The Best of 2023

What I Read, Watched, & Listened To This Year

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Since 2016, I’ve had a tradition with my friend Thomas Dixon of sharing our reading lists with one another at the end of each year. I’ve expanded my list through the years to include favorite music, shows, movies, and podcasts. In 2023, I even added my favorite essays and YouTube conversations. One of the benefits of sharing with Thomas through the years (besides being a great excuse to talk) is that we’ve been able to cheat off of each other’s recommendations for future reading. I hope this will be helpful to some of you in a similar fashion. Note: These are emphatically not all works published in 2023; just things I read and listened to in this calendar year (mostly listened to—I’m an audiobook person). Generally speaking, I don’t pay attention to new books, though this year there were a few. What are your “Best of 2023”? Let me know in the Comments.

— Ross

P.S. If you’d like to see a broader list of the books and essays that have shaped my life and thinking through the years, you can find that list here (though it hasn’t been updated in a while).

Books Read in 2023 (in no particular order)

1. Moby Dick, Herman Melville - had never finished it before, wild ride, beautiful, funny, deeply symbolic, deserves its reputation, learned whale facts

2. Heretics, G. K. Chesterton - wonderful, though not as good as Orthodoxy (second time reading)

3. Robin Hood, Louis Rhead - favorite book of the year; read it to the boys each night; even with the older-English style language barrier, they were all-in; they cried when it was over

4. Magician’s Nephew, C. S. Lewis - also read to the boys; wonderful of course (read many times before)

5. Parenting, Andy Stanley - good practical wisdom; Han and I read together; not a huge fan of Andy’s theology, but he seems like a wise father/leader

6. Beowulf, tr. Seamus Heaney - masterpiece obviously, did an online course with Richard Rohlin while reading, which was dedicated to the thesis that it is a Christian text from beginning to end; excellent

7. For Whom The Bell Tolls, Ernest Hemingway - my favorite Hemingway so far

8. Islands in the Stream, Ernest Hemingway - deep, heartbreaking story

9. Live No Lies, John Mark Comer - solid as usual from JMC, I keep finding that perhaps I’m so tracking with him, that his books are a bit slow for me (not many new insights); however, I could read The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry every year and probably never get tired of it; great man, glad he’s doing what he’s doing. (Thanks, Hannah, for the rec.)

10. St. Francis of Assissi, G. K. Chesterton - brilliant, inspiring (prob third time reading?)

11. The Life We’re Looking For, Andy Crouch - solid as usual from AC; I can’t disagree with the man, he’s so wise; and yet, it’s the same problem I have w/ JMC; I agree with him too much, not a lot of new insights; enjoyed his choice of quotes more than anything; how about this one from Tolkien: “I am a Christian, and indeed a Roman Catholic, so that I do not expect history to be anything more than a long defeat, though it contains—and in a legend may contain more clearly and movingly—some samples or glimpses of final victory.” Worth the price of the book (thanks Jay McCabe for the rec).

12. The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway - classic, read with my daughter Ila, as good as I remembered

13. The Abolition of Man, C. S. Lewis - read for the thousandth time, still perfect

14. The Great Divorce, C. S. Lewis - read for the thousandth time, still perfect

15. Light Bringer (6th in Red Rising series), Pierce Brown - political sci-fi drama; I’ve never been so into a modern series; the first trilogy is perhaps as good as it gets, a masterpiece; the last three have still been excellent, but their fate will be decided by how he ends the 7th/last book of the series. (thanks Hunter Hanger for the rec of the first book years ago)

16. Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck - read with Ila, as good as I remembered and better

17. A Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole - a work of absolute comedic genius; Walker Percy on steroids; I laughed out loud throughout; though, by the end, it felt a little too snobbish and whimsical (snobsicle?) for me; I like earnestness. (thanks Hunter Hanger for the rec)

18. The Medieval Mind of C. S. Lewis, Jason Baxter - fun read; another good quote curator

19. Reflections on the Psalms, C. S. Lewis - read for the thousandth time; lots of folks don’t like this one; sorry, still perfect

20. Hannah Coulter, Wendell Berry - my first WB novel; beautiful; nothing happens, which would normally be a complaint, but in this case, the whole point is that beauty is nowhere if not in the ordinary; and he proves it. (thanks Zach Kuenzli for the rec)

21. Resurrection, Leo Tolstoy - read with our new Book Club(!); second time for me; enjoyed it just as much as the first, then book club conversations made it even better; the central story is Tolstoy at his best; the ideology is, at times, Tolstoy at his worst (unless, as some have supposed, it is self-satire); overall, still one of my favorite novels.

