2021 Christian Reading Challenge – Hf #314
It’s here! We are finally diving into our 2021 Christian Reading Challenge! If you’ve followed along with us, you know this is our 5th year in a row issuing a reading challenge (and taking one on ourselves). This year we’ve changed it up a little bit to make it easier to use.
You can check out our 2020 reading challenge to use as well if you want!
One of the major changes you’ll notice this year is that we’ve combined both challenges. In previous years we’ve issued a men’s challenge and a women’s challenge. This year, anyone can use the challenge to fit their needs.
Listen to the Podcast:
Listen in to my podcast episode from this week to find out more about why we developed this reading challenge, tips for following along, and the reasoning behind the books and categories chosen. Or skip the podcast and head down below for all the info ?
And don’t forget to subscribe to my podcast in iTunes.
Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.
What’s New This Year
Change #1: Like I mentioned above, we are combining the men and women’s challenge all into one. Choose which books most interest you!
Change #2: Instead of choosing actual books to put into the challenge, we are just adding in categories for you that you fill in with your books or find new ones!
Change #3: We are adding a bunch of new books to the category lists below but also carrying our book recommendations from previous years. All NEW book suggestions (that haven’t been highlighted in past challenges) will be bold.
2021 Christian Reading Challenge
Here’s how it works:
You will find the reading challenge below. You’ll see that we’ve given you two tracks – 13 books or 26! This is either reading one book every four weeks or one book every two weeks. If you want to do 52 books (one a week) you can easily adjust for that as well.
A note about fiction: This year we’ve included fiction categories per your request! I think fiction is hard because all of us are going to have different tastes in what fiction we prefer. You can find some of our favorite Christian Fiction books here. But feel free to substitute any fiction books or series that you enjoy.
Pick Your Level:
I know each of us has different reading levels and time for reading, so I created two different tracks you can follow.
13 Books a Year – This works out to 1 book every 4 weeks. If you have no habit of reading right now or have no idea you will fit reading time into your busy schedule, then this is a great level to begin with. Pick one book every 4 weeks and commit to getting it down within that time.
26 Books a Year – If you want to tackle a bigger challenge, then this level will get you reading 1 book every two weeks throughout the year. It’s still a very doable reading track but will challenge you to stay on track! If you want to follow this plan, read one book from each list every month. So in January, read book #1 and book #14! This way everyone can read through and follow along with books #1-13 together.
Here are the categories:
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Christian Living
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Marriage
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Parenting/Family Life
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Theology
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Fiction
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Biography/History
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Spiritual Disciplines
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Christian Classics
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Church History
*If you are not a parent or are not married, then scroll down and fill in those spots with other fantastic book suggestions from the other categories.
Book Recommendations Per Category:
Christian Living:
- Everyday Faithfulness: The Beauty of Ordinary Perseverance in a Demanding World – Glenna Marshall
- Growing Together: Taking Mentoring beyond Small Talk and Prayer Requests – Melissa Kruger
- A Place to Belong: Learning to Love the Local Church – Megan Hill
- God Does His Best Work with Empty – Nancy Guthrie
- Piercing Heaven: Prayers of the Puritans – Robert Elmer
- Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers – Dane C. Ortlund
- Suffering Is Never for Nothing – Elizabeth Elliot
- The Gathering Storm: Secularism, Culture, and the Church – Albert Mohler
- The Hospitality Commands by Alexander Strauch *Super short read
- Humility by C.J. Mahaney *Short read
- Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung *Short read
- Family Worship by Donald Whitney *Super short read
- When I Don’t Desire God by John Piper
- Simplify Your Spiritual Life by Donald Whitney
- Anxious for Nothing by John MacArthur
- Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald Whitney
- The Discipline of Grace by Jerry Bridges
- Growing Your Faith by Jerry Bridges
- Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges
- Adorned by Nancy Demoss Wolgemuth
- Caring for One Another by Edward T. Welch
- Praying Together by Megan Hill
- War of Words by Paul David Tripp
- Decluttering at the Speed of Life by Dana K. White
- The Gospel Comes with a Housekey by Rosaria Butterfield
- Hello Mornings by Kat Lee
- Book Girl by Sarah Clarkson
- Spiritual Disciplines Within the Church by Donald S. Whitney
- Side by Side by Edward T. Welch
- The Discipline of Grace by Jerry Bridges
Womanhood & Marriage:
- Enough about Me: Find Lasting Joy in the Age of Self – Jen Oshman
- Stop Calling Me Beautiful: Finding Soul-Deep Strength in a Skin-Deep World – Phylicia Masonheimer
- You’re Not Enough (And That’s Okay): Escaping the Toxic Culture of Self-Love – Allie Beth St
- 100 Ways to Love Your Husband/Wife – Jacobsons
- Glimpses of Grace by Gloria Furman
- Women’s Ministry in the Local Church by J. Ligon Duncan & Susan Hunt
- Helper By Design by Elyse Fitzpatrick
- Twelve Extraordinary Women by John MacArthur
- The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman
- Running on Empty by Barbara Bancroft
- Attitudes of a Transformed Heart by Martha Peace
- Women Living Well by Courtney Joseph
- Spiritual Mothering by Susan Hunt
- Radical Womanhood by Carolyn McCulley
- The Measure of Success by Carolyn McCulley
- True Feelings by Carolyn Mahaney
- Girl’s Club by Sally Clarkson
- Sweethearts for a Lifetime by Wayne Mack
Parenting/Family Life:
- The Storm-Tossed Family: How the Cross Reshapes the Home – Russell D. Moore
- Love-Centered Parenting – Crystal Paine
- Family Discipleship – Matt Chandler
- Why Children Matter – Doug Wilson
- Treasuring Christ When Your Hands Are Full by Gloria Furman
- Mom’s Raising Sons to be Men by Rhonda Stoppe
- Get Outta My Face by Rich Horne
- Peacemaking for Families by Ken Sande
- What the Bible Says About Parenting by John MacArthur
- Loving the Little Years by Rachel Jankovic
- Give Them Grace by Elyse Fitzpatrick
- Mom Enough
- Prayers for the Battlefield by Heidi St. John
- Talking to Your Kids About God by Natasha Crain
- Better Together by Pam Barnhill
- The Life Giving Parent by Sally and Clay Clarkson
Theology:
- The Story Retold: A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the New Testament
- Revelation: Four Views, A Parallel Commentary
- Three Views on the Millennium and Beyond
- Reformed Dogmatics (Single Volume Edition): A System of Christian Theology
- What Is Reformed Theology?: Understanding the Basics – R.C. Sproul
- Defending Your Faith (Redesign): An Introduction to Apologetics – R.C. Sproul
- Forgotten Trinity – James White
- Expository Listening by Ken Ramey
- Revolutions in Worldview by Andrew Hoffecker
- What We Believe by R.C. Sproul
- The Big Three by Henry Morris
- Understanding English Bible Translation by Leland Ryken
- Spurgeon’s Sorrows by Zack Eswine
- Growing in Gratitude by Mary K. Mohler
- Suffering by Paul David Tripp
- Humility by C.J. Mahaney
Biography:
- The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert – Rosario Butterfield
- Susie: The Life and Legacy of Susannah Spurgeon
- Becoming Elisabeth Elliot – Ellen Vaughn
- The Heroic Boldness of Martin Luther – Steven J. Lawson
- The Gospel Focus of Charles Spurgeon – Steve J. Lawson
- The Unwavering Resolve of Jonathan Edwards – Steven J. Lawson
- The Passionate Preaching of Martyn Lloyd-Jones – Steven J. Lawson
- Owen on the Christian Life by Matthew Barrett
- Edwards on the Christian Life by Dane Ortlund
- Heroes by Iain Murray
- Devoted by Tim Challies
- The Gospel Focus of Charles Spurgeon by Steve J. Lawson
- The Unwavering Resolve of Jonathan Edwards by Steven J. Lawson
Money & Finances:
- You Need a Budget by Jesse Mecham
- The Complete Financial Guide for Young Couples by Larry Burkett
- Money, Posessions, and Eternity by Randy Alcorn
- Managing God’s Money by Randy Alcorn
- The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn
Christian Classics:
- A Little Book on the Christian Life by John Calvin
- Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian in Community by Bonhoeffer
- Heretics – G. K. Chesterton
- Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis
- The Imitation of Christ by Thomas A Kempis
- The Apostolic Fathers
- The Incomparable Christ by J. Oswald Sanders
- All of Grace by Charles Spurgeon (hint hint: You can listen through this book for free here)
Church History:
- Challies has some good Church history recommendations here
- Epic: An Around-The-World Journey Through Christian History – Tim Challies
- Church History 101 by Sinclair Furguson
- The Church in History by B. K. Kuiper *This is a textbook. It’s hefty.
- The Early Church by Henry Chadwick
- Pages from Church History by Stephen Nicols
More Resources:
- Tim Challies 2021 Christian Reading Challenge
- Intentional By Grace 2021 Reading Challenge
- The Anchored Women Book Club of 2021
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