The Russell Moore Show My Favorite Books of 2025
Dive into a literary journey as Russell unveils his top book picks for the year. Discover how C.S. Lewis's Narnia intertwines with Scripture and Wendell Berry’s exploration of grief evokes deep reflections. Nicholas Carr critiques the social media age's toll on our connections, while Ian McEwan weaves a speculative tale on memory and atonement. Plus, learn how Stephen King and Maurice Sendak empower kids to face their fears. A captivating mix of literature that challenges and inspires awaits!
37:55
Scripture Shapes Lewis's Imagination
- Leslie Baynes shows how Scripture deeply shaped C.S. Lewis's imaginative world, especially in Narnia.
- The Gospel of John increasingly informs Lewis's imagery whenever Aslan appears.
Grief And Gratitude Lead To Hope
- Wendell Berry's Marce Catlett weaves grief and gratitude to produce genuine hope.
- Berry ties Port William characters and nonfiction themes into an uplifting, sober finale.
Algorithms Reshape Reality
- Nicholas Carr argues social platforms prize metrics and reshape human relations negatively.
- He warns algorithms can replace reality and urges personal transformation over quick fixes.
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Intro
00:00 • 55sec
How Russell Chooses His Annual Book List
00:55 • 1min
C.S. Lewis and Scripture in Narnia
02:19 • 2min
Wendell Berry's Marce Catlett and Grief
04:12 • 3min
Nicholas Carr on Social Media's Soul Effects
06:57 • 5min
Augustine Reconsidered as 'African'
12:09 • 3min
Stephen King and Maurice Sendak's Hansel and Gretel
14:52 • 3min
Ian McEwan's Speculative Novel on Memory
17:33 • 3min
Ad break
20:30 • 11sec
Daniel Nayeri's Nomadland WWII Tale
20:41 • 3min
Robert Frost's Complexity Explored
23:43 • 3min
John Rausch's Plea for Thick Christianity
26:33 • 4min
Blaise Pascal and Modern Thought
30:44 • 4min
Closing Invitation and Questions
34:42 • 1min
Outro
35:46 • 56sec
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Marce Catlett : the Force of a Story
Wendell Berry
Andy Catlett tells the story of his grandfather Marce Catlett, who faces devastating low prices for his 1906 tobacco crop due to the monopoly of buyer James B. Duke.
Returning defeated yet defiant, Marce and fellow farmers find strength in cooperation to protect their rural families and land.
The narrative spans three generations, emphasizing memory, love, and resistance to the industrialization of farming, resonating with the power of family stories in the Port William Membership.
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Between Interpretation and Imagination, C.S. Lewis and the Bible
Dr. Leslie Baynes
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Love and Need
The Life of Robert Frost's Poetry
Adam Plunkett
In Love and Need, Adam Plunkett traces the connections between Robert Frost's personal life—including his marriage to Elinor, family tragedies, and affair with Kay Morrison—and the creation of his poems.
Drawing on newly available letters and diaries, Plunkett analyzes works like 'The Pasture,' 'The Freedom of the Moon,' and 'The Silken Tent' to reveal how Frost's affections, needs, and contradictions fueled his art.
The book restores Frost's complexity as both poet and person, emphasizing themes of love, need, work, and play from poems such as 'Two Tramps in Mud Time.
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• Mentioned in 3 episodes
Saint Augustine of Hippo
Miles Hollingworth
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Augustine the African
On Writing Revisionist Biography
Catherine Conybeare
Catherine Conybeare's biography reexamines St. Augustine's life and legacy by emphasizing his North African birth, Berber heritage, and experiences as an African in the Roman Empire.
Drawing on his Confessions, City of God, letters, and involvement in controversies like the Donatist schism, it traces how his groundbreaking ideas on Christianity, original sin, and human pilgrimage emerged from an African context during the crumbling Western Roman Empire.
The book upends conventional wisdom by portraying Augustine as both African and Roman, outsider and insider.
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The Teacher of Nomad Land
A World War II Story
Daniel Nayeri
The Teacher of Nomad Land: A World War II Story is a young adult novel by Daniel Nayeri, published in 2025.
It earned the National Book Award in the Young People's Literature category in 2025, adding to Nayeri's accolades for his poignant storytelling often drawing from personal and historical experiences.
