Top 10 Reads of 2024
As 2024 draws to a close, I find myself with an unusually full "currently reading" list—something I don't think I've ever ended a year with before! Some of these books have already earned a spot on my 2025 list, but I’ve held firm to my rule: no unfinished book makes the cut.
This feels fitting for the kind of reading year I’ve had. Unlike past years where I’ve focused on specific themes or genres, 2024 was a year of following my instincts. I picked up whatever piqued my curiosity—whether gifted, recommended, or stumbled upon—and often found myself juggling multiple books across physical, Kindle, and Audible formats.
The result? A wonderfully eclectic mix of reads. Below, I’ve shared my top 10 standouts from the year, along with the full list of books I finished. I hope you’ll discover a gem or two to add to your own reading list!
Top 10
In no particular order…
1. Lead Yourself First (Raymond M. Kethledge & Michael S. Erwin)
“Leading from good to great requires discipline—disciplined people who engage in disciplined thought and who take disciplined action. To engage in disciplined action first requires disciplined thought, and disciplined thought requires people who have the discipline to create quiet time for reflection.”
This book delves into how solitude empowers leaders by sharpening clarity, sparking creativity, balancing emotions, and strengthening moral courage. Through case studies of iconic leaders, it inspires readers to embrace moments of quiet reflection as a critical tool for navigating challenges and leading effectively.
2. The Trial (Franz Kafka)
“Someone must have been telling lies about Joseph K., for without having done anything wrong he was arrested one fine morning.”
Kafka’s The Trial takes readers into a surreal and nightmarish world of illogical bureaucracy, encapsulated in the term ‘kafkaesque.’ Following Joseph K.’s inexplicable arrest, the novel explores themes of guilt, power, and the absurdity of modern systems. A long-overdue read for me, it’s as timeless as it is thought-provoking.
3. The End of Thinking? (Mark Stephens)
“In my college classrooms, I tried to develop the habit of telling my class that at least some of what I was teaching them was incorrect. The problem was I didn’t know which bits, otherwise I would fix them. But I wanted to remind my students that my thinking could always be improved, including by them.”
This concise and powerful reflection champions the art of humble, open-minded thinking. Stephens challenges readers to continually refine their ideas and think beyond personal ends, encouraging intellectual growth for the good of all.
4. The Making of Biblical Womanhood (Beth Allison Barr)
“When I teach the second half of my European women’s history course, covering roughly 1215 to 1918, I use my own interpretation of Virginia Woolf’s phrase ‘a room of one’s own’…”
“If we look at the broad sweep of history, we find some interesting patterns regarding the size of women’s rooms. When political and social structures are less centralized and less clearly defined, women often experience greater agency; their rooms are bigger. It is no accident that the stories of the most authoritative women in Christian history stem from the fourth century through the tenth century, when the authority structures of Christianity—not to mention the political structures to which Christianity became attached—were more fluid. It is also no accident that, after the ecclesiastical hierarchy became more centralized and more powerful during the central Middle Ages, women’s ability to exercise formal authority diminished; women’s rooms became smaller. There are always exceptions, of course, but these general patterns are clear.”
If you grew up in, or are part of, a Christian faith community, this tracing of the evolution of gender roles throughout the history of the church is truly eye-opening. Barr has a doctorate in history and provides an astounding look at the shifting picture of how ‘biblical womanhood’ has been seen across the centuries, as well as the many women of faith whose leadership has been largely forgotten in accounts of church history.
5. Sea of Tranquility (Emily St. John Mandel)
“‘I think, as a species, we have a desire to believe that we’re living at the climax of the story. It’s a kind of narcissism. We want to believe that we’re uniquely important, that we’re living at the end of history, that now, after all these millennia of false alarms, now is finally the worst that it’s ever been, that finally we have reached the end of the world.’
‘But all of this raises an interesting question,’ Olive said. ‘What if it always is the end of the world?’
She paused for effect. Before her, the holographic audience was almost perfectly still. ‘Because we might reasonably think of the end of the world,’ Olive said, ‘as a continuous and never-ending process.’”
The third in Mandel’s loosely connected trilogy (Station Eleven, The Glass Hotel), Sea of Tranquility explores interconnected lives across time and space. Rich in themes of human connection, the novel is a beautifully crafted exploration of the seemingly random intersections of events and people that can shape our lives. Both a culmination of the threads Mandel had previously begun to weave, as well as a vast expansion of the canvas with which she is working, it’s worth making your way through the three books in their release order to fully appreciate them all.
6. Slow Productivity (Cal Newport)
“To make this more conrete, let’s consider some simple numbers. Imagine that you produce reports that your company sells. Further, imagine it takes seven hours of core effort to complete a single report, and each report that you’ve committed to write generates one hour per day of overhead tax (emails, meetings, occupied mental space, and so on) until it’s completed.
In this thought experiment, if you commit to just one report at a time, giving it your full mental attention until it’s done before you agree to start working on another, you’ll complete reports at the rate of one per day (assuming you work eight hours per day).
If, on the other hand, you agree to take on four different reports simultaneously, the combined overhead tax of maintaining all four on your task list will eat up half your day in logistical wrangling, effectively doubling the time required to complete a single report.
In this example, doing fewer things ends up producing more results.”
In Slow Productivity, Newport argues for redefining productivity in knowledge work through three core principles: do fewer things, work at a sustainable pace, and prioritize quality. This thoughtful guide challenges the hustle culture, advocating for a spacious approach to impactful work.
