Summer is a time for reading. Work slows down a bit. I’m not traveling as much to speak and teach. School’s out. I spend more time by the lake. In fact, I have probably spent more time reading on a couch next to a lake than any other place. I’ve read everything from history to fiction to theology on that couch that helps put my mind in the right place to relax then concentrate. If you love to read, I'm sure you have that kind of place, too.
I recently welcomed one of my favorite guests back on Gospelbound to talk about summer reading. Melissa Kruger is the vice president for discipleship programming at TGC and co-host of the hit new podcast, The Deep Dish. We talked about why we love reading and why reading matters. Not much makes me happier than giving, and receiving, a good book recommendation.
Here’s what you probably came here for—my list of a few books I’m reading this summer, followed by many more recommendations from past years. You'll see brand-new titles and contemporary classics, with a few all-time greats sprinkled in. Happy reading! (And let me know which books you think I should read next.)
Find Your Perfect Summer Read
What I’ll Be Reading This Summer
Andrew Wilson, Gospel Stories
Robert S. Smith, The Body God Gives
Robin John, The Good Investor: How Your Work Can Confront Injustice, Love Your Neighbor, and Bring Healing to the World
Christian Biography
George Marsden, Jonathan Edwards: A Life
Roland Bainton, Here I Stand
Peter Brown, Augustine of Hippo: A Biography
General Non-Fiction
Bobby Jamieson, Everything Is Never Enough
Timothy Keller, Making Sense of God
Jen Wilkin, You Are a Theologian
Historical Non-Fiction
Russ Ramsey, Van Gogh Has a Broken Heart
Sarah Irving-Stonebraker, Priests of History
Walter R. Strickland II, Swing Low
Fiction
Allen Levi, Theo of Golden
Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre
Challenging Read
Jonathan Edwards, Religious Affections
Kevin Vanhoozer, Mere Christian Hermeneutics
Nancy Pearcey, The Toxic War on Masculinity
For Spiritual Growth
Vaughan Roberts, God's Big Picture
Jeremy Linneman, Pour Out Your Heart
Brad Edwards, The Reason for Church
Beach Reads
Alex Duke, From Eden to Egypt
Sean DeMars, Rebel to Your Will
Patrick Miller and Keith Simon, Joyful Outsiders
Most of these are available at discounted rates in the TGC store, where you’ll also find unbeatable prices on bulk orders.
