The Month in Reviews: July 2026

Introduction

This was the month I read Jill Lepore’s book on the constitution for our nation’s 250th birthday and finished my fourth Jane Austen novel. I also finally read Richard Hayes landmark book on New Testament ethics. Then I reviewed the second discussion guide for moms, just as good as the first, from Kathy Tuan-Maclean and Tara Edelschick. In theology, I read wonderful books on God’s glory, on the atonement in Leviticus (!), on cultural apologetics, and on biblical interpretation from an Indigenous Peoples perspective. Then, I discovered The Felse Investigations, by Ellis Peters, reading two of them. Along the way, I reviewed John Green on tuberculosis, an inspiring memoir beginning with a near-fatal fall, and a book on disability. I would also highlight books on the peace prayer of St. Francis and a rich book on the eucharist. There are a number of other treasures in this list–twenty-two in all! Maybe you’ll find some good ones for that last month of summer.

The Reviews

Desolation Mountain (Cork O’Connor, 17) William Kent Krueger. Atria Paperback (ISBN: 9781501147470) 2019. When a U.S. senator’s plane crashes, Cork seeks the truth behind the crash and Stephen, a recurring dream. Review

Feasting on Hope, Hannah Miller King, foreword by Esau McCaulley. InterVarsity Press | Formatio (ISBN: 9781514011140) 2026. Through her own story of loss, shows how Communion sets our grief within the larger reality of Christian hope. Review

Reading Evangelicals, Daniel Silliman. Wm B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (ISBN: 9780802886477) 2025. A study of how the Christian fiction evangelicals read in recent decades shaped the evangelical imagination. Review

Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace, Mark DeYmaz. NavPress (ISBN: 9798898020170) 2026. A reflection on the Prayer of St Francis and how we might be transformed into instruments of peace. Review

The Red and the Green, Iris Murdoch. Open Road Integrated Media (ISBN: 9781453201190) 2010, first published in 1965. The tangled lives and loves of a Dublin Irish family at the time of the Irish Rebellion of Easter Monday 1916. Review

Reading the Bible on Turtle Island, T. Christopher Hoklotubbe and H. Daniel Zacharias, foreword by Shari Russell. IVP Academic (ISBN: 9781514007563) 2025. A reading of scripture that takes North American indigenous culture and experience seriously. Review

The Gospel After Christendom, edited by Collin Hansen, Skyler R. Fowers, and Ivan Mesa. Zondervan Reflective (ISBN: 9780310175476) 2025. An intro to cultural apologetics, explaining how it is done and in what context, and what questions it answers. Review

Thriving in a Relationship When You Have a Chronic Illness, Lisa Gray, LFMT. New Harbinger Publications (ISBN: 9781648486081) 2025. Using ACT therapy, skills to keep relationships strong during chronic illness. Review

Beauty and Resistance, Jonathan P. Walton. InterVarsity Press (ISBN: 9781514012284) 2025. A rule of life for those engaged in justice efforts in which beauty and resistance flow from a rested life. Review

Enacting Atonement (Studies in Christian Doctrine and Scripture), Roy McDaniel. IVP Academic (ISBN: 9781514012529) 2025. A study of the burnt offering of Leviticus 1:1-9 and how it displays the logic of atonement fulfilled in Christ. Review

We the People, Jill Lepore. Liveright (ISBN: 9781631496080) 2025. A history of the Constitution, focusing on the amendments and how difficult it has been to amend the constitution. Review

The Knocker on Death’s Door (The Felse Investigations, 10), Ellis Peters. Mysterious Press (ISBN: 9781504027151) 2015, first published in 1970. Felse investigates two assaults, one a murder, by a church door that has a legend associated with its knocker. Review

Moms on the Way (IVP Bible Study Experience), Kathy Tuan-Maclean and Tara Edelschick. IVP Bible Studies (ISBN: 9781514014202) 2026. A seven week Bible study for groups with personal readings on following Jesus through the challenges of motherhood. Review

The Earth Will Be Filled, (Essential Studies in Biblical Theology), Donnie Berry. IVP Academic (ISBN: 9781514010778) 2025. The glory of God in scripture, that God reveals his glory to his people and through them, to fill the earth. Review

Words that Shape Us, Ken Waters, foreword by John Ferré. Integratio Press (ISBN: 9781959685296) 2025. A comparative analysis of four evangelical periodicals coverage of American politics and faith from 2016 to 2024. Review

Theo of Golden, Allen Levi. Atria Books (ISBN: 9781668236512) 2025. An old man moves to Golden, sees portraits in a coffee shop and in powerful personal encounters gives them to their owners. Review

Persuasion, Jane Austen. Penguin Classics (ISBN: 9780141439686) 2003, first published 1817. Will Anne Elliot retrieve the missed opportunity of a broken engagement with Captain Wentworth eight years later? Review

The Way of Dante (Hansen Lectureship Series), Richard Hughes Gibson, afterword by Nicole Mazzarella. IVP Academic (ISBN: 9781514013380) 2025. Lectures exploring how C.S. Lewis, Dorothy L. Sayers, and Charles Williams read Dante’s “Divine Comedy.” Review

The Moral Vision of the New Testament, Richard B. Hays. HarperOne (ISBN: 9780060637965) 1996. A methodology for New Testament ethics centered on community, the cross, and the new creation. Review

Falling Into a Good Life (Literary Scholar), Laurel Richardson. Paper Stars Press (ISBN: 9781737862451) 2026. Laurel Richardson miraculously recovered from a serious fall leading to a reinventing of her life in a new place. Review

Everything is Tuberculosis, John Green. Crash Course Books (ISBN: 9780525556572) 2025. A scientific and social history of this deadly disease seen up close in the struggle of one young man to live. Review

A Nice Derangement of Epitaphs (The Felse Investigations, 4) Ellis Peters. Open Road Media (ISBN: 9781504027090) 2015, first published in 1965. When a poet’s tomb is opened, two newer bodies are found, the poet’s is missing and his wife’s buried alive. Review

Best Book of the Month

Everyone I know raved about the book. So I was prepared to be disappointed. Instead, I was absolutely delighted with Allen Levi’s Theo of Golden. In encounters with people, Theo notices and names the best in people and invites them to live into that. Not only that, he is humbly and sometimes, anonymously generous. Genuinely good characters who aren’t sickly sweet are hard to create. However, Levi succeeds with Theo. Even sadness and anger are turned to good. Then the book gently invites us to consider being Theos in a world desperately in need of them. I’m late to the party on this one, but if you haven’t read it, it will warm your heart!

