What I Read to Prepare for General Conference
August 26, 2026
Later this month, the Global Methodist Church will gather in Johannesburg, South Africa, and I have the privilege of serving as a delegate to this important and historic meeting.
In anticipation of the gathering, I directed some of my reading toward this special event. Here’s what I read.
📖 #1 — Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
This is a powerful and heartbreaking story about a rural pastor who travels to Johannesburg in search of his son, who is in serious trouble. Along the way, he also tries to reconnect with other members of his family.
Set in South Africa in the mid-20th century, the novel offers insight into the cultural and racial tensions of the time—many of which still resonate today.
📖 #2 — Africa Is Not a Country: Notes on a Bright Continent by Dipo Faloyin
This book offers a wide-ranging overview of the African continent. It surveys its many geographical regions, cultures, and people groups while taking a hard look at the lasting problems caused by colonialism.
I especially appreciated how it challenged the tendency to speak of Africa as though it were one place with one story. It also offered an optimistic outlook for the continent’s future, along with helpful thoughts on how Westerners can contribute without causing further harm.
📖 #3 — Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
Other than seeing a few clips on social media, I wasn’t overly familiar with Trevor Noah. I picked up this memoir expecting it to focus mainly on his rise to fame. Instead, it is almost entirely about his upbringing in and around Johannesburg—and what it meant to be born at a time when his very existence was evidence of a crime that could have sent his parents to prison.
This memoir blew me away. It was exactly what I wanted as I sought to understand what growing up in this part of South Africa might have been like.
It was also surprisingly—and deeply—religious. Don’t expect a Christian book, and be aware that there is plenty of strong language. But Noah offers fascinating reflections on prayer, spiritual warfare, and the ways church experiences differed according to race and class. Early in the book, we learn that Trevor attended three services at three different churches every Sunday!
📖 #4 — For a Faithful Future: The Global Methodist Church—Essays on the Mission of the Church, a book honoring Keith Boyette, edited by Jessica LaGrone
This collection of essays offers valuable insight into the Global Methodist movement. If you are new to Global Methodism, I especially recommend the chapter by Walter Fenton.
I still have a few essays left to finish. If I don’t get to them in time, perhaps I’ll run up to the contributors at General Conference and ask each of them for a summary.
Seedbed generously donated a copy for us to give away at the South Georgia Annual Conference—and then promptly sold out of the book.
Seedbed, let’s collaborate! Give me a promo code to share. More people need to read this book.
🔥 Bonus — Faith and Fire: Methodism as a Movement of the Holy Spirit by David F. Watson and Kevin M. Watson
I also want to give a shout-out to my friend Dr. David Mills, who gave every member of our delegation a copy of this book. I haven’t gotten to it yet, but I wanted to express my gratitude to him.
David Watson and Kevin Watson are gifts to this movement, and I can’t wait to read it—hopefully before the end of 2026!
Have you read any of these? Did you enjoy them? Comment below
Join me in praying for a great General Conference and that God would be glorified!
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This means I may receive a small commission if you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting my work!
About David Wesley Donnan
I write online about Methodism, devotional insights, and personal reflections. My primary goal is to organize my thoughts and explore meaningful topics. Along the way, I hope my writing inspires and encourages others on their journey.
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From Sanderson to Solzhenitsyn: My 2025 Reading Journey
December 31, 2025
One of the unexpected gifts of this year was just how much reading I was able to do. In hindsight, I think it was partly a trauma response to the relentless push of finishing my doctoral work. Reading for pleasure became an escape from the constant cycle of academic reading, writing, and editing. As a result, this turned into the most productive reading year of my life. Below is a list of the books I read throughout the year, with links to each one and a few brief reflections along the way.
January 2025
- Frankenstein — Mary Shelley
- I was pleased by how much I enjoyed the “monster” in the story. Several of these books exceeded the amount of fun and joy I expected. This was one of them.
- One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich — Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
- This is my book of the year. The brutality, simplicity, and hope here stunned me. I do not think many people would enjoy it as much as I did. This book makes me want to read more Russian literature.
