The Last Class: Your Guide to 401(k) Plans, Health Insurance, Taxes, and More! was written by an online buddy of mine, Karen Nicholas and…Wow. I truly wish this book had existed when I started my career. This is the stuff we all should have been taught in high school before we got out into the “real world.”

Writing with humor and kindness, Karen Nicholas gives you the information you need to navigate some of the complexities of life. Whether it’s working with different generations, managing your credit, understanding your health plans, or the skills you need to thrive on the job, This slim volume has the information you need. I HIGHLY recommend this as a gift to every graduate you know. If you are a homeschool parent, make this part of your students’ curriculum. 

I read Daily Doctrine by Kevin DeYoung over the course of several months. Its designed to be read as a five day a week devotional. I like DeYoung’s writing and agree with much of his theology. There were several points where I completely disagree with him and Sam Storms writes quite thoroughly and eloquently on his points of disagreement, which I share so I will simply direct you to his blog if you’d like to know more about that.

That being said, this book is an excellent systematic theology in bite-sized chunks and written in such a way that you don’t need a graduate degree in the subject to understand it. DeYoung writes with the mind of a theologian and the heart of a pastor. His love for God and His people comes through in page after page.

I had never heard of William Kent Krueger before I joined a book club recently but This Tender Land was their selection for August so I grabbed it and read it to prepare for my first meeting/discussion. I can honestly say that if it were not for the book club, I never would have read it and I am so glad I did because it’s just good.

Krueger wrestles with God in this book. And while I find sadness in where he ends up in his wrestling, I respect his efforts. The characters in this story are vivid and fully realized, even those that are in and out in just a few pages. The setting is delightfully descriptive without being tiresome. The story is engaging with moments of tension, terror, wonder, and joy. It’s just a good read and it left me wanting to read more by this writer.

The Evangelical Imagination: How Stories, Images, and Metaphors Created a Culture in Crisis by Karen Swallow Prior is the best book I read in August. It was also the most challenging and thought-provoking one.

The author masterfully builds a case piece by piece that reveals how much of the Evangelical faith we take at face value without considering where some of our most closely held beliefs come from and without realizing how many of these beliefs are built, not from Scripture, but from a shared social imaginary. This imaginary is comprised of the stories we tell, the images we absorb, and the metaphors we use to describe and understand our world.

Swallow Prior picks up a magnified mirror, holds it up to Evangelicalism, and says, “Look closely right here.” And when we do, we might find ourselves shocked, even a bit horrified, but if we are paying attention, we won’t be offended. The author is not holding up her mirror with an attitude of disgust or judgment, but with a heart of love and all she’s asking us to do is think.

Stop taking everything at face value. Stop absorbing sound bites and spitting them in the faces of others. Instead, ask questions, pray, discuss, and just think.

I found as I read the book that I was asking many questions about my own beliefs and their origins and in those questions, I was drawn to a deeper faith in Christ.

Rethinking My Reading Priorities

~ Joseph McBee ~ Leave a comment

I used to say…okay, if I’m being honest, I used to BRAG that I read 10 to 12 books at a time.

That’s not true.

I wasn’t lying. I was just fooling myself.

I genuinely believed that’s what I was doing. But I’ve come to realize that I am not in fact actively reading that many books at once. I am only actively reading 6 books at a time. Not counting the devotionals and systematic theology I read a page or two in daily.

And then, if I break it down even further, I am only reading 3 books actively AND consistently.

I generally have a sense of overwhelm when it comes to reading. I love reading and there is so much I WANT to read I stack up a huge TBR and fool myself into thinking I am getting all of those books read but I’m not. And then I feel overwhelmed by all the books I am “reading” and that I want to read.

The truth is, I will NEVER, not if I live a hundred more years, I will NEVER read everything I want to read. I’ve got to give up that fantasy and embrace my finitude.

I do believe I could read more if I read less, though.

Setting Priorities

If I commit to only three books at a time, and focus all of my reading on only one of those books each day, I think I could read more books in a month AND get more out of the ones I read.

That still doesn’t change the fact that I can’t read everything I would like to read. So how do I manage that?

Like with anything else in life, I have to prioritize.

In his book, LIT! A Christian Guide to Reading Books, Tony Reinke writes about his reading priorities.

  • Reading Scripture
  • Reading to Know and Delight in Christ
  • Reading to Kindle Spiritual Reflection
  • Reading to Initiate Personal Change
  • Reading to Pursue Vocational Excellence
  • Reading to Enjoy a Good Story

He doesn’t suggest that we should all have the same priorities–although I think the first three at least should probably be on every Christian’s list and DEFINITELY the first one–he just suggests that having reading priorities helps us make intentional choices about what we read and why. This is important in a world crammed full of great books that we just don’t have time for and crammed full of lousy books we shouldn’t bother with and crammed full of all the stuff in between that is good writing, just not for us at this time or place in our lives.

