I knew when I asked for book suggestions you would come through for me. I just didn’t know I’d be bombarded! Some of these just sounded too good to keep to myself, so I made a list (with descriptions courtesy of Amazon.com) and thought I’d share these reader recommendations in case you find yourself in need of a great book this summer. Happy reading! 

  • The Traveler’s Gift by Andy Andrews: David Ponder loses his job and his confidence – and then has a car accident that leaves him unconscious. While unconscious, he travels to seven key points in history and meets historical figures like Abraham Lincoln and King Solomon, who guide him to a more fulfilled life.
  • The Noticer: Sometimes, all a person needs is a little perspective by Andy Andrews: Like all humans on the planet, the good folks of Orange Beach, Alabama, have their share of problems – marriages teetering on the brink of divorce, young adults giving up on life, business people on the verge of bankruptcy, as well as the many other obstacles that life seems to dish out to the masses. Fortunately, when things look the darkest, a mysterious man named Jones has a miraculous way of showing up. Communicating what he calls “a little perspective,” he explains that he has been given a gift of noticing things that others miss.
  • While We’re Far Apart by Lynn Austin: In an unassuming apartment building in Brooklyn, New York, three lives intersect as the reality of war invades each aspect of their lives. Young Esther is heartbroken when her father decides to enlist in the army shortly after the death of her mother. Penny Goodrich has been in love with Eddie Shaffer for as long as she can remember; now that Eddie’s wife is dead, Penny feels she has been given a second chance and offers to care for his children in the hope that he will finally notice her and marry her after the war. And elderly Mr. Mendel, the landlord, waits for the war to end to hear what has happened to his son trapped in war-torn Hungary. But during the long, endless wait for victory overseas, life on the home front will go from bad to worse. Yet these characters will find themselves growing and changing in ways they never expected – and ultimately discovering truths about God’s love…even when He is silent.
  •  The Half Stitched Amish Quilting Club by Wanda Brunstetter: Join the club of unlikely quilters who show up for Amish widow Emma Yoder’s quilting classes. A troubled young woman, a struggling couple, a widower, a rough and tough biker, and a preacher’s wife make up the mismatched lot. But as their problems begin to bind them together like the scraps of fabric stitched together in a quilt, they learn to open up and lend a helping hand. Is this what God had in mind to heal hurting hearts and create beauty from fragments?
  • The Harbinger: The ancient mystery that holds the secret of America’s future by Jonathan Cahn: Before its destruction as a nation, ancient Israel received nine harbingers, prophetic omens of warning. The same nine harbingers are now manifesting in America with immediate ramifications for end-time prophecy. Hidden in an ancient biblical prophecy from Isaiah, the mysteries revealed in The Harbinger are so precise that they foretold recent American events down to the exact days. The revelations are so specific that even the most hardened skeptics will find it hard to dismiss or put down. It sounds like the plot of a Hollywood thriller with one exception… it’s real.
  • Deadly Disclosures by Julie Cave: How far will some go to silence an influential Christian voice? FBI agent Dinah Harris now has a missing person’s file to go along with a bad case of alcohol abuse and the depression she cannot seem to shake. Fighting to keep her focus, she struggles to find answers for why Thomas Whitfield, the prominent Secretary of the Smithsonian has vanished from his office with foul play almost guaranteed. Whitfield’s body is eventually found, and Dinah is drawn into a frightening conspiracy, as more people begin to die, and Whitfield’s faith is revealed as part of the motive behind his murder. Dinah finds troubling answers in an academic world filled with powerful financial endowments and a virulent opposition to the faith Whitfield only recently found. Can she reveal the truth before she finds herself the next silenced victim of a ruthless, unseen enemy?
  • Queen Of The Bremen: The True Story Of An American Child Trapped In Germany During World War II by Marlies Adams DiFante (of Rochester, NY): It is 1939 when five-year-old Marlies Adams travels with her family on a transatlantic journey from America to Germany so that her mother can visit her terminally ill father. As the SS Bremen leaves New York Harbor with Marlies and her family as passengers, no one could have predicted the events that are about to unfold as the Bremen docks in Bremerhaven, Germany six days later. As World War II begins, Hitler comes into power, and all borders and ports are closed; the Adams family is prohibited from leaving Germany.
  • Joshua: A Parable for Today by Joseph F. Girzone: When Joshua moves to a small cabin on the edge of town, the local people are mystified by his presence. A quiet and simple man, Joshua appears to seek nothing for himself. He supports himself by working as a carpenter. He charges very little for his services, yet his craftsmanship is exquisite. Despite his benevolence and selfless work in the community, some remain suspicious. Finally, in an effort to address the community’s doubts, the local religious leaders confront Joshua.
  • The Search for Significance by Robert S. McGee: Robert McGee’s best-selling book has helped millions of readers learn how to be free to enjoy Christ’s love while no longer basing their self-worth on their accomplishments or the opinions of others. In fact, Billy Graham said that it was a book that “should be read by every Christian.” In this re-launch of this timeless classic you will: Gain new skills for getting off the performance treadmill; discover how four false beliefs have negatively impacted your life; learn how to overcome obstacles that prevent you from experiencing the truth that your self-worth is found only in the love, acceptance, and forgiveness of Christ.
  • Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller: In Donald Miller’s early years, he was vaguely familiar with a distant God. But when he came to know Jesus Christ, he pursued the Christian life with great zeal. Within a few years he had a successful ministry that ultimately left him feeling empty, burned out, and, once again, far away from God. In this intimate, soul-searching account, Miller describes his remarkable journey back to a culturally relevant, infinitely loving God.
  • Any book by Janette Oke.
  • Illusion by Frank Perretti: Dane and Mandy Collins have been a popular magic act for close to 30 years. In their late fifties, they plan to retire but their plans are devastated by a fiery car wreck. Dane awakens in a hospital and learns that Mandy is dead. A friend tells Dane there’s an act he ought to see. Dane has retired but agrees to watch the girl perform. He is transfixed by the magic he sees, illusions that even he, a seasoned professional, cannot readily explain. But more than anything, he is emotionally devastated by this nineteen-year-old who is in every respect identical to the young beauty he first met some forty years earlier.
  • Where the Pink Houses Are by Rebekah Ruth: When unthinkable tragedy strikes, will Brenna and her mother-in-law, Anna, find healing half a world away amid the green Irish hills? Brenna begins to think she may be able to build a new life in a new land when Anna’s eccentric family welcomes her with open arms. But it’s in the arms of the town heartbreaker, Luke Dillon, that she begins to wonder if she can truly fall in love again. As if one confusing relationship isn’t enough, when Brenna meets Ryan Kelly she’s instantly drawn to him. As always, Anna has comforting and wise advice but Brenna needs to decide for herself as she struggles to understand God’s plan for her life.
  • The Lies We Believe by Dr. Chris Thurman: This newly repackaged edition examines the lies people tell themselves that damage emotional health, relationships, and spiritual life.
  • The Cross Gardener by Jason Wright: Married and the father of a young daughter, John Bevan had finally found the traditional family he lacked as an orphaned child. But all that disappears when a fatal car accident steals away his wife-and the unborn child she carried. Filled with sorrow, John withdraws from life and love. He erects a small cross at the scene of his wife’s accident and visits daily, grieving. Then one morning he encounters a young man kneeling before the cross, touching it up with white paint. John’s conversations and travels with this mysterious man-known to him only as the Cross Gardener-will forever change his world.