2023 Bibliography
Fiction
Catch 22, by Joseph Heller
Paperback, Vintage (2004)
The book follows an American bomber pilot called Yossarian off the coast of Italy in World War 2 as he tries to achieve his twin goals of preserving his life and squandering it in hedonism. It is considered a classic, and it is easy to see why. If you can look past the gross (and worse, casual) immorality of the antihero it is funny and captivating. I continued reading the book with an uneasy conscience, and in hind sight I should have thrown it away. Would not recommend.
Emma, by Jane Austen
Audiobook, available on Canon+
This book follows the rich heiress Emma as she plays the great social dance which is upperclass courtship to perfection (in her opinion at least). The character assemblage is excellent, and it is a very enjoyable book. I love walking in someone’s shoes through the slower paced and more local world which existed before rapid transport became available. Even though I grew up on a farm in a relatively tight community, my experience was nowhere near as localized as what existed in this time period.
This is one of the first audiobooks I have listened to as an adult and the skill of the narration amazed me.
Ecochondriacs, by Douglas Wilson
Audiobook read by the author.
A comical fiction of the collapse of the global warming narrative and establishment. Wilson’s fiction books are very unbelievable. The storm troopers couldn’t hit the fat side of a barn, the good guys always land on their feet and God is shown to be sovereign over all. However, there is just enough plausibility that after finishing you get down on your knees and say, “Father, would you mind ever so much doing something like that for us”.
Evangellyfish, by Douglas Wilson
Audiobook read by the author
The redemption tale of a scandalous megachurch pastor with squishy theology. Wilson is no great fiction writer but his stories are still humorous, thought provoking and have a happy ending. Just my style.
Flags our Front, by Douglas Wilson
Audiobook read by the author
Exceptionally funny, even by Wilson’s standard. This is a short book following the course of a seminary forced to choose between their national allegiances and Christian allegiances. The moral of the story is very relevant for our situation in the West.
Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott
Hardback, Penguin Classics (2009)
The fictional story of four sisters living in the North at the time of the American Civil War. A truly beautiful work. Each of the girls receives some time in the limelight, which provides a good variety within the same work. I most appreciated how each of the sisters has a unique personality and different goals, while all starting from the same set of solid Christian first principles. Our understanding of personality is much more ‘off the shelf’ than Alcott’s is, which is probably one of the reasons we Christians struggle to put forward a compelling vision of femininity.
Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen
Hardback, Penguin Classics (2011)
A very good book. Shy, little Fanny is from a poor family of 9 children, and is ‘adopted’ by her rich uncle so that her mother has one less mouth to feed. This puts her in the awkward position of being raised in a household that she doesn’t quite belong to, which is exacerbated by her shy nature. Fanny doesn’t fit into the mould of the other Austen heroines, and I found her a very compelling character.
My Man Jeeves, by P. G. Woodhouse
Audiobook available on Canon+
Douglas Wilson recommends reading Woodhouse for those who wish to develop a better turn of phrase. This book is a collection of humorous short stories, something like a PG rated soap opera in book form. It’s clean, funny and doesn’t take much concentration. As recommended though, the star of the show is not the plot but rather the exquisite phraseology.
Persuasion, by Jane Austen
Audiobook, available on Canon+
My least favourite Jane Austen book for the year. Austen books seem to have one key event around which the book hinges. In Persuasion I found this hinging event to be less dramatic and compelling, which made the book quite monotone for me. I would still read it again.
Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
Hardback, Penguin Classics (2008). Read out loud as a family.
The well-known story follows Lizzie Bennet and her four sisters as they try to find gentlemen husbands without the benefit of a large dowry. It is a well-known classic, with the 6 part BBC adaption following the book very closely.
This is the first long novel that Christi and I have read together. It was a great experience, and a habit we intend to keep up. Reading out loud does force you to take the book at a slower pace, especially early on when you aren’t ‘reading fit’. We rewarded ourselves by watching the 6 part BBC series in parallel.
Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen
Hardback, Penguin Classics (2008)
A slow story with good characters, following sensible Elinor and hopelessly romantic Marianne on their quest to secure husbands. As with other Austen books the secondary characters are often a little unbelievable in how regularly they display their respective vices and follies.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
Hardback, Penguin Classics (2013)
I read Tom Sawyer and the more advanced Huckleberry Finn before my teens, but was too young to follow the story line of the latter properly. For this reason, I had always assumed that Tom Sawyer was the superior work. I now find that I was mistaken. An excellent read. Also, even if the culture is comically exaggerated, it is interesting to get a take on cultural relations between blacks and whites in the Antebellum South by someone personally familiar with it. We need to grapple with the successes and faults of previous Christian political settlements as we choose something to aim at while trying to steer the ship of Western Civilization out of the infanticidal whirlpool we are currently being sucked into.
The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
Audiobook read by David Clarke
Christi read through this volumous classic last year and recommended it. I managed to get through all 53 hours of listening time, helped by a solo driving trip to Carnarvon and back. It is a classic for a reason. The plot is incredibly intricate and the characters are complex. A superficial understanding of the political situation in early 1800’s France is very helpful in understanding the motivations of the characters.
The Dragon and the Raven: The Days of King Alfred, by G. A. Henty
Audiobook read by Mike Harris
Henty writes historical fiction from a Victorian perspective. His main character is always the archetype of everything the Victorians wanted, strong, masculine, godly (to an ‘appropriate’ extent) and ready to die for king and country. This always gives the stories a hint of unbelievability, however I don’t really think this matters. There is a standard that we should meet, and why shouldn’t our heroes image that standard. My first serious novel was by Henty, and he had a profound formative effect on me. If God blesses me with sons they will also read a lot of Henty. In my opinion this is one of his best works, though it is a little disjointed.
The Man in the Dark, by Douglas Wilson
Audiobook read by Kyla Alders
A fun romance novel set in 1920’s Idaho. Wouldn’t say it is anything special, but it was entertaining and had a happy ending.
The Screwtape Letters, by C. S. Lewis
Hardback, Harper Collins
I have read through The Screwtape Letters more times than any other book. With 10 days to go for 2023 I wanted something short to cap off the year. Lewis imagines a series of correspondence between a senior demon and his junior mentee, with the subject matter being how to drag a particular man down to hell. Lewis’s ability to explain the workings of the subconscience and how it is manipulated for good or evil are exceptional. This edition is also beautifully illustrated.
Wives and Daughters, by Elizabeth Gaskell
Audiobook read by Elizabeth Klett
I listened to this book after after finishing Emma, as I wanted something that was Jane Austen like. It ended up being my favour fiction book of 2023. This is a slow story following a shy girl called Molly Gibson and her social interactions in rural England in the early 1800’s. Before the advent of cars and trains each person’s world was much smaller, and I find stories in such a local setting to be a breath of fresh air compared to my commuter lifestyle in Perth.
Non Fiction
Black and Tan by Douglas Wilson
Audiobook read by Aaron Wells
Wilson describes himself as a paleoconfederate (though I am yet to understand what he actually means by this) and has said a number of other things which have drawn racism accusations. Before going too far down the Wilson hole I thought I should listen to this collection of essays by him on race relations in the Antebellum South. I find him innocent of all charges.
John Knox, Stalwart Courage, by Douglas Wilson
Audiobook read by David Webb
I knew almost nothing of John Knox prior to listening to this book. His life is extraordinary. The man was such a force that the papist would go into hiding while he was in town only to slink out at his departure and burn him in effigy. His theology is sound, Christlike love unquestionable and yet he has that rough edge which is largely lacking in pulpits today. Knox asked God to give him Scotland, and He did, and this granted prayer has effects that still echo down to us today. We need men like Knox right now.
The narration is exceptional.
