This guy wrote his books back when the English language was still spoken – back when well-constructed syntax and wide vocabulary were both standard and beautiful. In my opinion, Ryle’s style of writing alone is so vivid that his works are all an easy, pleasurable read.

But more importantly, Ryle presents and expounds upon practical christian living in ways that cut under our veneer of piety, fakeness, and ease of faith. It’s hard to read a paragraph or two without feeling some kind of deep conviction or inspiration.

He reminds us how God has called us to live and does so in the best of language.

At times his allusions and illustrations are lost in his own cultural context (the late 1800s), but, nonetheless, it’s shocking how much the issues we face as Christians have not really changed all that much. We like to believe we have progressed, we’re sophisticated, improved, and scientific, yet writers like Ryle, who communicate with us from centuries past, humiliate these thoughts.

There’s nothing fluffy here, no claptrap, no equivocation for the equivocator; nothing packaged cutely for the comfy reader who’d like to look at a sweet little book and smile at its cleverness. These are honest words, sometimes brutally, and they will call you to change, show you how to change, and inform you of the consequences. 

So, if you enjoy well-written prose and are looking for something frank that will resonate with your life and soul in every paragraph then I recommend Ryle.