22. Remaking The World, Andrew Wilson - about how the whole world is still living in the aftermath of 1776; my favorite non-fiction book of the year; exceeded all expectations; you could read it for the historical thesis alone, but it breeds some deep theological/philosophical insights

23. Digital Liturgies, Samuel James - great little book following the James K. A. Smith insight on how our rituals shape our beliefs, then applying it to the internet; not a ton of groundbreaking insights, but wise words, helpful data, and a great first-timers guide to “What is the internet doing to my heart?”

24. A Time To Build, Yuval Levin - runner-up for favorite non-fiction of the year; best succinct contemporary argument I’ve seen for “what’s wrong with America and how to fix it;” answer: rebuild trustworthy institutions. (thanks Zach Kuenzli for the rec)

25. The Language of Creation: Cosmic Symbolism in Genesis, Matthieu Pageau - a modern classic; I have been going through it and back through it the last couple of years; nothing else like it; simple, but far from easy.

26. Magic In Merlin’s Realm: A History of Occult Politics in Britain, Peter Noble (⅔ through) - kind of mind-blowing historical study about the central place of magic and alchemy in the British ruling class for almost the whole history of Christian Britain; these were Christians using magic against each other…constantly; it’s like, “That heathen is using divination against us! Call in the priests! Let’s use our own divinations against him! We’ll see who has the better wizards–I mean, priests!” (thank you Zack Kuenzli for buying me this!)

27. The Way of Kings, Brandon Sanderson (¼ through) - thanks PJ Terranova for the rec; I really hope I finish this one; it’s so long and fantasy-ish; I’ve given up on almost every fantasy series I’ve ever read besides LOTR and Red Rising; I think I’m just not nerdy/smart enough to keep track of all the world-building. Sticking with it!

28. The Divine Comedy, Dante (¼ through - intentional slow read) - the GOAT; what more needs to be said?

29. Poetic Diction: A Study In Meaning, Owen Barfiled (½ through) - intentional slow read) - a masterpiece; with every page, I can see even more how Barfield’s thinking influenced Lewis (and by extension, me!).

30. God’s Dog: Monster, Jonathan and Matthieu Pageau - first volume in a graphic novel series about St. Christopher, the dog-headed saint; read it to my boys; they really enjoyed it. Looking forward to Snow White from Jonathan, which just came out.

2023 Unfinished Books (I likely won’t finish)

1. Cultural Christians in the Early Church, Nadya Williams - Loved the thesis: The early church, which is often romanticized for passionate, counter-cultural faith, also had its fair share of cultural/nominal Christians. Yes. Bought the book. Soon discovered, in the first few chapters, that the author has never heard of a cultural form of Christianity she liked and seems to assume all forms of Christian obedience are by nature counter-cultural. Feels disappointingly anachronistic for a church historian. Maybe I’ll give it a few more chapters…

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Favorite Podcasts in 2023

1. “The Symbolic World,” Jonathan Pageau (all)

2. “Lord of Spirits,” Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick and Fr. Stephen de Young (most)

3. “Conversations with Tyler,” Economist Tyler Cowen (many)

4. “The Rest Is History,” Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook (some)

5. “The Jordan Peterson Podcast” (some)

6. “Unherd w/ Freddie Sayers” (some)

7. “The Paul Vanderklay Podcast” (some)

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Essays, Tweets, & Youtube Lectures of Interest in 2023

1. Judgment for Israel: The Marriage of Wrath & Mercy in Romans 9-11, by Dr. Thomas Dixon - Finally, a biblical scholar is dealing properly with the paradoxical “marriage of wrath and mercy” so central to the story of the Bible yet so often overlooked by modern commentators of all stripes. And the scholar who’s doing this great work? One of my best friends, the same Thomas Dixon mentioned at the beginning of this post! (Thomas is Professor of New Testament at Campbell University.) Great read, bringing light and clarity to a very difficult subject.