Quote of the Month

The idea of the “glory of God” is difficult for all of us to wrap our minds around. But in The Earth Will Be Filled, Donnie Berry surveys how the glory of God is portrayed throughout scripture. Thus he offers this definition, that I found quite helpful:

“Glory refers to all the fullness of the triune God–the fullness of his wisdom, love, creativity, beauty, strength, compassion, justice, life, joy–all that makes him weighty and wonderful, made manifest for us to see, experience, respond to, and, perhaps most surprisingly, participate in” (p. 7).

What I’m Reading

I’m just beginning The Wounded Generation, by David Nasaw. Before we knew about PTSD, the veterans of World War II returned home. But they experienced its symptoms. My father was a World War II veteran and proud of his service (so were we). But he never said much about his time in Europe, apart from meeting a famous general. I wonder now if he carried invisible wounds from that war.

I’m also reading The Black Agenda, a set of essays written during the pandemic about Black aspirations. Sadly, much of this falls on unreceptive ears at present. With the film adaptation of The Odyssey, there is interest in reading the classics. Nadya Williams offers a great introduction, especially for Christians, to reading the Greek and Latin Classics. Guards! Guards! is the eighth in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series, and like all of them, just good fun.

Finally, Oh What A Day by John B. Hatch with contributions from Phil Keaggy chronicles the artistry of this pioneer Christian recording artist by walking track by track through his first solo album. This takes me back to my Christian roots in the Jesus Movement. He sang at the same rally where I first testified publicly to my faith, on the front lawn of my church. We were not only from the same hometown of Youngstown. We also lived for a time on the same street, he renting from a woman whose grass I cut. I heard him work on some of the music on this album and perform the songs live. With this book, I’ve dusted off my fifty-year-old recording and am appreciating anew the sheer musicality of songs that were part of my own spiritual journey.

The Month in Reviews is my monthly review summary going back to 2014! It’s a great way to browse what I’ve reviewed. The search box on this blog also works well if you are looking for a review of a particular book. So, thanks for stopping by and feel free to share this with others!

The Month in Reviews: June 2026

Introduction

We are in the midst of a heat wave with high humidity and temperatures in the mid-90’s. But the books of this past month have been like a cold glass of iced tea! Tish Harrison Warren’s newest (pictured above) was truly refreshment for the soul. I loved the writing, voice, and story of I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger, an author I stumbled upon serendipitously. Nothing Can Separate Us gave me another dose of the rich writing of Howard Thurman. Good theology always refreshes me and so Robert Letham’s in-depth study, The Eternal Son, abounded in insights on the wonder of the second person of the Trinity. Amy Peeler’s Ordinary Time was indeed timely. Then Agatha Christie and Terry Pratchett both make for some great light reads. There are twenty-one review here in all. So, I hope you might find something that is your cold glass of tea!

The Reviews

From the Outrageous to the Scandalous, Robert H. Woods Jr. and Mark Allan Steiner, eds. Integratio Press (ISBN: 9781959685333) 2025. A collection of essays reflecting on Christian scholarship 30 years after Marsden and Noll’s books. Review

The Universal Baseball Association, Inc., J. Henry Waugh, Prop., Robert Coover. New York Review of Books (ISBN: 9798896230182) 2026 (first published in 1968). An accountant creates a fantasy baseball league that takes over his life. Review

Nicaea for Today, Coleman M. Ford and Shawn J. Wilhite. B & H Academic (ISBN: 9781430091547) 2025. The history, meaning, and contemporary significance of the Nicene Creed and how it may be used in churches today. Review

Mrs. McGinty’s Dead (Hercule Poirot, 29), Agatha Christie. William Morrow Paperbacks (ISBN: 9780063376915) 2025, first published in 1952. Superintendent Spence doesn’t think the man he helped convict in Mrs. McGinty’s murder is guilty and asks Poirot’s help. Review

What Grows in Weary Lands, Tish Harrison Warren. Convergent Books (ISBN: 9780593728840) 2026. Lessons for the weary from the desert fathers and mothers on practices that cultivate resilience and renewal. Review

Love in a Time of Climate Change (Revised edition), Sharon Delgado. Fortress Press (ISBN: 9798889837206) 2026, first edition 2017. Uses the Wesleyan Quadrilateral to discern a faithful Christian response to the realities of climate change. Review

Hard Feelings, Daniel Smith. Simon & Schuster (ISBN: 9781982103903) 2026. We are inclined to suppress negative emotions but if we listen to what they are saying about ourselves, we gain wisdom. Review

Did Jesus Really Say He Was God?, Mikel Del Rosario. IVP Academic (ISBN: 9781514011010) 2025. Using methods of historiography, demonstrates that Jesus opponents believed him to be claiming divinity. Review

Nothing Can Separate Us (Plough Spiritual Guides), Howard Thurman, edited by Myles Werntz, Introduction by Vincent W. Lloyd. Plough Publishing (ISBN: 9781636081731) 2026. The inner work of transformation through which God works to bring reconciliation, justice, and hope. Review

The Eternal Son, Robert Letham, foreword by Ian Hamilton. P & R Publishing (ISBN: 9781629958637) 2025. A Christology focused on Christ’s Person, his eternal sonship, and Incarnation, as clarified in councils and more recently. Review

