Welcome to the 16th annual So What Faith’s Top 10 Books of the Year. This year I read 84 books published in 2024. The top ten are listed below in alphabetical order by author’s last name: Top Ten Top Two The two books on this year’s top ten that had the greatest impact on me are Prior Lists There are so many great books published in recent years. Two of this year's top authors appeared on prior lists: Incredibly this marks Diana Butler Bass' fifth Read More …
Elaine Pagels
5 Star Books Published in 2025 (#2278)
Welcome to the seventh annual edition of So What Faith’s 5 Star Books of the Year! This list is comprised of books rated 5 or 5+ on a scale of 1 to 5. To be eligible the book must have been published in 2025 and I must have read and rated it this year. This year, just 14.4% of all books rated received a rating of 5 or 5+ to earn this honor (in prior years the percentage has ranged from 15% to 17%). Past Years Be sure to check out prior lists Best of the Best Stay Read More …
Great New Books for July 2025 (#2239)
The best new books I’ve read in the last month are Miracles and Wonders Elaine Pagels, an esteemed historian of religion who has taught at Princeton since 1982, offers a thorough and fascinating exploration of Jesus' identity in her latest book, Miracles and Wonder: The Historical Mystery of Jesus. This must-read volume unfolds chapter after chapter with the questions everyone asks and follows each with Pagels’ thoughtful consideration of the possible answers, including her Read More …
Review of Revelations (#0696)
Meet the Author For the last thirty years Elaine Pagels has taught at Princeton University, where she currently serves as the Harrington Spear Paine Professor of Religion. She has "published widely on Gnosticism and early Christianity, and continues to pursue research interests in late antiquity." Pagels' previous books include the New York Times bestseller Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas (2004) and the National Book Award winner The Gnostic Gospels Read More …