Live like a Narnian, by Joe Rigney
Audiobook read by the author
A short audiobook walking through the virtues and vices displayed by characters in C. S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia. I haven’t read the Narnia series since 2017, but through frequent exposure in my youth it is fairly engrained. This book is no substitute for reading Lewis, but it did give me a much better appreciation for Lewis’s ability to edify his readers subtly through fiction as well as explicitly in non-fiction. Along with What I Learned in Narnia, this book has also given me a much greater appreciation for the formative benefits of good fiction.
Misinflation: The Truth about Inflation, Pricing, and the Creation of Wealth by David L. Bahnsen and Douglas Wilson
Audiobook read by Wade Stotts and Tim Stephenson
This book takes the form of a series of letters between Wilson and Bahnsen where Wilson asks questions and Bahnsen answers. I still find inflation a difficult topic to get my head around, and the conspiracist within me suspects this is not a coincidence. It is probably a book I need to listen through multiple times before I can comment with any wisdom. I did find Bahnsen’s argument that we should expect prolonged stagnation rather than hyper-inflation to be as convincing as it can be to someone who only half understands the topic.
Ploductivity, by Douglas Wilson
Audiobook read by David Webb
Wilson’s own personal output is immense, whether or not you like the content of that output. He pastors a church, has close to 100 books published, sits on the boards of a school and a university and releases 2 blogs a week. Ploductivity is his explanation of how he gets so much done. It contains plenty of good advice, though my own output doesn’t yet qualify me to recommend productivity books.
The Boniface Option, by Andrew Isker
Paperback, Gab AI Inc (2013)
This book riffs of Rod Dreher’s popular work The Benedict Option. Both men agree that we are watching the West fall in slow motion, but have different game plans for how to survive this fall. Isker proposes that the church adopt St Bonifaces attacking mindset of cultural transformation as an alternative to Dreher’s strategic retreat and consolidate approach. The book leaves a sour taste in your mouth, as Isker unapologetically pulls no punches when describing just how badly the West is doing, and how you have been bribed, duped and bullied into not noticing.
The Case for Classical Christian Education, by Douglas Wilson
Audiobook read by Gentry Rench
As we move closer to having our own set of little Kammanns, Christi and I increasingly have to grapple with the painful failure of the previous generation to raise Christian children (not at all referring to my own excellent parents). The Wilsons’ insistence on raising children in an absolutely Christian environment continues to gain ground with us, and this book lays out some of the practicalities for one method of making this happen. The methods of the book are backed up by the fruit, with Wilson’s 3 children and all grandchildren to my knowledge being Christian.
The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self (Carl Trueman)
Hardback, Crossway (2020)
I have been listening to a lot of short form cultural commentary from a rightwing, fundamentalist Christian perspective, and wanted to get a take on our culture which was in the same vain, a little less fiery and more comprehensive. Trueman tries to demonstrate the historical origin and development of our modern self-perception which sees itself as no longer ‘bound’ by biological categories. It has been almost a year since I finished the book, but I remember appreciating that he took this modern self-perception seriously enough to pick apart its origins in a systematic way, rather than nuking it for it’s obvious absurdity. Douglas Wilson says “The good news is, the opposition is being run by clowns. The bad news is, the clowns are winning.”. Mocking the absurdity of the opposition is an appropriate way to stem the cultural bleeding, but for Western Christians figuring out how we have lost so much ground and 10’s of millions of souls to such weak arguments is necessary if we are going to avoid such haemorrhaging again.
The Seven Laws of Teaching by John Milton Gregory
Audiobook read by Ben Zornes
I ca not remember much from this book except the high, high bar which Gregory sets for those engaged in the profession of teaching. It is a work that will be useful to have in the back pocket when the time comes to educate children.
What I learned in Narnia, by Douglas Wilson
Audiobook read by Daniel Newman
Similar in style and conclusions to Live like a Narnian. Made me very grateful to my parents for raising me on Narnia.