7. Chasing Failure (Ryan Leak)
“I'd love to tell you to never give up. But I'd rather tell you to fail at all the things early so you can chase your purpose and find your sweet spot. What's worse: failing while trying or failing by not trying?”
Leak reframes failure as a vital part of success, encouraging readers to embrace setbacks as learning opportunities. Through candid stories, Chasing Failure motivates you to take risks, chase your purpose, and grow, even when the outcome is uncertain.
8. Leading Change Without Losing It (Carey Nieuwhof)
“If you’re worried about losing people, start worrying about losing the Early Adopters and Early Majority. They may not be as loud as the Opponents, but if you fail to change, at some point over the next year or two, you might lose many of them. They won’t storm out angrily and they might not even tell you they’re going. But if you continue to embrace the status quo for fear of the cost of change, many of them will slip away…”
“So a question: Who would you rather lose? The Opponents, or the Early Adopters? Exactly.”
This practical guide equips leaders to navigate the challenges of meaningful change with resilience and a good dose of perspective. Nieuwhof’s five strategies offer tools to assess opposition, prioritize key voices, and persevere through resistance to achieve transformational change.
9. Letters to a Young Pastor: Timothy Conversations Between Father and Son (Eugene H. Peterson & Eric E. Peterson)
“I wonder if one of the greatest things that a pastor can do (after the basics are in place — the preaching and praying and teaching; staying true to God and following Jesus) is to treat men and women with simple dignity.
That act in itself perhaps does all that needs to be done to bridge the worlds of need and affluence, rejection and acceptance, suffering and prosperity, failure and achievement. We aren’t devising strategies on community or evangelism or mission, but on something far more basic — baptism/image of God/souls. The dignity of souls created by God.
Virtually nobody in our culture does that, whether in or out of the church; they are reduced to consumers and “resources” and victims — defined by their problems or their status or their function. We pastors at least have the context and vocabulary in which we can treat them with the dignity of souls.”
Through heartfelt letters from father to son, this book offers timeless wisdom on faith, humility, and the sacredness of relationships. Eugene Peterson’s reflections focus on love, service, and the quiet dignity of being grounded in a specific place, tending to specific individual lives with care.
10. Up From Slavery (Booker T. Washington)
“From his example in this respect I learned the lesson that great men cultivate love, and that only little men cherish a spirit of hatred. I learned that assistance given to the weak makes the one who gives it strong; and that oppression of the unfortunate makes one weak. It is now long ago that I learned this lesson from General Armstrong, and resolved that I would permit no man, no matter what his colour might be, to narrow and degrade my soul by making me hate him.”
Washington’s 1901 autobiography chronicles his journey from slavery to becoming a pioneering educator and social leader. Founding the Tuskegee Institute, he championed education as a pathway to empowerment. He also went on to become a significant social leader and advocate, developing relationships with figures like Andrew Carnegie and President Theodore Roosevelt. His inspiring life offers lessons in resilience, humility, and hope.
And the rest of the full list -
11. 1984 (George Orwell) [re-read]
12. The 12 Week Year (Brian P. Moran & Michael Lennington)
13. 24/6 (Matthew Sleeth)
14. The 6 Habits of Growth (Brendon Burchard)
15. The 6 Types of Working Genius (Patrick Lencioni)
16. The Artist’s Journey (Steven Pressfield)
17. Assembly (Natasha Brown)
18. At Your Best (Carey Nieuwhof) [re-read]
19. Benjamin Franklin’s Book of Virtues (Benjamin Franklin)
20. Building a Non-Anxious Life (Dr. John Delony)
21. The Business of Belonging (David Spinks)
22. A CEO Only Does Three Things (Trey Taylor)
23. A Christmas Carol (Charles Dickens) [re-read]
24. Corporate Explorer (Andrew Binns, Charles O’Reilly, & Michael Tushman)
25. A Curious Faith (Lore Ferguson Wilbert)
26. A Dangerously High Threshold for Pain (Imani Perry)
27. Dragon Teeth (Michael Crichton)
28. Eat That Frog (Brian Tracy)
29. Eruption (Michael Crichton & James Patterson)
30. Excellent Advice for Living (Kevin Kelly)
31. Fashioned to Reign (Kris Vallotton)
32. The Four Agreements (Don Miguel Ruiz)
33. Freedom (Sebastian Junger)
34. Galatea (Madeline Miller)
35. Have a Nice Day (Billy Crystal & Quinton Peeples)
36. Inside Jobs: Tales From A Time of Quarantine (Ben H. Winters)
37. Love + Work (Marcus Buckingham)
38. Making Vision Stick (Andy Stanley)
39. Managing in the Grey (Joseph L. Badaracco Jr.)
40. Mind Shift (Erwin Raphael McManus)
41. A Night to Remember: The Sinking of The Titanic (Walter Lord)
42. Novacene: The Coming Age of Hyperintelligence (James Lovelock)
43. The Prepared Leader (Erica H. James & Lynn Perry Wooten)
44. Propaganda (Edward L. Bernays)
45 Smart Brevity (Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen, & Roy Schwartz)
46. Sparring Partners (John Grisham)
47. Strong and Weak (Andy Crouch)
48. The Sub-plot: What China is Reading and Why It Matters (Megan Walsh)
49. Think Ahead (Craig Groeschel)
50. Timeline (Michael Crichton)
51. Try Softer (Aundi Kolber)
52. Yellow Face (David Henry Hwang)