Enjoying Books with Friends

Join the Conversation on Zoom

An Online Quarterly Book Conversation for Women Who like to Read and Discuss Books

Books chosen cover a variety of topics and genres including adult and children’s fiction and non-fiction: historical fiction, biography, memoir, missionary stories, Christian and secular, award winners and classics. Books usually reflect NEWIM’s theological position, but not always. We think all truth is God’s truth, wherever it is found. We find goodness, truth and beauty in discussions that come from diverse viewpoints. Joining the discussion does not obligate you to read the next book selected. We hope you will join and share your viewpoint with us.

Read or listen to the book on your own before we meet, and then zoom with the group to discuss it. If you haven't finished the book, you can still participate. You won't be called on. You don't have to share if you don't want to. It's okay to disagree with each other and share alternate points of view. Every time we learn a lot from each other.

Sunday, May 5, 2024 @ 2:00 PST/5:00 EST

This Seat’s Saved by Heather Holleman

Elita Brown’s friends enjoy their seats at the popular lunchroom table while she hides in the bathroom. How will Elita find her way through the challenges of middle school? Full of suspense and divine moments as the main character learns to read her Bible, trust God for the first time, and understand what it means to be seated with Christ. Based on Ephesians 2:6.  Although this book was written for teens and young adults, it is relevant for all of us.

DR. HEATHER HOLLEMAN is an associate teaching professor at Penn State, speaker, and author. She designs advanced writing curriculum for the English department and loves helping students thrive professionally. She has written eight books, including the bestseller Seated with Christ: Living Freely in a Culture of Comparison, and an award-winning book on evangelism (co-written with her husband, Ashley Holleman) called Sent: Living a Life That Invites Others to Jesus. Her fall 2022 release, The Six Conversations: Pathways to Connecting in an Age of Isolation and Incivility, helps fight the loneliness epidemic by inviting readers to enjoy better conversations. Heather also serves with Faculty Commons alongside Ashley in the graduate student ministry of Cru. She has two daughters and three cats, and she blogs daily at heatherholleman.com. When she’s not writing or teaching, Heather is growing a plum orchard, looking for turtles in the woods, or gathering with friends for dinner and a movie. 

“I’ve met with the book club group several times now and each time is a blessing and encouragement. It’s especially a treat when Luann invites an author to be a part of our discussion. We have had the great privilege of including Sharon Garlough Brown in two of our discussions as we’ve read several of her novels. This last time we talked with her about Shades of Light. It’s so fun to be able to ask the author questions about her writing style and how she developed the characters and plot. And we each shared how the powerful characters impacted our own spiritual journey. Please join us for our next meeting. I have every confidence you will love being with us.” —Kathy Collard Miller

Email LuannBudd@newim.org for more information

Previous Books

Tell Her Story by Nijay K. Gupta

We were all expecting the book to be more stories, and it is actually more academic that that. Nevertheless, we enjoyed reading it and thought it would be a good reference resource when we are teaching the Scripture. One person in the group was familiar with the information presented from other reading she had done. Others found the information to be new…not what they had heard before.

We agreed that it is pretty clear that women were active participants and trusted leaders in Jesus’ ministry and during the early church. Women were welcomed by Paul and other apostles, were equipped and trained for ministry leadership, instructed others, traveled long distances, and were imprisoned. We appreciated Dr. Gupta’s adherence to Scripture and found his thoughts about 2 Tim 2 and the “submission passages” to be thoughtful and compelling. He expanded our thinking.

We talked a lot about the impact of this information on us as individuals and on the leadership roles women play (are allowed to play) in churches today. We were all glad that we read the book and recommend it.

All My Knotted-Up Life by Beth Moore

Beth Moore has become controversial in the last few years. For twenty-five years, Beth was a favorite evangelical Bible Study teacher, selling out arenas all over the country. It’s estimated she has reached over 2 million women since she founded Living Proof Ministries in 1994. Her life was given to encouraging women to know and love Jesus through the study of Scripture. So how did she become controversial within evangelical circles?