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• Mentioned in 69 episodes
The Shallows
Nicholas Carr
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• Mentioned in 3 episodes
Blaise Pascal
Blaise Pascal
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• Mentioned in 34 episodes
Cross Purposes
Christianity's Broken Bargain with Democracy
Jonathan Rauch
In 'Cross Purposes: Christianity's Broken Bargain with Democracy,' Jonathan Rauch delves into the intricate and often contentious relationship between Christianity and democratic governance.
The book explores how the principles of Christianity can sometimes conflict with the democratic ideals of a society, leading to a 'broken bargain' that affects both the religious and the political spheres.
Rauch analyzes the historical, philosophical, and practical aspects of this relationship, offering insights into how these two powerful forces interact and influence each other.
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• Mentioned in 2 episodes
Everything Sad Is Untrue
A True Story
Daniel Nayeri
Everything Sad Is Untrue is a memoir by Daniel Nayeri that recounts his family's perilous journey from Iran to the United States.
The book weaves together personal anecdotes, family stories, and Persian folklore to explore themes of identity, displacement, and the power of storytelling.
Nayeri's narrative is presented in a unique style, inspired by Scheherazade's storytelling in *One Thousand and One Nights*, as he recounts his experiences as a young refugee in Oklahoma.
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• Mentioned in 23 episodes
Atonement
Ian McEwan
The novel centers around Briony Tallis, a thirteen-year-old girl who, in 1935, witnesses a flirtation between her older sister Cecilia and Robbie Turner, the son of a servant.
Briony's incomplete grasp of adult motives and her precocious imagination lead her to make a false accusation that changes all their lives.
The story follows the repercussions of this event through World War II and into the late 20th century, as Briony spends her life trying to make amends for her mistake.
The novel is a complex exploration of guilt, atonement, and the nature of writing and memory.
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• Mentioned in 15 episodes
What We Can Know
Ian McEwan
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• Mentioned in 33 episodes
Where the Wild Things Are
Maurice Sendak
In this iconic children's book, Max, dressed in his wolf suit, causes chaos at home and is sent to bed without supper.
His bedroom transforms into a jungle, and he sails to an island where he encounters the Wild Things.
Max tames the creatures and becomes their king, but eventually returns home, missing his mother's love.
The book is praised for its honest treatment of children's emotions, particularly anger and the need for parental love.
It has been adapted into a movie and an opera and remains a beloved classic in children's literature.
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• Mentioned in 8 episodes
Superbloom
How Technologies of Connection Tear Us Apart
Nicholas Carr
Superbloom provides a panoramic view of how media shapes society and an intimate examination of the fate of the self in a time of radical dislocation.
Nicholas Carr challenges cherished beliefs about self-expression, free speech, and media democratization, revealing how messaging apps strip nuance from conversation, 'digital crowding' erodes empathy and triggers aggression, and online political debates narrow minds and distort perceptions.
The book also discusses how advances in AI blur the line between fantasy and reality, forcing readers to confront inconvenient truths about human nature and the impact of technology.
Russell shares his favorite reads of the year, an annual tradition on the Russell Moore Show.
Watch the video of this episode on YouTube here.
You can read a version of this list from the newsletter here.
Russell’s top ten books (in alphabetical order by author):
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Leslie Baynes, Between Interpretation and Imagination: C. S. Lewis and the Bible (Eerdmans)
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Wendell Berry, Marce Catlett: The Force of a Story (Counterpoint)
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Nicholas Carr, Superbloom: How Technologies of Connection Tear Us Apart (Norton)
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Catherine Conybeare, Augustine the African (Norton)
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Stephen King and Maurice Sendak, Hansel and Gretel (HarperCollins)
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Ian McEwan, What We Can Know: A Novel (Knopf)
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Daniel Nayeri, The Teacher of Nomad Land: A World War II Story (Levine Querido)
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Adam Plunkett, Love and Need: The Life of Robert Frost’s Poetry (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
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Jonathan Rauch, Cross Purposes: Christianity’s Broken Bargain with Democracy (Yale University Press)
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Graham Tomlin, Blaise Pascal: The Man Who Made the Modern World (Hodder & Stoughton)
Keep up with Russell:
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Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying.
- Submit a question for the show at questions@russellmoore.com
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