Religion and Spirituality Books Preview: October 2021 – Publishers Weekly

Nonfiction

Oct. 1

Seriously, God? Making Sense of Life Not Making Sense (Ave Maria, $16.95, trade paper, ISBN 978-1-64680-084-1). Michael White and Tom Corcoran explore the denial, doubt, and betrayal felt when facing hardship, pain, and grief. They suggest every circumstance is a chance to learn more about God.

A Short History of Islamic Thought (Oxford Univ., $21.95, ISBN 978-0-19-752201-1). Fitzroy Morrissey explores the people and ideas that have defined Islamic theology, philosophy, and law since the 7th century, drawing on Arabic and Persian primary texts, as well as the latest scholarship.

Oct. 5

Church of the Wild: How Nature Invites Us into the Sacred (Broadleaf, $17.99, trade paper, ISBN 978-1-5064-6964-5). Victoria Loorz, cofounder of the Wild Church Network and Seminary of the Wild, makes the case for deepening our commitment to a suffering earth, falling in love with nature and calling the wild world a church in communion with all creatures

Were All Freaking Out (and Why We Dont Need To): Finding Freedom from Your Anxious Thoughts and Feelings (WaterBrook, $16, trade paper, ISBN 978-0-593-19363-1).Pastor and podcaster David Marvin offers young adults biblical teaching and hard-won advice for confronting debilitating anxiety and fear with six tools God offers to give them a roadmap to peace.

Where Do We Go from Here? Strategic Living for Stressful Times (Thomas Nelson, $26.99, ISBN 978-0-7852-2419-8). Bible teacher and pastor, David Jeremiah shares how biblical prophecies and wisdom from centuries ago still speak the truth today and point the way forward.

Reading Evangelicals: How Christian Fiction Shaped a Culture and a Faith (Eerdmans, $27.99, ISBN 978-0-8028-7935-6). Journalist and historian Daniel Silliman looks at five best-selling novels beloved by evangelicals, their impact on Christian culture and on the bookstores that supported them.

Made to Worship: Empty Idols and the Fullness of God (Focus on the Family, $16.99, trade paper, ISBN 978-1-58997-709-9). Phil Staceys experience appearing on American Idol in 2007 nearly derailed his life until he turned that fame into opportunities to spread the Gospel.

Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet (HarperOne, $27.99, ISBN 978-0-06-295479-4). Revered Buddhist spiritual leader Thich Nhat Han shares his wisdom, parables, and meditations on how people can contribute to the collective awakening and environmental revolution desperately needed in this fractured world.

God in the Modern Wing: Viewing Art with Eyes of Faith (IVP Academic, $30, trade paper, ISBN 978-0-8308-5069-3). Coeditors Cameron J. Anderson and G. Walter Hansen offer the reflections of artists, art historians, and theologians who collectively offer a complex narrative of the history of modern art and its place in the Christian life.

Power Women: Stories of Motherhood, Faith, and the Academy (IVP Academic, $28, trade paper, ISBN 978-0-8308-5306-9). Coeditors Nancy Wang Yuen and Deshonna Collier-Goubil offer a collection of essays on how Christian women navigate the complex pressures of combining academic careers with family life and church, and how they find many paths to thrive.

Jesus Followers: Real-Life Lessons for Igniting Faith in the Next Generation (Multnomah, $24, ISBN 978-0-525-65120-8). Evangelist Billy Grahams daughter Anne Graham Lotz and her daughter, Rachel-Ruth Lotz Wright team up to offer stories of their family life and share spiritual wisdom and practical insight for raising the next generation of Christians.

When the Universe Cracks: Living as Gods People in Times of Crisis (NavPress, $16.99, trade paper, ISBN 978-1-64158-409-8). Angie Ward offers a collection of wisdom from Christian thought leaders, pastors, and scholars on how God can be trusted when the world is ripe with strife, and we face personal crises

A Book Called You: Understanding the Enneagram from a Grace-Filled, Biblical Perspective (Thomas Nelson, $18.99, trade paper, ISBN 978-0-7852-4085-3). Matthew Stephen Brown looks at the Enneagram personality test and aligns its nine types of people with people in the Bible to help people better understand themselves and their relationships.

