New books I'm super excited about

If you follow me on any other social media platform, you might know that I read about one book a week. I'm excited about what the next couple of months bring for the stack of books that hang out on my nightstand. 

Please note, I don't get any money or perks or anything for sharing these books. I just really love sharing authors and good writing with people, and I read quite a bit so people tend to listen to me about books. I have already pre-ordered all of these books that are currently available for preorder, so you should do the same. 

Books to put on your TBR (to be read) list immediately: 

Embodied: Clergy Women and the Solidarity of a Mothering God by Lee Ann M. Pomrenke (comes out September 17, 2020, preorder it now). I'm excited about any book that combines two of my passions: God and mothering. I can't wait to see what Lee Ann will teach us with this one. 

United States of Grace by Lenny Duncan (comes out May 25, 2021, preorder it now). Honestly, everything Lenny does is amazing (I'm a huge fan) so the fact that he would grace us with another book so soon is truly a remarkable move. I hear he has a third book in the works already too. The man's nonstop. 

It's no secret that I love Sarah Bessey and I gift her books to my mother on the regular. But this prayer book just sounds fantastic: For the weary, the angry, the anxious, and the hopeful, this collection of moving, tender prayers offers rest, joyful resistance, and a call to act, written by Barbara Brown Taylor, Amena Brown, Nadia Bolz-Weber, and other artists and thinkers, curated by the author Glennon Doyle calls “my favorite faith writer.”

I can't wait to get my hands on this book by Emily Joy Allison. A lot of my students in campus ministry have come from really awful and abusive church histories and I am always trying to learn more about how to provide care to them. This one comes out in March 2021, but you can preorder it already! 

I love all books that intersect mothering and theology so I'm totally here for this. It's already out so definitely go order it. It's on my stack, but I haven't been able to pick it up yet because of some stuff in my personal life. BUT I'm excited to be in a space to read this one. You can order it here. 

I don't really know what to say about this book besides it sounds absolutely amazing. Preorder this now. It's out in February 2021. 

What if the most steadfast faith you'll ever encounter comes from a Black grandmother?

The church mothers who raised Yolanda Pierce, dean of Howard University School of Divinity, were busily focused on her survival. In a world hostile to Black women's bodies and spirits, they had to be. Born on a former cotton plantation and having fled the terrors of the South, Pierce's grandmother raised her in the faith inherited from those who were enslaved. Now, in the pages of In My Grandmother's House, Pierce reckons with that tradition, building an everyday womanist theology rooted in liberating scriptures, experiences in the Black church, and truths from Black women's lives. Pierce tells stories that center the experiences of those living on the underside of history, teasing out the tensions of race, spirituality, trauma, freedom, resistance, and memory.

A grandmother's theology carries wisdom strong enough for future generations. The Divine has been showing up at the kitchen tables of Black women for a long time. It's time to get to know that God.

I'm on the board for Lutherans Restoring Creation, so I am always looking for resources to add to our long list. I am really excited about this one. It comes out in March 2021 and you can preorder it here. I also have some seminary friends who are super passionate about food justice, so I'm excited to see what they think about this too.

I am ALWAYS looking for parenting books that don't suck. And I am so excited about this one. I mean I almost teared up reading the description of this book: 

The Sandbox Revolution calls upon our collective wisdom to wrestle with the questions, navigate the challenges, offer concrete practices, and remind parents of the sacredness of the work. Written by parents who are also writers, pastors, teachers, organizers, artists, gardeners, and activists, this anthology offers a diversity of voices and experiences on topics that include education, money, anti-racism, resistance, spirituality, disability justice, and earth care.

Oof. I can't wait. It comes out in March 2021 (apparently I'll have to quit my job and exclusively read in March...) and you can preorder it here. 

The Walls Came Tumbling Down by Rob W. Lee, IV. I'm excited that he has another book in the works for us too. I know it's going to be fantastic. I mean just look at that cover. But don't stop there, he has ANOTHER book to be released by the end of 2020 (I don't know how he does it, y'all). 

Coming (COVID-permitting) by the end of 2020. An anthology of articles from Rev. Rob Lee's earliest days at the Statesville R&L his senior year of high school in 2011 to immediately following the Video Music Awards three years ago on a national stage.

And y'all look: Chelsea Clinton wrote the introduction! Yay! 

Elle Dowd is working on a book right now and we don't have many details, but I'll be excited about what she has in store for us in 2021. 

You can also see all of the fantastic books I've read thus far in 2020 right here on Goodreads.