When the infamous "Access Hollywood" tape became public, Beth spoke out against Donald Trump’s sexual exploits and didn't back down. “A firestorm ensued that would end with her leaving the Southern Baptist denomination in 2021.” Now, in her new memoir, "All My Knotted-Up Life," Beth tells her story, including the fact that she is a survivor of sexual abuse. Beth said she thought hard about sharing her experience: “I wanted to be able to go a bit deeper with women who have been traumatized in similar ways to my own trauma. And that - understand with me, there is no kind of abuse whatsoever that is not profoundly affecting. None. Zero. When your protector is your perpetrator, it so messes you up - or let me make that more personal. It so messed me up. But I long to be able to say, if you have been in this situation, I want you to know that I have, too. And if you made every conceivable poor decision in the wake of it, I want you to know that I did, too. If you have been prone to self-sabotage every single time something good was about to happen to you in your adolescence and young adulthood, I want you to know - me, as well.” We were all glad we read the book.

Prayer in the Night by Tish Harrison-Warren

How can we trust God in the dark? Tish Harrison Warren, author of Liturgy of the Ordinary, explores themes of human vulnerability, suffering, and God's seeming absence. When she navigated a time of doubt and loss, prayer was grounding for her. She writes that practices of prayer "gave words to my anxiety and grief and allowed me to reencounter the doctrines of the church not as tidy little antidotes for pain, but as a light in darkness, as good news."

Where do we find comfort when we lie awake worrying or weeping in the night? This book offers a prayerful and frank approach to the difficulties in our ordinary lives at work, at home, and in a world filled with uncertainty. Tish encourages us in her story of how to find joy in our grief but choosing to focus on God’s love for us. NEWIM’s Book group enjoyed reading this book.

ECPA Christian Book of the Year
Christianity Today Book of the Year
InterVarsity Press Readers' Choice Award

At the Foot of the Snows by David Watters

At The Foot of the Snows is a modern missionary story at its best. With brutal honesty, David Watters (1944-2009) shares his family’s journey to northwestern Nepal where they live among the Kham people, learn their language, and eventually translate the Bible so they can read for themselves the good news of Jesus Christ. The book is full of photographs and inspiring stories and is written for adults (NOT intended to be read to children). I loved it. I was challenged by it. I found myself so engaged, I just had to read the next chapter. Finally, I cleared an afternoon so I could spend three hours uninterrupted and find out how the story ends. It’s a page-turner as David Watters gives us an authentic picture of what it looks like to follow Jesus to the ends of the earth and trust him in the face of insurmountable odds and personal doubts.

David and Nancy are just ordinary people who took seriously the Lord’s call to love others and share the gospel to the ends of the earth.

Read a review and see some photos HERE.

Mother of Modern Evangelicalism:

The Life and Legacy of Henrietta Mears by Arlin Migliazzo

Winner of Christianity Today’s 2022 Biography Award of Merit

Watch video conversation with author Arlin Migliazzo.

“Henrietta Mears is at the heart of the twentieth-century American evangelicalism.” She is one of the most powerful behind-the-scenes people during 1930-1960s when evangelicalism emerged as a movement. She chose “modern culture” as her mission field and made a significant impact on Billy Graham, Bill Bright (CRU-Campus Crusade for Christ), Jim Rayburn (Young Life). In fact, Billy Graham said that apart from his mother and wife, Henrietta Mears was the most influential person in his life.

What do you know of Henrietta? Did you know she founded a successful publishing company that grew into one of the country’s largest independent religious publishing houses (Gospel Light), negotiated the purchase of a Southern California resort (now the Christian Conference Center, Forest Home), and authored Sunday-school material used by thousands of churches? She was an early leader of the National Association of Evangelicals. More than four million copies of her book What the Bible is All About sold and four editions still circulate today. The co-founder of Fuller Theological Seminary called Henrietta Mears “the most inspiring woman leader in Christian causes that I have ever known.”

How was she able to do all of this?