Early Autumn, Louis Bromfield. Open Road Media (ISBN: 9781504073394) 2022, first published in 1926. Olivia Pentland, in a loveless marriage in a rich old family, faces choices as the early autumn approaches when she turns 40. Review

Story Work, GG Renee Hill. Broadleaf Books (ISBN: 9798889832652) 2025. How telling and reframing our stories in writing not only leads to self-discovery, but also to finding our voice and calling. Review

I Cheerfully Refuse, Leif Enger. Grove Press (ISBN: 9780802165190) 2025. In a dystopian America, Rainy and Lark carve out a joyful life until tragedy sends Rainy on a Lake Superior odyssey. Review

When God Seems Distant, Kyle Strobel and John Coe. Baker Books (ISBN: 9781540905321) 2026. How God’s path of growth takes us into the desert, the way it exposes our self-will, and how we abide in God’s love. Review

Heaven and Hell, Edward Donnelly. Banner of Truth. (ISBN: 9781800405325) 2025, first published 2002. A discussion of the traditional doctrines of hell and heaven that we might flee hell and embrace the hope of heaven. Review

Race, Class, and Affirmative Action, Julie J. Park, foreword by Liliana M. Garces. Harvard Education Press (ISBN: 9798895570456) 2026. The effects of SFFA v. Harvard on efforts to advance diversity in college admissions and what may be done. Review

Ordinary Time (Fullness of Time Series), Amy Peeler. InterVarsity Press | Formatio (ISBN: 9781514009680) 2026. The significance of Ordinary Time within the church calendar and how it has been practiced and what it can mean for us. Review

Remember the Sweetness, Polly Giantonio. Rootstock Publishing (ISBN: 9781578693993) 2026. A debut poetry collection capturing memories of beauty, loss, love, and family, both ordinary and profound. Review

Pyramids (Discworld, 7) Terry Pratchett. HarperCollins (ISBN: 9780063393332) 2025, first published 1989. Prince Teppic, having completed Assassins training, returns to be Pharoah of Djelibeybi, ordering the building of a huge pyramid. Review

Woven Tales of Greek Mythology (no publisher link available), Michael D. Clark. Covenant Books (ISBN: 9798894854540) 2025. A rendering of Greek mythology from creation to the odyssey with parallels to Judeo-Christian texts. Review

Power and the Pulpit (The Center for Pastor Theologians Series) edited by Gerald Hiestand and Joel Lawrence. Cascade Books (ISBN: 9798385247554) 2025. A theology of preaching grounded in God’s word and Christ-centered, Spirit-empowered preaching with humility. Review

Best Book of the Month

Tish Harrison Warren’s What Grow’s in Weary Lands addresses what it means to make it through the weary “middles” of life–those periods when the walk of faith is more a slog, and God seems distant. Along the way, she acquaints us with the wisdom of the Desert Fathers and Mothers through her rich prose. Hands down, the best of the month.

Quote of the Month

It is really a simple comment at the beginning of Amy Peeler’s Ordinary Time:

“Jesus’ life would have included many ordinary days, days in which he was simply walking from one place to another.”

I had not thought before how much of Jesus’ life was lived in the ordinary, nor how much encouragement I can gain from that.

What I’m Reading

So, I finally landed on my America 250 reading: Jill Lepore’s We The People, which explores the history of amendments to our constitution and why we haven’t had any in over fifty years. The Red and the Green by Iris Murdoch explores the loves and passions of a connected group of people caught up in the Irish uprisings of in 1915. Then, Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace is a wonderful reflection, phrase by phrase of the prayer attributed to St. Francis. Reading the Bible on Turtle Island is written by two indigenous North Americans, exploring what their own cultural heritage brings to the reading of the Bible. Finally, The Gospel After Christendom is an essay collection I’m just starting on cultural apologetics.

For my readers from the United States, Happy Independence Day as our country celebrates its 250th birthday.

The Month in Reviews is my monthly review summary going back to 2014! It’s a great way to browse what I’ve reviewed. The search box on this blog also works well if you are looking for a review of a particular book. So, thanks for stopping by and feel free to share this with others!

The Month in Reviews: May 2026

Introduction

One of my challenges in picking a Best Book of the Month is the “also rans.” Here were a few of the “also rans” from this month. Serving God Under Siege is a moving account of the war in Ukraine and the efforts of a seminary to keep training people to serve the church. Another war-focused novel is The Prodigal of Leningrad. It is good historical fiction of the siege of Leningrad, with a powerful narrative connected to Rembrandt’s Prodigal. Esther Lightcap Meek’s Loving to Know, on epistemology was one of my “best books of 2025.” Her recent The Mother’s Smile discusses how our very first experience, that of our mother’s smile, may be the most philosophically significant of our lives. Then, In Guns We Trust explores the Religious Right’s support of gun rights. The author listens to gun owners, churches, and gun manufacturers as he explores this issue.

Paul Elie’s The Last Supper explores the religious element in some of the most controversial art and artists of the 1980’s. But can art inform our understanding? That’s the question the researchers in Art Seeking Understanding explore. I’ve loved all of Steve Garber’s books. His latest, Hints of Hope is no exception, using eloquent prose to explore what it means to live with the proximate. Another writer I’ve liked is Louis Markos. From Aristotle to Christ is a great introduction to Aristotle that led me to pick up a copy of Aristotle’s works. Finally, you all know my love of baseball books. The Cup of Coffee Club tells the stories of eleven players who played just one game in the major leagues.

Of course, I review a number of other books here as well, including my third Jane Austen read and Thomas Pynchon’s latest novel.

