I’m so excited to have Jason taking over my blog today. I shared my own 2017 Christian Reading Challenge for Women yesterday and I just knew that we needed to put out a men’s companion challenge. If you’re a man, feel free to follow along with this challenge by yourself OR wrangle your wife into the women’s companion challenge. 

If you are a woman reading this, send over the link to your husband and you can then go through this challenge together! It’s a great way to have a built in accountability partner. Many of the books are the same but Jason changed the feminine and homemaking categories to male equivalents. – Jami

Like Jami, I am an avid reader. Nothing gets my blood pumping more than cracking the spine on a new book and inhaling that paper and ink smell. Okay, that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the picture. I love to read. I find it relaxing, enjoyable, and a great way to invest in myself and learn new things, or increase my knowledge of important topics.

Listen to the Podcast:

Jami and I hopped on a podcast episode to share all about the challenge, my tricks for finding the time to read in a busy schedule, a little bit about the books I picked and more! Listen below or keep scrolling down to read all about the challenge. 

And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. 

Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.

However, I am also very busy, and reading is something that easily falls by the wayside if I’m not intentional about making it happen. Thus, the creation of a reading list and challenge. What better way to keep reading on my mind than writing down a list and giving myself a timeline?

Yesterday, Jami posted her reading list, which is geared primarily toward women. So she asked me to put together a companion list to hers that would be more male-oriented. Many of the categories and book recommendations are the same, as there are LOTS of books out there that are great reading for both men and women. But I’ve tweaked the list to add some books on things like fatherhood, being a husband, etc. 

Also, like Jami’s list, I have not included any fiction suggestions in the list. I personally love to read fiction, and would encourage others to as well, but, at least for me, picking up a novel is much easier than digging into a history text or book on theology, and so I tailored the list to non-fiction only. I highly recommend reading some fiction as well, though. Go ahead and add a few novels you’ve been wanting to read, or, if the 13 or 26 books on the list is already the maximum you want to commit to this year, swap out a few of the categories for fiction, keeping the total count the same. Bottom line, this list and challenge is for you, so don’t hesitate to customize it to your liking. As long as it gets you reading, I’ve done my job.

Download the Toolkit to make it easy: 

Jami created a FREE toolkit to give you all these resources in one handy place. You will get tips and ideas on how to find the time to read as well as the full challenge and a printable sheet to keep track of your reading goals. Download for free below: 

Here’s How it Works:

The list is broken into 2 levels:

13 books for the year, which breaks down to 1 book every 4 weeks

26 books for the year, equaling 1 book every 2 weeks.

Jump in on the first 13, and set your own pace. Just stick to level 1 if you don’t have a lot of reading time or are new to all this, or blow through level 1 and dive into level 2 midway through the year.

Note: I recommend one particular book for each category in the list, but you can see below that I’ve included several other books for each category. You should choose which book you want to read for each category, or if you’ve already read those I’ve recommended, or if none of them interest you, feel free to choose one on your own to fit the category.

*If you are not a parent or are not married, then scroll down and fill in those spots with other fantastic book suggestions from the other categories. 

Level 1: 13 Books

1. Time Management: Crazy Busy by Kevin DeYoung
2. Christian Living: Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald Whitney
3. Biblical Manhood/Marriage: The Masculine Mandate by Richard D. Phillips
4. Finances: The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey
5. Christian Living: Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges
6. Christian Parenting: The Faithful Parent by Martha Peace & Stuart Scott
7. Biography: Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand
8. Theology: Visual Theology by Tim Challies
9. Biblical Manhood/Marriage: 52 Things Wives Need From Their Husbands by Jay Payleitner
10. Time Management/Business: Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown
11. Christian Parenting: Being a Dad Who Leads by John MacArthur
12. Christian Living: We Cannot Be Silent by Al Mohler
13. Theology: Concise Theology by J.I. Packer

