Nonfiction
Apr. 1
Kahlil Gibran’s Little Book of Secrets by Kahil Gibran, edited by Neil Douglas-Klotz (Hampton Roads, $15.95 paper, ISBN 978-1-57174-834-8). This bite-size volume of wisdom is a collection of Gibran’s words on life’s big questions and the mysteries of the spiritual path.
Fish Sandwiches: The Delight of Receiving God’s Promises by Troy Schmidt (NavPress, $15.99 paper, ISBN 978-1-63146-841-4). Schmidt, former writer on The Mickey Mouse Club, strives to reveal the life lessons within one miraculous moment in the Bible, when Jesus takes a few fish and loaves of bread and feeds an entire village.
Becoming Dangerous: Witchy Femmes, Queer Conjurers, and Magical Rebels, edited by Katie West and Jasmine Elliott (Weiser, $16.95 paper, ISBN 978-1-57863-670-9). This is a collection of personal essays from 21 authors that delve into the rituals they use to bring themselves power in a world that threatens them.
Apr. 2
Conversations with the One Made Flesh by Robert Benson (Abingdon, $16.99 paper, ISBN 978-1-4267-4959-9) provides a 30-day sequence of Gospel lessons created by grouping and paraphrasing the words of Jesus into 30 readings for prayer and reflection.
Loving My Actual Neighbor: 7 Practices to Treasure the People Right in Front of You by Alexandra Kuykendall (Baker, $15.99 paper, ISBN 978-0-8010-7537-7). Kuykendall, speaker and cohost of The Open Door Sisterhood podcast, follows practices outlined in the first chapter of 2 Peter in this guide for loving one’s neighbor.
Seculosity: How Career, Parenting, Technology, Food, Politics, and Romance Became Our New Religion and What to Do About It by David Zahl (Fortress, $26.99, ISBN 978-1-5064-4943-2). Zahl, founder of Mockingbird Ministries, provides readers with strategies geared toward bringing back the meaning once provided on Sunday morning.
God’s Favorites: Judaism, Christianity, and the Myth of Divine Chosenness by Michael Coogan (Beacon, $24.95, ISBN 978-0-8070-0194-3). Coogan, lecturer at Harvard Divinity School, explores how the claim of divine choice has been used, from ancient times to the present, to justify territorial expansion and prejudice.
I Choose Honor: The Key to Relationships, Faith, and Life by Rich Wilkerson (Charisma, $17.99 paper, ISBN 978-1-62999-569-4). Through biblical examples and personal stories, pastor Wilkerson aims to help readers grow closer in their relationships with Jesus in order to better appreciate the people around them.
Dwelling: Simple Ways to Nourish Your Home, Body, and Soul by Melissa Michaels (Harvest House, $14.99 paper, ISBN 978-0-7369-6319-0). Blogger Michaels posits that, by making a series of small, intentional choices—including food and cleaning products, but also attitudes and ideas—readers can create a nourishing home life.
The Buddha in Jail: Restoring Lives, Finding Hope and Freedom by Cuong Lu (OR, $18.95, ISBN 978-1-949017-13-7). Cuong, a prison chaplain, describes speaking to inmates about faith and shares his strategies for transforming an inmate’s sense of self.
Next Right Thing: A Simple, Soulful Practice for Making Life Decisions by Emily P. Freeman (Revell, $19.99, ISBN 978-0-8007-3652-1). Freeman asks readers to “simply do the next right thing.” With practical advice, she aims to help readers with making decisions and finding the courage to stop second-guessing.
Most Important Point: Zen Teachings by Edward Espe Brown (Sounds True, $17.95 paper, ISBN 978-1-68364-160-5). A Baker, cook, and Zen priest, Brown offers essays on Zen, food, and living a good life.
A Love Letter Life: Pursue Creatively, Date Intentionally, Love Faithfully by Jeremy and Audrey Roloff (Zondervan, $26.99, ISBN 978-0-310-35362-1). The Roloffs, stars of TV’s Little People, Big World, share what they learned from their dating journey in an effort to better equip readers to build faith-filled relationships.
Wild Mercy by Starr Mirabai (Sounds True, $17.95 paper, ISBN 978-1683641568) explores stories of feminine mysticism from across cultures and throughout history to “provide a much-needed alternative” to the religion and spirituality presented under masculine rule, according to the publisher.
The Shot Caller by Casey Diaz (Thomas Nelson, $17.99 paper, ISBN 978-0785224389). Diaz, a former gang leader who grew up in Los Angeles, recalls his incarceration, an encounter with God, and his new life as a business owner and church teacher.
A Sin by Any Other Name by Robert E. Lee (Convergent, $25, ISBN 978-0525576389). Lee, a descendant of the Confederate General, confronts privilege and racism as he reflects on his childhood as a white Christian in the South.
Apr. 8
A Saint of Our Own: How the Quest for a Holy Hero Helped Catholics Become American by Kathleen Sprows Cummings (Univ. of North Carolina, $28, ISBN 978-1-4696-4947-4). Though canonization may be fundamentally about holiness, it is never only about holiness, argues historian Cummings in this chronicle of American sanctity.
Apr. 9
On Faith: Lessons from an American Believer by Antonin Scalia (Crown Forum, $22, ISBN 978-1-984823-31-1). This is a collection of the late Supreme Court justice’s reflections on his own faith, on the challenges that religious believers face in modern America, and on the religious freedoms protected by the Constitution.
