It’s been another good year of reading for me personally. (Is there ever a bad year of reading? Yes, one you don’t read widely and wisely!) I scour other people’s lists in search of the next book to read so it’s only fair that I share some books that I enjoyed this year. Everyone has their areas of interest and I’m no different. Your reading interests might be different than mine. No worries. My list is descriptive not prescriptive. These are the books I enjoyed reading in 2022, not books that I think everyone will necessarily enjoy nor should read.
I organized the list, but books don’t fit as neatly into categories. Because this list kept expanding, I thought it might help if I start with my top 5 regardless of category.
Patrick and I have gotten the chance to interview some of the authors of the best books I read this year on Truth Over Tribe, so those conversations are linked when available.
Top 5 Best Books
The Case Against the Sexual Revolution by Louise Perry
I read a lot of great books this year but this one was probably my favorite. It’s smart, provocative, and well written. Perry, an English feminist, lays out how the sexual revolution failed women. Although I don’t think she’d fully agree with me, there are times when it sounds like she’s calling for a return to the Christian sexual ethic. The book concludes with her encouraging women (and men) to listen to their mothers.
Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe
This book was so well written and so well researched that when I finished, I thought I should send the author more money. I didn’t think I’d paid enough for his work. No, I’m not exaggerating. Keefe tracks the history of the Sackler family from the early 1900s to the present day, when they’re hated for knowingly taking advantage of the highly addictive Oxycontin to make obscene amounts of money. Along the way, Radden Keefe shares the history behind psychiatric care, Valium, and the marketing of prescription drugs. The whole story was fascinating.
My Grandfather’s Son: A Memoir by Clarence Thomas
This is the autobiographical story of Thomas’s personal journey out of poverty, navigating the challenges of Jim Crow, his first marriage ending in divorce, and building his career. It’s not a discussion of his judicial philosophy. Thomas reads the audio version of the book. I can’t recommend it highly enough.
Martin & Malcom & America: A Dream or a Nightmare by James Cone
Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X are often presented as opposites. One promoted integration and the other self-segregation. One was peaceful and the other militant. There were significant differences between the two men—some of which were due to their very different childhoods and experiences of racism in the North versus the South. But by the time Malcom had left the Nation of Islam and King had started on the Poor People’s Campaign, they were starting to sound more and more alike. It’s one of the best books I read this year.
Americans don’t trust their institutions, believing elections are rigged, government is unreliable, the media is biased, the medical establishment is politicized, and corporations are only interested in money. But without reliable institutions, it’s impossible to organize and effectively govern our local communities, much less our nation. Levin explains why institutional trust has deteriorated and what we can do to rebuild it.
Here are the rest of the best books I read in 2022 (in no particular order). Select a category from the list below to jump down to the topic of book you’re most interested in reading, or you can scroll to see all my favorites.
Christian
History
Current Events
Novels
Business
Memoirs
Christian
You Are Not Your Own: Belonging to God in an Inhuman World by Alan Noble
I’ve learned not to ask high school and college students what they want to do with their life. It causes too much stress because they don’t know. “Find your passion and you’ll never work a day in your life” is said with the best intentions, but the cliché advice is almost always unhelpful. What 18-year-old knows their lifelong passion? I didn’t. Did you?
The deeper problem is that these questions prompt people to look inside themselves to figure out who they are and what they want. But maybe, that’s not where the answer lies. Following the Heidelberg Catechism, Alan Noble reminds us that we are not independent free agents but, instead, belong to God. We find our identity not by looking within but by looking up and out.
Still Time to Care: What We Can Learn from the Church’s Failed Attempt to Cure Homosexuality by Greg Johnson
In the 1980s, Christians allowed their responses to homosexuality to get caught up in the culture war, and the results weren’t pretty. Instead of helping people follow Jesus, the focus became changing people’s sexual orientation, which was a shift from responses in the past. Christian leaders from Billy Graham to C. S. Lewis practiced walking alongside people without trying to change them or compromise the orthodox biblical sexual ethic. Johnson, a same sex attracted pastor, writes a humane, gracious, biblical, convincing book urging Christians today to respond differently.
