| Cloistered: My Years as a Nun by Catherine ColdstreamIn this candid and thought-provoking memoir, former nun Catherine Colstream reflects on her time as a Carmelite at Akenside Priory in northern England, the circumstances that motivated her to join the order, and the internal conflicts that eventually led to her departure. |
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| To Be a Jew Today: A New Guide to God, Israel, and the Jewish People by Noah FeldmanWell-researched, accessible, and timely, this sobering exploration of modern Judaism surveys the religion's different schools of thought, practice, and identity. Don't miss: the discussions of Israel as a concept and as a modern nation-state, which the author takes great pains to differentiate between while encouraging readers to confront issues like nationalism and the ongoing war in Palestine. |
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| Judaism is About Love: Recovering the Heart of Jewish Life by Shai HeldIn this moving and persuasive look at prevailing narratives about Christianity and Judaism, author Rabbi Shai Held pushes back against the idea that the former is about belief while the latter is about action; or that Christianity is more defined by love and Judaism by law. Recommended for readers looking to deepen the spiritual experience of their Jewish practice and reconnect it with God's love. |
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| The Life of the Qur'an: From Eternal Roots to Enduring Legacy by Mohamad JebaraRichly detailed yet approachable, this sweeping chronicle of the Qur'an explores its history as both holy scripture and transmitted text, across the historical, cultural, and linguistic contexts through which it traveled as it spread across the world. |
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| Somehow: Thoughts on Love by Anne LamottReligious memoir mainstay Anne Lamott brings her well-established candor and thoughtfulness to this examination of love in its many forms, from the parental to sacred to the love of one's community. Who it's for: established fans of Lamott's work. Newer readers might want to start with her other titles like Help Thanks Wow or Traveling Mercies. |
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| The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church by Sarah McCammonNPR correspondent Sarah McCammon examines the recent, relatively sharp decline in membership in evangelical churches, drawing interviews with others who left their churches and on her own experience being raised in a strict religious environment. Don't miss: the exploration of how responding to large cultural shifts has shaped evangelical churches since the 1970s. |
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| God's Ghostwriters: Enslaved Christians and the Making of the Bible by Candida MossEngaging and richly detailed, God's Ghostwriters looks at Christianity and the crucial role that enslaved people played in spreading the faith and even compiling the the Bible to begin with, with a particular focus on the inescapable role that Roman imperial rule played in keeping people in bondage. |
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| Reading Genesis by Marilynne RobinsonJust as she does in her fiction, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Marilynne Robinson pairs her love of literature with her interest in theology in this thought-provoking close reading of the book of Genesis. Topics include: the "show, don't tell" storytelling rule of thumb, character archetypes as applied to biblical figures, and concepts like grace and justice. |
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| Imagine Freedom: Transforming Pain into Political and Spiritual Power by Rahiel TesfamariamGrounded in her history with liberation theology, journalist, activist, and minister Rahiel Tesfamariam urges Black Americans to reconnect with continental Africans as a means of decolonizing the mind, body, and spirit and to explore Christian ideas of resilience, resistance, and redemption. |
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