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Spirituality and Religion March 2026 |
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| Work in Progress: Confessions of a Busboy, Dishwasher, Caddy, Usher, Factory Worker... by James Martin, SJThis coming-of-age memoir looks back on the summer jobs, awkward moments, and small lessons that shaped a future Jesuit priest. Told with humor and humility, it reflects on work, character, and the surprising ways ordinary experiences can prepare us for a life of purpose. Readers drawn to this blend of warmth and everyday spirituality might also appreciate Tattoos on the Heart by Gregory Boyle. |
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| Seeing Into the Life of Things: Imagination and the Sacred Encounter by Rodger KamenetzRodger Kamenetz reflects on the spiritual and emotional power of dreams and images, drawing on Jewish and Buddhist wisdom as well as decades of contemplative practice. Through gentle storytelling and practical exercises, he invites readers to cultivate imagination as a pathway to healing and growth. |
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Twelve Churches: An Unlikely History of the Buildings That Made Christianity
by Fergus Butler-Gallie
From blood-soaked stones to hangar megachurches, this globe-trotting history of Christianity explores 12 unforgettable places of worship. With humor and insight, Fergus Butler-Gallie reveals how these sacred spaces reflect the messy, beautiful, and often controversial legacy of faith across continents and centuries.
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Liturgies of the Wild: Myths That Make Us
by Martin Shaw
Martin Shaw proposes that we look to the ancient technologies, the myths and initiatory rites, for help achieving maturity and wholeness. Drawing on his experience as a guide for wilderness rites of passage, Shaw teaches you to read a myth the way it wants to be read; provides vivid retellings of tales powerful enough to carry you through life's travails; and shows you how to gather and reshape your own thrown-away stories.
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Aflame: Learning from Silence
by Pico Iyer
Pico Iyer has made more than one hundred retreats over the past three decades to a small Benedictine hermitage high above the sea in Big Sur, California. He's not a Christian--or a member of any religious group--but his life has been transformed by these periods of time spent in silence. That silence reminds him of what is essential and awakens a joy that nothing can efface. It's not just freedom from distraction and noise and rush: it's a reminder of some deeper truths he misplaced along the way. In Aflame, Iyer connects with inner stillness and joy in his many seasons at the monastery, even as his life is going through constant change: a house burns down, a parent dies, a daughter is diagnosed with cancer. He shares the revelations he experiences, alongside wisdom from other nonmonastics who have learned from adversity and inwardness. And most profoundly, he shows how solitude can be a training in community and companionship. In so doing, he offers a unique outsider's view of monastic life--and of a group of selfless souls who have dedicated their days to ensuring there's a space for quiet and recollection that's open to us all.
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| David Bowie and the Search for Life, Death and God: A Spiritual Meditation on His Music and... by Peter OrmerodThis spiritual portrait of David Bowie traces the religious, philosophical, and mythic influences woven throughout his music and evolving personas. It offers fresh insight into how his lifelong search for meaning fueled his creativity. For readers intrigued by the role of spirituality in creative musical work, consider Leonard Cohen: The Mystical Roots of Genius by Harry Freedman. |
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Miracles and Wonder: The Historical Mystery of Jesus
by Elaine Pagels
Over the past two thousand years, countless personalities have been projected onto the enigma we know as Jesus: a first-century rabbi, capable of miraculous healing, or a magician faking cures; a Prophet, or a deluded visionary; a heretical Jew, or God in human form. In this ... work of accessible scholarship, ... Pagels explores a wide range of sources--including the Bible, the earliest reports of Jesus's life, and the secret 'gnostic gospels, ' discovered in the 20th century--to break down these contradictions and paint a richer and more complex portrait of Jesus in his own time. ... As Christians became the largest community of any religious tradition in the world, Pagels argues, people have constructed and reconstructed Jesus through the lens of imagination, his image shaped by the social, political, and economic challenges of their own time--
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| Serving Up Scripture: How to Interpret the Bible for Yourself and Others by Jennifer Garcia Bashaw and Aaron HigashiUsing the metaphor of cooking, this book introduces readers to the art of interpreting biblical verses with greater clarity and confidence. It breaks down genres, context, and common pitfalls while encouraging curiosity, making biblical study feel approachable for individuals and groups alike. |
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| The Mattering Instinct: How Our Deepest Longing Drives Us and Divides Us by Rebecca Newberger GoldsteinThis thoughtful, curious book explores our deep need to feel like we matter and all the surprising (and sometimes painful) ways we build our lives around that urge. Blending philosophy, psychology, and vivid storytelling, it examines how our longing for significance shapes relationships, creativity, and conflict in a world hungry for purpose. |
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| Are You There, Spirit? It's Me, Travis: Life Lessons from the Other Side by Travis HolpTravis Holp shares his journey toward self acceptance and spiritual connection, weaving insights from his work as a medium together with client stories. Warm and hopeful, this memoir reflects on grief, intuition, and the unexpected moments in which we sense something larger at work in our lives. |
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| Conversations on Faith by Martin Scorsese with Antonio SpadaroIn a series of intimate dialogues with Father Antonio Spadaro, filmmaker Martin Scorsese reflects on his Catholic upbringing, creative influences, and the spiritual questions that run through his films. Their conversations offer a candid look at the evolving faith behind a celebrated artistic life. |
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| Uncomplicate It: Permission to Enjoy God in Your Unique Way by Hosanna WongThis inviting book encourages readers to discover a more personal and flexible relationship with God by honoring their own personality and life season. Through real-life stories and practical reflections, it offers gentle permission to release comparison, rethink expectations, and find meaningful connection in everyday moments. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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