2. “Why Dawkins Is Wrong,” Denis Noble - Noble, a non-Christian physiologist and scholar, weighs in on how genetic determinism has been basically disproven over the last 20 years through the mapping of the human genome and our impotent attempts to “fix” ourselves by treating ourselves like mechanisms. Might not seem like a big deal, but between this and other findings in quantum physics, it seems like science is recently rediscovering Christianity. Bottom line: turns out “choice,” from a physiological perspective is not an illusion but rather grounded in our physiology - not just at the conscious level but at the level of proteins, RNA, etc. This also accentuates the meaning of Darwin’s term “natural *selection*”. When God made the world, he did not make inanimate things. He made agents/choosers.  

3. “5 Misconceptions About De-Churching In America” by Jim Davis & Michael Graham”: “We’re currently living in the largest and fastest religious shift in U.S. history. Some 40 million adult Americans who used to go to church at least once per month now attend less than once per year. This shift is larger than the number of conversions during the First Great Awakening, Second Great Awakening, and the totality of the Billy Graham Crusades combined.”

4. “We Are Living In A Deluded World,” Dr. Iain McGilchrist - Absolutely brilliant work on the border of science, philosophy, and theology from McGilchrist the last few years. This one’s on the domination (and problem) of left-brain thinking in the modern world

5. A Conversation Between Iain McGilchrist & Rowan William “On the Nature of Reality” - A brilliant scientist/philosopher speaking to a brilliant Christian theologian/philosopher. Their main point of agreement: “Reality is made of relationships.” Probably my favorite conversation of the year.

6. Matthieu Pageau’s Strange Thread On Rumination in the OT - re: the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil; God’s long game / patient kingdom (you just have to read it)

7. Sermon for Pagans, by C. S. Lewis - heretofore unpublished sermon by Lewis (always cool to find these); thanks Father Andy Buchanan for sending my way!

8. Jacob Collier on Imperfect Harmony - just watch and enjoy this tiny taste of the Mozart of our time; his musical point here has deep philosophical implications for one of the major blindspots of our modern world

9. Jacob Collier: “No Such Thing As Wrong Notes” - a masterclass in harmony; esp. starting at 14:40; the point here has major theological implications for those who have ears to hear (pun intended)

10. Jonathan Pageau on The Cross & The Tree of Life - very parallel to George MacDonald’s suggestion that Moses could not see the face of God b/c we would have had to behold the face of Christ wearing a crown of thorns.

11. My Favorite Jonathan Pageau Q & A of the Year  - they’re all good but this one’s great; love seeing good thinkers think on their feet about difficult subjects; JP is one of the best at this.

12. The Story of Benjamin - some fascinating insights on the symbolic legacy of the tribe of Benjamin; some of these threads I’ve been wrestling with myself, others I had not seen before I read this; really helpful; I wish someone of this caliber would do this for every one of the 12 tribes

13. God Is A Person, Not An Idea - another Pageau convo; “The best image of God is Christ…” great little snippet regarding reality as personal / “transjective”

14. “The Case Against Travel” by Agnes Callard - via the New Yorker, “Tourism is what we call travel when other people are doing it.” Great line. Funny piece, though I’m not sure the author means to be funny; would be more accurate if she made her points in a more tongue-in-cheek manner; yet still worth a read for the shock-value of a certain truth: we must re-localize our souls. (thank you, Meredith Welsh for sending my way!)

15. “The Oak Tree of Shechem” by Dusk To Dawn Publications - random internet article tracing the meaning of Shechem and the oak tree mentioned there; I was tracing a similar thread after one of our fellows (thanks Luke!) got my mind running about the recurring mention of this particular tree in Genesis.

