52 for 52: Breaking Rules

I'm still going down the road of reading more in 2016. But I've not been great at keeping one of my key rules... "One book at a time." Here's a list of books I'm reading right now, for various groups or reasons I'm swamped half way through each of these...

• Shop Class As Soulcraft by Matthew B. Crawford
  One of my classmates at Wheaton College handed me this book, making it eligible for this year's list. It's all about a modern day philosopher who gave up the white collar world as a Washington Think Tank member to run a bike shop. And how working with your hands is good for the soul. Extremely helpful for Bethel's Ecclesiastes series.
   
• 7 Men by Eric Metaxis
  A look at seven men in modern history whose faith was instrumental in them changing the world.
   
• Practical Wisdom for Pastors by Curtis C. Thomas
  This is a highly practical book that's been leading part of our team in great discussions on what it takes to be a faithful and fruitful pastor.
   
• The New Testament In Antiquity by Burge, Cohick, and Green
  This is one of the textbooks for the NT 2 course I've just finished. Fantastic resource for those looking to understand ancient cultural contexts and biblical connections. 
   
• The Greco-Roman World of the New Testament Era by James Jeffers
  Another textbook in the above class. Super technical. Doubtful I'll finish this one. 
   
• Simplicity in Preaching by J.C. Ryle
  A short standard that's withstood the test of time.

Looking forward to finishing these soon and still going.