What I've Been Reading: Honorable Mentions 2018

Yesterday I posted about the top six books that had the most impact on me last year. Here are even more books that changed my perspective and taught me new things, earning them Honorable Mentions.

Already Reviewed:

[Update 1/12/2021: I have since read much criticism of Dan Barber and disagree with several of the basic assumptions in this book, such as the role of elitist chefs in driving agricultural reform. Instead of this book, I highly recommend the series of papers produced by Chris Newman: https://www.patreon.com/sylvanaqua/posts] The Third Plate: Field Notes on the Future of Food by Dan Barber

Reclaiming Our Food: How the Grassroots Food Movement Is Changing the Way We Eat by Tanya Denckla Cobb

No Impact Man: The Adventures of a Guilty Liberal Who Attempts to Save the Planet and the Discoveries He Makes About Himself and Our Way of Life in the Process by Colin Beavan

How to Be Alive: A Guide to the Kind of Happiness that Helps the World by Colin Beavan

Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us by Michael Moss

Blessing the Hands that Feed Us: Lessons from a 10-Mile Diet by Vicki Robin

Books about the Christian Life: 

The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical by Shane Claiborne. I know that I’m, like, ten years behind the times with groovy progressive Christian books, but so sue me, I really liked this one. Even if I don’t agree with everything he says, I appreciate Claiborne’s thoughts on community, radical non-violence, new monasticism, and the role of the church in a hurting world.

The Listening Life: Embracing Attentiveness in a World of Distraction by Adam S. McHugh. This lovely book talks about the lost art of listening— to God, to other people, to the Bible, to ourselves, to seasonal rhythms, and to nature. This one is definitely worth reading again and again.

People to Be Loved: Why Homosexuality Is Not Just an Issue by Preston Sprinkle. What does it mean to hold a traditional Christian sexual ethic while embracing and celebrating people of the LGBTQ+ community? This book is part apologetics and part a plea to straight Christians to stop ignoring or dismissing our queer brothers and sisters. Sprinkle emphasizes that this is not a manual or a manifesto; it’s his (sometimes clumsy, but humble) attempt to help more people enter into this crucial conversation. 

You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit by James K.A. Smith. “You are what you love... but you may not love what you think.” This book’s thesis is that our Christian walk is shaped most not by our knowledge but by our habits. With a heavy emphasis on the liturgies of both the “sacred” and the “secular,” Smith talks about the everyday decisions that pull our hearts closer to God or further away. Although I don’t always agree with Smith’s prescriptions, his ideas are well worth some serious attention.

Miscellaneous:

Your Money or Your Life: 9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence (2018 edition) by Vicki Robin. I’d read the original edition before, but I happily waited two months to get my hands on the library copy of the latest edition! This one is even better than before, featuring more up-to-date examples and also an entire section on investing when you have moral qualms with the stock market. This is hands down my favorite financial book (and in my opinion more compatible with the Christian worldview than David Ramsey’s The Total Money Makeover... but that’s a blog post for another time).

Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans. Two Silicon-valley tech guys talk about life design: what is it and how can it help you break out of the rut? A lot of the principles are similar to the techniques used in permaculture, and you get to put them into practice through a series of exercises and thought experiments. I found the book to be both fun and insightful.

Affluenza: How Overconsumption Is Killing Us— and How to Fight Back by John De Graaf, David Wann, and Thomas Naylor. This is a rollicking adventure through the terrors of unbridled consumerism, compassionless capitalism, and our national obsession with stuff. If you’ve never considered how amassing material goods affects the world (and us), or if you’re just starting to worry about it, this book is an excellent (and sardonically upbeat) introduction to the interlocking issues, and how we can help untangle them.

Sin and Syntax: How to Craft Wicked Good Prose by Constance Hale. The 2013 edition of this foundational style book for modern times is better than ever, dishing out hard-hitting advice and useful exercises to help you hone your word-craft. If you like to write, check it out!

There you have it— my favorite books of 2018! What should I read in 2019?

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