16. Quantum Breakthrough: Scientists Rethink The Nature of Reality - “Reality is made of relationships.” (but this time it’s quantum physicists saying it)

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Favorite Substacks in 2023

1. Paul Kingsnorth’s “Abbey of Misrule”

2. Aaron Renn 

3. Matt Yglesias’s “Slow Boring”

4. Carter Fleck’s “Ongoing Thoughts”

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Music I Listened To in 2023 (not a lot)

1. Jacob Collier - has awakened my soul from its long music-related slumber; the Mozart of our generation is out there making music right now; follow him and be amazed. 

2. Oh Hellos’ Family Christmas Album: Volume 2 - their first Xmas album is top 3 Xmas albums of all time for me; sadly, this is not very good, but still fun to hear new songs from them; go find the first one and thank me later.

3. Bach - the GOAT 

4. Fleet Foxes - favorite band for the last decade at least; continues to feel like the soundtrack of my life 

5. Billy Joel - my musical father, for better and worse

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Movies & Shows I Watched in 2023

1. Oppenheimer - Christopher Nolan is my favorite film-maker; Opp was a deep, nuanced, gorgeous treatment of a very relevant story for our time; felt like a masterpiece that I didn’t appreciate as much as I wanted to (not sure if that’s my fault or Nolan’s); no super strong opinion yet, would like to watch again; nudity unnecessary.

2. Barbie - didn’t hate, also genuinely didn’t understand the hype; it felt like a lot went into making a “super fun” movie that made Han and myself feel almost nothing besides depressed; the depression it induced might be meaningful though; glad I saw it.

3. Dungeons & Dragons - loads of fun, unexpectedly good

4. Spider-Man: Across The Spider-verse - my review will be disappointing to all my 20-something friends who raved: I didn’t get; we took our kids to see it in the theater, struggled to stay awake; it seems Han and I were too old and our kids too young to connect with the particular ethos; long, convoluted, and multiverse-y.

5. Wish - Disney’s new animated film; I’ve just finished my review of it, which may be published elsewhere, but if not, look for it to drop in your inbox after Christmas

6. Leave The World Behind - all star cast on Netflix: Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke, Kevin Bacon; watched it one night thinking it would be a B- but it definitely exceeded expectations; it’s about the crisis of trust we’re going through as a civilization right now, and it’s not wrong.

7. Ted Lasso, Season 3 (Apple+) - way better than S2, not as good as S1

8. The Morning Show, Season 3 (Apple+) - ugh; S1 great, S2 meh, S3 lost us for good

9. All The Light We Cannot See (Netflix) - beautifully adapted from novel to screen; little slow for my liking and Mark Ruffalo’s non-descript semi-European accent is terribly distracting to me for some reason; good overall, though the novel was great

10. The Crown (Netflix) - we just started watching; feels like the real deal; the coronation episode was a work of art

Movies I Missed But Want To See

1. Killers of the Flower Moon

2. The Hunger Games (Prequel)

3. Napoleon

4. Mission Impossible (#17?)

5. Any other suggestions?

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Ross’s Best of 2023

• Best Classic Fiction I Read: Robin Hood, Louis Rhead (1910)

• Best Contemporary Fiction I Read: Hannah Coulter, Wendell Berry (2004)

• Best Non-Fiction I Read: Remaking The World, Andrew Wilson (2023)

• Favorite Music: Jacob Collier (esp. the new released tracks of Djessee Vol. 4) (2023)

• Best Film I Saw: Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan (2023)

Compare to Ross’s Best of 2022 (for the record)

• Best Classic Fiction I Read: East of Eden, John Steinbeck (1952)

• Best Contemporary Fiction I Read: Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, Susanna Clarke (2004)

• Best Non-Fiction I Read: Seeing Like A State, James C. Scott (1998)

• Best Film I Saw: Pig, with Nicolas Cage (technically 2021) 

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That’s it! Thanks for reading. I’d genuinely love to hear you all’s “Best of 2023.” Leave them in the Comments.