The Top Five Books I Read in 2025

One of the things I enjoy doing is reading, and specifically reading in a wide range of subjects. While I did not read as many books as I had hoped in 2025, I did read some good one.

Here I share five of the best books that I read in 2025. They are not in any particular order. Please note that any links in this post are Amazon affiliate links.

A Wideness in God’s Mercy

This book was written by Clark Pinnock, who was my theology professor in seminary. In fact, I remember purchasing this book directly from Clark back in the later 1990s. I finally got around to reading it. I very much enjoyed the book. Clark discusses issues of Christian exclusivity and proposes some thoughts on how to look at other religions. Clark takes an optimistic view when it comes to those who experience salvation and sees God’s offer as being much wider than traditionally taught within the Church.

Preaching With Cultural Intelligence

While I read this book in 2025, this was actually my second time reading it. Not many books get a second reading from me. What I like is that there is a focus on considering the audience to whom a sermon is preached. The author draws on the subject of cultural intelligence, a topic that is becoming more and more important. I highly recommend this book to any pastor or preacher.

When Your Number is Up

This past year I have been doing some reading on the First World War, especially Canada’s involvement. It is hard for us to imagine what was like for Canada to create an army, almost from scratch. There were a lot of challenges and not everything was done well. There are lessons that can be learned for today’s military. I found some of the comments about the activity of chaplains to be interesting.

My Stroke of Insight

This book is different from most of the other books I read but it came highly recommended. It is a memoir of brain scientist who experienced a severe stroke. This is unique in that she was able to recognize what was going on, far beyond what an average person could, and yet was unable to do anything. This book gives great detail to what was experienced as well as the recovery.

Beverly Hills Spy

While I enjoy military history, I would have liked this book even if I lacked that interest. This is a true story, even if it seems unbelievable. It is about a British war hero from the First World War who ends up spying for the Japanese in the lead up to the attack on Pearl Harbour. This includes relationships with some of the top Hollywoods stars at the time. It is an incredible story and should be made into a movie.

I Should Also Mention…

I happened to reread Lord of the Rings in 2025. This has to be at least the tenth time I have read it. Lord of the Rings is one of the few books that I could start rereading as soon as I finish reading the last chapter. Oh, and yes I do read the appendices.