The best new books I’ve read in the last 30 days include volumes written this year and last year.
From 2023
- (5.0) The Good Life: Lessons from the World’s Longest Scientific Study of Happiness by Robert Waldinger and Marc Schultz (Simon & Schuster, 2023)
- (4.5) Dancing in the Darkness: Spiritual Lessons for Thriving in Turbulent Times by Otis Moss III (Simon & Schuster, 2023)
- (3.5) Polished: The Guide to Excellence for the Modern Professional by Tiffany L. Adams (River Grove Books, 2023)
From 2022
- (5.0) Nonverts: The Making of Ex-Christian America by Stephen Bullivant (Oxford University Press, 2022)
- (4.5) Grace Can Lead Us Home: A Christian Call to End Homelessness by Kevin Nye (Herald Press, 2022)
- (4.5) Making Numbers Count: The Art and Science of Communicating Numbers by Chip Heath and Karla Starr (Avid Reader Press, 2022)
- (4.0) Gaslighted by God: Reconstructing a Disillusioned Faith by Tiffany Yecke Brooks (William B. Eerdmans, 2022)
- (4.0) The Spirit of Philanthropy: Fundraising for a Better World by Frank Pisch (Advantage Books, 2022)
The Good Life
If you are looking for a book to read that might just change your life for the better, you won’t be disappointed by The Good Life.
Writing for a broad audience, Waldinger and Schultz masterfully mix what the Harvard Study has discovered with supporting stories from study participants. As someone who spends a good deal of time talking about the importance of relationships, I was heartened to read that the good life is all about relationships.
Nonverts
If you think you’ve read more than enough about the shifting American religious landscape and know all about the rise of the “nones” or religiously non-affiliated, then you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the opportunity to supplement your knowledge with new insight about a subset of the “nones” Bullivant calls “nonverts.”
Bullivant uses the term nonvert to describe a unique sort of convert: those who converted from a religion to no religious affiliation. He explores who is included in this group of 69 million (and growing) Americans by sharing what he’s learned through interviews with a diverse group of noverts alongside wide ranging analysis of the latest relevant research.