Three of my favorite books from 2025, plus I'm giving one of them away!
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| patsanannn |
THE TURN OF the calendar is one of my favorite times of the year. I know changing a number from one year to the next is, in many ways, an artificial marker. It is similar to a woman lamenting turning 40 or the global hysteria when the calendar switched over to the year 2000. These are just numbers, after all!
And while I recognize the superficiality of the new year, I am also reminded that God set forth the seasons and the planet's orbit around the sun. He set up the axial tilt and the 365-day cycle, even inaugurating holidays for his people to celebrate.
The new year inspires me because of its apparent limitless potential for growth, accomplishment, and progress. I can't wait to see what 2026 has in store for you and for me. May we find ourselves in the center of God's will.
While looking ahead is energizing for me, I also, as I do every year, take a look back at the previous year and share with you some of my favorite books of the year.
I came across a LinkedIn post last week with a list of eight books to help you get "unstuck." As a sucker for reading recommendations I took note. In reading comments on the post, I came across multiple responses with an argument I have heard quite often. The comments were varied, but they were all to the effect of "books don't change lives."
Having heard this many times, even by authors themselves, I've come to the realization that this must be true for some. This is not true for me. The Bible aside, which is unquestionably life-changing, I can enumerate a dozen or so books that have had a profound impact on my life both in a practical sense and in ways that enlightened my perspective.
I say all of this only to encourage you to keep reading.
And as I also do every year, I am giving away one of the following books plus a copy of my latest book, You're Utmost Is Not Enough: Trusting God When Life Doesn't Make Sense, in your preferred format.1 To enter is free, but you must opt-in even you are already a subscriber to my email list. To do so, enter your email below and click "Enter the Contest."
But enough preamble, let's get on to what I read in 2025.
Three Books You Might Enjoy
In many ways 2025 was a bust because I started and did not finish more books than I ever remember doing. My TBR list is always growing, so I simply don't have time to tolerate poor or irrelevant writing like I thought I did in previous times. But by the end of 2025 I finished reading eight books, pretty standard for me. Following are the three books I think you also will most enjoy.
438 Days: An Extraordinary True Story of Survival at Sea
Everything will work out... don't give up hope, remain calm.
I bought 438 Days for my dad a few years back as a Father's Day gift. After finishing the book, he gave it back, urging me to read it. He said he couldn't put the book down.
438 Days is the true story of a Salvadoran fisherman, José Salvador Alvarenga, and his helper who were swept out into the Pacific ocean by a violent squall in November of 2012 and the 438 days that followed as they drifted aimlessly halfway across the world in a 23-foot boat.
Using an icebox for shelter from the blistering sun, the two men endured endless days dreaming of water, shelter, and real food–they had been catching and eating raw seabirds as their primary source of sustenance. And, at one point, the fishermen resorted to licking the bottom of the boat to obtain even a drop of moisture to quench their parched, emaciated bodies.
Back home in Mexico, friends and family had long since given up hope of finding Alvarenga and his mate, Ezequiel Córdoba, and held memorial services for the presumed dead. Yet over a year after being swept out to sea, Alvarenga's boat approached Ebon, one of the Marshall Islands, 7,000 miles from where he put out to sea that fateful day.
Not only is the story itself captivating, but Jonathan Franklin's writing is engaging, interweaving general survival and ocean facts with Alvarenga's descent into despair
.
IF God, Why Evil? A New Way to Think about the Question
It is understandable that [God] would be more interested in our character than our comfort; more concerned about our holiness than our happiness.2
Norman Geisler co-authored one of my favorite nonfiction books, I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist, so it's no wonder I enjoyed If God, Why Evil?
If you've been following my writing for the past few years, you know I have written quite often on the subject of pain and suffering, including a deep dive on several chapters of the book of Job. Geisler's book came as a nice affirmation of my conclusions in addition to providing new perspectives and answers I had never considered.
Geisler walks the reader through the philosophical problem of evil using the question and answer format. As such the book reads like a frequently asked questions page of a website, addressing common objections and misconceptions around the topics of God's nature, human freedom, and the characteristics of evil among others.