The Gospel Comes with a House Key: Practicing Radically Ordinary Hospitality in our Post-Christian World by Rosaria Butterfield
Front porches became backyard patios, and Americans became disconnected from their neighbors. Remote garage door openers make it easy to go days without interacting with those who live closest to us. The Butterfields live in stark contrast to this, seeing their home as a mission outpost from which to share God’s love. This book simultaneously convicts and encourages as Butterfield shares stories of having neighbors over for dinner, helping new moms adjust, welcoming foster children, and hosting neighborhood block parties in their front yard. In the context of these relationships, they get to talk about Jesus and model his love.
How to Talk about Jesus (Without Being That Guy): Personal Evangelism in a Skeptical World by Sam Chan
I am usually uninterested in books that tell me I should talk to others about Jesus because most of them make me feel guilty without offering any concrete ideas. This book is different! I am already putting what I learned into practice.
History
Martin & Malcom & America: A Dream or a Nightmare by James Cone
Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X are often presented as opposites. One promoted integration and the other self-segregation. One was peaceful and the other militant. There were significant differences between the two men—some of which were due to their very different childhoods and experiences of racism in the North versus the South. But by the time Malcom had left the Nation of Islam and King had started on the Poor People’s Campaign, they were starting to sound more and more alike. It’s one of the best books I read this year.
The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey by Candice Millard
After Teddy Roosevelt lost the 1912 presidential election, he didn’t seek a big pay day by joining a corporate board or slide into retirement. Instead, he sought the physical challenge of being one of the first outsiders to explore one of the most dangerous rivers in the world.
Current Events
Bad News: How Woke Media Is Undermining Democracy by Batya Ungar Sargon
Given the title, you might think the author is a conservative or perhaps a libertarian. Nope. She’s a committed leftist with a degree from Berkley and a long career writing for elite media, which makes her critique far more interesting. Ungar Sargon explains how the media’s business model led them to forget the working class in order to invest in the news that gets the most clicks from the wealthiest readers.
Unmasked: Inside Antifa’s Radical Plan to Destroy Democracy by Andy Ngo
This is the book that Winston Marshall tweeted about positively, resulting in his forced exit from the band Mumford and Sons. Antifa is a radical leftist anti-fascist organization that relies on violence and intimidation. While the group has been active in big cities all over the country, their home base is on the West Coast, especially the Pacific Northwest. Andy Ngo is the only journalist I’m aware of who has attended Antifa’s rallies and interviewed current and former members to expose their tactics and philosophical roots.
Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe
This book was so well written and so well researched that when I finished, I thought I should send the author more money. I didn’t think I’d paid enough for his work. No, I’m not exaggerating. Keefe tracks the history of the Sackler family from the early 1900s to the present day, when they’re hated for knowingly taking advantage of the highly addictive Oxycontin to make obscene amounts of money. Along the way, Radden Keefe shares the history behind psychiatric care, Valium, and the marketing of prescription drugs. The whole story was fascinating.
20 Myths about Religion and Politics in America by Ryan Burge
You probably don’t know as much as you think you do about the role religion and politics play in our country. For example, you probably think that all self-identified evangelicals go to church or that people return to religion as they get older or that white evangelicals have always supported the Republican party. If so, get ready for Burge, a political scientist, to show you data that blows your mind.
Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All by Michael Shellenberger
Because I’m not a scientist, it’s very difficult for me to evaluate scientific claims about the environment. I think there’s almost universal agreement that the planet is warming, and human beings are one major cause. But how serious is the problem and what should be done about it? To seek answers on these kinds of issues, I like to find a heterodox thinker. Michael Shellenberger has invested decades of his life in environmental causes, yet he finds today’s version of environmentalism to be manipulated by corporate interests that are unwilling to acknowledge progress that has been made and are closed to obvious solutions.
