Since 2009 I have reviewed and/or rated more than 1,200 newly published books focused on ministry and leadership here on So What Faith. And, each December I've published a list of my top ten books of that year (for the latest edition, see 16th Annual Top 10 Books of the Year). A decade into this I decided to begin publishing a list of all authors who appeared on two or more top ten lists. I have since shared expanded versions of that list in 2024 and 2025. The list grew from 12 to 16 to 18 Read More …
Joan Chittister
Best of the Best: Top Authors (#2215)
Over the last 16 years I’ve read widely in the fields of ministry and leadership. Here on So What Faith, I've shared reviews or ratings of more than 1,100 of these recently published books . At the end of each year, I publish a Top 10 Books of the Year list featuring the very best books I've read that were published that year. Six years ago this month, I wrote Top 12 Authors: 2009-2019 sharing the dozen authors who had appeared on more than one top 10 list. Last year, I updated this Read More …
So What Faith’s Top Authors: 2009-2024 (#2117)
Over the last 15 years I've shared reviews or ratings of more than 1,000 recently published books I've read. Each year, the best of the best are featured on a top 10 books of the year list. Five years ago this month, I wrote Top 12 Authors: 2009-2019 sharing the dozen authors who had appeared on more than one top 10 list. This group has since grown to 16. The links for each year mentioned take you to that year's top 10 list. Best of the Best Only five of the top 16 authors have Read More …
Great New Books – June 2022 (#1995)
The best new books I’ve read in the last month are (5.0) We Need to Build: Field Notes for Diverse Democracy by Eboo Patel (Beacon Press, 2022)(5.0) Homelessness is a Housing Problem: How Structural Factors Explain U.S. Patterns by Gregg Colburn and Clayton Page Aldern (University of California Press, 2022)(5.0) A Complicated Choice: Making Space for Grief and Healing in the Pro-Choice Movement by Katey Zeh (Broadleaf Books)(4.5) Indigenous Theology and the Western Worldview: A Read More …
Great New Books – December 2021 (#1962)
The ten best recently published books I read over the last month are (5.0) Evangelical Worship: An American Mosaic by Melanie C. Ross (Oxford University Press, 2021)(5.0) After Jesus Before Christianity: A Historical Exploration of the First Two Centuries of Jesus Movements by Erin Vearncombe, Brandon Scott, and Hal Taussig for the Westar Christianity Seminar (HarperOne, 2021)(5.0) At the Blue Hole: Elegy for a Church on the Edge by Jack R. Reese (William B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2021)(5.0) Read More …
Top 12 Authors: 2009-2019 (#1791)
Over the last 10 years, I've reviewed, recommended, or rated more than 600 books here at So What Faith. Starting in 2011, I have provided a list of the top ten books I reviewed that year that were published during that year. To date, only 12 authors have appeared on more than one Top 10 List: Diana Butler Bass, 2012, 2015, 2018Marcus Borg, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2017Joan Chittister, 2011, 2017John Dominic Crossan, 2010, 2012, 2015Lillian Daniel, 2013, 2016 Tenzin Gyatso (the 14th Dalai Read More …
Book Recommendations – Bonus List for March 2019 (#1784)
For the second month in a row, I'm pleased to share a "bonus list" of recommended reads. All of the books on this list were published in 2019. (5.0) The Time is Now: A Call to Uncommon Courage by Joan Chittister (Convergent Books, 2019) (4.5) Can I Get a Witness?: Thirteen Peacemakers, Community-Builders, and Agitators for Faith and Justice edited by Charles Marsh, Shea Tuttle, and Daniel P. Rhodes (Eerdmans, 2019) (4.5) Platform: The Art and Science of Personal Branding by Cynthia Johnson Read More …
Top 10 Books of 2017 (#1714)
There are so many good books published every year. The best of the best among those I read this year follow in my eighth annual listing of my top ten books of the year. Author Title Marcus Borg Days of Awe and Wonder Tony Campolo and Bart Campolo Why I Left, Why I Stayed: Conversations on Christianity Between an Evangelical Father and His Humanist Son Joan Chittister Radical Spirit: 12 Ways to Live a Free and Authentic Life Elizabeth Currid-Halke The Sum of Small Things: A Read More …
Book Recommendations – August 2017 (#1698)
After sharing book recommendations rather irregularly for some time, I offered 10 recommendations in June, 10 in July, and now offer another 10 this month. The following ten books have all been published in 2017. They are rated on a 1-5 scale. The rare exceptional book warrants a 5+. (5+) The Financial Diaries: How American Families Cope in a World of Uncertainty by Jonathan Morduch and Rachel Schneider (Princeton University Press, 2017) (5.0) Why God?: Explaining Read More …
Review of Not Less than Everything (#1004)
Meet the Editor Catherine Wolff served as director of the Arrupe Center for Community-Based Learning at Santa Clara University. She is married to Tobias Wolff, an author and professor. Book Basics Not Less than Everything is a one of a kind book that features many voices, including "contemporary journalists, novelists, scholars and poets" (p.5). Each author contributes a single short chapter about a saint -- formally recognized by the Catholic Church or unofficial yet Read More …