Whether you are looking for an advent devotional, a cozy nonfiction read, or a festive holiday fiction—here is a list of recommendations to get you started. I hope these encourage some special reading moments this Christmas season!

Garrison Keillor once said, “A book is a gift you can open again and again.” I could not agree more! If you are looking for the perfect gift here is a book guide for every type of reader in your life!

Coming off more than a year in pandemic mode I feel like we are all deserving of a fantastic tropical vacation. However, regardless of your summer plans, hopefully you will find time to dive into a good book, whether it be next to a beach, a pool or a toddler sprinkler! With that in mind, I have compiled a list of a few of my favorite fiction and nonfiction picks to help you mentally recharge, restore, and relax.

Sally Anne is a former literature and writing professor and has carefully curated a collection of books involving three of the most universal yet thought-provoking themes–marriage, death, and faith. Sally Anne’s Book Club is a member-led group within the Collective and open to members on the Dive Collective network.

Sally Anne is a former literature and writing professor and has carefully curated a collection of books involving three of the most universal yet thought-provoking themes–marriage, death, and faith. Sally Anne’s Book Club is a member-led group within the Collective and open to members on the Dive Collective network.

January usually begins with a complete inundation of resolutions; diet talk and unrealistic expectations that leave most disappointed by February 1. With this in mind, I have started approaching the start of a new year with the aim to create a manageable goal that gets me excited to pursue each day.

Years ago, I read about the most enchanting holiday tradition in Iceland. It is called Jólabókaflóð and translated means “Yule Book Flood.” On Christmas Eve, it is customary to give loved ones a book as a gift and then proceed to read the new book all night long. Sign me up! Seeing that we are still in the middle of a pandemic, Christmas is sure to look a little different this year, so why not adopt a new tradition of gifting books to those you love?! Here are my recommendations for readers of all ages and literary preferences. 

Holiday cups have dropped at Starbucks which means one thing—the Christmas season is upon us! If you are like me and enjoy curling up next to the Christmas tree under a warm blanket with a good book, I hope one of these holiday picks will add a little extra joy. 

Every fall, with the first crunch of leaves, I cannot resist welcoming the season with a few autumnal favorites. Here is what I recommend, reading, watching and baking.

For me, one of the greatest simple pleasures of summer is enjoying a light yet captivating beach read. These are the cotton-candy books that are quick and easy. While they may lack the intellectual density of a literary tome, I passionately stand in defense of the importance of a beach read. These books help us shutter our minds, to block out the rigors and demands of daily life and have a brief respite and mental vacation. What I’m looking for in a good beach read is to be transported to a different world where the endings are always satisfying and the characters are quick to come alive off the page.

I started college as a political science major eager to make an impact on the world through politics or law. However, that quickly changed during my first literature course thanks to a passionate professor who taught me that books are more than simply words on a page. Great literature does not merely entertain, it can change hearts, develop imaginative empathy in readers, and give a much needed voice to the marginalized and oppressed. After the heartbreaking events of the past two weeks, I struggle to find the correct way to create and hold space for hurting black communities across our nation. This is not my story to narrate and control, yet how do I show love and support and DO BETTER? The following books have helped to better educate both my mind and my heart and inform my subsequent actions.

When I was twenty-four years old and knee-deep in my doctoral degree in nineteenth-century literature, I thought that the desire of my heart was accomplishing my Ten Year Plan. Academics had been my comfort zone and, up until that point, I had successfully hit all the professional wickets with scholarships and fellowships paving the way. However, in the middle of completing my doctoral coursework, I felt utterly unmoored, unsatisfied and disillusioned by the cut-throat academic environment and struggling with the darkest depression of my life. I kept wondering why God wasn’t strengthening me to withstand this environment. I was supposed to be the light-bearer in this relatively godless world of academia—why was I failing?