My Favorite Reads and Listens of 2022
It seems hubristic to an almost absurd extent to suppose that anyone would care at all to know what I enjoyed reading and listening to in the past year. And yet, here we are, feeding my dysfunctionally unbridled need to share even the most mundane details of my life. So without further ado, here is my list of favorite reads and favorite listens for 2022.
Favorite Books I Read in 2022
Biography
Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story - Bono
I must confess that I was a fatigued and skeptical U2 fan when I picked this up. Bono’s self-obsession and seeming inability to write more good songs had wearied me to the point where I wasn’t even sure that I wanted to read it, but I am really glad that I did. Bono (Paul Hewson) isn’t just self-obsessed but he is also self-aware, painfully so, and this is very disarming. He is also a remarkable writer. I don’t often offer this piece of advice, but I am told that it is well worth investing in the audio version of the book as Bono reads and sings his way through it. This was my favorite read of the year, and it wasn’t all that close.
Letters to a Young Pastor: Timothy Conversations Between Father and Son - Eric Peterson and Eugene Peterson
Again, I was a little skeptical as I approached this. Was this just an attempt to continue to sell books off of Eugene Peterson’s name? Would he want these letters published? Again though, my skepticism was misplaced and this was a deeply moving read more about a loving relationship between a father and son that about anything else. Not sure it belongs in the biography category, but it details a section of Peterson’s life and so fits as well here as anywhere else.
Where the Light Fell: A Memoir - Philip Yancey
I had no idea how broken and dysfunctional Yancey’s childhood was. The fact that he still clings to faith is something of a miracle. It is disarming, humble, funny in parts, and very dark in others, but Yancey refuses to let go of the - sometimes impossibly slim - strands of grace that have kept his life from falling apart.
Scatterling of Africa: My Early Years - Johnny Clegg
If you know anything about the life and music of Johnny Clegg and the broken context of apartheid South Africa then this is a must read. Johnny was a special, creative soul, who left South Africa much better than he found it, and who lived a fearless life committed to racial reconciliation that many (especially me) could learn a lot from.
Faith, Hope and Carnage - Nick Cave and Seán O’ Hagan
A series of interviews with Nick recorded over a period of months. It is disarming to hear him process grief, creativity, religion and mortality. This will not be everyone’s cup of tea, but as a long-standing fan of Nick Cave, I enjoyed it a great deal. He is a very smart man, and increasingly humble as life knocks his few remaining edges off.
Non-Fiction
No Cure for Being Human (And Other Truths I Need to Hear) - Kate Bowler
Kate is one of my favorite writers. She manages to walk a fine line between irreverence and hopeful awe at the same time. She is a helpful guide for those searching for meaning and comfort in suffering.
Christianity’s Surprise: A Sure and Certain Hope - C. Kavin Rowe
Rowe examines church history to show that Christianity has always lived a truly surprising counter-narrative to the cultures that it emerged from and found itself surrounded by. He breaks the books down into the main sections of Christianity’s surprising approach to the story of everything, what it means to be human, and the formation of institutions. It is nerdy, but very approachable. Refined my commitment to live out Christianity rather than conform to the norms of Christendom.
A Brief History of Thought: A Philosophical Guide to Living - Luc Ferry
This was three years of Philosophy at college in a condensed and useable form. Ferry is able to write with academic rigor but in an understandable way. This is a rare gift, especially in his particular field.
A Portrait With Keys: The City of Johannesburg Unlocked - Ivan Vladislavic
A series of essays and observations from ordinary life in Johannesburg. It is one of the strangest things I have ever read, but having grown up in the same neighborhoods as the writer, I loved every second of it. He writes with the angular and angst ridden self understanding of a reflective, white, South African who grew up in apartheid and watched it fall around him.
Fiction
Leaving Ruin - Jeff Berryman
A story about an evangelical pastor in a small Texas town. Maybe that is a little too on the nose, but I really enjoyed how Berryman created a truly nuanced and three dimensional character from a pastor. He accomplished something truly rare in that he exposed all of the main characters flaws and yet left him truly likable in spite of (or maybe because of) those flaws.
The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
I am slightly embarrassed that it took me this long to get around to reading it. It won’t be too long before I decide to read it again. It is just wonderful.
Favorite Albums of 2022
This will be slightly different from the reading section above as I will focus just on albums that were actually released in the last year. This will save you from the obvious fact that I still mainly love albums recorded before 1994.
Gang of Youths - Angel In Realtime
I can’t tell you how many times I listened to this record this year, but it was a lot. The record details the loss of the singer’s father and the subsequent revelation that he had loved a total double life. It is written with such candor and vulnerability that you almost feel like you shouldn’t be listening in to something so personal. They manage to capture a collision of pain and joy, hurt and hope, death and beauty, in a way that few others have. I saw them live in a small club in Austin this year and they were spectacular.
Best songs - Forbearance, Brothers, The Man Himself, In The Wake of Your Leave
Be warned - explicit lyrics.
Marcus Mumford - Self-Titled
A painful and beautiful reflection on Marcus’ childhood trauma. He details his memories of sexual abuse at the hands of a churchman. It is traumatic and yet still beautiful. Mumford manages to do something that I think is essential in his generation. He mourns the injustice that was committed against him, but still reaches for the light of a life that isn’t only shaped by that.
Best songs - Grace, Stonecatcher, How
Be warned - explicit lyrics and references to traumatic instances that may be triggering to some.
Sandra McCracken - Carry Each Other
I thought long and hard about having an album of covers in here, but it is that good. Sandra somehow manages to stay true to the spirit of originals while still making them her own. Wonderful background music for melancholy evenings.
Best songs - One, Everybody Hurts, Weather With You
Ben Rector - The Joy of Music
If you know my usual musical taste then this one might surprise you. I usually don’t enjoy music that seems whimsical or flippant, but Rector manages to make something fun and joyful without fully relinquishing the importance of the creative quest. There are a few too many saxophone solo’s (one is too many) for my liking, but there are some great songs, including “Daughter” which is my daughter’s song of the year!
Best songs - Daughter, Steady Love, Heroes
That’s about it for the year. Let me know if there were any reads of listens that you enjoyed. I would love to check them out.
Merry Christmas friends. here is to lots of listening and reading in 2023!