She technically never gave a sermon, but her exposition of the Scriptures was legendary. She persuaded thousands of adults as well as young people to put their faith in Christ and yet she had no advanced degrees in any subject and no formal training whatsoever in Christian education or theology. Some have called her “the greatest preacher in Southern California." She’s considered the “most renowned religious educator and perhaps the best-known woman of all the fundamentalists and evangelicals of her time.”

“The spirit of graceful engagement with which Henrietta Mears pursued her calling stands as an example for us in an increasingly divisive age, for grace is not a word that many Americans outside the faith would use to describe today’s evangelical Christians…As our world desperately searches for the kindness and compassion that grace embodies, too many Christians in the United States appear unable or unwilling to act charitably toward those with whom they disagree... the way in which Henrietta Mears lived her life presents a refreshing counternarrative. She brought an uncommon grace to an earlier era much like ours in its oversimplified, but widely accepted, depiction of orthodox Christian belief in an age of crisis.” (Christianity Today)

Henrietta Mears was amazing and she had some interesting contradictions. Author, Arlin Migliazzo joined us for a delightful conversation as we explored the life and ongoing legacy of this woman of faith.

Feathers of Hope by Sharon Garlough Brown

Katherine is preparing to retire as the director at New Hope retreat center. She faces both personal and professional challenges—as we read, we have the privilege of seeing a very mature Christian woman significantly struggle. We loved how we can learn from her how to steward the experiences of our lives as we seek to love others well. She models for us what it looks like to own her own stuff and apologize. And we get to see the value of the spiritual practice of “lingering with what provokes us.” Instead of shutting down or rejecting people that trigger our anger or envy, we see Katherine embrace painful and unsettling insights about her own blind spots and watch her allow them to open ways to new spiritual growth.

Before our conversation, Feathers of Hope wasn’t our favorite book of the series. We wondered if it was because we had to live in the lower energy of life with the characters who were experiencing depression. But as we discussed the book and the truths it reveals, we found we wanted to go back and re-read it. The more we discussed the book and listened to Sharon, the more we fell in love with it. This book seems like more of a parable than an adventure. It shows rather than tells. It teaches us truth as the characters model what it looks like to be a disciple of Jesus and work through interpersonal conflict. Sometimes they do it well and sometimes, not so well. We concluded that it’s a book about interpersonal relationships and it requires time to ponder.

We are so grateful Sharon Garlough Brown joined us for our conversation and shared some of her thinking as she wrote the book. After our conversation, we really loved the book. Several were interested in exploring further the themes in the book and wanted to use the accompanying Study Guide to dive in deeper. This is a book that is rich and merits a second reading and it is definitely one that expands our thinking as it is discussed.

The Edge of Belonging by Amanda Cox

The Edge of Belonging is a beautiful story of finding family. A Christy Award (the industry's premiere award recognizing excellence in Christian fiction). Five star!

Amanda Cox skillfully weaves together the stories of the past (1994) with the present-day story of Ivy, a young woman who wants to solve the mystery surrounding her birth parents. We all fell in love with the characters. Amanda deals with challenging topics (abuse, abandonment, infertility, depression, suicide, foster care and adoption) in a realistic manner, but one that evoked in us compassion for people who have experienced difficult circumstances and have scars. We loved seeing how so much of the past brokenness was redeemed as the characters helped each other grow and heal. the book left us feeling a sense of hope and gratitude to God who showers each of us broken people with his faithful love and redeems our failures. In Amanda’s characters we found heroes to model our lives after.

Many of us rarely underline passages in the fiction books we read, but this book is an exception. During the book discussion, we shared our favorite passages and how they spoke to us. It was fun to be solving the mystery along with Ivy and all of the pieces came together in a very believable and satisfying conclusion.

The Edge of Belonging won the highest honor in 2021, receiving The Christy Award. We all agreed that it deserved the honor. It was delightful to have Amanda join us from her home in Tennesse and we’re looking forward to reading her second book, The Secret Keepers of Old Depot Grocery.

