I have yet to be disappointed by any book authored by Paul David Tripp. Some of his best works include:
• Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands
• Whiter Than Snow: Meditations on Sin and Mercy
• A Shelter in the Time of Storm: Meditations on God and Trouble
• A Quest for More: Living for Something Bigger Than You
So what did I expect from him? More of the same.
His latest book on marriage—What Did You Expect?: Redeeming the Realities of Marriage—looks very good. The teaching DVD and CD versions of his message have been available for a while now. The DVD series was very well done (and would work well as a video curriculum in a local church marriage retreat setting).
Don’t let Tripp’s walrus mustache, or the book’s clipart cover, fool you. This book is the fresh and pointed work of a soul surgeon. The book is structured around 6 core marriage commitments–
1: We will give ourselves to a regular lifestyle of confession and forgiveness.
2: We will make growth and change our daily agenda.
3: We will work together to build a sturdy bond of trust.
4: We will commit to building a relationship of love.
5: We will deal with our differences with appreciation and grace.
6: We will work to protect our marriage.
Here’s a short video introduction to What Did You Expect?: Redeeming the Realities of Marriage—
Tony Reinke 
I had read quite a bit of good press on What Did You Expect and had seen some video clips, so I purchased a copy at the T4G 2010 conference. Having read about half of it, frankly, I think the videos are much better than the book, perhaps because the book is written like he is giving a conference rather than writing a book. His references to “some of you” remind me that he is not speaking specifically to me, but that this flows out of his conference material. He says some good things, but I find him very repetitive as he labors his points. I think that the book would be more powerful if it were more concise.
I thought it was an incredible book! I have also never been disappointed with any of the books that I have read by Paul Tripp. Lost in the Middle is an excellent book on midlife and one I think all believers should read, especially if they are in their forties or fifties. Paul Tripp has become one of my favorite contemporary authors, alongside John Piper, JI Packer, RC Sproul, CJ Mahaney, Mark Dever, Francis Chan, and Mark Driscoll to name a few. I confidently recommend his books to people I know.
Shelter in a time of storm. I have taken and posted 25 copies of this book to theology students at the Reformed Bible institute in Yangon to students doing a B. Th. degree. A wonderful book. I go over each to teach English to these students. Poverty is terrible; but devotion to our Lord is glorious. Blessings. Jan Turner. Australia.