14 New Books You Don't Want to Miss This Summer
šš I hope you have your Goodreads account open and your TBR list ready...
Here we go! Open your Goodreads account and get your To Be Read list ready, friends.
Iāll share additional book recommendations inĀ Thursday ThingsĀ (plus real-time ācurrently readingā updates in our private All The Things group),Ā but if youāre looking for a new book for pool days, upcoming travel, or long summer evenings, this will get you started! Iāve said it before and it continues to be true: thereās a theme among many of the books below. Itās pretty incredible, as books are typically contracted and written 1-2 years before theyāre available, but suffice it to say that if youāre walking through loss and pain, if youāre weary and longing for hope, or if youāre seeking to learn more so you have a richer understanding of who you are or what you believeāthe books below might be right on time for you.
Iāve read an early copy of almost all of the titles below, but for those still on my To Be Read list, they come highly recommended from friends I trust or are written by authors Iāve read (and loved) before.Ā The books are listed in order of release date and include a blurb pulled from Amazon descriptions.
Due to the word count of all the descriptions, this post may only partially show in your inbox. Look for āview entire messageā and click the link, or go here.
P.s. If a book grabs your attention, consider pre-ordering now. Most retailers donāt charge until the book releases and Amazon offers a lowest-price guarantee! Say you preorder in May when the book is $19.99, it drops to $14.00 late June, and itās $17.50 when it releases in July⦠you would pay $14.00Ā because you locked in the lowest price by pre-ordering.
Onto: the books.
Tell Me the Dream Again: Reflections on Family, Ethnicity, and the Sacred Work of BelongingĀ :: Tasha Jun
As a Korean American, Tasha Jun wandered between seemingly opposing worlds, struggling to find a voice to speak and a firm place for her feet to land.Ā The world taught Tasha that her Korean normal was a barrier to belongingāthat assimilation was the only way she would ever be truly accepted. But if that were true, did that mean God had made a mistake in knitting her together?
Told with tender honesty and compelling prose,Ā Tell Me the Dream AgainĀ is a memoir-in-essays exploringĀ what it means to be biracial in America today,Ā the joy and healing that comes with embracing every part of who we are, andĀ how our identity in Christ is tightly woven with the unique colors, scents, and culture heās given us. We are not outsiders to God. When we let all the details of ourselves unfoldāwhen we embrace who we were divinely knit together to beāthis is when weāll fully experience his perfect love.
This Must Be the Place: Following the Breadcrumbs of Your Past to Discover Your Purpose TodayĀ :: Jami Nato
You want a life of purpose and meaning, but if there's a map to get you there, you haven't been able to find it. Until now. Your treasure map is closer than you think, and Jami Nato tucked it inside these pages. Your journey begins by looking at your past, and then following the breadcrumbs that God has left for you every step of the way.
Jami found her breadcrumbs in the rubble after her marriage fell apart. Downgraded from perfect Christian wife and mother to hot mess, she finally let go of what the world (and the church) said she should be and let God reforge her into a thriving, joyful woman living on purpose. Moving seamlessly between the hilarious and the heartbreaking, Jami asks hard questions and shares what God has taught her through her own storyāso you can step fully into yours.
Better Than Okay: Finding Hope and Healing After Your Marriage EndsĀ :: Brandi Wilson
Some seasons of life can seem far more difficult than one human should have to endure. For Brandi Wilson, that was the year her husband, who was a megachurch pastor, walked away from her and her family. Suddenly, her church community dissolved and her dreams and identity were shattered.
Yet God transformed this heartbreaking time into an invaluable lesson on the gift of healing.Ā InĀ Better Than Okay, Brandi beautifully tells her courageous story of confronting grief and heartache head-on and learning how to rise from the pain. Filled with aha moments and laugh-out-loud humor, Brandi helps you rely on and find comfort in the promises of God, begin a new journey toward healing, and find freedom in your new identity.Ā While your life looks drastically different now, there is hope for renewed joy and redemption. Your pain doesn't get the final say. Through God's grace and healing power, you will be better than okay.
Reflections for the Grieving Soul: Meditations and Scripture for Finding Hope After LossĀ :: Mike Nappa
The funeral comes and goes, and you're forced to deal with the chasm your loved one left behind. But grief doesn't operate on a predictable timeline. You may find yourself somewhere you didn't expectādrowning, kicking, or screamingālong after your loss. You may feel unable to talk to othersāor to God.
InĀ Reflections for the Grieving Soul, widower and author Mike Nappa comes alongside you offering support and empathy. He gives you words of Scripture to meditate on at whatever pace you need, personal reflections from his own grief after losing his beloved wife, Amy, and accessible prayers for when you donāt know how or what to pray. Whether you've lost someone you love or know someone who is grieving,Ā Reflections for the Grieving SoulĀ is a balm for weary souls and a source of peace in the most difficult times.
You Are a Theologian: An Invitation to Know and Love God WellĀ :: Jen Wilkin and J.T. English
Theology can be intimidating, but it doesnāt have to be. Whether conversations about theology have felt out of reach, over your head, or irrelevant, consider this book an invitation to the dialogue.