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is a delightful book in the Chronicles of Narnia series. The book is a wonderful story about transformation. It doesn’t matter whether we find ourselves in utter darkness, somehow turned into a dragon, or hopelessly lost at sea, C.S. Lewis has a way of helping us grasp that we are never alone. God is always with us helping us to become fully who he created us to be. Transformation takes many forms as we travel with the Lucy, Edmund and Prince Caspian to the End of the World.

This book is also available as a great adventure movie, but it does not capture C.S. Lewis’ vision of Transformation as the book does. Listen to Dr. Christi William, Ph.D. opens the Chronicles and C.S. Lewis’ thoughts about the value of stories.

Baggage Handler by David Rawlings

Baggage Handler won the Christy Award for Best First Novel of 2019.

“The Baggage Handler” is a modern-day parable by David Rawlings. The book opens with three travelers arriving at the airport: Gillian, a housewife who is in town for a family wedding, David, a workaholic businessman who is in town to save his department, and Michael, a student who is in town to try out for an athletic scholarship. In baggage claim, each one declines the Baggage Handler’s offer to help them with their baggage. They each grab their baggage off the carousel, only to later realize that they have someone else’s baggage. All three are directed to the Baggage Depot, in a remote part of town, where they will be able to deal with their baggage. 

At the Baggage Depot, each of the travelers meets the Baggage Handler again and they are shown to separate waiting rooms to wait for him to bring their baggage. While they think they are there to get their correct baggage and be on their way, the Baggage Handler wants them to deal with the unseen baggage that weighs each of them down. None of them are able to lift their baggage when it’s returned to them. They open their baggage to see why it’s so heavy and they find items they didn’t pack. With the Baggage Handler’s help, they learn how these items reveal the unseen baggage they are carrying. 

As the group discussed Rawlings’ book we agreed that dealing with our baggage is hard. Many of us continue to carry our baggage because it appears to be easier, but it will cost us in the long run. We also recognized that we don’t always see our own baggage, even though it’s apparent to others. We discussed where we felt the analogy broke down and enjoyed watching a 10 min video Rawlings created where he answers questions about the meaning of different parts of the story. We were all in agreement that it we are fortunate to know the Baggage Handler is always there, waiting to help us deal with our baggage as soon as we are ready. 

Questions to use for discussion:
https://davidrawlingsdotcomdotau.files.wordpress.com/2019/02/bookclubquestions-thebaggagehandler.pdf

The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald

The Princess and the Goblin is a story for children written in 1872 for adults. George MacDonald is not trying to give us more to think about in his fairy tales—He desires to awaken something within us. MacDonald intends for us to give our imagination to the story and enjoy it and let it work its magic. He masterfully talks about two worldviews, secular and Christian, at the same time without becoming preachy. Scholars teach us his books are symbolic, not allegorical; we shouldn’t approach them trying to figure out what each character stands for or looking for hidden meaning. Instead, we should just let ourselves be caught up in the story and have fun. Let it stir within us a longing and let “goodness and beauty” lead us to truth.

George MacDonald was a pioneer in the fantasy fiction genre and influenced many major twentieth-century writers (Lewis Carroll, WH Auden, JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis, Madeleine L’Engle). C.S. Lewis wrote that MacDonald was his 'master', and said 'I know hardly any other writer who seems to be closer, or more continually close, to the Spirit of Christ Himself.' Lewis said that he never wrote a book without drawing upon MacDonald. G.K. Chesterton gives The Princess and the Goblin the highest praise: “…I for one can really testify to a book that has made a difference to my whole existence, which helped me to see things in a certain way from the start; …Of all the stories I have read, including even all the novels of the same novelist, it remains the most real, the most realistic, in the exact sense of the phrase the most like life.”

Dr. Christi Williams shared information with us about George MacDonald, his fairy stories, and how he is impacting people today. Listen to the book discussion on NEWIM’s YouTube channel.

Be Kind to Yourself by Cindy Bunch

Sensible Shoes Series

What Women Said about the Sensible Shoes Series

Barefoot is my favorite book in the series, so far. I was moved to tears and engaged from cover to cover, surprised by the unfolding of events and how deeply it touched me. I am coming to really like these women and their non-cliche approach to walking with God. I feel that I understand them. I appreciated the reminder to treasure every minute. Life is fragile. I love the way the characters demonstrate grace in response to others who have failed them and how they choose to seek forgiveness...I'm learning from them and catching a glimpse of the joy that comes when we truly surrender to the Lord. I also love seeing how these women integrate Christian spiritual practices into their lives.

