There is a bewildering array of books out there.  Amazon alone sells 124,362 different Christian titles.  So to make things easier, here are a list of books that every student can read during their time at university.  We’ve got 1 book-for-all-time and 18 books for the rest of your uni-life.

There is one book that is infinitely better than anything else we could recommend on this page. It is called the Bible, and is life-changing and sufficient, because it’s the primary way that God speaks to us. By his Spirit, every reading is a soul-feast; every reading helps us see the one, true, awesome God more clearly; every reading helps us feel his majesty more; every reading helps us know the depth of our sin and need for God, and the glorious wonder of redemption through Jesus. The Bible is the best book. Read that.

Which Bible?

We recommend the ESV Bible for reading and studying. Although most people find the NIV easier to read, we feel the ESV’s better for study because it is an ‘essentially literal’ translation that seeks as far as possible to capture the precise wording of the original text and the personal style of each Bible writer.

The ESV Study Bible has lots of helpful articles and commentaries for those times when you’re stumped by a particular passage, and we’d highly recommend it.  In addition, Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology is an excellent reference tool for helping us understand how the main topics and themes in the Bible pull together.

Eighteen books

We reckon you can read six Christian books each year: that’s just one each term and one every holiday (Christmas, Easter and Summer). If you’re on a three-year course, that’s eighteen books whilst at uni — a real feast for your soul. So here’s our balanced diet of the top eighteen, split into three groups.  Why not start reading one now?  They’re all available on the SBS bookstall.

Revelling in God

John Piper, The Pleasures of God (first 3 chapters)
D. A. Carson, The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God
J.I. Packer, Knowing God
C.J. Mahaney, Living The Cross-Centred Life
What We Believe about the Five Points of Calvinism (coming soon to SBS)
S.M. Houghton, Sketches from Church History

Revelling in the Bible

Nigel Beynon and Andrew Sach, Dig Deeper
Vaughan Roberts, God’s Big Picture
Dale Ralph Davis, 1 Samuel
Christopher Ash, Out of the Storm: Job
D.A. Carson, Basics for Believers: Studies in Philippians
Rico Tice and Barry Cooper, Christianity Explored

Revelling in living for Jesus

Elizabeth Elliot, Through Gates of Splendour
John Piper, Roots of Endurance (free!) or Sharon James, In Trouble and In Joy
Tim Chester, You Can Change
Vaughan Roberts, Distinctives
Josh Harris, Boy Meets Girl
Kent/Barbara Hughes, Disciplines of a Godly Man/Woman

A Little Extra: Four Classics to Try

John Bunyan, Pilgrim’s Progress
John Flavel, The Mystery of Providence
Jeremiah Brewer, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment
C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory