This is my list of my favorite reading in 2023; what are your favorites? Because I prefer to read books in book format, they tend not to be in Logos.
I was going to stop at five but my list is so vanilla many forumites wouldn't believe me. So the best of the year and likely the least read by other forumites is an oldie I just got around to:
My top reading from 2023 has not been in Logos either. One was a Kindle book, and two were Audible. In fact, they were the only three books I read all the way through in 2023. (Sadly my reading volume has plummeted in the past decade or so from nearly a book a week to what you see here; too many distractions.) None of them was biblical or theological in nature, though the last one is very interesting and relevant for much of what Christians are interested in regarding the current Israel/Palestine conflict. I highly recommend it!
Ways of Being: Animals, Plants, Machines: The Search for a Planetary Intelligence by James Bridle - Absolutely fascinating: about how the "more-than-human world" (plants, animals, even slime molds) can sense things (e.g., a plant that "hears" insects chewing its leaves) and solve problems. It has some relevance to artificial intelligence, which is why I picked it out to read, given the speedy trajectory humanity seems to be on towards a general AI that might rival our own intelligence.
Becoming by Michelle Obama - her memoir, read by her in Audible
Jerusalem: The Biography by Simon Sebag Montefiore - riveting history of the most holy and most contested city in the world, going back roughly 4000 years.
Thanks for the rec, looks very interesting. I see both my libraries have it in ebook and audio formats, so no spending money [:P]
Your link seems to be malformed, so here it is again for anyone else interested: https://www.amazon.com/Jerusalem-Biography-Simon-Sebag-Montefiore-ebook/dp/B004LROX8S
At long last, I read CS Lewis's 'A Space Trilogy' earlier in the year (not in Logos, but electronically). I've just started 'Out of the Silent Planet' again because I'm sure I missed most of the underlying significance, having only read the trilogy as a story the first time. I'm not very good with hidden meanings in any case, but I'm going to try.
I read a number of interesting (and several boring) books this year. These were probably the most enjoyable:
How to Read a Book by Mortimer J. Adler
Living by the Book Howard G. Hendricks
Public Speaking for Success by Dale Carnegie
NIV NT (in a week)
Reasonable Faith 3rd Edition William Lane Craig
Searching the Scriptures Chuck Swindoll
Great Lives David Chuck Swindoll
And a bunch of other audiobooks!
DAL
Thanks. Comes from deleting all the extraneous stuff to get to the simple shortest necessary URL, which is always my habit, but I goofed and deleted an extra slash. Fixed it.
Your link seems to be malformed, so here it is again for anyone else interested: https://www.amazon.com/Jerusalem-Biography-Simon-Sebag-Montefiore-ebook/dp/B004LROX8S Thanks. Comes from deleting all the extraneous stuff to get to the simple shortest necessary URL, which is always my habit, but I goofed and deleted an extra slash. Fixed it.
Thanks Rosie, it looks like a good read.
Some interesting reads people, nice to see what others are enjoying! My top 5 reads for 2023:
I'm Australian, so the I tend to read books by Australian authors. You've probably heard of the first one, but other two are relatively unknown outside my local context.
I love this book DAL, learned a lot from it.
How to Read a Book by Mortimer J. Adler I love this book DAL, learned a lot from it.
I loved this book too. Read it back in 1996. I still chuckle at the logical humor in the title. I wondered, "How can I even read this book if I don't yet know how to read a book?" [:D]
Hi there the How to read a book by Mortimer is not on logos is it
what are your favorites?
This year's favorites, I don't recommend for your normal Logosian, married to a favorite doctrine/truth (vs the Text):
Paula Fredriksen's volumes. I guess I've about read them all, and some twice (on one right now)
Robert's Price's 'textual' volumes. Price is out beyond Ehrman (they even debate). But he's quite openly speculative, always choosing the contrary. So, he's good for what the alternatives might be. I especially like his 'PreNicene New Testament.'