The goal of theology is knowing and loving God well. This is a lifelong endeavor, a never-ending pursuit, not for the sake of knowledge but for an ever-deepening relationship with God Himself. Authors Jen Wilkin and J. T. English invite you to become not merely a consumer of theology, but a contributor to the conversation, and to grow in faithfulness to the Great Commissionās call to make disciples. You Are a TheologianĀ addresses theological questions such as:Ā Who is God? (The Doctrine of the Trinity),Ā What is the Bible? (The Doctrine of Scripture), What went wrong? (The Doctrine of Sin),Ā To whom do we belong? (The Doctrine of the Church),Ā How does the story end? (The Doctrine of Last Things), and more.
The Night Is Normal: A Guide through Spiritual PainĀ :: Alicia Britt Chole
Itās unnerving, isnāt it? When our faith feels untethered, as though an undercurrent has pulled us away from shore into the deep, into the darkness.Ā If this is youāif youāre in a dark night of the soulāplease know that you are not alone. (And you are not as far away from safety as you may feel or fear.) Though faith shines best in full sun, it grows depth in the dark.Ā The night is not your enemy.Ā In fact, the night is necessary.
InĀ The Night Is Normal, Dr. Alicia Britt Chole offers a groundbreaking perspective that reveals spiritual disillusionment as an unexpected friend. Within these pages, she offers practical and soul-full tools to help you navigate the night. Youāll explore how the rootsāand fruitsāof spiritual pain are actually an invitation to deep love, how viewing abundance as proof of obedience create an unsustainable model for Christianity, and how aĀ strong night-faith can lead you into something far more satisfying than understanding and far more powerful than peace. Our reality is broken, but God has not changed. Your night will not last forever.Ā Within it, there is priceless treasureĀ thatās simply too weighty to be sourced in sunshine.
Holy Unhappiness: God, Goodness, and the Myth of the Blessed LifeĀ :: Amanda Held Opelt
Many Christians rightly deny the prosperity gospelāthe idea that God wants you to be healthy and wealthyābut instead embrace its more subtle spin-off, the emotional prosperity gospel, or the belief that happiness and spiritual euphoria will inevitably follow if you believe all the right things and make all the right choices.
InĀ Holy Unhappiness, Amanda Held OpeltĀ examines some of the historic, religious, and cultural influences that led to the idolization of positive feelings and the marginalization of negative feelings. Unpacking nine elements of life that have been tainted by the message of the emotional Prosperity Gospelāincluding work, marriage, parenting, calling, community, and churchāshe points to a new path forward, one that reimagines the āblessedā life.Ā This is a book that explores our aversion to sadness and counts the costs of our unrelenting commitment to optimism, and this is a book that insists there is holiness to be found even in our unhappiness.
Nourishing Narratives: The Power of Story to Shape Our FaithĀ :: Jennifer Ā L. Holberg
Humans are story-shaped creatures. We make sense of our world, pattern our lives, and reflect on what is ultimately significant through language and the words that compose our stories. But how does this relate to the narrative of the Bible and the story that God is writing through history?
InĀ Nourishing Narratives, writer and professor Jennifer Holberg engages with words from the likes of Dante, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Flannery O'Connor, Marilynne Robinson, and more while also offering some of her own stories to reflect on the importance of story to our lives and our faith. Here, readers are encouraged not only to understand how stories nourish our faith, but to discover how our stories are part of God's great story.
Tired of Trying: How to Hold On to God When Youāre Frustrated, Fed Up, and Feeling ForgottenĀ :: Ashley Morgan Jackson
Youāve tried it allāsaying the right words and prayers, reading the right Bible versesābut nothing seems to work. What do you do when your faith doesnāt seem to be āworkingā anymore? Rich with biblical encouragement, personal story, and practical application,Ā Tired of TryingĀ is an invitation to wrestleāand face God in your greatest fears, pains, and unanswered questions. Youāll learn toĀ break out of the cycle of frustration;Ā identify and replace the lies you are believing about God, yourself, and your circumstances; andĀ shift your perspective so you can choose faith, persevere, and discover Godās purpose for you.
What if that hard thing youāre going through is not happening to you butĀ forĀ you? What seemingly tears us down may be an opportunity to grow. God is good at redeeming heartache. Choosing to wrestle isnāt easy or quickābut it does have purpose.
You Are More Than You've Been Told: Unlock a Fresh Way to Live Through the Rhythms of JesusĀ :: Hosanna Wong
Have you ever felt unseen, unwanted, or unworthy? From the beginning of time, the enemy has been fighting against you knowing who you really are. But there is good news: While Jesus was on earth, He lived a lifestyle of rhythms that helped Him fight the lies of the enemy. Through His habits, we will discover a roadmap to living lighter and living as who we really are.
You Are More Than You've Been ToldĀ will help youĀ identify the lies that have held you back and uncover important truths about who you are and have always been,Ā discover tangible tools to help you heal from deep wounds and see God in the most tender places of your story, andĀ unlock four key rhythms that will help you be free of burdens you were never meant to carry.Ā You're more than what people have said about you, what you have done, and whatās been done to you. It turns outāYou will know who you really are when you spend real time with the One who knows you the best. Let this practical roadmap show you how.