Theology
The Case for Christian Nationalism, by Stephen Wolfe
Audiobook read by Wade Stotts
In the 20th century we Western Christians fell for the myth that we could have a moral society without our civil institutions explicitly acknowledging the lordship of Jesus Christ over all things. This has been shown to be utter folly by the tidal wave of madness which has swept over our respective nations. Wolfe’s purpose for the book is to offer an alternative political establishment. He is a no-nonsense classical scholar, and his book would be extremely confronting for anyone not already primed for it. It has been highly controversial among evangelical leaders. The book is relatively technical and I was only able to understand his arguments at the surface level. Depending on whether you have already been hurt by the current Christian political settlement you will either think the book is common sense or borderline heretical.
Eve in Exile: And the Restoration of Femininity, by Rebekah Merkle
Audiobook, read by the author
A book Christi read in 2022 and recommended to me for 2023. This is my first long form exposure to the topic of feminist history. I walked away with two things much straighter in my mind. Firstly, feminism is societal poison, and has been since the very beginning. Secondly, the way forward for Christian femininity is not to try to select an earlier era (eg. the 1950’s) and adopt its customs and practices wholesale, but rather to go back to first principles and build a new vision of femininity suited to our new circumstances. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone.
How to Exasperate your Wife, by Douglas Wilson
Audiobook read by Ben Zornes
I remember very few specifics from this book, as it has been close to a year since I listened to it. It is very short (almost a podcast in length), and exceptionally funny. The Wilsons and Co are unashamedly patriarchal, and also not very controversial in their opinions on marriage and family. Wilson describes himself as a moderate who never moved, and I think this description is fitting.
Masculine Christianity by Zachary M. Garris
Audiobook read by David Webb
This is a passage by passage rebuttal of feminist and soft complementarian interpretations of the Bible. It is quite technical, and audiobook is probably not the form to engage with it in. In our current age gender roles are the number one point of compromise for the Western Church, and this would be a good book for anyone manning these battlements to have as a reference text.
Orthodoxy by G. K. Chesterton
Audiobook read by Simon Vance
I was suspicious of what I was going to get when reading a book on orthodoxy from a Catholic, but it turns out Chesterton is defending the Apostles Creed, something we can all get behind. It took me a while to warm to his style. A good book, but one which I will need to revisit several times before I can comment with any precision.
The Family Revision: How Ancient Wisdom Can Heal the Modern Family, by Jeremy Pryor
Paperback, Family Teams (2019)
This book was given to me by a good friend who I trust a lot when it comes to advice on Christian families. It has similar content to other books I have read on the topic (eg. Man of the House, by C.R. Wiley) though in a less confrontational form. Pryor makes a case for a return to an older view of the family as a productive team rather than a collection of individuals who sleep under the same roof and watch TV together.
I believe that one of the more important points that Pryor makes is that a husband’s ability to earn a bunch of money is a key enabler for a lot of the other goals we should have (ie. having a bunch of kids, giving them a Christian education, Mum having the time and resources to make the home lovely, etc). I have heard teenage Christian men apologizing for their desire to earn money. This should not be.
When the Man Comes Around: A Commentary on the Book of Revelation by Douglas Wilson
Audiobook, read by the author
My dispensational premil eschatology foundered and eventually sank during 2022, and I spent over a year clinging to a piece of driftwood on the eschatological seas afterwards. Wilson’s postmillennial explanation of Revelation is somewhat convincing, but was certainly no knock out argument. It is written in very accessible language, and I was able to follow it in audiobook form while driving in the Wheatbelt, no small feat for a commentary.
Why We’re Catholic: Our Reasons for Faith, Hope, and Love, by Trent Horn
Paperback by Catholic Answers (2017)
A catholic friend at work leant me this book. Overall I walk away with a firmer, though not much altered, understanding of Catholic Doctrine. We have many points of commonality with Catholics, particularly in terms of ethics. I also come away with a much stronger conviction that if Moses walked into the Vatican he would grind up their images of Mary and make the people drink them.
