Most influential books

Posted 1 day ago

I started this list earlier in the year to think through the impact that different books had on my life. I wanted to put together a top 10 or 15 list but it is hard to whittle this list down. I have starred the ones that I feel have had a greater impact.

• Basic Christianity (introduction) by John Stott (1987)
• More Than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell (1987)
• The Search for Significance by Robert McGee (1988)
• Trusting God* by Jerry Bridges (1989) – I have read this one four different times (1989, 1999, 2016, 2023).
• No Wonder They Call Him The Savior by Max Lucado (1989)
• The Practice of Godliness* by Jerry Bridges (1990)
• The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1991)
• Classic Christianity* by Bob George (1992 spring)
• Simple Faith* by Charles Swindoll (1992 summer)
• Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby (1992, 1993) The version I read was a workbook Bible study. I have linked to the book that has the same basic content.
• Chosen by God by R.C. Sproul (1993)
• Spiritual Disciplines of the Christian Life by Donald Whitney (1993)
• Laugh Again* by Charles Swindoll (1994)
• Knowing God* by J.I. Packer (1994)
• Seeking the Face of God by Gary Thomas (1994)
• The Life God Blesses by Gordon MacDonald (1994)
• Our God is Awesome by Tony Evans (1994)
• The Discipline of Grace* by Jerry Bridges (1995) – I am currently on my fourth reading of the book.
• The Calvary Road* by Roy Hession (1995)
• Witnessing without Fear by Bill Bright (1995)
• The Secret by Bill Bright (1996)
• Disappointment with God* by Phillip Yancey (1996)
• Faith is Not a Feeling by Ney Bailey (1996)
• The Jesus I Never Knew by Phillip Yancey (1996)
• Waiting on God by Andrew Murray (1996)
• The 12 Best Kept Secrets for Living an Emotionally Healthy Life by Dr. Chris Thurman (1996)
• Changes That Heal by Henry Cloud (1996)
• Desiring God by John Piper (1997) – I am currently rereading this book with my small group at church.
• Future Grace* by John Piper (1997)
• The Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul (1997)
• Church History in Plain Language by Bruce Shelley (1997)
• A Long Obedience in the Right Direction by Eugene Peterson (1997)
• The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis (1999)
• The Great Niche Hunt* by David Frahm (1999) (no longer in print)
• The Sacred Romance by John Eldridge (1999)
• Designing for Web Usability by Jakob Nielsen (1999)
• Safely Home by Randy Alcorn (2001)
• The Lord of the Rings* by J.R.R. Tolkien (2002) – I read the trilogy along with The Hobbit once a year for four years.
• Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire by Jim Cymbala (2002)
• Don’t Make Me Think* by Steve Krug (2003)
• Renovation of the Heart by Dallas Willard (2003)
• The End Times Made Simple (April 2003) (no longer in print)
• Waking the Dead by John Eldridge (2004)
• The Dad in the Mirror by Patrick Morley (2005)
• Revolution Within by Edwards (2005)
• God is the Gospel by John Piper (2006)
• CSS Mastery* by Andy Budd (2006)
• The Zen of CSS Design by Dave Shea and Molly H (2006)
• Living the Cross Centered Life by CJ Mahaney (2006)
• The Great Work of the Gospel by John Ensor (2006)
• Transcending CSS* by Andy Clarke (2007)
• The Prayer Saturated Church by Cheryl Sacks (2007)
• Site Seeing by Luke Wroblewski (2007)
• Exploring the Elements of Design by Poppy Evans (2008)
• Designing the Obvious by Robert Hoekman Jr. (2009)
• Handcrafted CSS* by Dan Cederholm (2009)
• 101 Things I Learned in Architecture School* by Matthew Frederick (2010) – I wish I had learned these things in architecture school.
• Linchpin by Seth Godin (2010)
• The Art of Non-Conformity by Chris Guillebeau (2010)
• 48 Days to the Work You Love by Dan Miller (2010)
• Hardboiled Web Design* by Andy Clarke original and 5th Anniversary Edition (2011) (2016)
• The Land in Between by Jeff Manion (2010)
• The Gospel of Ruth by Carolyn Custin James (2011)
• Responsive Web Design* by Ethan Marcotte (2011)
• Adaptive Web Design by Aaron Gustafson (2011) – I ended up working with Aaron two years later.
• Quitter by Jon Acuff (2011)
• The Introverted Leader* by Jennifer Kahnweiler (2012)
• Choosing Gratitude* by Nancy Leigh DeMoss (2012)
• A Praying Life by Paul Miller (2013)
• Not by Sight by Jon Bloom (2013)
• The Sketchbook Handbook by Mike Rohde (2013)
• JavaScript and jQuery by Jon Duckett (2014)
• Do Over by Jon Acuff (2015)
• CSS Secrets by Lea Verou (2015)
• Awe* by Paul David Tripp (2016)
• Get Ready for CSS Grid Layout* by Rachel Andrew (2016) – This book helped me to learn how to use CSS Grid layout before it was widely available in browers.
• The Lemon Tree by Sandy Tolan (2017)
• Devoted to God by Sinclair Ferguson (2018)
• Women and God by Kathleen Nielson (2018)
• When Sinners Say I Do* by Dave Harvey (2019)
• The Power of Christian Contentment by Andrew Davis (2020)
• Gentle and Lowly* by Dane Ortlund (2020)
• Debugging CSS by Ahmad Shadeed (2020)
• The Long Distance Teammate by Kevin Eickenberry and Wayne Turmel (2021) – The best book on remote working that I have come across.
• Practicing Thankfulness by Sam Crabtree (2021)
• Beating Burnout at Work* by Paula Davis (2022)
• The Air We Breathe by Glen Schiver (2022)
• The Sacredness of Secular Work by Jordan Raynor (2024)
• Waiting Isn’t a Waste* by Mark Vroegop (2024)
• The Steadfast Love of the Lord by Sam Storms (2025)
• Not Old. Not Young. Not Done. by Christopher Ash (2025)
• Gun Lap by Robert Wolgemuth (2026)