Level 2: 26 Books

1. A Christian Classic: Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis
2. Spiritual Leadership: The Conviction to Lead by Al Mohler
3. Christian Parenting: Shepherding a Child’s Heart by Tedd Tripp
4. Biblical Manhood/Marriage: The Exemplary Husband by Stuart Scott
5. Theology: Fundamentals of the Faith by John MacArthur
6. Finances: Money, Posessions, and Eternity by Randy Alcorn
7. Church History: Christian History Made Easy by Timothy Paul Jones
8. Biblical Manhood/Marriage: Disciplines of a Godly Man by R. Kent Hughes
9. Christian Living: Who Are You to Judge?: The Dangers of Judging and Legalism by Dave Swavely
10. History/Biography: A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War by Joseph Loconte
11. Biography: A Fistful of Heroes by John Pollock
12. Christian Living: Unoffendable by Brant Hansen
13. Time Management: Do More Better by Tim Challies

Other suggestions for the categories:

Christian Living:

• The Hospitality Commands by Alexander Strauch *Super short read
• Humility by C.J. Mahaney *Short read
• Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung *Short read
• Family Worship by Donald Whitney *Super short read
• When I Don’t Desire God by John Piper
• Simplify Your Spiritual Life by Donald Whitney
• Anxious for Nothing by John MacArthur
• The Discipline of Grace by Jerry Bridges
• Growing Your Faith by Jerry Bridges
• Slave by John MacArthur
• Finally Free by Heath Lambert
• Habits of Grace by David Mathis
• Praying the Bible by Donald Whitney
• The Blessings of Humility by Jerry Bridges
• The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism by Timothy Keller
• Knowing God by J. I. Packer

Biblical Manhood/Marriage:

• What Did You Expect? by Paul David Tripp
• Marriage Matters by Winston T. Smith
• Sweethearts for a Lifetime by Wayne Mack
• The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman
• Twelve Ordinary Men by John MacArthur

Christian Parenting:

• Get Outta My Face by Rich Horne
• Peacemaking for Families by Ken Sande
• What the Bible Says About Parenting by John MacArthur
• Brave Dad by John MacArthur
• Give Them Grace by Elyse Fitzpatrick
• 52 Things Sons Need From Their Dads by Jay Payleitner

Theology:

• Expository Listening by Ken Ramey
• Revolutions in Worldview by Andrew Hoffecker
• What We Believe by R.C. Sproul
• The Big Three by Henry Morris 
• Understanding English Bible Translation by Leland Ryken
• Systematic Theology:An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine by Wayne Grudem
• The Doctrines of Grace by James Montgomery Boice
• A Basic Guide to Eschatology by Millard Erickson

Biography/History

• Owen on the Christian Life by Matthew Barrett
• Edwards on the Christian Life by Dane Ortlund
• Heroes by Iain Murray
• Church History 101 by Sinclair Furguson
• The Church in History by B. K. Kuiper *This is a textbook. It’s hefty.
• The Early Church by Henry Chadwick 
• Pages from Church History by Stephen Nicols

Money & Finances:

• The Complete Financial Guide for Young Couples by Larry Burkett
• Managing God’s Money by Randy Alcorn
• The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn
• Why Business Matters to God by Jeff Van Duzer

A Christian Classic:

• Jonathan Edwards on True Christianity by Owen Strachan
• The Imitation of Christ by Thomas A Kempis
• The Apostolic Fathers
• The Incomparable Christ by J. Oswald Sanders

Time Management/Business:

• Do More Better by Tim Challies
• Essentialism by Greg McKeown
• Launch by Jeff Walker
• Content Inc by Joe Pulizzi
• Ask by Ryan Levesque
• Living Forward by Michael Hyatt
• The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau
• Will it Fly? by Pat Flynn

Spiritual Leadership:

• Spiritual Leadership by J. Oswald Chambers
• Family Shepherds by Voddie Bauchman
• C.H. Spurgeon on Spiritual Leadership
• The Book on Leadership by John MacArthur
• The Conviction to Lead by Albert Mohler 
• Called to Lead by John MacArthur

Download the FREE Toolkit! 

Don’t forget to grab the free toolkit Jami created for this reading challenge. You will get everything you need to follow along with the challenge, how to tailor it to fit your needs and your life, book suggestions, how to find the time to read, how to read books on a budget, the men’s reading challenge companion guide, and more!

I can’t wait to read more this year and encourage each other along the way!! 🙂