Indeed Geisler himself writes in the introduction, "The problems and responses are put in succinct logical form so that one can see plainly what is being said," yet "the book is comprehensive. . . [It] treats evil’s nature, origin, persistence, purpose, and avoidability. It discusses evil’s metaphysical, moral, and physical problems."3
One topic that stood out to me is the purpose of evil. After making the case that God did not create evil, but rather created the possibility of evil in creating morally free beings, he argues that God could only indirectly create free beings who cannot sin:
"As for the objection that God is free but cannot sin, and, therefore, there is no reason why we should not be able to do the same on earth: first, we are not God, and, second, we are not yet in heaven. . . some things cannot be created directly; some things can be produced only through a process. . . In short, God has to create free creatures who could sin before He could produce free creatures who can’t sin."4
To skip the in-between step would be to create robots, not free beings. God will perfect our wills but this can only happen through a transformational process.
Geisler also pushes back against the assertion that an all-good God would prevent all physical evils. He writes, "Sometimes the most loving thing God can do is not to supernaturally intervene to prevent all physical evil in our lives."5 How can this be true? God knows that it is through struggle and pain that we grow, not through pleasure. He is concerned with our spiritual growth and development in order to accomplish the greatest achievable outcome.
I encourage you to pick up this book. I believe it will enrich your thinking on the topic of evil in relationship to the nature of a benevolent, omnipotent God.
Cure for the Common Life: Living in Your Sweet Spot
God endows us with gifts so we can make him known. Period.6
As one who is always trying to make the most of my time on earth, I was intrigued by the title of this Max Lucado book. I want an uncommon life, to make a difference in this world. I began reading The Cure for The Common Life with no expectations, having never read any of Lucado's numerous books before.
The premise is simple but beautiful: "Use your uniqueness (what you do) to make a big deal out of God (why you do it) every day of your life (where you do it)."7
If you do all three of these things, you will find your "sweet spot" and cure your common life.
I love this premise because I think it encapsulates neatly the meaning of life–to glorify God. My mantra lately has been John 3:30, "He must increase, but I must decrease." When my life brings glory to God, I know I have been successful.
Everyone has a sweet spot, argues Lucado, because everyone is uniquely gifted by God and equipped to work for him. Embracing your uniqueness and becoming the best you can be is the key to a fulfilling life. Lucado warns against greed and burnout and admonishes the reader to praise God and embrace the body of Christ.
The book provides a helpful guide in the appendix for discovering your own sweet spot through exercises and reflection. Even if you already believe you are doing what you are meant to do, The Cure for the Common Life provides excellent reminders that encourage you in your uniqueness and ground you to the Word of God.
A Giveaway!
How would you like to win one these books?
I'm giving away one of the above books of your choice plus a copy of my newest book, Your Utmost Is Not Enough: Trusting in God Even When Life Doesn't Make Sense, to one lucky winner!
It's actually quite simple: subscribe to my email list. That's it.
I typically send out two emails a month, including one on the last Tuesday with exclusive subscriber-only content. But there's no obligation to stay subscribed once the giveaway ends. To sign up, enter your email address below and click the button. (No need to enter your email address again if you did so in the form at the top of this post.)
I typically send out two emails a month, including one on the last Tuesday with exclusive subscriber-only content. But there's no obligation to stay subscribed once the giveaway ends. To sign up, enter your email address below and click the button. (No need to enter your email address again if you did so in the form at the top of this post.)
I'll leave the giveaway open for seven days (through the end of 2/17/26 CST) and choose a winner at random on 2/18/26. (Note: this contest is open to residents of all territories, but since I'm based in the US, if shipping costs to foreign countries are too prohibitive, I will substitute the prize for a gift card.)
I'll update this post with the first name and location of the winner as well as notify him or her by email.
Good luck!
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Notes:
1. I'm based in the US, but anyone, anywhere can enter. If international costs are prohibitive, I will send instead a digital gift card in the equivalent amount.
2. Norman Geisler, If God, Why Evil?: A New Way to Think about the Question (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2011), Kindle edition, 76.
3. Ibid, 10.
4. Ibid, 62.
5. Ibid, 85.
6. Max Lucado, Cure for the Common Life: Living in Your Sweet Spot (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2005), Kindle edition, 5.
7. Ibid, 6.
8. This post contains affiliate links which means I receive a portion of sales at no extra cost to you.
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