- The Thin Man — Dashiell Hammett
- I read this for a local book club I joined. It was fine. The characters were morally ambiguous. I was not sure who we were supposed to cheer for.
- Raise Your Ebenezer: A Field Guide to Suffering — Ted Goshorn
- Run and get this book! My buddy Ted wrote it.
- Also listen to my interview with him.
February 2025
- Five Views on the Gospel — Michael Horton (ed.)
- This was a huge blessing. I got to read an advance copy of these and offer an endorsement inside the book. This is a great series of books which present different Christian views on topics.
- I have an interview with David deSilva to publish about this book. Dr. deSilva does a marvelous job describing the Wesleyan view of the Gospel.
- If you are theology student or want to know more about different interpretations, I encourage you to check it out.
March 2025
- Grace Rediscovered: Finding Hope and Healing Through Faith and Recovery — Ben Gosden
- Ben is one of my best friends. I have not stopped thinking about this book and have quoted it several times.
- Run to guy buy his book!
April 2025
- Mistborn: The Final Empire — Brandon Sanderson
- This series was given to me by Paul Griffin. I have thanked him several times for introducing me to Sanderson. It took me awhile to finish the first in this trilogy. Since then I have read a total of five Sanderson books.
- The Little Prince — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
- I read this with one of my children. I would not say it was one of my favorite books. However, it was fun to discuss and read together.
May 2025
- Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage — Alfred Lansing
- This was one of those books I would tell myself, “If this is fiction I would not be able to suspend my disbelief.” The number of times these gentlemen should have died and did not is incredible. My favorite genre is historical narrative. This book is one of the reasons why.
- A Change of Heart: A Personal and Theological Memoir — Thomas C. Oden
- I wish I would have read this book at the start of seminary. I loved getting to hear more about the insights of academics. It’s also great to hear how a liberal professor found his way back to orthodoxy and to know the difference he has made in my academic life.
June 2025
- The Well of Ascension — Brandon Sanderson
- This was my favorite in the Mistborn trilogy. I am probably in the minority here and that’s fine. I really enjoyed seeing how certain characters stepped up and grew in leadership.
- Project Hail Mary — Andy Weir
- Do not watch the movie trailer if you want to read the book. A great book. Maybe a little overhyped by social media but still a very enjoyable read.
July 2025
- The Hero of Ages — Brandon Sanderson
- The conclusion of the Mistborn trilogy did not disappoint. What a fun ride for my first journey in Sanderson’s universe called the Cosmere.
- The Sunlit Man — Brandon Sanderson (Audio Book)
- This was a fun self contained story on a unique planet.
- Slow Productivity — Cal Newport (Audio Book)
- There was a lot of walking and driving this May, June, and July. I was able to complete two audio books. I like Cal Newport’s podcast. So I gave his book a listen. I enjoyed it. He actually narrates this one which was cool.
August 2025
- The Book Thief — Markus Zusak
- I thought I read somewhere this was one of the most read or highest rated books on Goodreads. I saw it ready to check out on the Libby app and gave it a read. I liked, but did not love it. Historical fiction is not my favorite genre.
- Educated — Tara Westover
- About 2/3 of this book were incredible. It is the story of someone coming up without education and overcoming some incredible odds. However, learning how the author’s mom has also written somewhat of a rebuttal to this work made it seem more complex than the narrative here.
- This was also a book I got because it was popular and available on the Libby app.
September 2025
- The Women — Kristin Hannah
- This is a story about a nurse sent to the front areas of the Vietnam war. I enjoyed this one so much I purchased it for my mom for her birthday. Even though I read it for free through the Libby app.
- Deep Work — Cal Newport (Audio)
- This was another Newport book on slowing down and doing less to focus on creating better content and having a richer life.
- I missed now having Newport read the audio.
- Born to Run — Christopher McDougall (Audio)
- This was the perfect book to listen to why’ll training for a half marathon. Turns out we are born to run long distances… according to the author. It follows a running tribe in Mexico. Great writing which keeps you captivated.
- The Call of the Wild — Jack London
- This was a re-read for me. I read it with one of my children. The brutality in the beginning made them want to quit. However, the payoffs were more than worth it.
October 2025
- Africa Is Not a Country — Dipo Faloyin
- This was the first of two books on Africa I read this year. I am preparing to head to Africa as a delegate of the Global Methodist Church to our general conference. I plan to read a couple more books next year on Africa.
- Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind — Yuval Noah Harari (Audio)
- I have a growing fascination with pre-history. While this covers more than that time it does a good job of scratching that itch.
- The Giver — Lois Lowry
- I read this with one of my children. Actually, I purchased this after hearing Bishop Robert Barron review the movie and thought the book sounded interesting. I never got around to reading it until this year.
- Small spoiler: I enjoyed the world building and the role of the giver. The ambiguous ending fell flat for me. It was a book which said so much. I think I’m jaded by J.J. Abrams story telling which usually does not have much have an ending. It’s hard to feel like with an ambiguous ending they might have just ran out of steam.
- 11/22/63 — Stephen King
- This was my first King novel. Side story: A had a friend who was a house sitter for him. She reached out and asked him if he wanted to come on the David Donnan Podcast. It was a no…
- Great thick book. Over 850 pages. The pacing was good. It did slow down a little bit at parts but overall great. It is not a horror book but more of a time travel sci-fi story. It did introduce me to the town of Derry which a friend told me is where a lot of the stories King writes are set.
November 2025
- The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest Journey — Candice Millard (Audio)
- This month looks thin but we had a lot cooking which wrapped up in December.
- The River of Doubt is another narrative non-fiction/historical narrative. Not as good as Endurance from above but it still is great.
December 2025
- Lonesome Dove — Larry McMurtry
- This another book over 850 pages. My longest book of the year. Honestly, it could have been another 300 pages. I wanted more time with Call, Augustus, and the gang. I even talked about July Johnson in a sermon recently. Several people mentioned they were fans of the TV miniseries which came out.
- The President Is Missing — Bill Clinton & James Patterson
- I got bogged down on this one. However, the audio was available on Libby so I did some immersion reading with it. Dennis Quaid is the narrator. It was so good. I’ve heard the other books in this series are better but I’ll just take everyone’s word on this.
- Jurassic Park — Michael Crichton
- I wanted to read this just to visit the park and story I knew from the movies. I was surprised how much different and, in many ways better it was. It starts out more of a mystery. I was hooked right away. Not all the characters share the same outcomes as in the movie which kept me on the edge of seat.
- Mistborn: Secret History — Brandon Sanderson
- This was a fun end to Mistborn. We got to visit with one of the characters for a little longer. It really made me want to jump into the Wax and Wayne series but I think there are other series I will try next year. I also think my journey back into the Cosmere might be to tackle the thousands of pages in Stormlight Archive.
- The Splendid and the Vile — Erik Larson (Audio)
- This was a great listen. I went ahead and added Erik Larson’s books to my want to read lists. This covers the leadership of Winston Churchill during the bombing campaing against the British in WWII as well as his attempts to recruit the Americans to help more.
- Cry, the Beloved Country — Alan Paton
- If you hate quotations around speakers, you will love this. Set in Johannesburg, South Africa in the 1950s it follows a minister from the rural regions going into the city to help find his family.
- The River Is Waiting — Wally Lamb
- This was a book which was on Libby and popular so I gave it a shot. I was shocked by how hard it was to read at the start. Just brutal start. I almost did not finish it. I was so glad I did. While I did not do a full number list, I think this would make my top five on the year.
- Gift and Giver: The Holy Spirit for Today — Craig S. Keener
- This had about 40 pages left so I knocked it out to pump up my 2025 numbers. Keener is a clear and passionate writer. I enjoyed his study on the Holy Spirit.
Well, the night is young. Maybe I can knock out another book before midnight. Happy New Year!
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This means I may receive a small commission if you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting my work!
About David Wesley Donnan
I write online about Methodism, devotional insights, and personal reflections. My primary goal is to organize my thoughts and explore meaningful topics. Along the way, I hope my writing inspires and encourages others on their journey.
