My favorite books for Christians looking to revive persistently stalled faith journey

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m just an everyday person. I don’t have a fancy title or lots of degrees, but I do have experience being close to God and a never-ending quest to know Him more. His love is so good that it absolutely must be shared. So if I, in all of my ordinariness, can learn extraordinary sacred things, then I can bring others along the journey, too. His presence in my heartaches, struggles, joy, and adventures has sustained my life, and I don’t know any credential that could testify any clearer that a journey with God is worth taking.


I wrote...

The Other Three Sixteens

By Malinda Fugate,

Book cover of The Other Three Sixteens

What is my book about?

The words of the Bible weave a tapestry of love that our Heavenly Father has for His children. 

The Other Three Sixteens examines each third chapter and sixteenth verse in the Bible and invites a fresh, new perspective to uncover surprises or remind us of forgotten truths of a routine faith. Through Genesis to Revelation, we can soak in its depth, wonder at its intricacies, and be moved at how much the Lord truly does love us. Together we’ll find a deeper understanding of our Heavenly Father’s care for us today.

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of None Like Him: 10 Ways God Is Different from Us (and Why That's a Good Thing)

Malinda Fugate Why did I love this book?

I read this book with my journal nearby, and it was heart-changing.

It’s refreshing to have time solely focused on God without trying to figure out how to apply Scripture to my life as if He was a puzzle piece that I try to fit into place. None Like Him examines ten descriptions of God, and the more we get to know Him, the closer we feel. 

By Jen Wilkin,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked None Like Him as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This exploration of ten attributes that belong to God alone reminds us of why our limits are a good thing in light of God's limitlessness-celebrating the freedom that comes from letting God be God.


Book cover of The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God

Malinda Fugate Why did I love this book?

After reading The Divine Conspiracy twice, I’m ready to dive in again. So many treasures are packed into these pages, waiting to be absorbed.

Anchored in the Sermon on the Mount, the author discusses our discipleship and how we related to Christ. Sometimes, we miss the life that’s in biblical text, but this book offers perspective that makes us take a second look and inspires our hearts.

By Dallas Willard,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Divine Conspiracy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

First published in 1998, The Divine Conspiracy captured the attention of Christians across the world, by offering a timely and challenging call back to the true meaning of Christian discipleship.

Gracefully weaving biblical teaching, popular culture, science and scholarship together, Dallas Willard refuted the view that Christianity is solely about gaining admittance to heaven when we die, and taught that, as disciples, we have access now to the life of the kingdom.

Equally relevant today as it was on publication, The Divine Conspiracy challenges us to step aside from the pieties of contemporary Christian practice and offers instead a practical…


Book cover of Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again

Malinda Fugate Why did I love this book?

If scholars are still trying to completely understand the Bible, how are we supposed to navigate it?

Inspired steps back and takes a look at Scripture, inviting us to ask questions and know it better, from both a spiritual and literary perspective. While I didn’t agree with everything the author suggests, everything made me pause and think. It’s a rare book that both challenges and encourages, but this one most certainly does both.

By Rachel Held Evans,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Inspired as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

If the Bible isn't a science book or an instruction manual, what is it? What do people mean when they say the Bible is inspired? When New York Times bestselling author Rachel Held Evans found herself asking these questions, she embarked on a journey to better understand what the Bible is and how it's meant to be read. What she discovered changed her--and it can change you, too.

Evans knows firsthand how a relationship with the Bible can be as real and as complicated as a relationship with a family member or close friend. In Inspired, Evans explores contradictions and…


Book cover of Strength to Love

Malinda Fugate Why did I love this book?

We often forget that Dr. King was also a pastor in addition to his civil rights work. However, these two roles were intertwined.

Strength to Love is a collection of sermons that address the revolutionary effect of God’s love on our lives. Receiving holy love motivates us to love our neighbors in many ways, including seeking justice and taking action for their well-being. God’s love is transformative, and seeing this framed in the non-violence philosophy of social change is an inspiring, motivating illustration. 

By Martin Luther King, Jr.,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Strength to Love as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The classic collection of Dr. King’s sermons that fuse his Christian teachings with his radical ideas of love and nonviolence as a means to combat hate and oppression.

As Martin Luther King, Jr., prepared for the Birmingham campaign in early 1963, he drafted the final sermons for Strength to Love, a volume of his most well known homilies. King had begun working on the sermons during a fortnight in jail in July 1962. While behind bars, he spent uninterrupted time preparing the drafts for works such as “Loving Your Enemies” and “Shattered Dreams,” and he continued to edit the volume…


Book cover of Praying God's Word: Breaking Free from Spiritual Strongholds

Malinda Fugate Why did I love this book?

When we think prayer is hard, we need a reminder of God’s listening ear. While there are limitless ways to connect with the Lord, Praying God’s Word invites us into conversation when we don’t know what to say.

Scripture is alive and active, and God Himself gives us words when we don’t have any. The thing I loved about this book is that it’s a springboard to get us started with this type of prayer. When I tried praying this way, I felt closer to God because His words were right there.

By Beth Moore,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Praying God's Word as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Beth Moore's #1 best-selling book (more than one million copies in print) is available in paperback for the first time!

Praying God's Word is the perennial favorite Scripture-prayer resource designed to help us decisively overcome specific strongholds: pride, idolatry, addiction, loss, depression, unbelief, temptation, and more.

No matter how overwhelmed or out of control a person may feel today, Beth boldly reminds us that nothing is bigger or more powerful than the Lord. With this landmark book we learn to wield the sword of the Spirit, praying God's Word to break free from anything that has a hold on us…


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Me and The Times: My wild ride from elevator operator to New York Times editor, columnist, and change agent (1967-97)

By Robert W. Stock,

Book cover of Me and The Times: My wild ride from elevator operator to New York Times editor, columnist, and change agent (1967-97)

Robert W. Stock Author Of Me and The Times: My wild ride from elevator operator to New York Times editor, columnist, and change agent (1967-97)

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Journalist Punster Family-phile Ex-jock Friend

Robert's 3 favorite reads in 2023

What is my book about?

Me and The Times offers a fresh perspective on those pre-internet days when the Sunday sections of The New York Times shaped the country’s political and cultural conversation. Starting in 1967, Robert Stock edited seven of those sections over 30 years, innovating and troublemaking all the way.

His memoir is rich in anecdotes and admissions. At The Times, Jan Morris threw a manuscript at him, he shared an embarrassing moment with Jacqueline Kennedy, and he got the paper sued for $1 million. Along the way, Rod Laver challenged Stock to a tennis match, he played a clarinet duet with superstar Richard Stoltzman, and he shared a Mafia-spiced brunch with Jerry Orbach.

Me and The Times: My wild ride from elevator operator to New York Times editor, columnist, and change agent (1967-97)

By Robert W. Stock,

What is this book about?

An intimate, unvarnished look at the making of the Sunday sections of The New York Times in their pre-internet heyday, back when they shaped the country’s political and cultural conversation.

Over 30 years, Robert Stock edited seven of those sections, innovating, and troublemaking all the way – getting the paper sued for $1 million, locking horns with legendary editors Abe Rosenthal and Max Frankel, and publishing articles that sent the publisher Punch Sulzberger up the wall.

On one level, his memoir tracks Stock’s amazing career from his elevator job at Bonwit Teller to his accidental entry into journalism to his…


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