Oyindamola’s 2023 in Books

The end of the year is a time for reflection; what’s worked, what didn’t and what can be improved for the year ahead.

This exercise has really evolved for me over the years but one of the most satisfying yearly recaps ( which I missed in 2022) is to write about the books I read during the year.

The starting point is looking through the books I completed from the reading challenge I set myself on GoodReads.

As you can see from the picture below this has varied but have often acted as a baseline for the number of books I would like to read in the coming year.

Meeting my numerical goal is however not the only basis for how I assess how my reading year has gone. I also assess it based on enjoyment levels, discovery of new stories, genres, authors, subject areas and perhaps most importantly the IMPACT the books had on me spiritually, emotionally and intellectually.

This year I set myself a challenge of 40 books and might possibly get to 40 by the 31st 😁( highly doubt it but will try). Normally I would catalogue the books that had the most impact on me but there is a slight spin this year; I am adding an author who had the most impact on me as well.

Timothy James Keller was an American pastor, preacher, theologian and apologist who unfortunately died in May 2023 at the age of 72.

Theology (the study of the nature of God and religious belief) has always been a subject that has held my curiosity. I have always struggled with the idea that faith and reason have to be mutually exclusive and stumbling on the work of various theologians further expanded my curiosity on the subject.

Faith by its very basis is not very logic based. That said, I had always suspected that being a person of faith did not mean you were never meant to question or think about the basis of your beliefs.

One of the first books I ever read on the topic was CS Lewis’s Mere Christianity. This book from the well acclaimed atheist turned Christian was pivotal for me as it opened up a plethora of ideas on scripture and how to approach elements of what it taught practically.

Mere Christianity gave me some valuable insight but then I listened to a Tim Keller podcast and thought “Now who is this person who is able to explain in layman terms some of the questions I have that most people shy way from ”

I must add here that there might be some areas of christian doctrine that I might disagree with Keller but his writing and ministry have been very pivotal for me in navigating those questions that most people have when it comes to matters of faith.

I had read a number of his books previously and even did a review of his book, Every Good Endeavour and how it changed my outlook to work and faith.

Book Review- Every Good Endeavour by Timothy Keller

When I learnt that his illness was critical and then of his eventual death in May, it reinforced my resolve to read more of his books. I read 6 of his books in 2023 with one being a re read.

I cannot find the words to articulate how much these books have had an impact on me this year. All of the books had different central ideas, but the overarching idea of most of Kellers books is; God is at the center of all things, and Jesus is the pioneer and perfecter of the Christian faith.

I took something away from most books but one of the most profound was from The Prodigal God . It reinforced to me how much self righteousness exists in the church and how it isn’t recognized because we are constantly feeling superior to others esp those who believe differently.

The Reason for God is one I would recommend for both believers and non believers if you have ever had any questions or doubts about( something most believers don’t like to admit) some of the ideas in the Bible.

The Ministries of Mercy should be read by anyone in ministry who feels burdened by taking the church back to the basics and ministering to the least of these.

The Freedom of Self forgetfulness is just 46 pages but delves a lot into how much our ego and how we are perceived can be a prison and how self forgetfulness( which does not mean don’t care about yourself) could be the way out.

This blog post is already getting longer than intended so pls check out my GoodReads profile for my thoughts on the others Oyindamola GoodReads.

Tim Keller wasn’t the only author that had a profound impact on me in 2023. When I say profound impact, I mean books that made me think, feel or act differently after reading. All of the books pictured above did that for me.

I finished reading Days at The Morisaki Bookshop and it reinforced some of my visions and dreams for the future.

Show me the Bodies was difficult to read but it made me resolve that paying attention to detail in my work made a difference and caring about the work that we do should be the norm as it translates to how we do it and in turn impacts those we serve. I would recommend it to anyone who works in the social housing sector.

The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry made me resolve to stop rushing and savor the moments. It made me realise how much hurry impedes spiritual awareness both with God and the people around us. The quote below from Corrie Ten Bonn really resonated with me

if the devil can’t make you sin, he’ll make you busy. There’s truth in that. Both sin and busyness have the exact same effect—they cut off your connection to God, to other people, and even to your own soul.

The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry

Good, Beautiful and Kind reinforced that kindness is the default state of a Christian and can only come from a heart that chooses to dwell on the good.

Leaders eat last gave me some really good insights on servant leadership and how this translates to empowering teams. Nothing earth shattering but having lately realized how little of this sort of leadership truly exists, it is one that I think leaders and aspiring leaders could learn from.

How to say Babylon was a memoir but was written in such poetic language that at various points I had to stop and pause at the beautiful use of words. It also gave so much historical context into the origins of Rastafarianism.

The Mountain Sings was also another one that made feel deeply. It was a fictional story that was one of our bookclub reads. It’s a book that has definitely changed how I view war and its impact on the most vulnerable in society. I also learnt so much about the Vietnamese war which in turn sparked my curiosity about the geo politics of the region.

I read ( and re-read) so many other great books this year but it would be impossible to list them all in this blog post. All I can say that the books I read held up a mirror to how my 2023 went. It was a year of growth, joy, tenacity, character formation etc. There were very high highs and very low lows.

It was the also the year I turned 40 which marks the start of a new era of life. As I read somewhere, 40 is the old age of youth and youth of old age so looking forward to my 40’s with much optimism.

We also had a fantastic year reading round the world in the Bookmark Bookclub,the bookclub I co host.

We read books set in countries around the world and had such an amazing time discussing them with some of the authors. You can see some of the titles and what we have been up to and have coming up here –Bookmark Bookclub

Really looking forward to all of the great books, I will be reading in 2024 individually and with Bookclub.

Thank you so much for reading and wishing you a wonderful, joyful 2024 in advance!