Americans don’t trust their institutions, believing elections are rigged, government is unreliable, the media is biased, the medical establishment is politicized, and corporations are only interested in money. But without reliable institutions, it’s impossible to organize and effectively govern our local communities, much less our nation. Levin explains why institutional trust has deteriorated and what we can do to rebuild it.
The Gray Lady Winked: How the New York Times’s Misreporting, Distortions, and Fabrications Radically Alter History by Ashley Rindsberg
According to the Times, Poland invaded Germany to start World War II, and Stalin didn’t try to starve Ukrainians through a forced famine. These lies were not innocent mistakes but deliberate coverups. If nothing else, this book will make you think twice about depending on any single media source.
The Revolt of The Public and the Crisis of Authority in the New Millennium by Martin Gurri
Gurri retired after a long career as a CIA analyst where he witnessed the proliferation of information available to the public. Instead of more information leading to more transparency and better outcomes, it led to the public losing faith in their institutions and to the rise of populist political movements across the world.
Talking about Race: Gospel Hope for Hard Conversations by Isaac Adams
Through a fictional—but very realistic—story of how a multiethnic church responds to a racial tragedy, Adams offers encouragement and correction to people with different perspectives on racial issues. It’s balanced, fair, gracious, and full of truth.
Postcards from Babylon: The Church In American Exile by Brian Zahnd
A sizeable number of Christians think they should feel at home in America and are surprised to hear there might be conflict between their heavenly and national citizenship. Zahnd argues that Christians should form a countercultural movement that will put them at odds with whatever nation they live in—including America. And if you don’t already feel the tension from the conflict, it might be because you are more American than Christian.
The Family Roe: An American Story by Joshua Prager
With the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the debate over abortion in the United States has intensified. But who are the people behind the landmark 1973 decision? Prager humanizes the debate by introducing us to those involved, including Norm McCorvey, the woman who wanted the abortion, and Shelly Lynn Thorton, the child who wasn’t aborted.
Politics Is for Power: How to Move Beyond Political Hobbyism, Take Action, and Make Real Change by Eitan Hersh
Politics is a spectator sport with fans cheering their team as they pursue ever-elusive victory. While watching the political horserace might be entertaining, it’s not making the world a better place. Hersh says that instead of spending hours consuming politics on social media or cable news, Americans should invest their time into gaining political power that brings about real change.
War On The West by Douglas Murray
It’s trendy to find fault in western cultures. While there’s no doubt that there is plenty of room for legitimate critique, those leveling the criticism aren’t always consistent. Every thinker, like every culture, has its blind spots and sins. Murray exposes the hypocrisy of those attacking Western cultures and examines who benefits from the selective outrage.
The Abolition of Sex: How the “Transgender” Agenda Harms Women and Girls by Kara Dansky
A self-identified radical feminist and formerly on staff with the ACLU, Dansky is decidedly on the political left. This makes it all the more interesting that she’s not willing to give an inch to the trans movement because she says it’s undermining the advances women have made in recent decades.
Rethinking Sex: A Provocation by Christine Emba
So, it turns out that hook up culture leaves people damaged and unsatisfied. Who could’ve seen that coming? Well, maybe everyone familiar with the biblical worldview or anyone who has any insight into human nature… Among many valuable contributions, Emba, who is a columnist with the Washington Post, explains why consent isn’t a sufficient moral framework for sex.
The Case Against the Sexual Revolution by Louise Perry
I read a lot of great books this year but this one was probably my favorite. It’s smart, provocative, and well written. Perry, an English feminist, lays out how the sexual revolution failed women. Although I don’t think she’d fully agree with me, there are times when it sounds like she’s calling for a return to the Christian sexual ethic. The book concludes with her encouraging women (and men) to listen to their mothers.
