Year End Review: Books

I dig me some books, and there were some doozies this year.  Here are the best books I read in ’09, in no particular order…

• A Comedian’s Guide to Theology: Side-splittingly funny, yet amazingly doctrinally-correct book.  If your idea of theology involves the words “dry,” “dusty,” or “I’d rather be mauled by ferocious rabbits with dull teeth,” this is the book for you.  I reviewed it here.
• Through Gates of Splendor: How I made it through 25 years of the Christian life without reading this book is beyond me.  It’s like making it through 37 years of being J.D. Greear and never quoting C.S. Lewis.  A must read missional biography.
• Eat This, Not That!: Pow! I just threw a diet book in the pile.  This book helped change my physical life more than any other this year, and I was less miserable than I thought I’d be.  I talked about it here.
• The Starbucks Experience: If you’re in the guest services biz at your church (or any other organization) you owe it to yourself to read this masterpiece by Dr. Joseph Michelli.
• Tribes: We Need You To Lead Us: Seth Godin is the guru of all things business, leadership, marketing, and maybe hermit crab breeding (not confirmed, but I bet he’d be good at it).  I took my team through Tribes this year after reading most of it in one plane ride.  Yep, it’s that good.
• Flashbang: How I Got Over Myself: Another great, very funny book that walks through the themes of pride, self-deception, and spiritual growth.  Mark Steele is uber-funny.
• Sacred Parenting: How Raising Children Shapes Our Souls: If you are a parent, will be a parent, or had parents, this book should be on your shelf.  What Gary Thomas did for husbands and wives in Sacred Marriage, he now does for people who change diapers, put kids in time out, and set curfews.
• Lord, Save Us From Your Followers: Why Is The Gospel of Love Dividing America?: The book that became a documentary, this read is a fascinating look at what mainstream America really thinks about evangelicalism.  Brutally honest, compelling, convicting.
• A Praying Life: Connecting With God in a Distracting World: Without a doubt the most influentially shaping book I read in ’09.  We gave away a few copies over on the other blog, but if you didn’t win it, you should buy it.
• The Pursuit of Holiness: Repeat everything I said about Through Gates of Splendor.  Somebody should make you read this within the first year of being a Christian.
• The Church of Facebook: How the Hyperconnected are Redefining Community: I just finished this one two days ago, and it was so powerful I included it as #11 on a Top Ten list.  Watch for a full review coming up on the blog soon.

So, what have I missed?  What should I be reading in 2010?