The Reviews

A City on Mars, Kelly Weinersmith and Zach Weinersmith. Penguin Books (ISBN: 9781984881748) 2023. A study of the complexities of human settlements in space, and whether this is as good an idea as some think. Review

Hints of Hope, Steven Garber, foreword by Makoto Fujimura. Paraclete Press (ISBN: 9798893480344) 2026. How we might live with hope in a beautiful but broken world where even our best efforts realize only proximately our ideals. Review

The Unwinding Path, Betany Coons, text and illustrations. IVP Kids (ISBN: 9781514013151) 2026. A bedtime book inviting children into quiet and rest as they follow the calming path of the labyrinth. Review

From Aristotle to Christ, Louis Markos. IVP Academic (ISBN: 9781514011324) 2025. Considers and appraises Aristotle’s influence on Christianity and how Christian thinkers appropriated his thought. Review

Emma, Jane Austen. Penguin Classics (ISBN: 9780141439587) 2003 (first published in 1815). A beautiful, rich young women with no interest in marriage makes a series of disastrous assumptions in matchmaking for her friend. Review

Silence and Speaking Freely, Sabino Chialà, Translated by John McAreavey. Liturgical Press (ISBN: 9798400803048) 2026. A translation of two talks by a monastic prior on what it means to live in an integrity of silence and speech. Review

The Prodigal of Leningrad, Daniel Taylor. Paraclete Press (ISBN: 9798893480221) 2026. During the siege of Leningrad, a docent who had betrayed his grandfather finds himself in Rembrandt’s Prodigal. Review

Between Interpretation and Imagination, Leslie Baynes. Wm B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (ISBN: 9780802874009) 2025. C.S. Lewis as Bible interpreter, vis a vis biblical criticism, the trilemma argument, and Narnia. Review

The Cup of Coffee Club, Jacob Kornhauser. Rowman & Littlefield (ISBN: 9781538175453) 2023. The stories of eleven baseball players who played just one game in the Major Leagues. Review

Why I Am Protestant (Ecumenical Dialogue Series), Beth Felker Jones. IVP Academic (ISBN: 9781514003008) 2025. A Protestant theologian addresses the strengths, weaknesses, and contributions of Protestantism. Review

The Last Supper: Art, Faith, Sex, and Controversy in the 1980s, Paul Elie. Farrar, Straus and Giroux (ISBN: 9780374272920) 2025. On controversial artists of the 1980’s, discussing the intersection of sexuality and spirituality in crypto-religious works. Review

Art Seeking Understanding, Christopher R. Brewer, editor. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (ISBN: 9780802885166) 2025. A compendium of 23 research project essays studying aesthetic cognitivism funded by the Templeton Religion Trust. Review

Shadow Ticket, Thomas Pynchon. Penguin Press (ISBN: 9781594206108) 2025. Private detective Hop McTaggart hunts down a missing cheese heiress, from Milwaukee to Europe, in a series of madcap capers. Review

Wyrd Sisters (Discworld, 6) Terry Pratchett. Harper Paperbacks (ISBN: 9780063385559) 2024 (first published in 1988). Three witches living in Lancre hide the king’s heir when the king’s assassinated by Duke Felmet, and work to set things right. Review

In Guns We Trust. William J. Kole. Broadleaf Books (ISBN: 9798889835639) 2025. Why white evangelicals are among the most resistant to even reasonable restrictions on firearms and its impact. Review

The Mother’s Smile, Esther Lightcap Meek, foreword by D.C. Schindler. Cascade Books (ISBN: 9798385236473) 2025. How philosophically formative is a mother’s smile and the delighted regard of others. Review

It’s A Battlefield, Graham Greene. Open Road Integrated Media (ISBN: 9781504053976) 2018, first published 1934. The private “battles” of those connected with Jim Drover, a bus driver convicted of murder for killing a policeman. Review

Man Up, Cynthia Miller-Idriss. Princeton University Press (ISBN: 9780691257549) 2025. The relationship of misogyny to various forms of violent extremism, the strategies men use to control women, and what can be done. Review

Questioning Technology with Jacques Ellul, David W. Gill and Lisa Richmond, eds. Pickwick Publications (ISBN: 9798385244430) 2025. Essays on the technological thought of Ellul, both foundational principles and applications. Review

Serving God Under Siege, Valentyn Syniy. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing (ISBN: 9780802885692) 2025. A memoir of fleeing Kherson when Russia invaded, the challenges and lessons of displacement, and returning home. Review

Best Book of the Month

Jacques Ellul, I believe, might be called the prescient prophet of technology. In 1954, he anticipated the world of 2026. So, when 31 scholars ponder his work and its meaning and application to our time, it is noteworthy. Questioning Technology, in my opinion is some of the most thoughtful writing on technology from a Christian perspective. I would recommend reading it hand in hand with Pope Leo XIV’s Humanitas Magnifica.

Quote of the Month

In Esther Lightcap Meek’s The Mother’s Smile included this passage describing the “delighted regard” of an academic colleague and mentor:

“But I want to tell you about Bob’s face! I don’t mean any particular expression, but rather the frank, unqualified regard and particular delight that it always registered as he looked at me. I saw him seeing me. Over the years I grew to see myself as Bob sees me; I chose this visage, holding to his seeing me as more objective than my own subjective view. As a person, and also professionally, I have come to be who I am in his unwavering regard” (p. 76).

What I’m Reading

What Grows in Weary Lands is Tish Harrison Warren’s latest work on spiritual formation. Specifically, she explores the wisdom of the Desert Fathers to address how we live in faith through seasons of weariness. So substantive! Also, Nicaea Today explores the relevance of a creed from 1700 years ago to the church today. Then, going deeper in one of the declarations of Nicaea, Robert Lethan’s The Eternal Son explores the eternal generation of the Son, his deity and relation to God the Father. But not all our resources for faith come from the earliest centuries. For example, Love in a Time of Climate Change, draws on the Wesleyan quadrilateral of scripture, tradition, reason, and experience to address the church’s response to climate change.

Finally, in the area of psychology, Daniel Smith in Hard Feelings explores how the “negative” emotions are not to be suppressed but heeded for what they are trying to tell us. Lastly, I’m finally taking the plunge into the fiction of fellow Ohioan Louis Bromfield, reading Early Autumn, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1927. I’ve long admired his pioneering efforts in sustainable agriculture at Malabar Farm, which I’ve visited and even camped at with a group of Boy Scouts.

