The Bible says that of "the making of many books there is no end and much study is a weariness of the flesh." (Ecclesiastes 12:12) In other words, there are many words not worth reading. Certainly the words of the wise and the Words of God are the guides of life and there are many books not worth the bits and bytes they are produced in. Yet there are some good ones to read. Here are a few of the books where I found some joy this past year.

The Bible

I've been reading and teaching in a few main biblical texts in the most of 2015

The Sermon on the Mount - My favorite books on the Sermon were from DA Carson, John Stott and Davies and Allison Shorter Commentary on the book of Matthew.
The Book of Judges - My favorite books on Judges were Timothy Keller, Judges for You, Michael Wilcock. The Message of Judges and Dale Ralph Davis, Judges - Such a Great Salvation.
The Book of 1 Timothy - My favorites books here have been commentary by Donald Guthrie, Philip Towner, John Stott, NT Wright, and William Mounce.

My continued love of history and creative Non Fiction dominated my audiobook reading again this year and continues to be my favorite genre of music to listen to ;-). The following were fantastic reads in 2015. All my car, exercise and yard work time is occupied with these sorts of friends...and a few podcasts.

Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson. Just love Larson. Another great telling of events that shaped the 20th century. Larson paints people and their times well. I recommend everything by him.
One Minute to Midnight: Kennedy, Khrushchev, and Castro on the Brink of Nuclear War by Michael Dobbs. This one got laborious as things went on but important events in the 20th century in some detail.
In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick. The story of the whale ship essex and the survial of its crew after its encounter with a deadly sperm whale. (Didn't see the movie).
The Wright Brothers by David McCullough. Mr. McCullough at his best telling the story of the tinkering, bicycle mechanics who fell in love with flight.
Becoming Steve Jobs: The Evolution of a Reckless Upstart into a Visionary Leader by Brent Schlender, Rick Tetzeli. I've read all the Jobs biographies - this one was excellent and more contoured than most.
In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette by Hampton Sides. Amazing story of survival that is not well known.
A Spy Among Friends (Unabridged) by Ben McIntyre. Story of Kim Philby, perhaps the most infamous double agent of the cold war. This was one of my favorites of the year as it hit the very personal nature of the spy game. All of Ben McIntyre's works are wonderful looks into espionage but this was my favorite of his.
Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years of Lockheed by Ben R. Rich, Leo Janos. Perhaps my surprise read of the year. Fascinating stuff behind the engineering, politics and people that created some of 20th century's greatest advances in high tech aviation and weaponry.
Napoleon: A Life by Andrew Roberts - one of the longer audiobooks of my life but a great read. If you have are unfamiliar with Napoleon this is a rather comprehensive read that is somewhat charitable to Monsieur Bonaparte.
Waterloo by Bernard Cornwell. Just the battle and its various phases and unfolding. Very good detail to add to the account in Roberts.

In terms of explicitly Christian market books I enjoyed the following...

The Imperfect Pastor by Zack Eswine
Leading on Empty by Wayne Cordeiro
The Emotionally Healthy Leader by Peter Scazzero
Fool's Talk - Recovering the Art of Christian Persuasion by OS Guiness
Side by Side by Ed Welch
Repentance by C. John Miller