Jacob Robertson

My goal for 2025 was to read 25 books. I fell short, finishing 20 instead. Yet as I look back, I realize the true value was never in reaching a number. The reward was found in the quiet hours spent reading, in the ideas that challenged me, and in the knowledge that stayed with me long after the final page was turned. In that sense, the journey itself proved far more meaningful than the goal. View my recent reads and reflections below and maybe you’ll be inspired to pick up a book that interests you and find the same reward I’ve found in reading.

• Title: The Man Who Killed Kennedy: The Case Against LBJ
• Author: Roger Stone
• Publication Date: 2014
• Page Length: 433
• Brief Reflection: a provocative and controversial book that challenges the official narrative of President Kennedy’s assassination. Roger Stone presents a tightly argued case that places Lyndon B. Johnson at the center of a broader conspiracy, weaving together political motives, historical context, and circumstantial evidence. Stone provides first-person narrative of his relationship with Richard Nixon. Riveting read!

• Title: The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner’s Semester at America’s Holiest University
• Author: Kevin Roose
• Publication Date: 2009
• Page Length: 337
• Brief Reflection: I tend to read books about the evangelical subculture in America, and The Unlikely Disciple fits that interest well. It follows Kevin Roose, a Brown University student who spends a semester at Liberty University posing as an evangelical. Writing as an outsider, Roose observes campus life with curiosity and humor, offering a thoughtful—sometimes critical, sometimes empathetic—look at evangelical culture and identity.

• Title: The Trail of the Lost: The Relentless Search to Bring Home the Missing Hikers of the Pacific Crest Trail
• Author: Andrea Lankford
• Publication Date: 2023
• Page Length: 353
• Brief Reflection: Trail of the Lost is a sobering look at the beauty and danger of wilderness adventure. Through the stories of missing hikers on the Pacific Crest Trail, it highlights the risks of solitude and the enduring hope of families who keep searching. The book leaves a quiet reminder of nature’s power and the cost of every journey. I will warn you…the book is left a little open ended.

• Title: The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church
• Author: Sarah McCammon
• Publication Date: 2024
• Page Length: 310
• Brief Reflection: In my recent reading of several books emerging from the so-called “Exvangelical” movement, including The Exvangelicals, a recurring theme has become apparent: a sustained questioning, and in many cases, an explicit rejection of the authority of Scripture. This move appears to function as a foundational methodological act, one that frequently precedes and enables broader processes of theological deconstruction or abandonment. The denial of scriptural authority is presented by many Exvangelicals not merely as corrective to concerns within evangelicalism but as an epistemological1 rupture; this rupture often relocates (sometimes subversively) theological authority from the biblical text and the author of Scripture, the Holy Spirit, to personal experience, cultural analysis, or moral intuition; and once Scripture is de-centered in this way, core Christian doctrines are increasingly treated as provisional, negotiable, or symbolic rather than authoritative and binding. I disagreed, almost wholesale, with the author’s perspective on Christianity and Evangelicalism, finding much of it misrepresentative of biblical truth and the life of the church. Yet I approached the book with curiosity and a desire to understand why the pursuit of “Christian deconstruction” is on the rise.

• Title: The Woman in Black
• Author: Susan Hill
• Publication Date: 2011
• Page Length: 178
• Brief Reflection: This is a chilling Gothic tale that masterfully blends suspense, atmosphere, and psychological tension. The story follows a young lawyer sent to a remote English village, where he encounters the vengeful spirit of a mysterious woman. Hill’s sparse, haunting prose creates a pervasive sense of dread, making the supernatural both believable and terrifying. The novel is less about shocks and more about lingering fear, showing how grief, guilt, and unresolved tragedy can echo across time. Quite possibly the best “ghost story” I’ve ever read!

• Title: Christianity & Liberalism
• Author: J. Gresham Machen
• Publication Date: 1923
• Page Length: 141
• Brief Reflection: J. Gresham Machen is clear and uncompromising in his defense of historic Christian doctrine. Machen argues that liberal theology, by redefining core beliefs to align with modern culture, ultimately creates a religion that is no longer truly Christian. The book challenges readers to discern between cultural trends and timeless truth, emphasizing the importance of holding firmly to Scripture. Its strength lies in its clarity and conviction, offering a sobering reminder that Christianity is defined not by popularity or social acceptance, but by fidelity to the gospel. This book sits in my Top 10 Books Every Christian Should Read list.