Bishop T.D. Jakes, author of more than 70 books and pastor of the megachurch The Potter’s House Church in Dallas, takes #2 on our Religion Nonfiction chart with Crushing: God Turns Pressure Into Power, which examines age-old questions about why bad things happen to good people. In addition to a five-city book tour, promotions for Crushing included a designated website which hosted a contest to win $1,000 as well as blurbs by Tyler Perry, NFL wide receiver Marquis Goodman, and more.
Husband and wife reality stars of TLC’s Little People, Big World Jeremy and Audrey Roloff debuted at #3 on our nonfiction chart with their guide to dating and marriage, A Love Letter Life. In addition to a 10-city book tour, the authors appeared on FOX & Friends, E! News, and in Good Housekeeping to promote the book. Publisher of Zondervan Books David Morris described A Love Letter Life as having “real solutions and strategies for readers to write their own epic love stories,” according to a statement.
Lysa TerKeurst, whose 2018 devotional was recently named the ECPA’s Christian Book of the Year, came in at #4 with It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way, while Emily P. Freeman’s The Next Right Thing debuted at #6. Freeman, who is part of the (in)courage blogging community, addresses issues related to decision-making in the new book, which is geared toward readers in a major life transition and timed with graduation season. Pre-order incentives included a free download of the audiobook and access to an online course and printable workbook.
Karen Kingsbury’s newly released installment to the Baxter Family series, Two Weeks, put her back at the top of our Religion Fiction chart. The book, which PW called a “winsome inspirational novel” in our review, also boosted sales for its predecessor in the popular series, When We Were Young, which took #10.