The Genesis of Gender: A Christian Theory by Abigail Favale
Along with Embodied by Preston Sprinkle, this is my go-to book that tackles gender, sex, and trans issues from a Christian perspective. Favale grew up in a conservative evangelical home, left her faith in college, received an advanced degree in Gender Studies, became Catholic, teaches at Notre Dame, and is married with four children. Her personal story combined with her education and research makes this book stand out from others.
American Carnage: On the Front Lines of the Republican Civil War and the Rise of President Trump by Tim Alberta
Many books have explored the cultural shifts that led to Donald Trump, a media star and political outsider, becoming the 45th President. This book does something a little different. Instead of looking at cultural factors, it examines the shifts within the Republican Party. Full of inside scoops and amazing stories, this book is anything but boring.
Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do about It by Richard Reeves
It seems like yesterday that America was wrestling with structural challenges that were holding women back. Today, it’s men who are falling behind. Falling test scores, decreased college enrollment, reduced participation in the labor market, and increasing deaths of despair are a few indicators that it’s time to ask why men are struggling.
Novels
The Stranger in the Lifeboat: A Novel by Mitch Albom
When you pray and ask God for help in your life, do you expect him to show up? And if he did show up, would you recognize him? These questions drive Albom’s novel.
Anxious People: A Novel by Fredrik Backman
An open house at a condo turns dangerous when a fleeing bank robber takes the potential homebuyers hostage. Quirky characters drive this humorous and insightful plot.
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
I love a good dystopian novel. In this one, the end of the world comes through a virus, making it perfect for our day.
The Lincoln Highway: A Novel by Amor Towles
Eighteen-year-old Emmett Watson and his younger brother Billy are looking for a fresh start after the death of their parents and Emmett’s release from a work farm. Their plans are interrupted by two of Emmet’s friends from prison who escaped and are looking for adventure.
Sea of Tranquility: A Novel by Emily St. John Mandel
If you’re a fan of time travel, this is perfect for you. The story ranges from 1912 Vancouver to a future moon colony.
Business
Nine Lies About Work: A Freethinking Leader’s Guide to the Real World by Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall
It’s always worth reexamining your assumptions about work. How sure are you that people care which company they work for? That people have potential? Or that the best plan wins? Those are three of the lies that the authors of this book evaluate and find wanting.
Memoirs
My Grandfather’s Son: A Memoir by Clarence Thomas
This is the autobiographical story of Thomas’s personal journey out of poverty, navigating the challenges of Jim Crow, his first marriage ending in divorce, and building his career. It’s not a discussion of his judicial philosophy. Thomas reads the audio version of the book. I can’t recommend it highly enough.
The Choice: Embrace the Impossible by Dr. Edith Eger
When she was sixteen, Eger was placed in the concentration camp at Auschwitz. Years later, the Nazis left her for dead as they fled the Allies liberating the camp. Eger shares how she survived the brutality and put her life back together once she was freed.
I Am Restored: How I Lost My Religion but Found My Faith by Lecrae Moore
Lecrae is an artist whose faith in Jesus seems genuine not because he’s “arrived” but because he’s honest about having a long way to go. In this book, he shares how his painful past and current political tribalism almost cost him his faith.
Crying in H Mart: A Memoir by Michelle Zauner
This is the author’s story of growing up as a Korean American in Eugene, Oregon, covering the difficulty of living up to her mother’s standards, exploring her family’s roots in Seoul, leaving home for college, and then deeply connecting with her mom during her fight with cancer. (The author’s reading of the book’s audio version is exceptional.)
These Precious Days: Essays by Ann Patchet
I picked up this book because a friend asked me if I’d read the essay “There Are No Children Here.” I found that essay so provocative, insightful, and well-written, that I read the rest of them.
Looking for more book recommendations from Keith? Check out his top books from the last few years:
The Best Books I Read in 2021
The Best Books I Read in 2020
The Best Books I Read in 2019
The Best Books I Read in 2018
Need some gift ideas for yourself or others this Christmas? Take the Book Recommendation Quiz and find out what book is right for you!
