2024 In Review
Books to add to your summer reading list (or winter if you live north of the equator)
Here are my top reads from 2024. I highly recommend all five of these books.
Troubled - Rob Henderson
Troubled is a memoir written by an excellent author. It should be compulsory reading for every American and every person living in the West who is open-minded and thinks, as it provides insight into the various strata of our societies. Rob Henderson had an awful upbringing. Not because he was molested or beaten or malnourished, but because all the adults in his life had hang-ups that prevented them from giving young Rob the love that a child really needs. A very intelligent man, he spent years in the military before attending two of the world’s most prestigious universities. Famous for coining the phrase luxury beliefs — views that elites hold that cost them nothing but have a detrimental impact on the poor — Henderson’s writing is a memoir worth reading for the insightful commentary he provides along the way.
The Myth of the ADHD Child - Thomas Armstrong
A compelling read for anyone that has children or works with them. Thomas Armstrong does not contend that ADHD is a myth, rather that some of the widely accepted ideas surrounding this condition are not well founded and are mythical. Every parent with children who are busy, active, impulsive, dreamy and easily distracted should take the time to consider the ideas in this book.
The Anxious Generation - Jonathan Haidt
A book for our times, The Anxious Generation sums up the zeitgeist of the modern world. Professor Haidt addresses the two great hazards for young people today — social media and overly protective parents. He is well researched and draws scary parallels between the insane growth in mental heath issues among young people and the use of social media.
The Face of God - Roger Scruton
Until his death a few years ago, Sir Roger Scruton was a well known conservative thinker. A philosopher who advocated for beauty and truth, Scruton was also an avid environmentalist, although some believed his love of the environment and his conservatism to be oxymoronic. Scruton’s views on spirituality were less well know, some not even realising that he was a Christian. Yet the Face of God was, to me, a wonderful read. Scruton covers a host of ideas surrounding humanity’s unique place in the world. He does a wonderful job of drawing on the Kantian idea that we are not merely objects in the material world but subjects created in the image of God. The ideas discussed took me time to think through and consider. Providing a stream of deep insights one after another. Yet the book for me had had an immensely practical element. I found myself reforming the way I look at myself, others and God. This book inspired a series of articles, of which two have been published on Substack (here and here).
Letters to Malcolm - C.S. Lewis
Many have found the work of CS Lewis to be profound. Until recently I was not one of those people. Letters to Malcolm is not one of Lewis’ well known books. Having never finished any of his other books I cannot make comparisons. However, I can say that this book offered constant nourishment, from every chapter. The subtitle to the book is: Chiefly on Prayer, so I expected the book to provide a series of points about prayer. While prayer is a constant theme throughout, Lewis covers a range of topics connected to God and the Christian life. And, there are nuggets of gold everywhere, sometimes in the form of detailed arguments, at other times in the form of beautiful one liners. Here is one of my favourites: “Emotional intensity is in itself no proof of spiritual depth. If we pray in terror we shall pray earnestly; it only proves that terror is an earnest emotion.”
If you’d like to revisit my most popular post of the year click here.
If you’d like to visit the one that I liked writing the most click here.
Wishing you all a happy holiday season, a Merry Christmas and a fruitful New Year.