5 Types of Books Everyone Should Read

I don’t know about you, but at the end of each year I anticipate what I’m going to read the next year. I’m not a highly prolific reader, but I do believe in quality reading plans. I am always looking for good books to read (and more time to do so).

Life is a journey. To live dynamically on this journey means we’re constantly progressing, growing, always active and changing for the better; not stagnant or dead. One of the best ways to grow is to read good books.

I think there are at least five types of books every person should read each year to help them grow. I’ll share them with you here, as well as give you fifteen suggestions to get you started.

Each title is linked to Amazon, if you’d like to check them out.

#1 – Novels

Since we’re approaching the time of year we typically kick back and rest from our regular routines of work, what better way to do so than with a good novel?

You may be asking, “What do novels have to do with growth?” I used to think novels were a waste of time, but in the last two years I’ve become convinced they are a great way to grow. Here’s how I’ve benefitted from novels:

• They give new perspective on life
• They paint lessons in word pictures that most other books don’t; often more powerfully
• They show context to life-lessons that don’t usually come with non-fictional books

Here are some of my favorites:

1. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
2. The Land by Mildred D. Taylor
3. Wingfeather Soga by Andrew Peterson
4. The Circle Trilogy by Ted Dekker
5. Safely Home by Randy Alcorn

#2 – Real-Life Stories

My personal favorite type book to read is a well-written, real-life story. (Yes, many aren’t written that well—filled with too much of the wrong kind of detail.)

While novels are a great place to learn lessons, I find reading a story of something that actually happened is even more meaningful. Here’s why:

• I can observe the whole scope of someone’s life and learn from their successes and failures before I live my own life.
• They inspire me to faithfulness by realizing that “if they can do it, I can too.”
• Because it’s someone’s story, the way God worked is real; not an ideal someone wrote in a novel. This gives me confidence that God can work in similar ways for my life.

A few real-life stories I enjoy are:

1. Spirit of the Rainforest by Mark Andrew Ritchie
2. Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
3. War Hospital by Sheri Fink
4. The Secret Holocaust Diaries by Nonna Bannister
5. As We Forgive by Catherine Claire Larson

#3 – Expands Our Perspective of God

Whether you believe in God or not, you have a perspective of Him. It might be pretty narrow—even if you’re a Christian.

I believe everyone should read at least one book a year that expands their perspective of God. Doing so helps us clarify (at least) three things:

• How we understand truth
• What we believe (and what we don’t)
• What God is really like

Here are five books that have helped expand my perspective of God:

1. The God Who Is There by Francis A. Schaeffer
2. The Drama of Scripture by Craig G. Bartholomew and Michael W. Goheen
3. Old Testament Theology for Christians by John H. Walton
4. The Death of the Messiah and the Birth of a New Covenant by Michael Gorman
5. A Grace Disguised by Jerry L. Sittser

#4 – Challenges Cultural Thought or Is Controversial

I’d rather read something I know I can trust than a book where I disagree with the author. The thing is, if I only read books I agree with, I’m not sharpened.

Here’s what reading something that challenges our cultural thought or something we disagree with can do for us:

• Teaches us discernment
• Challenges our own thought patterns
• Forces us to self-evaluate

Here are some I’ve read so I can speak more objectively about them and ended up learning quite a bit as I did:

1. The Fool and the Heretic by Todd Charles Wood and Darrell R. Falk
2. Critical Race Theory: The Cutting Edge by Jean Stefancic and Richard Delgado
3. Jesus and John Wayne by Kristin Kobes Du Mez
4. The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby
5. The Shack by William Young

#5 – Christian Classic

While classics are hardest for me to read because the language is often different than what I’m used to; as a Christian, I find that reading from authors who wrote fifty-plus years ago adds a new perspective to following Christ because of the context they lived in, compared to the context in which I live.

We should never isolate our beliefs to current theology. Here’s why:

• While theology of the classic Christian authors wasn’t perfect, there’s a lot we can learn from them
• Each generation has their hobby topic, our generation needs to be reminded of some of the others
• The farther back to Christ’s time (this means going way back), the more accurate perspective we gain on how to read the Bible

I want to expand my reading in this category, as well. A few “classics” I have read and encourage you to read, if you haven’t, are:

1. Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
2. Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan 
3. The Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer
4. The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis
5. Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton

I don’t know how much you read, but I recommend expanding the types of books you read. It helps you grow and live dynamically.

What books have you read that were especially meaningful? Share with me in the comments.

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