Fire by Night by Melissa Florer-Bixler (Herald, $16.99 paper, ISBN 978-1513804187). Pastor Florer-Bixler offers a new reading of the Old Testament that “leads to thoughtful musings on issues including white supremacy, immigration, and the treatment of people with intellectual disabilities,” according to our starred review.
Apr. 11
Dangerous Illusions: How Religion Deprives Us of Happiness by Vitaly Malkin (Arcadia, $30, ISBN 978-1-911350-28-6). Russian billionaire Malkin sets out to explore the irrational demands of religion, scrutinizing such topics as asceticism, celibacy, evil, pleasure, sex, and suffering.
Apr. 16
The Gospel of Our King: Bible, Worldview, and the Mission of Every Christian by Bruce Riley Ashford and Heath A. Thomas (Baker Academic, $22.99 paper, ISBN 978-0-8010-4903-3). This overview from two professors of theology aims to show how the Bible provides an overarching story about God “the King” and explain how the Christian mission addresses the totality of human life.
What’s Next? The Journey to Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, and Make a Difference by Chris Hodges (Thomas Nelson, $17.99 paper, ISBN 978-0-7180-9156-9). Pastor Hodges offers Christians four steps to spiritual maturity: knowing God, finding freedom, discovering purpose, and making a difference.
Reforesting Faith: What Trees Teach Us About the Nature of God and His Love for Us by Matthew Sleeth (WaterBrook, $21.99, ISBN 978-0-7352-9175-1). Sleeth suggests inspirational and practical ways to express love for God and one’s neighbors by planting physical trees and spiritual roots in every community.
Apr. 17
Christ Walk Crushed: A 40-Day Journey toward Reconciliation by Anna Fitch Courie, with David W. Peters (Church, $19.95 paper, ISBN 978-1-64065-115-9). Nurse and Army wife Courie provides a 40-day course that aims to bring God into the healing process for readers suffering from moral injury, illness, or emotional trauma.
Apr. 22
In a Pure Muslim Land: Shi’ism between Pakistan and the Middle East by Simon Wolfgang Fuchs (Univ. of North Carolina, $34.95 paper, ISBN 978-1-4696-4979-5). Centering Pakistan in a story of transnational Islam stretching from South Asia to the Middle East, Wolfgang Fuchs offers an in-depth ethnographic history of the intellectual production of Shi’is and their religious competitors.
Apr. 26
Gospel for the Poor: Global Social Christianity and the Latin American Evangelical Left by David C. Kirkpatrick (Univ. of Pennsylvania, $55, ISBN 978-0-8122-5094-7). Kirkpatrick makes the case that the Lausanne Congress was influential because, for the first time, theologians from the global South gained a place at the table of the world’s evangelical leadership.
Apr. 30
Religion in the Modern World: Celebrating Pluralism and Diversity by Keith Ward (Cambridge Univ., $28.99 paper, ISBN 978-1-108-49249-2). Ward, professor of religious studies at University of Roehampton, examines how religions have evolved over time, and how they are reacting to the challenges posed by new scientific and moral beliefs.
America’s Holy Ground: 60 Faithful Reflections on Our National Parks by Brad Lyons and Bruce Barkhauer (Chalice, $21.99 paper, ISBN 978-0-8272-0075-3). Journalist Lyons and pastor Barkhauer share spiritual reflections and more than 160 color photos from each of the 60 American national parks.
Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the World’s Largest Religion by Rebecca McLaughlin (Crossway, $24.99, ISBN 978-1-4335-6423-9). Addressing 12 controversial issues about Christianity, McLaughlin, cofounder of Vocable Communications, seeks to show how current psychological and scientific research aligns with teachings from the Bible.
Buddhism: An Introduction to the Buddha’s Life, Teachings, and Practices by Joan Duncan Oliver (St. Martin’s Essentials, $14.99 paper, ISBN 978-1-250-31368-3). Oliver, editor at Buddhist magazine Tricycle, aims to provide a modern guide to the essential teachings of Buddhism, with overviews of central teachings including the four noble truths, the eightfold path, and the role of meditation and mindfulness.
Fiction
Apr. 2
Two Weeks by Karen Kingsbury (Howard, $25, ISBN 978-1-4767-0743-3). This story of redemption set in the Baxter Family series centers on a couple who are desperately waiting to bring their adopted child home and a young mother about to make the biggest decision of her life.
Silken Thread by Kim Vogel Sawyer (WaterBrook, $14.99 paper, ISBN 978-0-7352-9012-9). Laurel Millard, the youngest of seven children, is expected to stay home. But operating a silk loom at the International Cotton Exposition at the Atlanta Exposition might change her fortunes.
The Tinderbox by Beverly Lewis (Bethany House, $15.99 paper, 9780764232831). Sylvia Miller unlocks her father’s old tinderbox and unknowingly reveals secrets that set off a major change in her Amish community.
Apr. 30
The Heart of a King by Jill Eileen Smith (Revell, $15.99 paper, ISBN 978-0-8007-2240-1). Smith’s biblical novel takes readers to ancient Israel, centering on four women close to King Solomon: Naamah, the desert princess; Abishag, the shepherdess; Siti, the daughter of a pharaoh; and Nicaula, the queen of Sheba.
The Refuge by Ann H. Gabhart (Revell, $15.99 paper, ISBN 978-0-8007-2927-1). When Darcie and Walter Goodwin hear of a new cholera epidemic sweeping the area near Harmony Hill, they join the Shakers, whose villages seem immune to the disease.