I Used to Be ___: How to Navigate Large and Small Losses in Life and Find Your Path ForwardĀ :: Chuck and Ashley Elliott
When you suffer a loss, you enter the realm of "used to be." You used to be married. You used to be employed. You used to be pregnant, secure, healthy, sober, thin. You used to be a son or daughter, a brother or sister, a mother or father. And in that used-to-be space there is deep emptiness, loneliness, and sorrow.
InĀ I Used To Be ___, pastor Chuck Elliott and counselor Ashley Elliott share biblical advice and proven mental health techniques to help you learn how to fully feel and face your grief, hold onto your faith, and develop healthy ways to see yourself, your life, and your loved ones. They offer coping strategies for when moving forward seems impossible and guide you toward building new thinking patterns that will result in true healing and growth.Ā Maybe you "used to be" somethingābut there is a future waiting when you "will be" once more.
The Ballot and the Bible: How Scripture Has Been Used and Abused in American Politics and Where We Go from HereĀ :: Kaitlyn Schiess
How do Bible passages written thousands of years ago apply to politics today? What can we learn from America's history of using the Bible in politics? How can we converse with people whose views differ from our own?Ā InĀ The Ballot and the Bible, Kaitlyn Schiess explores these questions and more. She unpacks examples of how Americans have connected the Bible to politics in the past, highlighting times it was applied well and times it was egregiously misused.
Schiess combines American political history and biblical interpretation to help readers faithfully read Scripture, talk with others about it, and apply it to contemporary political issuesāand to their lives. Rather than prescribing what readers should think about specific hot-button issues, Schiess outlines core biblical themes around power, allegiance, national identity, and more.Ā Readers will be encouraged to pursue a biblical basis for their political engagement with compassion and confidence.
Woven: Nurturing a Faith Your Kid Doesnāt Have to Heal FromĀ :: Meredith Miller
Most Christian parenting books are ready with exact practices every family should follow in order to raise obedient children.Ā But what if obedience is not the goal of Christian parenting? What if itās our job as parents to instead help our kids get to know God and discover that God can be trusted?
Much like a spiderās web, in which anchor strands and internal threads combine to form a unique web,Ā WovenĀ can help children anchor to who God is and have faith practices that are rich, textured, and all their own.Ā This is the sort of faith that can stand up to the life a child will live, the doubts they will encounter, and the questions that will come up along the way. With a deep reverence for scripture and suggested activities to help your family grow in faith together,Ā WovenĀ is for parents who want to go beyond a list of doās and donāts and pass along a resilient faith based on genuine love for and trust in God.
The Deepest Place: Suffering and the Formation of HopeĀ :: Curt Thompson, MD
What if we could move from anxiety to durable hope?Ā InĀ The Deepest Place, psychiatrist, speaker, and author Curt Thompson invites us to explore how the Apostle Paul's experience of love, secure attachment, and the deeply felt sense of God's abiding presence carried him through the challenges he facedāand how it can help us not just survive, but flourish in the presence of suffering.
Combining scripture with his own professional insight, Thompson helps us discover thatĀ suffering can increase our sense of security rather than our fears; hope is something we form in community; faith can grow out of anger, cynicism, and doubt; perseverance changes our brain and reshapes our imagination; and listening to our bodies helps us find new hope in loss.
What are you reading right now? What books are you looking forward to this summer? Hit comment below and share! My To Be Read list is ready and waiting for your suggestions. :)
Looking for the Spring 2023 book round-up? ā 15 New Books I'm Looking Forward to This Spring
For encouragement in the messy middle, pick up a copy of Kaitlyn's book. Even If Not will help you choose hope for tomorrow when today feels like a question mark and shift from the suspicion that God isnāt kind or present to the truth found in Scripture: on every single page of the story, He is with us and working all things for good. In daylight and darkness, may we find strength to believe even when you canāt see and faith to hold on when it all feels too far gone. The Author really can be trusted.
I don't have a summer list going yet, but I do have a significant stack of books I've been claiming I'm going to read for the last two years sitting on a shelf staring me down. Maybe I'll start there. =D
I love to get lost in fiction (even when I've already read a story before), so the stack of non-fiction gets pushed to the wayside.
On that note, I've had Whose Waves These Are for two days now and I absolutely cannot put it down! I'm already halfway through it, have laughed, and cried, exclaimed out loud, and cried some more.
Life is big. And God is bigger. <3 Thank you for the recommendation.
On my list for this summer is Fatherland by Burkhard Bilger. It is his family story of his grandfather who was a part of the Nazi Party and his turning from that evil. Beyond Colorblind by Sarah Shin. She writes about race relation from a Christian point of view. I just finished a book by the former director of womenās magazines ministry at the church where I work. It is called The Woodbine Chronicles. Her name is Suzanne Stelling. She and her husband chose to leave behind ( in her words ) the white, affluent part of town they lived in to move to the inner city so they could just love on the people in that neighborhood. Itās a wonderful, eye opening book. And of course lots of fiction.