The Month in Reviews is my monthly review summary going back to 2014! It’s a great way to browse what I’ve reviewed. The search box on this blog also works well if you are looking for a review of a particular book. So, thanks for stopping by and feel free to share this with others!

The Month in Reviews: April 2026

Introduction

One of the treats of this month was to read two excellent self-published works, one a memoir and the other a very substantive devotional work. I revisited a couple of the works of Dallas Willard and a book from 2001 on practicing theology. Sometimes, the backlist books are well worthwhile. I opened the month reviewing a book on demons, and a few days later a book on the Holy Spirit and the arts. The “w’s” were well represented with books on welcome, wayfinding, and work. I finally tackled and completed Tom Holland’s Dominion as well as a lengthy commentary on Matthew.

Then there are the mysteries. In this case an Abe Lieberman mystery and the third installment of the Thursday Murder Club. George Saunders Vigil was one of those books I was thing about when I wasn’t reading it. That was also the case with Josiah Hesse’s memoir of growing up in a conservative evangelical/pentecostal environment in a small Midwest town. We both were influenced by the Jesus Movement, but in very different ways. I think the AI/tech revolution is one of the major changes sweeping our society, so I read a book on the high tech firms behind it and how they have sought political and cultural dominance. Finally, it’s baseball season again and I read Frank Deford’s classic The Old Ball Game and how a great pitcher and a great manager changed baseball.

The Reviews

Spiritual Warfare and Deliverance, Harold Ristau. Baker Books (ISBN: 9781540904393) 2025. A biblical and pastoral account of how demons oppress and possess and how ministers may exorcise them. Review

On Fire for God, Josiah Hesse. Pantheon (ISBN: 9780553387292) 2026. A memoir of growing up in a troubled family amidst a toxic mix of conservative Christianity, and escaping it. Review

Matthew (Kerux Commentaries), Darrell L. Bock and Timothy D. Sprankle. Kregel Ministry (ISBN: 9780825458255) 2025. A Kerux Commentary combining exegesis of Matthew with communication insights for teaching and preaching. Review

Naming the Spirit, W. David O. Taylor and Daniel Train, eds. IVP Academic (ISBN: 9781514013489) 2025. An essay collection considering the different names for the Holy Spirit, using works of art to deepen our understanding. Review

Not Quite Kosher (Abe Lieberman, 7), Stuart M. Kaminsky. Forge Books (ISBN: 9781429912631) 2002. Lieberman juggles two murder cases, one with multiple deaths including a cop, a bar mitzvah, a partner’s wedding and more. Review

Vigil, George Saunders. Random House (ISBN: 9780525509622) 2026. Jill Blaine is a spirit who consoles the dying but her current charge needs no consoling, leading her to reexamine her short life. Review

Stones Still Speak, Amanda Hope Hailey. Revell (ISBN: 9780800746483) 2025. Shows how biblical archaeology helps us understand the context of scripture, sometimes correcting misunderstandings. Review

Knowing Christ Today, Dallas Willard. Harper Collins (ISBN: 9780062311795) 2014 (first published in 2009). Why the knowledge of Christ is real knowledge of true things on which one may base one’s life and confidently speak. Review

The Joy of Solitude, Robert J. Coplan. Simon & Schuster (ISBN: 9781668053423) 2025. A study of the complexities of solitude and how it can enrich our lives and relationships. Review

Enabling Grace, Susan Mathew. Langham Global Library (ISBN: 9781839732782) 2025. A disability reading of Paul’s letters focusing on 2 Corinthians 12:7b–10, asserting the grace of God amidst human weakness. Review

The Tech Coup, Marietje Schaake. Princeton University Press (ISBN: 9780691241197) 2025. An expose’ of how tech companies have seized power from government and the danger this poses to the public interest. Review

The Old Ball Game, Frank Deford. Grove Press (ISBN: 9780802142474) 2006. A dual biography of John McGraw and Christy Mathewson of the New York Giants and their partnership in elevating the game. Review

Worth Doing, W. David Buschart and Ryan Tafilowski. IVP Academic (ISBN: 9781514009482) 2025. Addresses unrealistic theologies and ideas of work that do not reckon with our finitude and fallenness. Review

The Divine Profile, David J. Claassen. Self-published (ASIN: B0FKZQ14Y4) 2025. Thirty-one short reflections on the attributes of God, distilling deep theology into a succinct and accessible form. Review

Spiritual Wayfinding, Deborah Gregory. InterVarsity Press | Formatio (ISBN: 9781514011966) 2026. Thirty-three creative, walking meditations integrating mind, body, and spirit to discern God’s direction in our lives. Review

The Bullet That Missed (Thursday Murder Club, 3) Richard Osman. Penguin Books (ISBN: 9780593299418) 2022. The Thursday Murder Club investigates the murder of a TV journalist while Elizabeth must kill an old spy friend. Review

Dominion, Tom Holland. Basic Books (ISBN: 9781541675599) 2021. A history of Christianity describing its cultural and moral impact over two millenia from its shocking beginnings in a crucifixion. Review

She Teaches Me Still, Andrew T. Le Peau. Fill Us Publishing (ISBN: 9798993671819) 2026. A memoir, by her husband of 47 years, of Phyllis Strong Le Peau, a nurse, campus minister, writer, and church leader. Review

Becoming a Person of Welcome, Laura Baghdassarian Murray, foreword by Tod Bolsinger. IVP | Formatio (ISBN: 781514011942) 2025. Hospitality as embodying a posture that we carry with us rather than just an activity at our “place.” Review

Renovation of the Heart, Dallas Willard. NavPress (ISBN: 9781641584425) 2021 (cover image and review are of the 2002 edition). How Christ is formed in us as our hearts are transformed and six aspects of human life are integrated under God. Review

Practicing Theology, Miroslav Volf and Dorothy C. Bass, editors. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (ISBN: 9780802849311) 2001. Essays answering the question of what theology has to do with real life, how our beliefs translate into practice. Review

Best Book of the Month

It is not often that I can remember choosing a self-published book as best of the month. However, The Divine Profile by David J. Claassen is an exception. He writes on the attributes of God and knowing God, arguably the most important of all knowledge. In thirty-one short reflections he distills thousands of pages of theology into a few readable pages without sacrificing substance or orthodoxy. Written by a pastor of fifty years, this book reflects the “simplicity on the other side of complexity” that comes of knowing and walking with God for decades.