My New Reading Priorities

Here is what I am thinking should be my list of reading priorities right now–and this may change.

Scripture. Okay, this one will NOT change. My current reading habits here are to read the entire Bible through in the first 90 days of the year in a different version each year. Then I read from the Psalms and the Gospels each day and do deep reading in two (or three) other books of the Bible. That includes slow reading, meditation, constant re-reading, and using commentaries. This year I read the New Living Translation (although it took me 5 months not 3) and my deep readings are in Ecclesiastes and 1 and 2 Peter.

Spiritual Formation. This encompasses Reinke’s “Reading to Know and Delight in Christ” and “Reading to Kindle Spiritual Reflection”. It will include theology, Biblical studies, Christian living, and the spiritual disciplines.

Vocational Excellence. This priority includes books on business, pastoral ministry, and writing.

Biography and History. Not only do I enjoy this kind of literature, I think it is important enough to be a priority. It also gives me some freedom to explore and read what interests me. Of course, this category will include the history of the church and biographies about men and women of the faith.

Fiction. This will mostly be novels and I am trying to focus on “good” novels and classics. But it will also include plays and poetry and short story collections and the occasional genre fiction because those can be tasty and fun.

I think these simple priorities will help me focus and will still give me the freedom to pursue my interests and make sure my reading is filled with variety.

Rules and Guidelines

Okay now for some rules and guidelines because I like that sort of thing.

I will only read three books at a time. This does not include Scripture and devotionals and whatever systematic theology book I am reading. Those are constant features. Right now these are:

  • Songs About Jesus by Timothy Keller
  • Daily Doctrine by Kevin DeYoung
  • The Christian Faith by Michael Horton

One of those three books must be a work of fiction. This is important to me, because I get so caught up in nonfiction I end up reading very little fiction and I LOVE fiction and it’s good for me and I want to read more of it. Besides, I am working on writing a novel and it would be stupid to think I can do that well if I am not reading any.

I will NOT finish “bad” books. If a book isn’t working for me, I will no longer power through it. I don’t have to like what everyone else seems to like and no one should ever waste what little time they have to read on a lousy book and there are a lot of lousy books out there.

Okay, this is a work in progress but I like the direction I am taking here.

How do you decide what to read?

I am DONE with “Self-Help” Books

~ Joseph McBee ~ Leave a comment

I have read my LAST self-help book and, honestly, I should have quit reading them a long time ago.

I’ve wasted countless hours and dollars reading what I now see as garbage books and what finally killed it for me was Mel Robbins’ latest best-seller, THE LET THEM THEORY.

The book is really about emotional intelligence, specifically self-regulation and relationship management skills. The premise is that we should just let adults act how they want to act (Let Them) and then we choose our response because that is all we can control anyway (Let Me).

That’s all fine. I don’t have an issue with the premise. It’s true, I cannot control how other people act or how they feel or what they think of me. I can only control how I respond and how I treat them.

That’s called being an emotionally mature adult.

And Robbins makes some decent points throughout the book, but they are just a few nuggets here and there and you have to wade through a lot of junk to find them.

Here are my problems with self-help books in general and why I will absolutely avoid them all from this day forth!

First, every one I have read, and I really mean EVERY ONE, has at least 20 to 30 pages of the author making their case for why you should listen to them and why, even though they have no formal learning in the area they are writing about, they are still an expert and have loaded their book with anecdotal evidence that proves it, and besides, everyone else says they are awesome and that the advice they give is “life changing.” Just look at how much money they make and how many speaking gigs they book each year and how many downloads their online content has.

Robbins even posts pictures of people with “Let Them” tattoos as proof that her ideas work.

Second, self-help books are all about…

  • Reclaiming your “personal power”
  • Living your dreams
  • Making life work for you
  • Dumping people who drag you down
  • Achieving success beyond your wildest dreams
  • And other hyperbolic nonsense

Third, self-help books are fluff. They are the cotton candy of books. They are pretty tasty, but there is nothing nourishing about them and they leave you feeling a little sick when you’re done with them. Usually, they are a blog post stretched over 200 plus pages with lots of stories about how successful the author is at whatever it is they are trying to hawk.

I experienced that with Robbins’ first book THE 5 SECOND RULE. It is an entire book about how counting down from five and then “blasting off” into whatever it is you are avoiding can change your whole life.

Finally, and this is really the clincher for me, self-help books cheapen relationships.

On the surface, THE LET THEM THEORY is an exception to that rule because it’s all about our relationships with others. But is it really?