—Luann Budd

Remember Me by Sharon Garlough Brown

Remember Me: A Novella about Finding Our Way to the Cross by Sharon Garlough Brown is a thoughtful book addressing the sensitive subject of grief. Topics also covered in this book are depression and divorce. We believe it is an excellent tool for your personal devotional use. However, some may be triggered by the subject matter.

In the book we meet Wren Crawford who is a young woman struggling with depression and is trying to process the grief she feels after the unexpected death of her friend. Kit is the director of a retreat center who offers Wren companionship and a place to work through her grief. They become “companions in sorrow” and help one another move forward, as Kit is also working through her own grief. Wren, who is an artist, is asked by Kit to paint the stations of the cross for an upcoming prayer event during Lent. Wren progresses on this painting project as Kit provides encouragement by writing letters to Wren.

Included in the back of the book are pictures of the paintings, a devotional guide, and scriptures to help readers see God’s great love for them and lead them on a journey through the stations of the cross. This is a book to buy as a hard copy (rather than on an electronic reader such as Kindle) to enjoy the art in full-color.

It is a great story about how two women walk together through a season of grief. May you find hope and inspiration as you read Remember Me: A Novella about Finding Our Way to the Cross.

—Kim Bagato, Fresno

A Week in the Life of Rome by James Papandrea

A WEEK IN THE LIFE SERIES

James Papandrea blends his academic scholarship with his theatrical background and crafts a story that is thoroughly engaging. This book was our first venture into the genre of historical fiction; we loved how fun it was to learn the historical context of the early church in Rome. We felt we were taught history without even having to try. We met many of the people Paul greets in Romans 16 and learned about first century economics, politics, architecture, and social structures. We even got to meet Clement, Bishop of Rome, when he was eight.

During our discussion, we chatted how different their polytheistic worldview was compared to the monotheism of Christianity. We were shocked by how little life is valued and how casually they treated marriage and sex. Our respect deepened for people who give up everything to follow Jesus.

All of us felt we gained insight from spending a week in the life of these characters. Our understanding of the New Testament has been deepened. We recommend this book.

The Rock, the Road and the Rabbi by Kathie Lee Gifford

What Women Said about the Book

As Luann, Kim and I chatted, I think we came to many common conclusions. We enjoyed many aspects of Kathie Lee Gifford’s book but there were other things we felt caused us to be a little wary. 

I personally didn’t appreciate the over enthusiasm with comments similar to, “Oh this was the greatest thing in my life” and “My life would never be the same again.” I know she is a very effusive personality so I shouldn’t be surprised. Kim mentioned she listened to the book on audio. If I’d done that I might have been more receptive to hearing Kathie Lee’s enthusiasm but reading the words came across as insincere to me. 

What I did love were the insights into the places she visited and the little known facts about the places and the Scriptures attached to that place. I’ve been to Israel twice but it’s been several years so I can’t remember everything—maybe much! It did increase my desire to return, which actually never goes away. I loved being there and gained much spiritually and in my knowledge of the background and places of the Bible. It was easy to mentally picture the events in Jesus’s life.

I’m glad I read the book but would be careful who I recommended it to. I would wonder if a new believer might not be knowledgeable enough to question some things that seemed a little off. Also, the Rabbi referred to numerology a lot and I personally wonder whether it’s really valid or helpful. I do know that we should look for how a word or phrase, etc, is used throughout Scripture to get a total view of the word or phrase. But I’m not so sure that just because the number three is mentioned in various places, for instance, that it always refers to the same theme.

Again, I’m glad I read the book.

