Veteran fiction writer Melody Carlson offers a delightful story readers will love. First of all, protagonist Rita Owen is an older woman, which is nice to see when it comes to life and romance. Second, there are so many books!Rita, who doesn’t want to give up her home and, more importantly, her libr
In New York City, young Faith and her mother return home on the train from Grandma’s house. Faith passes the time munching on a delicious sandwich, gooey with honey from Grandma’s beehive.Suddenly, Isaiah, her former neighbor, calls out, “Good evening! My son and I have fallen on hard times. Could a
It has been 13 years since Amy Grant has released new music. These have been eventful years for the singer and songwriter who became a household name when her fourth album, Age to Age, was released 44 years ago and became one of the biggest sellers in the still-young Christian music industry. Grant
Sarang loves her Korean seaside village's elementary school. She’s not bothered by the small class size and unoccupied desks. With fewer students in the classroom, she’s able to ask more questions and receive additional attention from the teacher.But when Sarang hears the village gossip that the sch
For more than 15 years, author Joshua Becker has been promoting “God-motivated minimalism” in his books, websites, blog, and public speaking. Uncluttered Faith is a synopsis of what he learned through his wife’s and his choices to embrace minimalism and the experiences of countless others who, throu
Unbreakable is the somber account of author Minoru Tonai’s (1929-2023) experience as a Japanese American boy imprisoned with his family in an American incarceration camp after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii, on Dec. 7, 1941.In a coauthor note, Jolene Gutierrez writes, “My friend Minor
George Clooney’s latest movie, Jay Kelly, brings two potent words to mind: “Richard Cory.” The latter was a 20th-century poem—and later a Simon &Garfunkel song—that helped poet E.A. Robinson secure a Pulitzer Prize.“Richard Cory” rocked notions of what celebrity power gave celebrities. Richard Cory
Colossians 3:23 might just be the most well-known Bible verse about a Christian view of work. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,” the NIV translation says. Elaine Howard Ecklund, a sociology professor at Rice University, and Denise Danie
It’s three characters that have made Martin Short my all-time favorite comic actor: SNL’s Ed Grimley, the zany, triangle-playing man-child with gelled hair and pants pulled up to his thorax; Franck Eggelhoffer, the fussy, weirdly accented wedding planner in the Father of the Bride series of movies;
In 40 devotions, author Donna Barber vulnerably and honestly relates anecdotes about her walk with God and describes some of the wilderness happenings she and her family navigated with the Holy Spirit’s power and guidance. Recalling the biblical wilderness experiences of the Israelites, Jesus, and o
In this poignant, wistful children’s picture book based on her childhood experiences, author Julie Leung relates the story of a young girl and her dad who deliver take-out meals prepared in their Chinese restaurant. As the dad drives, the girl navigates, a foldout map and a notebook of addresses to
A few weeks ago, I attended a writer’s conference in which the stakes were high. Or at least, that was my focus as I thought about what I hoped to accomplish while I was there. On several levels, I was pitching myself and my work in the hopes of getting a new book published and hopefully finding a n
Singer-songwriter Meredith Andrews offers a powerful recording, Live from Liberty University (with Liberty Worship Collective), that contains seven anthems centered on the cross. The Liberty alum sings cover songs, such as “What He’s Done” and Charity Gayle’s “Thank You for the Blood.” She adds two
Author Kristen Lee invites readers into her painful, yet eventually healing, spiritual journey by drawing on the metaphor of the Japanese art of kintsugi. She writes, “Kintsugi holds deep theological truths for us. It is an image through which we can bring Asian American theology to the greater chur
Author Barbara Schultze’s debut novel is remarkably authentic, peppered with surprises, and interspersed with subtle biblical signposts.It gently portrays how personal adversity, often initially negatively perceived and received, might just be an individual’s pathway to spiritual and emotional growt
South of Somewhere: A NovelBy T.I. LoweReviewed by Ann ByleJuniper (Junie) Wilder retreats to her beloved grandmother’s beach-front home on Sullivan’s Island, S.C., after time in jail and rehab. Grief at losing her husband and then her grandmother spiraled into a drunk driving charge and the hardest
Young Midori is excited as she tugs at Jichan—her grandfather—and pulls him toward the peach orchard, asking, “Is it ready yet?” Jichan hands Midori a peach and asks her what she hears when she bites into it. Crunch! The peach is hard and inedible.Midori is impatient, wondering when the peaches will
Christian author Mitali Perkins is renowned for her middle school and young adult novels, such as Bamboo People and You Bring the Distant Near, as well as her children’s picture books—Holy Night and Little Star: A Story for Christmas, Bare Tree and Little Wind: A Story for Holy Week, and more.In thi
If you loved The Devil Wears Prada, you will probably relish the sequel, if only to be reunited with the Fab Four from the first movie: Miranda, Andy, Emily, and Nigel—Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci.It’s great fun to catch up with their characters 20 years after we left
In this charming, rhyming picture book, author Hosanna Wong invites children to understand what God says about them and the names he calls them: “No matter where you choose to go, / the people you meet, or the things you do, / it’s important that you always know / the wonderful things God says about