Gifts for Grownups, Round 2

Even though your Redeemed Reader team is reading a plethora of books for children and teens, we do also read grownup books, too! A few years ago, we crowd-sourced an outstanding list of gift suggestions for adult readers. We benefited from that list ourselves. Today, we bring you part 2, based on our own reading and gifting.

Fine print: these are books by and for adults. We are assuming that those who read these (including older, mature teens) are able to read discerningly, are ready to grapple with ideas and philosophies they may not agree with, are willing to overlook occasional bad language (or to simply put the book down if it’s not a good fit). That being said, we think each of the books below is worth reading.

Obligatory disclaimer: We are participants in the Amazon LLC affiliate program; purchases you make through affiliate links like the one below may earn us a commission. Read more here.

For Gardeners and Nature Lovers

• A Bit of Earth: A Year in the Garden with God by Andrea Burke. Burke’s meditations are profound as she chronicles a year of gardening (vegetables). Designed to be read over the course of the year, don’t be surprised if the recipient can’t put it down. Savoring it is rewarding, but reading it straight through is as well. To quote from the Amazon summary: “In A Bit of Earth, Andrea G. Burke looks at the seasonal practice and common grace of gardening through a devotional lens. Part memoir, part prayer book, A Bit of Earth weaves care and intent through moments of ordinary living. This book is a lifelong resource of Scripture, poetry, and prose on the life of faith for contemplatives, gardeners, and believers.” Highly recommended!
• The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan. A fun gift for bird-watchers and anyone who keeps a nature journal. Tan’s artwork is worth the price of the book. Her astute, curious, and tongue-in-cheek verbal observations are by turns funny and thought-provoking. Note: Tan uses some offcolor/crude language in the first portion of the book, but this diminishes.
• Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden by Camille T. Dungy. Part memoir, part social justice philosophy, part natural history, and all engaging, this book will challenge you to look around your world with a fresh perspective. Dungy offers much food for thought, some that will challenge you or that you may not agree with, some that will have her fellow gardeners (whether Black mothers or not) nodding along in agreement. She is a beautiful writer, and this book is utterly different from most “nature writing,” no less because she is transparent about the limitations she has that writers like John Muir did not (for one, he was not caring for a young child!).

For History and Biography Lovers

• The Mythmakers: The Remarkable Fellowship of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien (A Graphic Novel) by John Hendrix. Yes, even adults can enjoy graphic novels! We reviewed this one here on Redeemed Reader, but we know many adults have enjoyed it as much or more than a teen audience will. We also recommend The Faithful Spy, by John Hendrix (read our review).
• Remaking the World: How 1776 Created the Post-Christian West by Andrew Wilson. Wilson looks at 7 key events or movements of the late 18th century and illustrates how they have shaped our current world. Janie says, “great for history-lovers and culture-watchers!”
• Paul Revere and the World He Lived In by Esther Forbes. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in the 1940s, this is a lively, well-written history of one of the most interesting cities in such an interesting time (oh yeah, and Paul Revere is in it, too!). Forbes is the author of Johnny Tremain, but this book is for adults. Janie and Betsy both recommend it.

For Liturgy Lovers

• Sacred Seasons: A Family Guide to Center Your Year Around Jesus by Danielle Hitchen. We’ve loved Danielle Hitchen’s Baby Believer Board Books, but this is a book for families (well, for the adults of the family). This book attempts to bring the traditional church calendar to the family with activities and suggestions for incorporating these ancient rhythms in modern life.
• Be Thou My Vision: A Liturgy for Daily Worship by Jonathan Gibson. A nicely-bound book that offers a month of daily liturgies, pulled from ancient and traditional prayers and Christian writers. Creeds, Scripture readings (the Robert Murray M’Cheyne plan), and Westminster Shorter Catechism readings are also included.
• The Common Rule: Habits of Purpose in an Age of Distraction by Justin Whitmel Earley. Good for self-improvement type readers who want to pursue faithful habits (not merely “self help” habits). This is not a book on liturgy, per se, but the idea of a common rule of life originated in the monasteries, and thus, it has great appeal for those longing to reclaim some of these rhythms.