Oct. 12

Wanderlost: Falling from Grace and Finding Mercy in All the Wrong Places (Paraclete, $18, trade paper, ISBN 978-1-64060-674-6). Natalie Toon Pattons coming-of-age travel memoir probes thorny spiritual questions while taking the reader on a wild ride across the U.S. and around the world.

Is Atheism Dead? (Salem, $26.99, ISBN 978-1-68451-173-0). Conservative radio host Eric Metaxas argues against the idea of a creatorless universe, setting out to show atheism to be implausible, intellectually sloppy, even demonstrably ridiculous.

Pray Confidently and Consistently: Finally Let Go of the Things Holding You Back from Your Most Important Conversation (Tyndale Momentum, $19.99, ISBN 978-1-4964-5199-6). Valerie Woerner, popular author of prayer journals, advises on how to ditch the burdens that are suffocating your prayer life.

The Little Book of Tibetan Rites and Rituals: Simple Practices for Rejuvenating the Mind, Body and Spirit (Ulysses, $17.95, ISBN 978-1-64604-252-4). Author and yoga teacher Judy Tsuei offers exercises, Buddhist wisdom and life advice from Lamas on integrating ancient practices with modern life.

Words from the Window Seat: The Everyday Magic of Kindness, Courage, and Being Your True Self (Thomas Nelson, $18.99, trade paper, ISBN 978-1-4002-2537-8).Flight attendant and blogger Taylor Tippett, who became known in 2015 for leaving upbeat notes for passengers, shares how readers can find encouragement and meaning in a dark and broken world.

When Strivings Cease: Replacing the Gospel of Self-improvement with the Gospel of Life-Transforming Grace (Thomas Nelson, $26.99, ISBN 978-1-4002-2499-9). Bestselling author, artist and speaker Ruth Chou Simons (Beholding and Becoming: The Art of Everyday Worship) calls women to discover how Gods profound gift of grace gives them freedom from the never-ending quest for approval and affirmation.

You Are Not Your Own: Belonging to God in an Inhuman World (IVP, $22, ISBN 978-0-8308-4782-2). Alan Noble, co-founder and editor of christandpopculture.com and author (Disruptive Witness), explores how recognizing that we belong body and soul to Jesus Christ reframes the way we understand ourselves, our families, our society, and God.

Muhammad, the World-Changer: An Intimate Portrait (St. Martins Essentials, $29.99, ISBN 978-1-250-23964-8). Mohamad Jebaras biography places the prophet of Islams life in a broader historical context, evoking the Meccan society he was born into and arguing that his innovative vision helped shape our modern world.

Oct. 14

At the Blue Hole: Elegy for a Church on the Edge (Eerdmans, $21.99, trade paper, ISBN 978-0-8028-7952-3). Minister Jack R. Reese sounds the alarm for Churches of Christ in America, which are rapidly losing members, and points toward a hidden spring of hope, like the blue hole," that flows into the San Antonio River near his church.

Oct. 19

Xuanzang: Chinas Legendary Pilgrim and Translator (Shambhala, 19, $24.95, trade paper, ISBN 978-1-61180-722-6). Benjamin Brose follows the 7th century monks 16-year travels through China and India to locate and study authentic Buddhist teachings, and his immense influence on Chinese Buddhism.

Redeeming Your time: 7 Biblical Principles for Being Purposeful, Present, and Wildly Productive (WaterBrook, $24, ISBN 978-0-593-19307-5). Entrepreneur and author Jordan Raynor integrates life management practices and Jesuss teachings to equip readers to do their most exceptional work for the glory of God and the good of others.

Repurposed: How God Turns Your Mess into His Message (B&H, $17.99, trade paper, ISBN 978-1-0877-4049-2). Pastor Noe Garcia shares how God redeemed him from a life of abuse, depression, and overwhelming hopelessness and reminds readers that God will use their own broken lives for their good.

Forty Days on Being an Eight (IVP, $15, ISBN 978-0-8308-4756-3). Pastor, activist, and worship leader, Sandra Maria Van Opstal, describes her experience as an Enneagram Number Eight, a fiery personality in the tests numerology, and how she learned to find her strengths in this volume edited by Enneagram master Suzanne Stabile.

