Fans pick 100 books like Out of Egypt

I love this book because I believe it to be the first popular novelization of the life of Santa Claus. It was written in 1902 by the venerable Frank Baum. Though mostly a children’s novel, the character of Santa is given some internal development. His thoughts, emotions, and motivations are shared as he grows from an orphaned child into a beloved legend.

As a cat lover, I adore how Santa’s first-ever toy is a carving he makes of his pet cat out of boredom… The theme of the book is simple but universal: “For a generous deed lives longer than a great battle or a king's decree or a scholar's essay because it spreads and leaves its mark on all nature and endures through many generations.”

I love how this novel humanizes Jesus by exploring his childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood through the recollections of his childhood best friend, Biff. The conceit is clever! Biff is resurrected and transported to contemporary St. Louis, where he is commanded to stay locked in a hotel room under the supervision of an angel until he completes a new gospel.

The story is humorous and entertaining but also moving and thought-provoking. Jesus is presented as a well-developed character and we share in his dilemma: “I ask for guidance, but I get no answer. I can feel that I am supposed to do things, but I don’t know what. And I don’t know how.” Wordly themes of lust, greed, and doubt are juxtaposed against divine themes of love, charity, and faith.

I have read aloud this family-friendly book to my children, one chapter per night in December—every December—for over a decade. The book traces the life of Santa from his origin as Nicholas of Myra, across centuries of history, up to his status as the legendary figure we all know and love today.

As a fictional autobiography, Santa himself narrates the story in the first person, so we get to share his thoughts, emotions, and motivations directly. Santa becomes more than just a magical figure but also a well-developed main character with profound humanity.

This book perfectly blends fact and fiction, history, and mythology, wonder and inspiration all together as it celebrates the Christmas spirit.

This is the lively memoir of a real-life professional Santa Claus! I have volunteered as Santa Claus myself many times, and it is such a great honor, privilege, and responsibility. When you wear the coat and hat, you become the most famous celebrity in the world! Everyone waves and declares their love!

This author is a fantastic Santa Claus who also runs a wheelchair ministry in which he repairs mobility assistance devices for the disabled. He details his path to becoming a Santa and his many touching adventures in the big chair. I appreciate his insight on how we adults can learn valuable lessons about faith and trust by watching children as they interact with Santa Claus, an exemplar of unconditional love and the spirit of Christmas.

The narrator and protagonist, Ana, grabbed my heart and imagination immediately. Her tenacity, vulnerability, heartbreak, and clarity brought me into every experience she had throughout the story, one of which was being Jesus' wife. I loved that the experience of being Jesus’ wife was not the epicenter of her being. Instead, the depth of her longing to write and find her purpose in that calling shone through.

This book resonated deeply with me, helping to round out my childhood experience of religion, in particular, the bible being held in a very patriarchal view. 

This book grabbed my heart and mind and would not let me go. I cried several times and finished it in a week, which is fast reading for a slow reader like me.

This book is part of a series, or set, written by Dr. Wright. The other books in the series are about knowing God, knowing that Father, and knowing the Holy Spirit, all through the Old Testament.

Dr. Wright’s book does not focus on types and shadows. Instead, his book encourages the reader to see Jesus largely as the replacement of Israel. Where Israel failed, Jesus succeeded. Dr. Wright’s book is also a summary of how the early church view Jesus.

The book traces the life of Christ as it is illuminated by the Old Testament. And he describes God's plan for the nation of Israel by seeing it fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

I am a huge fan of historical fiction. Especially when there is the edge of fantasy and supernatural that goes along with it. This book details the journey of two demons and brilliantly weaves the tale of the two thieves that found themselves crucified next to Jesus on the cross. This scary, tense, and thrilling take on this story took me entirely by surprise. The historic Roman world was excellently presented. My favorite part of this story was the turmoil within the minds of the different characters, which is true to life—and in a world that wants to better understand mental illness—this book packs a punch of truth that will really set people free.

The Chosen book is good, and Jerry Jenkins’ many titles including the blockbuster Left Behind series are worth reading, but this is a backdoor to the multi-season film series, The Chosen by Jerry’s son, Dallas Jenkins. Life doesn't turn out as we imagined, and when much that is precious has been marred, your tender heart longs to honor the holy and sacred. To know that God sees you, loves you and your child unconditionally, and never forsakes you. The Chosen is heart-mending, faith-building, and life-changing. Download the free app on your phone for the world's largest crowd-funded project, and enjoy The Chosen over and over. Family-friendly.

This is a book that captured my imagination about thirty years ago. It uses New Testament scholarship to reconstruct and imagine what it might have been like to live in Judah and Galilee at the time of Jesus but never to have met him in person—hence the title the Shadow of the Galilean. It was the first book I’d come across that used scholarship to imagine what it was actually like to live then. I’ve been thinking about that book ever since and it was what inspired me to write my book.

Written long before quarantines became so fashionable, Jesus in Jim Crace’s novel is an almost peripheral player, because– set during Christ’s forty days in the wilderness – six other people share in the inhospitable desert caves, miracles, and hallucinations. Each character has their own troubles and trials; their own battles with demons to resolve; which they hope isolation and fasting will accomplish. And for each, in ingenious ways, it does… I am a big fan of Crace’s style, rhythm, and invention, and this is one of his finest works.