HANCOCK COUNTY — With the start of summer comes talk of leisure reading options, whether those books are pulled from a beach bag or read from a device on the back porch.
The Daily Reporter talked to authors, pastors, church book club members and librarians about books they’ve enjoyed and ideas for summer reading. We asked for both theological works and also not-overtly-spiritual books that were nonetheless compelling for people of faith to discuss. Here are titles they mentioned.
ADULT NONFICTION
“The Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth and Faith in the New China” by Evan Osnos
“Catch a Star: Shining Through Adversity to Become a Champion” by Tamika Catchings
“Crazy Love” by Francis Chan
“Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania” by Erik Larson
“Devil at My Heels” by Louis Zamperini
“Escape from Corregidor” by Edgar D. Whitcomb
“Future Grace” by John Piper
“God’s Double Agent” by Bob Fu
“The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II” by Denise Kiernan
“Grit” by Angela Duckworth
“The Holy Spirit: Activating God’s Power in Your Life” by Billy Graham
“Jesus is ______.” by Judah Smith
“Lasting Impact: 7 Powerful Conversations That Will Help Your Church Grow” by Carey Nieuwhof
“Leading Causes of Life” by Gary Gunderson
“A Little Book of Joy: The Secret of Living a Good News Life in a Bad News World” by Matthew C. Harrison and John T. Pless
“Love Does” by Bob Goff
“Muslims in America: A Short History” by Edward E. Curtis IV
“Mere Christianity” by C.S. Lewis
“My Beloved World” by Sonia Sotomayor
“A New Promised Land: A History of Jews in America” by Hasia Diner
“Not Forgotten” by Kenneth Bae
“Outstanding Leadership” by Stan Toler
“Overwhlemed” by Perry Noble
“The Sacred Romance: Drawing Closer to the Heart of God” by John Eldredge
“The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal” by David McCullough
“Through Painted Deserts: Light, God and Beauty on the Open Road” by Donald Miller
“Remembrances of My Past 93 Years Growing Up in the Great Smoky Mountains” by Lucinda Oakley Ogle and Henry Walker
“Servolution” by Dino Rizzo
“Walking Taylor Home: A Fatal Disease, a Father’s Love, and a Son’s Courageous Journey” by Brian Schrauger
“World Religions: The Great Faiths Explored and Explained” by John Bowker
“The Wright Brothers” by David McCullough
ADULT FICTION
“Calculating God” by Robert J. Sawyer
“Go Set a Watchman” by Harper Lee
“To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee
“How Hackleburg Became a 13-Pie Church” by Riley B. Case
“The Nightingale” by Kristin Hannah
“Sarah’s Key” by Tatiana de Rosnay
“The Shack” by William P. Young
FOR YOUNG READERS
Picture books
“You Can Be a Friend” by Tony Dungy
“Always Daddy’s Princess” by Karen Kingsbury
“You are Special” by Max Lucado
“The Oak Inside the Acorn” by Max Lucado
“Wonderfully Made” by Joyce Meyer
“The Merchant and the Thief: A Folktale from India” by Ravi K. Zacharias
“Thank You, God, for Everything” by August Gold
“He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands” by Kadir Nelson
“God’s Dream” by Desmond Tutu
“How Big is God?” by Lisa Tawn Bergren
“Jonah’s Whale” by Eileen Spinelli
“Mortimer’s First Garden” by Karma Wilson
“Early Chapter Books (Grades 2 to 4)
“Rachel Yoder — Always Trouble Somewhere (series)” by Wanda Brunstetter
“London Art Chase” by Natalie Grant
“The Cul-de-sac Kids” by Beverly Lewis
“Imagination Station” by Marianne Hering
“The Three Cousins Detective Club” by Elspeth Campbell Murphy
Children’s novels (Grades 4-6)
“Rock Harbor Search and Rescue” by Colleen Coble
“Mandie (series)” by Lois Gladys Leppard
“Confessions of April Grace” by K. D. McCrite
“The Good News Shoes — Faithgirlz (series)” by Jill Osborne
“Realm Walkers (series)” by Donita K. Paul (this one could be more grades 5 to 8)
“The Chronicles of Narnia” by C.S. Lewis
Teens (Grades 6 to 12)
“Live Original” by Sadie Robertson
“A Daring Sacrifice” by Jody Hedlund
“Life at Kingston High (series)” by Melody Carlson
“The Dating Games (series)” by Melody Carlson
“Code of Silence” by Tim Shoemaker
“The Katy Lambright Series” by Kim Vogel Sawyer
“The Christy Miller Series” by Robin Jones Gunn
“The Sierra Jensen Series” by Robin Jones Gunn
“The Door Within Series” by Wayne Thomas Batson
“Books of the Infinite (series)” by R.J. Lawson
“Son of Angels (series)” by Jerel Law
“The Lost Book Series (fiction and graphic novel)” by Ted Dekker
“Renegade Spirit Series” by Jerry B. Jenkins
“Dragons in Our Midst” by Bryan Davis
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Join the conversation! Find this story on our Facebook page; in the comments, include your book picks, using the hash tag #drfaithreads.
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