Lecta 2025

Cur Deus Homo - Anselm of Canterbury
Brilliant, necessary, classic on incarnation and atonement, though hard for modern-brain to follow without extra effort.

Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen
Fun enough, though not as good as Austen’s later work.

On the Law of Nature: A Demonstrative Method - Niels Hemmingsen
Excellent how-to guide on natural law reasoning through syllogisms: you need it in your life.

The Four Loves - C.S. Lewis
Better every time I read it; the storge chapter meant more to me than usual as I have been reflecting for the last year and a half about the strange effects of my students on my former illusions of impassibility.

Sacred Dissertations on the Lord’s Prayer - Herman Witsius
Lots of excellent stuff here both on the meaning of the Lord’s Prayer and on praying in general: I highly recommend it.

Wuthering Heights - Emily Brontë
Miserable, of course, but the kind of misery one cannot help but almost enjoy.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone - J.K. Rowling
It’s Harry Potter.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J.K. Rowling
It’s Harry Potter.

The Hiding Place - Corrie ten Boom
Always thought-provoking; I read this in school with my sixth-graders.

Theodore Roosevelt: An American Original - Janet Benge
Love Teddy, and this is a fun read.

A Learned Discourse on Justification in Modern English - Richard Hooker
A phenomenal treatment of the difference on justification between Rome and the Reformed, including that great triple distinction of righteousness and an general discussion of how to handle matters of theological disagreement.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling
It’s Harry Potter.

Exodus: Myth or History? - David Rohl
A great summary of the archaeological case that everything from Joseph to the conquest of Canaan actually happened, but it requires a paradigm shift in the chronology of the ancient world to see it.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling
It’s Harry Potter.

On the Incarnation - Athanasius of Alexandria
Another great classic, easier to read than Anselm.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling
It’s Harry Potter.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling
It’s Harry Potter.

Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning - Douglas Wilson
Read this as part of my ACCS teacher certification, and as usual with Wilson, it’s full of things I strongly agree with, a bunch of arguments I don’t at all agree with even often when I agree with the conclusions of the arguments, practical prescriptions I agree with while my theoretical backing differs, and presuppositionalist reasoning that drives me bonkers.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling
The best Harry Potter book and infinitely better than the corresponding movies.

The History of the Church: From Christ to Constantine - Eusebius
Big, sometimes boring, but an excellent window into the ancient church and the very different ways Christians often thought at the time.

Shepherding a Child’s Heart - Tedd Tripp
Also a teacher certification read: has a number of good ideas and reasonable advise, but also distorted by a lack of virtue ethics and a denigration of the natural powers of the conscience.

J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography - Humphrey Carpenter
There’s a reason this is the standard, and there’s a reason Tolkien is my role model.

An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us - Ed Yong
Fascinating book, easily one of the most interesting reads I’ve had in a while.

The Christian Education of Youth - Huldrych Zwingli
Zwingli gets a bad rap, and this book shows him something like his best as he describes how a young man should look at and approach his education.

The Great Divorce - C.S. Lewis
What does one say about The Great Divorce other than that it shows Lewis at his best as a moralist and in the process makes it clear how “normal people” might indeed be fit subjects for everlasting misery?

The Abolition of Man - C.S. Lewis
I read this every couple of years, and it grows more relevant all the time, but I’m not saying anything else, because if you’ve read it, I don’t need to, and if you haven’t, you should just go do it now.

Religion and Republic: Christian America from the Founding to the Civil War - Miles Smith
Very interesting look at the extensive role Christianity played in America’s early social and political life without proper establishment by the federal government.

Life on the Silent Planet: Essays on Christian Living from C.S. Lewis’s Ransom Trilogy - Rhys Laverty
Mostly a great batch of essays, though I don’t feel like going back to remember something more specific to say at the moment.

The Four Loves - C.S. Lewis
What does it say about my headspace that I read this twice this year, both times for probably the same reason?

The Wonderful Works of God - Herman Bavinck
Worked through this as part of a men’s study at church, and it’s obviously very good; while Bavinck does have some weaknesses, he remains an excellent resource, and this book especially so for just dudes at church who want to learn more theology.

Thoroughness & Charm: Cultivating the Habits of a Classical Classroom - Mandi Gerth
Faculty read at school: was filled with good examples, stories, advice, and reminders, though at times a little carried away in vibes.

A House for the Word: A Treatise on Public Worship from Hooker’s Laws - Richard Hooker
Every volume of Hooker’s Laws is gold.

Around the World in Eighty Days - Jules Verne
I love this book more every year, it being another of my sixth-grade literature reads.

Jurassic Park - Michael Crichton
Goodness gracious the book is phenomenal, though I ended up modifying the ebook to cut down on the language.

The Judgment of Martin Bucer Concerning Divorce - Martin Bucer
This was fascinating, as Bucer’s divorce policy is sort of “liberal,” for lack of a better way of putting it, and I can’t decide what I think of his argument.

Out of the Silent Planet - C.S. Lewis
I enjoy revisiting Malacandra, and the final speeches of Weston to the Oyarsa remain eminently delightful.

The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching - Irenaeus of Lyons
This was good stuff, though little stands out in my memory.

Baptismal Regeneration and the Final Perseverance of the Saints - John Davenant
Rereading this after a few years, I understood it much better this time around, and though I am not quite sure if I hold to Davenant’s view (at least unmodified), I do find it quite viable.

Journey to the Center of the Earth - Jules Verne
This was fun, but the pace is imbalanced, as it takes a really long time to get down into the earth, and then it ends fairly abruptly.

Antinomianism: Reformed Theology’s Unwelcome Guest? - Mark Jones
Oh, this was good.

Ecclesiastical History of the English People - Bede
This kept me thinking a lot about miracle stories.

The Federal Vision - Steve Wilkins
I have lots of disagreements with many of the essays in this book, and yet it’s self-evident to me that none of it even approaches the kinds of dangers people like R. Scott Clark attribute to FV.

Holly Jolly Christmas Tales - E.R. Smith
My dad’s stories are always fun, so go buy it.

Wise Words: Family Stories that Bring Proverbs to Life - Peter J. Leithart
Leithart is pretty good at this, I have to say.

Perelandra - C.S. Lewis
The best book of the Space Trilogy and a brilliant exploration of the Fall, sin, etc.

Reforming Classical Education: Toward A New Paradigm - Rhys Laverty
Most of the essays in this book are excellent, and they meant far more to me this year than they did when it was first published, before I started teaching.

A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
Another sixth-grade literature read, I enjoyed it far more this year than I have before.

Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
This was good, with a pretty based moral, and in some ways very funny.