Soulfood

My wife challenged us as a family to try and read 750 books in 2026. That’s a pretty good challenge! So I have had to up my game this year to help support the family. In the past, my target was 1 book a week and I’ve been reaching 60-70 annually. So far in 2026 I’ve finished 30 books, including 9 audiobooks and 21 print. Here’s the list!

Non-fiction/history (6): The Wedding of the Waters (Erie Canal) and Against the Gods: The Remarkable History of Risk by Peter Bernstein; Hero of the Empire (Winston Churchill in the Boer War) and River of Doubt (Teddy Roosevelt’s exploration of the Brazilian Highlands) by Candice Millard; A Hobbit, A Wardrobe, and A Great War (exploration of how C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien’s experiences in World War I shaped their thinking and writing) by Joseph Loconte; and The Fellowship (interwoven literary biographies of C.S. Lewis, Owen Barfield, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Charles Williams) by Philip and Carol Zaleski.

Ministry/education (5): Ancient Wisdom for the Care of Souls by Coleman Ford and Shawn Wilhite; The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lenceoni; Start with Why by Simon Sinek; It’s Your Ship by Michael Abrashoff; The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey

Fiction (13): The Return of the Great Brain by John D. Fitzgerald; The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis; Nathan Coulter, The Memory of Old Jack, and Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry; Ninety-Three by Victor Hugo; The Golden Key by George MacDonald; Roverandom, Farmer Giles of Ham, and The Adventures of Tom Bombadil by J.R.R. Tolkien; Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson; Prelude to Foundation and Forward the Foundation by Isaac Asimov

Devotion/edification (3): The Divine Liturgy Explained by Nicholas M. Elias; David’s Crown by Malcolm Guite; Rejoice and Tremble by Michael Reeves

Non-fiction other (3): Against the Machine by Paul Kingsnorth; The Broken Ground by Wendell Berry; and The Enchiridion of Epictetus by Epictetus

In my Bible reading, I’m in 1 Samuel in the OT and finishing up Luke this week in the NT. I’m back to the ESV this year and doing a full read-through after spending the last couple of years in the Geneva Bible and the Orthodox Study Bible reading the Apocrypha.

Currently reading: The Great Brain Does It Again by John D. Fitzgerald; My Only Comfort (Heidelberg Catechism for Devotional Reading) edited by Tim Challies; The Enchiridion on Faith, Hope, and Love by St. Augustine; Endurance by Alfred Lansing; The Final Days of Jesus by Andreas Koestenberger and Justin Taylor; Word in the Wilderness by Malcolm Guite; and The Courtier and the Heretic by Matthew Stewart. Oh, and re-reading Take Heart by David Powlison as a daily devotional, which I have been faithful in reading daily. And also Sounding the Seasons: 70 Sonnets for the Christian Year by Malcolm Guite.

I plan to work my way through Tolkien’s shorter works this year, next up will be Smith of Wooten Major and Leaf by Niggle. I then hope to tackle his Beowulf translation and commentary. I’m also planning to resume reading the Series of Unfortunate Events series, whether out loud to my youngest daughter or not. And I’ve got several Early Church Fathers works queued up after Augustine’s enchiridion – Against Heresies by Irenaus is next. I’m also trying to listen to as many of Wendell Berry’s Port William novels as are available on Libby. Finally, the leadership team at my employer is going through a book a month this year so I’ll soon be starting Death by Meeting by Patrick Lenceoni.

(For those who are curious, we are at 161 books completed as a family coming into April, so not quite on track but close!)