—Kathy Collard Miller

News of the World by Paulette Jiles

One of my favorite books. Beautifully, without getting preachy, Pauline Jiles, shows us what it means to love our neighbor. I love how memorably it opens to us the world of Texas in the late 1800s. I had no idea that children were being kidnapped from small towns, taken captive by the Kiowa Indians, and raised as their own. Or that the U.S. Army would rescue these children many years after their capture and then try to reunite them with their families. An incredible challenge on so many levels. It's amazing how much America has changed in the last 125 years and how much hasn’t changed. I loved watching the journey of these two characters as the book unfolds. Other Resources: “Paulette Jiles Rides the Dangerous Trails of 1870s Texas” via The Sacramento Bee;“Can a 10-year-old Girl Ever Recover from Years in Captivity?” via The Washington Post; interview with The Dallas News: “Paulette Jiles Explains the Apocalyptic Influence on Her Acclaimed Texas Frontier Novel.”

—Luann Budd

Shades of Light, Learning from Henri Nouwen and Vincent van Gough—A Portrait of the Compassionate Life, Remember Me

Three Books to Read Together

Shades of Light (Sharon Garlough Brown), Learning from Henri Nouwen and Vincent van Gough: A Portrait of the Compassionate Life (Carol Berry), and Remember Me, A Novella about finding our way to the Cross (Sharon Garlough Brown)

The two books by Sharon Garlough Brown find characters from the Sensible Shoes Series reappearing, years later. Women encounter significant loss and mental illness and we become companions with them on their journey through depression, grief, and finding hope in the Cross. How can we find hope? How does one begin to live again under the crushing weight of grief? And how can healing come when there's so much left unresolved? These are the questions that are explored.

At the end of Remember Me, there is a devotional guide with Scripture readings, prayer prompts, and full-color art provides the opportunity to ponder the depths of God's love by meditating on Jesus' journey to the cross.

Learning from Henri Nouwen and Vincent van Gough is a non-fiction book. Carol Berry and her husband met and befriended Henri Nouwen when they took his course on compassion at Yale Divinity School in the 1970s. At the request of Henri Nouwen's literary estate, Carol has written this book, which includes unpublished material recorded from Nouwen's lectures. She has been studying Vincent van Gogh since 1979, and spent years under the instruction of Henri J.M. Nouwen. She also traveled throughout Europe retracing Van Gogh's life, visiting the towns and villages in The Netherlands, Belgium, and France, where Van Gogh lived and worked. She has an MA in art education from California State University. Sharon Garlough Brown met Carol as she was doing the research for Shades of Light. Sharon masterfully weaves insight from the life of Vincent van Gogh into her story as Wren Crawford finds hope and inspiration in Van Gogh’s paintings.

About the Authors

Sharon Garlough Brown is a spiritual director, speaker, and cofounder of Abiding Way Ministries, providing spiritual formation retreats and resources. She is the author of the bestselling Sensible Shoes Series, which includes spiritual fiction novels Sensible Shoes, Two Steps Forward, Barefoot, An Extra Mile, and their study guides. An Extra Mile won Christianity Today’s 2019 Book of the Year award for fiction.

A graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary, Sharon has served on the pastoral staff of congregations in Scotland, Oklahoma, England, and most recently in West Michigan, where she copastored with her husband, Jack, for many years. In October 2019, we read her book, Shades of Light

Carol A. Berry is an artist, art educator, and lecturer at the Vermont Humanities Council, and the author of Vincent Van Gogh: His Spiritual Vision in Life and Art in the Modern Spiritual Masters series.

Walk through Your Problems Toward Finding God by Larry Crabb

“What a delight to gather with solid Christian women and discuss thought-provoking books. The last book we read was certainly that— Moving Through Your Problems Toward FINDING GOD by Larry Crabb. The overarching theme caused us to explore motives for seeking deeper relationship with Christ. Are we bathing in his unconditional love, or do we simply want relief from our problems? Are we crying out to God to fix what’s wrong more than abiding in his peace and love in the midst of trials? I certainly had a wake-up call in the lively discussion we had and am now living with a renewed sense of purpose and trust in God’s love for me. If you like to read, please consider joining us for this month’s Book Club selection.” 

—Jenny Lynn Estes

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni