with Sean Dreher: ⭕️ The Inner Circle

📚 Best Books

Sean Dreher — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 14:03:22 GMT

“If you don’t like to read, you haven’t found the right book.” —J.K. Rowling.

I’ve loved reading for as long as I can remember.

As a kid, I spent countless hours chasing Harry Potter through the halls of Hogwarts.

Those stories did more than entertain me; they awakened my imagination and shaped how I see the world around me.

Looking back, I’m convinced that God was already at work in those early pages. He was forming something in me long before I had language for it. My love for reading would one day become a vocation in a world shaped by information, ideas, and influence.

Today, I read more than ever. It’s a core discipline of mine as a pastor and public theologian. It sharpens my thinking, stretches my convictions, and helps me engage culture with clarity and depth.

With that in mind, here are my top five books of the year in no special order.

1. 107 Days by Kamala Harris

If you’ve been following me this year, this pick probably won’t come as a surprise.

I’ll say this upfront: I have a lot of respect for what she pulled off with this book. Few political memoirs have carried this level of expectation and delivered in a meaningful way.

This one did.

While I don’t believe she should run again, reading this book gave me a deeper appreciation for her story and the complexity of the moment she stepped into. It challenged some of my assumptions and gave me a fuller picture of the person behind the headlines.

If you’re looking for political tea, this one is hot.

I shared a more in-depth reflection when I first read it back in the fall. You can find that review below. ⬇️

2. How Fascism Works by Jason Stanley

Whether you love or hate Donald Trump, you can’t deny his impact on American politics over the last decade.

Of the many accusations leveled against him, one of the most frequent is that he represents a form of modern fascism.

But what does that actually mean?

Jason Stanley’s How Fascism Works offers more than a soundbite; it offers a framework.

Rather than focusing exclusively on any single figure like Trump, Stanley examines the patterns, language, and strategies that have historically enabled fascist movements to take shape across cultures and eras, with particular attention to the role of nationalism. As he explains:

“Nationalism is at the core of fascism. The fascist leader employs a sense of collective victimhood to create a sense of group identity that is by its nature opposed to the cosmopolitan ethos and individualism of liberal democracy.”

The power of the book is not in telling you what to think, but in helping you recognize how certain ideas take root, spread, and gain legitimacy.

Whether you agree with all of his conclusions or not, this book forces an uncomfortable but necessary reckoning: understanding how fragile democratic values can be and how easily fear, nostalgia, and tribalism can reshape a society.

I highly recommend it, especially if you want to make sense of the world around us.

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🎨 Steal Like An Artist

Sean Dreher — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 13:31:13 GMT

“Read deeply. Stay open. Continue to wonder.” —Austin Kleon

Thank you for being here.

Whether you’re a free subscriber or part of the Inner Circle, I’m truly grateful.

In today’s creator economy, attention is currency, so thank you for lending me yours.

For a while, I wrestled with what I could offer that would make the paid subscription feel distinct from the free one.

And I think I’ve finally found the answer.

This Substack (with Sean Dreher) houses three newsletters:

🗣️ Work These Words — The teachings of Jesus and how they apply to our world.

💭 Against the Grain — Paul-like reflections on culture, conscience, and curiosity.

📚 On My Shelf — Books shaping my world and work behind the scenes.

Until recently, On My Shelf was available to all subscribers.

But I’ve decided to move it behind the paywall as an exclusive gift to the Inner Circle.

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📚 Jesus & John Wayne

Sean Dreher — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 12:30:50 GMT

“In 2008, the election of Barack Obama ratcheted up evangelical fears. Initially, the culture wars appeared to be lost and the power of the Christian Right seemed to have reached an ignoble end. But conservative evangelicals had always thrived on a sense of embattlement, real or imagined, and this time would be no different. Donald Trump appeared at a m…

📚 107 Days

Sean Dreher — Tue, 30 Sep 2025 16:30:52 GMT

“I glanced at the screen. Caller ID blocked. Only about a dozen people have my secure number. Of those few, only one came up blocked. I unfolded my legs, stood up, and walked around the corner to my office. ‘Hi. Joe,’ I said.” —Kamala Harris.

[For context, she is recalling the moment she received what will likely be remembered as one of the most signifi…