The Guide to Enlightenment: Why the Teacher Still Matters in Buddhism Today (Shambhala, $17.95, trade paper, ISBN 978-1-61180-853-7). Carolyn Kanjuro and Allison Choying Zangmo discuss the benefits of having a teacher, how to find one and how to resolve issues of miscommunication and confrontation.

Oct. 26

Come and Hear: What I Saw in My Seven-and-a-Half-Year Journey through the Talmud (Brandeis Univ., $27.95, ISBN 978-1-68458-067-5). Literary critic Adam Kirsch shares what he learned when he read one page of the Talmud, the collection of ancient Jewish rabbinical wisdom and commentary on the Hebrew Bible, every day for 2,711 days.

Why Cant Church Be More Like an AA Meeting? And Other Questions Christians Ask About Recovery (Eerdmans, $19.99, trade paper, ISBN 978-0-8028-7885-4). Stephen R. Haynes (The Battle for Bonhoeffer) explores the history of Alcoholics Anonymous, which emerged from the Christian parachurch movement.

Good News about Injustice: A Witness of Courage in a Hurting World (IVP, $20 paper, ISBN 978-0-8308-4867-6). Gary A. Haugen offers stories of Christians who have stood up for justice in the face of human trafficking, forced prostitution, racial and religious persecution, and torture. This is one of the special editions marking the 75th anniversary of IVP.

With Fresh Eyes: 60 Insights into the Miraculously Ordinary from a Woman Born Blind (Kregel, $18.99, trade paper, ISBN 978-0-8254-4681-8). When surgery gave Karen Wingate the ability as an adult to see things she never saw before, she saw God in every new discovery and shares these in 60 meditations.

The Power of Place: Choosing Stability in a Rootless Age (Thomas Nelson, $22.99, ISBN 978-1-4002-1253-8). Teaching pastor Daniel Grothe speaks to the sense of loneliness that many feel in todays age of hypermobility and noncommittal wandering, reminding us of the ancient vow of stability, and teaching us how we can lead a richer life of friendship, community, and purpose.

God is a Grunt: And More Good News for GIs (Worthy, $26, ISBN 978-1-5460-0050-1). Logan M. Isaac offers a well-researched, Biblically-based meditative guide for Christian soldiers returning from war, providing resources to discern a better way of discipleship for GIs.

Fiction

Oct.1

The Librarians Journey: 4 Historical Romances (Barbour, $14.99, trade paper, ISBN 978-1-63609-025-2). Four authorsPatty Smith Hall, Cynthia Hickey, Marilyn Turk, and Kathleen YBarbospin stories inspired by the women who went on horseback through remote communities bringing books and encouraging literacy during the Great Depression.

Oct. 5

Labyrinth of Lies (Revell, $16.99, trade paper, ISBN 978-0-8007-3618-7). In romantic suspense specialist Irene Hannons latest novel, a student disappears from an exclusive girls boarding school and police detective Cate Reilly takes on the dangerous undercover assignment to find her.

All that is Secret (Tyndale Fiction, $25.99, ISBN 978-1-4964-5837-7) Patricia Raybons new historical mystery series offers a riveting puzzle confronting the hidden secrets of class, race, family, and love.

Oct. 12

Every Knee Shall Bow (Revell, $26.99, ISBN 978-0-8007-3818-1). Bryan Litfin sets his novel in 316 AD with a tale of courage, defiance, and humble submission to God in the age of imperial Christianity.

Oct. 19

Freedoms Song (WaterBrook, $16, trade paper, ISBN 978-0-525-65370-7). Kim Vogel Sawyers tale features a runaway indentured servant, a group of enslaved people fleeing for their liberty, and an overwhelmed widower struggle to find delivery physical, emotional, or spiritual.

Oct. 26

An Unexpected Amish Christmas (Zebra, $8.99, mass market, ISBN 978-1-4201-5040-7). In Rachel J. Goods new "Surprised By Love" Amish romance series, two lonely pen palsa grieving woman with too many responsibilities and a shy man paralyzed in the buggy accident that killed his familyfall in love through their letters.

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Religion and Spirituality Books Preview: October 2021 - Publishers Weekly