What were our favorites from last year? Here’s our breakdown in no particular order.

Megan’s Top 3

1. Mythmakers by John Hendrix
2. Van Gogh Has a Broken Heart by Russ Ramsey
3. Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
4. Runner up: The Faithful Spy by John Hendrix

Lance’s Top 3

1. Descent into Hell by Charles William
2. Yours, Jack by C.S. Lewis
3. The Faithful Spy by John Hendrix
4. Runner(s) up: Tie between Symphony for the City of the Dead by M.T. Anderson and The Wilderking Trilogy by Jonathan Rogers… and Mythmakers…

Overall

Megan read:

• 36 books- 8,363 pages read
• 4 biographies
• 8 non-fiction
• 5 graphic novels

John Hendrix does some amazing artwork. Anything by Hendrix should be on your to-be-read list. I love books with beautiful art so graphic novels have been super enjoyable to read. Other favorite authors this year were, Katherine Paterson and Andrew Peterson. I usually enjoy and am encouraged by biographies but I read a couple this year that were just meh. I do not recommend Peter Pan or From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. We listened to quite a number of books this summer on our road trips; we particularly loved Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and The Wilderking Trilogy, such great audiobooks. I do tend to read a bunch of YA books because I do like to preview books for our family, maybe that’s “cheating” in terms of number of books read but I still think it counts. I didn’t get to read any books in verse but hopefully I will remedy that this next year.

Lance read:

• 22 (fun) books- 4,612 pages
• 2 Graphic novels
• 4 Spiritual Direction

Yours, Jack, spiritual direction in the letters of C.S. Lewis, was full of book recommendations for those he corresponded with. Not only was this book an interesting read and a helpful insight into more personal understandings of Lewis’ thoughts, but it was a treasure trove of new reading for me. I have only scratched the surface. I started with a recommendation he made of a book by a fellow, though intermittent, Inkling (the group that Lewis and Tolkien started, and beautifully described in Mythmakers), Charles Williams. He is one of the more controversial members of the Inklings due to his theology and ideas… and Tolkien didn’t like him. However, Decent into Hell was a beautifully written book in which the physical and metaphysical worlds merge, and people’s inner spiritual and character makeup begins to manifest physically. I would not recommend this book to everyone. However, if the word “metaphysical” does not scare you and actually brings a bit of intrigue, this is a read for you. I will likely be reading it again in the next couple of years. As usual, my reading was more like mining gold veins from one book and author to the next. So, not super wide, but further up, and further in. (We finally finished Chronicles of Narnia with the Boys. It was a great delight to share with them one of our favorite series of all time.)

5/5 stars

A formational book review by Megan

Dietrich Bonhoeffer had, through his life’s writings and now his deeds, reframed the Christian life through a lens of action. He called for a radical obedience that was not cheap but costly. Faith wasn’t just about creating a set of comforting thoughts about God; it was living out an ethic that called for sacrifice. You didn’t just pray for the tanks to stop rolling, you threw yourself in front of them.

A beautiful look at Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s life. The book looks more closely at how the Nazi party came to power and how Bonhoeffer made the decision to work with the resistance to betray Hitler.

Reading as a Disciple

But the more he studied God, the more his heart longed for something greater than knowledge. He was learning everything imaginable about the spiritual realms but felt increasingly alone.

Bonhoeffer wrestled with so many deep and difficult questions that many of us may never have thought of, let alone have to answer. What was striking though, was his continual relationship with God, he continually leaned on God despite feeling alone. He continually served others, no matter who they were; he was a pastor to his fellow resistance members, to his jailers, to family and friends. In the end, when we had a chance to escape he chose to stay for the safety of others.

How could he, after all this, choose “self” over “other”? No. He could not run. He would stay. He would walk into the fire, eyes wide open.

What a challenging testimony of dependence on God for every step and unwavering conviction in the face of adversity from within the church as well as outside.  

Reading Communally

Would the church, indeed, act together in the face of injustice?

Despite his singular Lutheran upbringing, Bonhoeffer looked at all believers as one body, sanctorum communio, the communion of the saints. He looked to fellow believers around the world for support and admonished his local body of believers for not acting or speaking out against the injustice in front of them. Bonhoeffer strove to commit his life in service for others, he truly believed that to live for Christ was to serve others. Not only was he calling for the Church to stand up but he dreamed of what the Church could do if they were united. It is always a curious thought to ponder what would be accomplished if the Church lived for others and not denominational, political, social, economical… etc. etc. lines.

“The church is only the Church when it exists for others… not dominating, but helping and serving. It must tell men of every calling what it means to live for Christ, to exist for others.” (Direct quote from Bonhoeffer)

Final Thoughts

Such a beautiful book. I have always been interested in Dietrich Bonhoeffer and his decisions, so this book helped to answer some of the questions I had. Hendrix does a great job with research and keeping the book focused. With any WWII book, there is just so much you could add but he was able to keep things within a small window and not overwhelm the reader with tons of information. I love that the book is beautiful and also thought-provoking. Dietrich was an average guy. In today’s Christian sphere, we see him as something above average but Hendrix did a great job of putting him on our level. Simply someone wrestling with his faith and how to walk it out.

Other books by John Hendrix:

Mythmakers- a must read!

Shooting at the Stars

The Holy Ghost: A Spirited Comic

Miracle Man

Go and Do Likewise!

And others…