For Those Longing for Less…

• You’re Only Human: How Your Limits Reflect God’s Design and Why That’s Good News by Kelly Kapic. Outstanding book with much food for thought regarding our creaturely limits and how that moves us to trust the Lord more and honor Him with our physical selves. A biblical approach to the popular “self care” and “be kind to yourself” movements; Kapic won’t tell you not to take care of yourself, but he will put it in its appropriate context. Highly recommended.
• The Opt-Out Family: How to Give Your Kids What Technology Can’t by Erin Loechner. A good resource for those wishing to limit screen time. The Tech-Wise Family by Andy Crouch is a good complement, but The Opt-Out Family looks more at social media and offers more practical tips.
• Slow Productivity by Cal Newport is a good read for the thoughtful time-management enthusiast. Betsy, Hayley, and Megan all read this book this year. Digital Minimalism, also by Newport, is just as good, but it specifically targets our digital habits. Both books are in the context of “knowledge workers,” those who work at jobs handling knowledge and intangibles as opposed to factory work or jobs working with tangible goods.

For Those Longing for (or Expecting) More…

• Expecting Better: Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom Is Wrong–And What You Really Need to Know by Emily Oster. (No! We don’t have any announcements to share!) This book is for those who are expecting, but also for the data-loving or curious mom: an economist takes us along on her pregnancy journey and her quest into understanding the “why” behind all the rules of pregnancy by looking at the original data doctors use.

For True-Crime Lovers

• Dead in the Water: A True Story of Hijacking, Murder, and a Global Maritime Conspiracy by Matthew Campbell and Kit Chellel. Two investigative journalists from the Economist take on the sinking and insurance claims of a freighter. Secrets, coverups, murder and the tangle of modern shipping and insurance (Lloyds of London!).
• Death’s Acre: Inside the Legendary Forensic Lab at the Body Farm Where the Dead Do Tell Tales by Dr. Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson. Yes, this is a morbid title. No, it is not a morbid book. But it is definitely for those with strong stomachs. The Body Farm is a real place (Betsy used to live in Knoxville, where it is located). Bass manages to describe the science behind his forensic anthropology work in a way that maintains dignity for human life, demonstrates a drive to seek justice, and illustrates the amazingly complexity of the human form.

For Food Lovers

• RecipeTin Eats Dinner: 150 Recipes for Fast, Everyday Meals by Nagi Maehashi. Make the Chicken Shawarma first. The Chicken Gyros are also good. Oh, and the Lemon Cream Chicken. And the Salmon Tacos. And …. (Just get it. It’s all good.)
• Teatime Discipleship: Sharing Faith One Cup at a Time by Sally Clarkson. Clarkson gently invites readers to her table, modeling how sharing a cup of tea offers much potential for sharing the gospel. Full of recipes, yes, but also stories and more.
• An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace by Tamar Adler. A lovely book of essays all about how to make do with what you have, how to transform bits and pieces of leftovers into comfort and elegance, and how food and meals are worth our time and attention. An Everlasting Meal Cookbook offers hundreds of recipes for using up those bits and pieces. (Maybe this is something we all need to get better at as food costs go up? Ahem.)
• Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking by Samin Nosrat. For the adventurous cook who wants to learn how to “wing it” (or, how to adapt recipes so they actually taste good). Even if your gift recipient has been cooking for decades, this book will offer food for thought (sorry! Couldn’t help that pun!).
• Artisan Sourdough Made Simple: A Beginner’s Guide to Delicious Handcrafted Bread with Minimal Kneading by Emilie Raffa. Get it! Betsy’s 2023 goal was to try each bread recipe in this book. She made it through most of them and reports that they are yummy. The Whole Wheat Sourdough, the Honey Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread, and the dinner rolls are regulars in the Farquhar household.

For Art Lovers

• Art and Faith: A Theology of Making by Makoto Fujimura. Thoughtful reflection on how the process of producing art (creative activity) helps us know God better. Similar, complementary titles include Culture Making by Crouch (read our review) and Adorning the Dark by Andrew Peterson (read our review).
• Redeeming Vision: A Christian Guide to Looking at and Learning from Art by Elissa Yukiko Weichbrodt. This book will offer insight into how to really see a work of art, but it also examines Western tradition in some thought-provoking ways. Weichbrodt continually returns to how we love our neighbor (and the Lord) in the ways in which we view and enjoy art. Incidentally, this is a good work to discuss with others. Perhaps you and your gift recipient!

For Fiction Lovers

• Once A Queen by Sarah Arthur. Yes, this is a young adult novel, but we think it is timeless! Highly recommended. (Read our review)
• Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson. Technically, this is book 2 in a series, but it stands alone. Perfect for the murder mystery enthusiast. Betsy has this on her wish list thanks to Hayley’s recommendation!
• My Ántonia or O, Pioneers! by Willa Cather. Cather’s novels are beautiful and rich, rewarding the slow, contemplative reader.
• Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. Winner of the National Book Award in the 1930s, Rebecca is just as popular as ever. Megan says that those of us who have only seen the Hitchcock film are missing out and to just read it already.