Quote of the Month

Another wonderfully profound and succinct statement about God comes at the end of Becoming a Person of Welcome by Laura Baghdassarian Murray. Murray grounds our hospitality with that of God when she writes:

“We can always find our home in God. And our world needs reminders that we can always come home. God constantly welcomes us home, whether he walks toward us or we walk toward him. May we become people who carry welcome wherever we go and help others find their home in God” (p. 125).

What I’m Reading

Leslie Baynes has a scholarly new book on C.S. Lewis and the Bible titled Between Interpretation and Imagination. While we find Lewis’s imaginative portrayals of biblical truth in his fiction gripping, many will find his views on the Bible weren’t quite what theirs are. Baynes also points out that Lewis’s memory of texts, often celebrated, was not without gaps and he made errors in citing others. Then Louis Markos in From Aristotle to Christ shows the ways Aristotelian ideas helped clarify Christian belief among the church’s foremost early thinkers. However, I need a break from heady discussions. Sabino Chialà’s Silence and Speaking Freely is a series of meditations, from the monastic tradition on the relation of silence and speech.

Then, on the fiction side, I’m currently on my third Jane Austen novel, Emma, on my way to reading the novels of Jane Austen this year. There seems to be quite a bit Emma has to learn about the world of love. In my reckoning, she is also oblivious to her own vanity. Lastly, The Prodigal of Leningrad by Daniel Taylor is a fictional account of the siege of Leningrad, lasting 900 days during the Second World War. We glimpse the conditions through the account of a museum docent from the Hermitage, where Rembrandt’s Prodigal hangs. In addition, the story helps us understand the invidious nature of a totalitarian government that restricts even freedom of conscience.

I’ll leave you with this thought of Annie Dillard, whose birthday was yesterday:

“I worked so hard all my life, and all I want to do now is read.”

If that’s you, I hope you’ve found some good suggestions for future books.

The Month in Reviews is my monthly review summary going back to 2014! It’s a great way to browse what I’ve reviewed. The search box on this blog also works well if you are looking for a review of a particular book. Thanks for stopping by. and feel free to share this with others!

The Month in Reviews: March 2026

Introduction

Twenty-one reviews in March. The reviews are blooming along with our tulips and daffodils. Among these are books on various parts of scripture: The Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament), John and the synoptics, Ephesians, and Revelation as well as a wonderful introduction to the Bible and an introduction to how the church fathers read scripture. Also, I read books on the Christian life, including the writings of Edith Stein and a data driven discussion of faith in the workplace.

I keep working through a couple series, reading another Terry Pratchett and William Kent Krueger book. I also enjoyed Jazz Trash, the second book by a talented local author as well as finished my second Jane Austen novel. Then, on the non-fiction front, I read a book on fact-checking. academic spies in WWII, the Gemini space program, and a history of religious activity at the University of Wisconsin, underscoring its nonsectarian vision. Finally, I delighted in the graphic interpretation of some well-loved nature poems.

The Reviews

Reading the Bible with Ten Church Father, Gerald Bray. Baker Books (ISBN: 9781540905147) 2026. How the generations after the apostles interpreted and preached the Bible. Review

Book and Dagger, Elyse Graham. Ecco Books (ISBN: 9780063280847) 2025. The contribution of scholars and librarians to undercover and intelligence operations during World War II. Review

The Chicago Guide to Fact-Checking, Second Edition, Brooke Borel. The University of Chicago Press (ISBN: 9780226817897) 2023. The why, what, and how of fact-checking, with guidance on sourcing and record-keeping. Review

Rereading Revelation, Greg Carey. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (ISBN: 9780802878120) 2025. A thematic exploration of Revelation’s dangerous call and encouragement to resist idolatrous imperial Rome. Review

Mansfield Park, Jane Austen. Penguin Classics (ISBN: 9780141439808) 2003 (first published in 1814). Fanny Price moves from poverty to live with rich cousins in Mansfield Park, maturing amid their whirl of social relationships. Review

The Authority of the Septuagint, Gregory R. Lanier and William A. Ross, eds. IVP Academic (ISBN: 9781514009727) 2025. A multi-perspectival approach to the question of the authority of the Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint. Review

Annihilation (Southern Reach Trilogy, 1), Jeff Vandermeer. Farrar. Straus and Giroux Originals (ISBN: 9780374104092) 2014. A team of four women investigate a mysterious uninhabited coastal area from which some previous expeditions ended badly. Review

The Fourth Synoptic Gospel, Mark Goodacre. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (ISBN: 9780802875136) 2025. Maintains that John knew of and used Matthew, Mark, and Luke in composing his gospel. Review

The Vision of Ephesians, N.T. Wright. Zondervan Academic (ISBN: 9780310172505) 2025. Ephesians as a vision of the church between creation and consummation as God’s small working model of new creation. Review

The Culture of Interpretation, Roger Lundin. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (ISBN: 9780802806369) 1993. A study of contemporary American culture, how we’ve come to this point, and its implications for Christians. Review

Gather, Darkness!, Fritz Leiber. Open Road Integrated Media (ISBN: 9781497616622) 2014 (first published in 1943). Techno-priests of the Great God control a post-nuclear world, opposed by the Witchcraft, with Brother Jarles torn between. Review

