It’s that time of the year, again. Time to review the books I’ve read this past year. If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know I first started making a New Year’s resolution to read at least two books a month in 1998.
Since 1998, I’ve read 1110 books! This discipline of reading more books and watching less television has made me more knowledgeable of the world we live in and given me much more lasting pleasure than another episode of Law and Order.
Here are my top ten books for 2025, not necessarily in order and not necessarily newly published books:
- Life After Power – Jared Cohen – This recently published book discusses the lives of several presidents after they left office. The author discusses seven presidents – Thomas Jefferson, John Quincy Adams, Grover Cleveland, William Howard Taft, Herbert Hoover, Jimmy Carter, and George W. Bush. This is an excellent book and you’ll learn much about these men you never knew before.
- Confronting the Presidents – Bill O’Reilly & Martin Dugard – This team of historians does a great job of giving us brief biographies of all the U.S. presidents. A must read for all history buffs.
- A Golfer’s Life – Arnold Palmer – This is an old book I got out and read again with much delight. If you’re an Arnold Palmer fan like me, you’ve got to read this autobiographical work by the King of golf.
- Great Souls – David Aikman – This is another old book I got out and read for the third time! It’s one of the truly great books I’ve ever read. You’ll read about six individuals who Aikman says “changed the twentieth century.” They include Billy Graham, Nelson Mandella, Pope John Paul II, Mother Teresa, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, and Elie Wiesel. It’s still available on Amazon.
- The Story of God and Us – Jonathan Murphy – Jonathan Murphy is the new pastor of Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas and the hand-picked successor of Chuck Swindoll to the church he founded. This book is a great review of the bible intended for those unfamiliar with its contents but equally valuable for reading by long-time bible teachers like me.
- Looking in All the Right Directions – Chuck Swindoll – This small book recently published gives us the last five sermons of Pastor Swindoll focused on the book of II Timothy. The last words of the Apostle Paul are preached by this great preacher in his last words from the pulpit.
- The Disappeared – C. J. Box – Another great book from this brilliant author of dramatic fiction based on the character of Joe Pickett, game warden in Wyoming. If you’re not a Joe Pickett fan yet, you will be if you read any of Box’s books.
- Revenge Tour – Mike Lupica (Robert Parker characters) – If you loved Robert Parker’s books, Lupica does a great job of continuing the deceased author’s success. This one is about Sunny Randall; lady detective closely associated with the characters of the infamous Spenser.
- The Waiting – Michael Connelly – Another great book by one of the best fiction writers of our time. This one is about Rene Ballard; lady detective closely associated with the characters of the very successful Harry Bosch series.
- Reagan – Max Boot – I hesitate to include this book on the list, but it was recently published and is a biography of one of our greatest presidents. But you won’t get that impression from reading this book. This author clearly never voted for Reagan.
That’s it for this year. I hope you’ll enjoy these books but the most important thing is that you read more books. You’ll be glad you did.
Happy New Year!