Robbins’ book is all about YOU and how to reclaim and hang on to your personal power no matter what the people in your life do. And, like ALL self-help books I have ever read, if any relationship in your life is not working for you, dump them and move on because you are more important than anyone else.

That’s the inevitable conclusion. If it’s all about me, and you are not serving me and my goals, then you are gone.

It reduces people to obstacles to be destroyed or moved around, or tools to be used to get the life I want.

I used to be able to overlook that and try to hang on to the few nuggets I found in the book and just ignore the relationship advice.

I can’t do that anymore.

Maybe that’s because I’ve been on the receiving end of being pushed out because I wasn’t serving someone else’s happiness anymore.

But I’d like to think it’s because I am being formed more by my faith in Christ than I am by anything else.

“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” (Colossians 3:13)

“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8)

“Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” (Romans 12:16-18)

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” (Philippians 2:3)

And so many others.

Am I suggesting that someone should stay in an abusive relationship? Of course not. But I think we are too quick to label situations and people as toxic, abusive, and traumatic, just because we get our feelings hurt or someone acts selfishly or because a relationship is a challenge.

Of course relationships are a challenge. And of course people can be mean and selfish and unloving and unkind. I know I can. So can you.

That’s where loves comes in. Not self-love, love for God and love for others. Those are the two greatest commandments after all. Jesus said so. (Matthew 22:36-40)

All this to say, I am finally done with self-help books. Better late than never.

The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald

~ Joseph McBee ~ Leave a comment

A good book is the precious life-blood of a master-spirit, embalmed and treasured up on purpose to a life beyond life, and as such it must surely be a necessary commodity.

– John Milton

I saw the movie first–usually a mistake unless you have no intention of ever reading the book, and this time was no exception–because while I liked the movie, the book was better.

The book is ALWAYS better.

The story is set in 1959 in the the small coastal village of Hardborough, Suffolk and follows a middle aged widow named Florence Green as she attempts to open a bookshop in a community that doesn’t seem to want one.

This was a thin novel I liked about people I didn’t.

Okay, I like Florence very much and her precocious ten-year old assistant Christine, and the strange recluse Mr. Brundish who is her only real champion in the community. Everyone else? No thanks.

Because Florence dares to do something so impractical and without seeking the blessing and permission of the loathsome Mrs. Gamart, the self-proclaimed matron of the arts in Hardborough (and who I can’t help but picture as Dolores Umbridge from HARRY POTTER), poor Florence invites the ire of all the other shopkeepers and even many of the villagers.

Mrs. Gamart is a woman of influence and means and while she smiles at you, she will stab you in the back and make you feel like that’s what was best all along.

It really is a complete mystery as to why but it seems like nearly everyone expects and even wants Florence to fail.

Why would a community not want a bookshop?

You find yourself cheering for Florence even while you suspect that she’s not going to make it. She’s intelligent but not the most brilliant business woman and she doesn’t know how to play local politics and when she does have a bit of success, she doesn’t really know what to do with it or how to leverage it, but she won’t quit, she is always kind, and she is bold in a time when boldness was not “appropriate” for a woman, especially a widow. And for all of this, you admire her.

No one in her little village with the exception of Mr. Brundish seems to understand what a “necessary commodity” books are. And it seems like they despise Florence for modestly and quietly insisting that they are.

Personally, I think physical books are making a comeback, if indeed they were ever in any real danger. I believe there will always be people who love and want books. I know I am certainly one of them. Always have been and always will be.

But this novel does not romanticize, well, anything.

You aren’t going to read it and find page after page of self-indulgent prose on the glories of books and reading. Fitzgerald is not preaching a sermon, she’s telling a story. And it’s a good one.

You will find characters to like and ones to loathe and ones to pity. You’ll find yourself asking what you would have done if you were Florence.

Personally, I would given Mrs. Gamart a piece of mind in public, but it wouldn’t have done any good.

You will also find choice lines of prose like this one:

“She was held back by an urgent hand, and addressed by a man, not young, in a corduroy jacket, smiling as a toad does, because it has no other expression.”

Or this one…

“‘You’re very kind.’

‘Not very,’ said Milo, who rarely said anything that was not true. Gentleness is not kindness. His fluid personality tested and stole into the weak places of others until it found it could settle down to its own advantage.”

If you’re hoping for a happy ending, you won’t get one here. You will get an excellent story, that’s worth reading anyway. Fitzgerald writes about people as they are, not as we wish them to be.

In life, your undertakings, no matter how noble they may be, are not always going to find the support you want or need.

And sometimes, no matter how despicable someone’s actions might be, they will find plenty of support.

Either way, we shouldn’t quit. Or worse, fail to at least try. And we should never fail to be kind through it all.