Gemini, Jeffrey Kluger. St. Martin’s Press (ISBN: 9781250323019) 2025. A history of the Gemini program, that prepared the way for the Apollo program in which Americans first landed on the moon. Review

Jazz Trash, Michael S. Moore. Crumpled-paper.com (ISBN: 9798985928945) 2025. Andrew, who cannot play the guitar, is chosen to play guitar for a group that explores the boundaries between jazz and noise. Review

The Glory of the Ascension, W. Ross Hastings. IVP Academic (ISBN: 9781514010617) 2025. Sets forth this neglected doctrine that celebrates a completed atonement and the exalted glory of the Son. Review

Working for Better, Elaine Howard Ecklund and Denise Daniels. IVP Academic (ISBN: 9781514011263) 2025. A data-driven approach to understanding the challenges of fostering faith at work identifying five key tensions. Review

The Well That Washes What It Shows, Jonathan A. Linebaugh. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (ISBN: 9780802885487) 2025. An invitation introducing the Bible as both revealing human sin and God’s cleansing work in Christ. Review

Sulphur Springs (Cork O’Connor, 16), William Kent Krueger. Atria Books (ISBN: 9781501147432) 2018. A garbled message from Rainy’s son Peter about trouble sends Cork and Rainy to Arizona to help, threatening their own lives. Review

Sourcery (Discworld, 5; Rincewind, 3), Terry Pratchett. HarperCollins (ISBN 9780063373709) 2024 (First published in 1988). A sourcerer takes over the Unseen University and wreaks havoc on Discworld, and only Rincewind will try to stop him. Review

The University of Wisconsin and The Ideal of Nonsectarianism, Daniel G. Hummel. Upper House (ISBN: 9798987660508) 2022. A history of organized religious activity at the University of Wisconsin. Review

Nature Poems to See By, Julian Peters. Plough Publishing (ISBN: 9781636081748) 2026. An anthology of great nature poems, organized by seasons and graphically interpreted. Review

A Sure Way (Plough Spiritual Guides), Edith Stein, edited by Carolyn Brand, Introduction by Zena Hitz. Plough Publishing (ISBN: 9781636081762) 2026. Essential writings on knowing God, the cross, the resurrection, women’s spirituality, and the way of the cross. Review

Best Book of the Month

The best theological writing does not only inform. It also transforms. So, this month’s best book exemplifies that quality. Ross Hastings The Glory of the Ascension not only sets forth an oft-neglected Christian doctrine. It also left me pausing to savor rich spiritual truth. Then I offered that up in worship.

Quote of the Month

But we not only need to worship. We also need a faith able to sustain us when the world seems to be going up in flames. Edith Stein, who was martyred at Auschwitz, brings worship and resilient faith together in this statement found in the new Plough Spiritual Guide tiutled A Sure Way:

“The world is in flames. The conflagration can also reach our house. But high above all flames towers the cross. They cannot consume it. It is the path from earth to heaven. It will lift the one who embraces it in faith, love, and hope into the bosom of the Trinity” (p. 123).

What I’m Reading

Another writer who challenges me to go deeper in Christ is Dallas Willard. For example, his Knowing Christ Today makes the case that the knowledge of Christ is real knowledge, corresponding to our reality. Then, Amanda Hope Haley’s Stones Still Speak is a delightful introduction to biblical archaeology. Rather than proving the Bible, she sees it as illuminating the context of scripture. While I’ve read spiritual writers on the practice of solitude, Robert J. Coplan explores the psychology of solitude. Specifically, he digs into what makes it good, and not so good.

George Saunders’ Vigil is a recent novel. In it, a woman who has died returns to comfort the dying in their last moments. However, her current charge, a dying oil tycoon, is different. Despite a host of deceased from his past confronting him, he refuses to face his complicity in promoting lies denying climate change. Not only is this encounter different, but it changes Jill Blaine as well. Finally, I am savoring another of Stuart Kaminsky’s Abe Lieberman mysteries. In Not Quite Kosher, he and his Irish partner not only try to solve two murder cases, one involving the death of a fellow officer. Abe also tries to be understanding grandfather for his grandson’s bar mitzvah while supporting his partner’s wedding plans.

So, what was your best read of March? I love to hear what others are enjoying as we take this reading journey together!

The Month in Reviews is my monthly review summary going back to 2014! It’s a great way to browse what I’ve reviewed. The search box on this blog also works well if you are looking for a review of a particular book. Thanks for stopping by. and feel free to share this with others!

The Month in Reviews: February 2026

Introduction

What a great month of reading! There were a number of stellar reads in this group. For example, a book on prayer by Eugene Peterson and three Lenten devotionals. Then there was a wonderful and short children’s book on God’s love for us and an incredibly long but rich study on how early Christians used the Old Testament. I also gained new perspectives from studies of motherhood in the New Testament and of women in Ezra-Nehemiah, as well as from a study of five ordinary heroes who pursued racial justice. Among the outstanding books of the month was a pastoral theology for those working with those bereaved by the suicide of loved ones.

In addition, I delighted in a novel centered in the life of trees and a non-fiction narrative of the life of rivers. I enjoyed another installment of Terry Pratchett, the first volume of Murderbot, and a Michael Innes mystery.

I cannot conclude without mentioning First Nations Version Psalms and Proverbs. The translations of familiar passages into the idioms of the First nations peoples continues to open these scriptures to me in fresh ways.

