My final monthly list of recommended reads for the year features thirteen books published in 2019, including three focused on Advent.
- (5.0) Keep Watch with Me: An Advent Reader for Peacemakers by Claire Brown and Michael T. McRay (Abingdon Press, 2019)
- (5.0) The Dearly Beloved by Cara Wall (Simon & Schuster, 2019)
- (4.5) Light of the World: A Beginner’s Guide to Advent by Amy-Jill Levine (Abingdon Press, 2019)
- (4.5) Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity (Revised Updated Edition) by Kim Scott (St. Martin’s Press, 2019)
- (4.5) The Twentysomething Soul: Understanding the Religious and Secular Lives of American Young Adults by Tim Clydesdale and Kathleen Garces-Foley (Oxford University Press, 2019)
- (4.5) Empty the Pews: Stories of Leaving the Church edited by Chrissy Stroop and Lauren O’Neal (Epiphany Publishing, 2019)
- (4.0) Foolish Church: Messy, Raw, Real, and Making Room by Lee Roorda Schott (Cascade Books, 2019)
- (4.0) Invited: The Power of Hospitality in an Age of Lonelines by Leslie Verner (Herlad Press, 2019)
- (4.0) A Crisis Wasted: Barack Obama’s Defining Decisions by Reed Hundt (Rosetta Books, 2019)
- (4.0) Outgrowing God: A Beginner’s Guide by Richard Dawkins (Random House, 2019)
- (3.5) Low: An Honest Advent Devotional by John Pavlovitz (Chalice Press, 2019)
- (3.5) Unfollow: A Memoir of Loving and Leaving the Westboro Baptist Church by Megan Phelphs-Roper (Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 2019)
- (3.5) Stillness is the Key by Ryan Holiday (Portfolio/Penguin, 2019)
So What?
Keep Watch with Me: An Advent Reader for Peacemakers is yet another Advent devotional featuring daily readings, but it differs from the many others I’ve explored in recent years in all the right ways, including:
- Written for peacemakers by peacemakers
- Written by a diverse group from around the world (a group that includes black, white, LGBTQ+, Latinx, Palestinian, incarcerated, indigenous, Australian, American, Irish, South African, clergy, laity, activists, authors, and organizers)
- Each daily entry includes a Scriptural text, a reflection, a prayer and a brief author bio (and many bios feature links that allow you to learn more about the person and read more of their writing)
- Spiritual practices are relevant, varied, and related to the reflection’s big idea
While I have reviewed, rated or otherwise commented on more than 600 books here at So What Faith, only a handful of those volumes are fiction. After reading a few positive reviews I felt I had learned all I needed and I decided I wasn’t interested in reading The Dearly Beloved. When multiple people I respect suggested I read the book, I acquired a copy and opened it with high expectations. Now it is my turn, to suggest you do the same. No two congregations are alike and neither are any two couples with one partner in ministry. Wall recognizes this and shares a story that features many of the challenges of ministry, considers the complexity of friendship, and demonstrates the value of community.