I feel this is my top reading in 2023. It has lots of information and many details. Good for those who have special interest and time.
https://www.logos.com/product/223227/the-new-encyclopedia-of-archaeological-excavations-in-the-holy-land
No. Martha (MJ) didn't say our top reading of 2023 had to be from Logos, and in fact she listed several that are not available in Logos. None of mine were from Logos.
I don't tend to use Logos to read through entire books. The books I have in Logos are more for research purposes. Though I do have tons of "read-through" type books, they don't tend to be the ones I'm in the mood for, and I also tend to prefer the reading experience in the Kindle app over the Logos app on my mobile devices. Force of habit maybe.
I especially like his 'PreNicene New Testament.'
I enjoyed this as well ... I haven't explored his other works but will put a couple on my to-read stack.
Vote at The Pre-Nicene New Testament: Fifty-four Formative Texts by Robert M. Price | Logos
My favorite for 2023 is "The Last Man" by Thomas Goodman, my pastor. It's a historical fiction novel, his first. It's about the 1927 Santa Claus bank robbery in Cisco, Texas, and the aftermath. I read it too fast the first time. Had to re-read it again, and re-read it a third time. It's a page turner! At the end, the author talks about fiction vs truth in the book. Fabulous book, if you are interested in some historical fiction.
Bob
"A novel as compelling as the incredible true story it's based on." James Wade, two-time Spur Award-winning author of Beasts of the Earth.
When Santa Claus enters a Texas bank just before Christmas in 1927, no one expects him to pull a gun.The fake white beard hides his identity from his neighbors while he and three others take everything. But their easy heist goes sideways fast when armed lawmen and citizens assemble to claim a new reward for dead bank robbers.Taking hostages, the gang forces a path through a frenzied and bloody shootout, setting the whole Lone Star state on their trail.One bandit dies in the getaway. One is executed in the electric chair. One swings from a rope in a mob lynching. The last man finds a life he always hoped for … if only he can keep it.Closely based on a true story, The Last Man is a gritty Prohibition-era crime novel filled with flawed characters and second chances.
I always read a lot of books in a year's time. I do reading in three ways: research hunts, rabbit trails and cover to cover. Logos only helps with the first two ways becuase I do not like the cover to cover reading experience in Logos. I like a e-ink or a hard copy book. But Logos does help with encyclopedic requests.
Reading is fun for me. I do a monthly fiction book club and a historical nonfiction book club every 3 months. My favorite fiction book was The Covenant of Water. My favorite nonfiction was The Wager by David Grann Each of these books tugged at my heart.
Mortimer Alder's book on reading is great. I read it back in 2022. I have a whole file of notes on it for review.
In Logos Christian Origins and the Question of God Series (4 vols.) was one of my favorites. It took me a long time June 3 to October 2. In my 3 month March to May Bible study we studied the "saints and scoundrels" of the Bible using Saints and Scoundrels in the Story of Jesus by Nancy Guthrie. It was a fund study.
On sale today.
Your link seems to be malformed, so here it is again for anyone else interested: https://www.amazon.com/Jerusalem-Biography-Simon-Sebag-Montefiore-ebook/dp/B004LROX8S Thanks. Comes from deleting all the extraneous stuff to get to the simple shortest necessary URL, which is always my habit, but I goofed and deleted an extra slash. Fixed it. On sale today.
Great catch, and thanks! I'm so determined to cut back on my book spending this year, I never bothered to add it to my eReaderIQ list. My own $1.99 copy is loads better than a no-spend library copy [:D]
Old Light on New Worship: Musical Instruments and the Worship of God, a Theological, Historical and Psychological Study by John Price.
He makes a strong case for non instrumental music in worship. And he’s not a member of the church of Christ!
Here’s the link: https://www.amazon.com/Old-Light-New-Worship-Psychological/dp/1881095010
I stumbled across The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917–2017, which may be an interesting companion read to the Montefiore book. It's $1.99 today at Amazon US.
I feel this is my top reading in 2023. It has lots of information and many details. Good for those who have special interest and time. https://www.logos.com/product/223227/the-new-encyclopedia-of-archaeological-excavations-in-the-holy-land
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