The Reviews

Answering God, Eugene H. Peterson. Harper One (ISBN: 9780060665128) 1991. Contends that the Psalms, explored here, are necessary instruction in prayer, understood as answering the God who addresses us. Review

You Can Trust a God with Scars, Jared Ayers. NavPress (ISBN: 978164158-9963) 2025. For those wondering if God can be trusted, a study of the story of God’s intimate understanding of suffering. Review

Under Her Wings, Jennifer Houston McNeel. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (ISBN: 9780802885081) 2025. A comprehensive study of the mothers mentioned in the New Testament as well as references to motherhood. Review

Mort (Discworld, Number 4, Death, Number 1), Terry Pratchett. Harper Paperbacks (ISBN: 9780063393233) 2025 (first published in 1987). Mort is apprenticed to Death, who collects dying souls. However, Mort messes up the timeline when he saves a princess, killing her assassin. Review

The Murderbot Diaries Vol. 1 (Diaries Number 1 and 2), Martha Wells. Tordotcom (ISBN: 9781250389824) 2025 (contains works published in 2017 and 2018). The first two novellas in the Murderbot series, All Systems Red and Artificial Condition. Review

God Chose Me!, Lexa Hale, illustrated by Dana Regan. Paraclete Press (ISBN: 9781640609778) 2026. For children 0-3, affirming that they are God’s loving, good creation just the way they are and that their worth is in God. Review

First Nations Version Psalms and Proverbs, Terry M. Wildman, lead translator with First Nations Version Translation Council. InterVarsity Press (ISBN: 9781514007273) 2025. A true translation using idioms of the indigenous peoples of North America. Review

There Came Both Snow and Mist (Sir John Appleby Number 6), Michael Innes. Open Road Integrated Media (ISBN: 9781504092074) 2024 (first published in 1940). A gathering of Sir Basil Roper’s extended family and friends is marred when his nephew is shot in his study. Review

God, Where Are You?, Dominique Young. NavPress (ISBN: 9798898020217) 2026. In the midst of pain, God may seem distant. Healing begins when we drop our masks, discovering God’s love and presence. Review

Bread and Wine: Readings for Lent and Easter (Second Edition), editors at Plough Publishing. Plough Publishing (ISBN: 9780874869262) 2026. A collection of 96 readings from writers throughout church history spanning the season from Ash Wednesday to Pentecost. Review

Meeting God in John: Inspiration and Encouragement from the Fourth Gospel, David F. Ford. Brazos Press (ISBN: 9781587437069) 2026. A Lenten devotional, offering reflections from John’s gospel on meeting God as he is revealed in Jesus. Review

Christ in Our Midst, Editors at Paraclete Press with chant by The Gloriae Dei Cantores Schola. Paraclete Press (ISBN: 9798893480283) 2025. An artfully designed Lenten daily devotional incorporating chant, scripture, reflections, and journaling questions. Review

Is a River Alive?, Robert McFarlane. W.W. Norton & Co. (ISBN: 9781324130734) 2025. A nature writer weighs the question of rivers as living entities with rights as he explores three river systems. Review

In the Stillness, Waiting, Nicholas Worssam, SFF. Liturgical Press (ISBN: 9798400802317) 2025. The wisdom of Eastern Orthodox saints on contemplative discipleship reflected in the Jesus Prayer. Review

Israel’s Scriptures in Early Christian Writings, edited by Matthias Henze and David Lincicum. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (ISBN: 9780802874443) 2023. How Jewish scriptures were used in the New Testament and in other early Christian writings. Review

Suicide and the Communion of Saints, Rhonda Mawhood Lee. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (ISBN: 9780802884718) 2025. A healing approach for those affected by suicide, addressing traditional Christian teaching. Review

Ezra-Nehemiah (Wisdom Commentary, 14) Deborah Ann Appler and Terry Ann Smith. Liturgical Press (ISBN: 9780814681138) 2025. A feminist commentary with background and intersectional analysis of power, ethnicity, race, class, and gender in the text. Review

The Overstory, Richard Powers. W. W. Norton & Co. (ISBN: 9780393356687) 2018. Eight stories of nine people who lives intersect with trees and forests, whose lives, deaths, and survival are the real story. Review

Ordinary Heroes of Racial Justice, Karen J. Johnson. IVP Academic (ISBN: 9781514009987) 2025. Histories of five individuals and the communities they formed to pursue racial justice and reconciliation. Review

Best Book of the Month

Christ in our Midst is an outstanding Lenten devotional. It integrates scripture readings, thoughtful reflections, journaling prompts and Gregorian chant (via QR code) into a rich devotional experience. In addition. the book includes tasteful line drawings, is printed on quality paper, with a ribbon marker. A feast for the eyes, ears, and heart.

Quote of the Month

Earlier, I mentioned the First Nations Version Psalms and Proverbs. In order to give you just a taste, here is Psalm 1:1-2:

Harmony and well-being rest on those who do not walk the path of the bad-hearted, the ones who do notstand with those who stir up disharmony, those who will not sit in a circle where others are spoken of with scorn and disrespect.

Instead, they take joy in Grandfather’s clear instructions. As the sun and the moon circle the sky, they think deeply about his ways.

(First Nations Version, copyright ©2021, 2025 by Rain Ministries Inc. Used by permission of InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL. All rights reserved.)

What I’m Reading

I have a couple books, I’m just beginning: The Fourth Synoptic Gospel: John’s Knowledge of Matthew, Mark, and Luke by Mark Goodacre and a classic sci-fi by Fritz Leiber, Gather, Darkness. The Goodacre book is one of several recently published positing a greater dependence upon the Synoptics by John than previously thought. The Culture of Interpretation: Christian Faith and the Postmodern World by Roger Lundin is now something of a classic, published in 1993. In lucid prose, he offers a thoughtful Christian critique not only of post-modernism but its reflection in contemporary culture. Also in the sci-fi genre is Jeff Vandermeer’s Annihilation, an account of four women investigating “Area X.” Things ended badly for previous teams, including the one the narrator’s husband was on. Finally, I’m reading Jazz Trash, a fiction work by Michael S. Moore, an Ohio author whose previous work, Crumpled Paper, I loved.

By the way, I just finished Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen, part of my Jane Austen reading goal. Look for a review soon to see what I thought.

The Month in Reviews is my monthly review summary going back to 2014! It’s a great way to browse what I’ve reviewed. The search box on this blog also works well if you are looking for a review of a particular book. Thanks for stopping by. and feel free to share this with others!