My latest list of great books features ten volumes published in 2020: (5.0) Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation by Kristin Kobes Du Mez (Liveright, 2020) (4.5) Strange Rites: New Religions for a Godless World by Tara Isabella Burton (Public Affairs, 2020) (4.5) Coach the Person not the Problem: A Guide to Using Reflective Inquiry by Marcia Reynolds (Berrett-Koehler, 2020) (4.5) The Myth of the American Dream: Read More …
Books
Great New Books – Summer 2020 (#1879)
The ten best recently published books I've read since sharing my last list of great new books are (5+) The Power of Ritual: Turning Everyday Activities Into Soulful Practices by Casper ter Kuile (Harper Collins, 2020) (5.0) What Happens When we Practice Religion: Textures of Devotion in Everyday Life by Robert Wuthnow (Princeton University Press, 2020) (4.5) The Way of Gratitude: A New Spirituality for Today by Galen Guengerich (Random House, 2020) (4.5) The Way Up is Down: Read More …
Great New Books – July 2020 (#1876)
The ten best recently published books I read during the last month are (5+) For All Who Hunger: Searching for Communion in a Shattered World by Emily M. D. Scott (Convergent, 2020) (5.0) Native: Identity, Belonging, and Rediscovering God by Kaitlin B. Curtice (Brazos Press, 2020) (5.0) Tough Questions, Honest Answers: Faith and Religion for 21st Century Explorers by Cameron Harder (Fortress Press, 2020) (4.5) Celebrity Worship by Pete Ward (Routledge, Read More …
Great New Books – June 2020 (#1870)
The the ten best new books (published in 2020) I read over the last month are (5+) Rethinking Success: Eight Essential Practices for Finding Meaning in Work and Life by J. Douglas Holladay (HarperOne, 2020) (5.0) Practicing: Changing Yourself to Change the World by Kathy Escobar (Westminster John Knox Press, 2020) (4.5) None of the Above: Nonreligious Identity in the US and Canada by Joel Thiessen and Sarah Wilkins-Laflamme (New York University Press, 2020) (4.5) Using Read More …
Great New Books – May 2020 (#1866)
Over the last month, I've read a number of great new books. The ten best volumes follow. (5+) Part-Time is Plenty: Thriving Without Full-Time Clergy by G. Jeffrey MacDonald (Westminister John Knox Press, 2020) (4.5) Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife by Bart D. Ehrman (Simon & Schuster, 2020) (4.5) Touched: For Survivors of Sexual Assault Like Me Who Have Been Hurt by Church Folk and Those Who Care by Shanell T. Smith (Fortress Press, Read More …
Great New Books – April 2020 (#1860)
Over the last 30 days, I read several new books. The top ten (all published in the last twelve months) are (5.0) The Velvet Rope Economy: How Inequality Became Big Business by Nelson D. Schwartz (Doubleday, 2020) (4.5) Broken Faith: Inside the World of Faith Fellowship, One of America's Most Dangerous Cults by Mitch Weiss and Holbrook Mohr (Hanover Square Press, 2020) (4.5) Upstream: The Quest to Solve Problems Before they Happen by Dan Heath (Avid Reader Press, 2020) (4.0) When my Time Read More …
Great New Books – March 2020 (#1855)
During the last month, I read ten great new books (published in 2019 or 2020): (5.0) Saving God from Religion: A Minister's Search for Faith in a Skeptical Age by Robin R. Meyers (Convergent Books, 2020)(4.5) Materiality as Resistance: Five Elements for Moral Action in the Real World by Walter Brueggemann (Westminster John Knox Press , 2020)(4.5) Beyond Survival: Strategies and Stories from the Transformative Justice Movement edited by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha and Ejiris Dixon Read More …
Great New Books – February 2020 (#1850)
During the first month of 2020, I read ten great new books (published in 2020): (5.0) Where Goodness Still Grows: Reclaiming Virtue in an Age of Hypocrisy by Amy Peterson (W Publishing Group, 2020) (4.5) We Were Spiritual Refugees: A Story to Help You Believe in Church by Katie Hays (Eerdmans, 2020) (4.5) Tightrope: Americans Reaching for Hope by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn (Knopf, 2020) (4.5) Another Way: Living and Leading Change on Purpose by Stephen Read More …
Top 20 Books of the 2010s (#1844)
For the last ten years I've published an annual list of my top ten books published each year. While these lists have been alphabetical rather than in rank order, they've also included mention of two books from each list that had the greatest impact on me that year. Over the last decade that adds up to 20 books that have significantly impacted me. Author Title Year Diana Butler Bass Christianity After Religion: The End of the Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Read More …
Top 10 Books of 2019 (#1840)
In 2010, I started publishing a list of my top books of the year each year here at So What Faith. The 2019 edition (aka the 10th Annual) of the best books of the year follows. Author Title Chris Arnade Dignity: Seeking Respect in Back Row America Claire Brown and Michael T. McRay Keep Watch with Me: An Advent Reader for Peacemakers Bruce Deel Trust First: A True Story About the Power of Giving People Second Chances Lenny Duncan Read More …