Annual Summer Reading List
Memorial Day, the unofficial start of summer, is now behind us. That means it’s time for my annual summer reading list (You can find last year’s list HERE.).
Usually, these are the top 10 books that I have either read over the past year or are at the top of my list to read over the summer. Most of the time, they are new books, with perhaps a few older works that I have newly discovered myself. Occasionally, I offer a classic that I decided to re-read. As an eclectic reader, they tend to be a blend of history, fiction, biography, current events, science, and more. I can’t remember an annual list that was harder to winnow down, or more books that I thoroughly enjoyed reading.
Bollore, Michel-Yves and Olivier Bonnassies. God: The Science, The Evidence. I first heard of this book making waves in Europe (specifically, France) long before its English translation landed. What could generate hundreds of thousands of copies being sold in countries known for their secularity? Nothing less than a fresh approach to apologetics. The book gathers a collection of the better arguments for the existence of God, largely from science. But instead of rehashing older arguments and evidence, it capitalizes on fresh discoveries that beg religious thinking. Immensely accessible to any reader, it is a book I would gladly encourage any “Jesus curious” person to read.
Burge, Ryan. The Vanishing Church: How the Hollowing Out of Moderate Congregations Is Hurting Democracy, Faith and Us. Burge is known for his popular and widely respected data-driven blogs detailing demographic trends. Here, he pulls together a vast amount of research detailing how much America’s religious landscape has changed over the last 50 years. Even when you don’t agree with his theological conclusions (and I don’t agree with them all), the work goes a long way toward explaining our current polarizations. If nothing else, you will walk away with renewed appreciation that the future of the church matters.
Butler-Gallie, Fergus. Twelve Churches: An Unlikely History of the Buildings That Made Christianity. When I first encountered this book, I thought, “What a wonderful idea for an exploration of the history of the Christian faith!” Perhaps I felt a kinship that came through a similar effort of my own—taking various places of significance to the Christian faith and using each one as a window into the Christian life (A Traveler’s Guide to the Kingdom: Journeying Through the Christian Life). Where my own efforts traversed from the Eagle and Child Pub in Oxford to Iona Abbey in Scotland, Butler-Gallie takes his readers from the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem to the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. Whereas I looked at issues related to community and calling, trust and difference-making, he explores the eras and issues that changed the world: birth and death, beauty and power, violence and sex, nation and expansion, faith and purity, profit, justice, and hope. I told how stories rooted in places can shape us; he tells stories rooted in places that reveal how God has shaped our world. It is a wonderful journey to take with a winsome and compelling guide.
Carlin, Peter Ames. Tonight in Jungleland: The Making of Born to Run. Full disclosure: I have long appreciated the music of Bruce Springsteen. It would be hard to overestimate his impact, through music, on multiple generations. Carlin takes us deep into the making of his masterpiece album, Born to Run, and through it gives a window into why his music has resonated so deeply for so many.
Collins, Jim. What to Make of a Life. I have read everything Collins has written, and deservedly so. His books, such as Built to Last and Good to Great, are far more than classic business/leadership books, but also full of life-changing insights based on copious amounts of research. Good to Great, in particular, is a book people read as much for the direction of their own life as for the direction of the organization they may be leading. Here, Collins sets himself free from organizations almost entirely and studies pairs of lives for insights on not simply what to make of a life, but also how to make the most of a life. You’ll never think of “cliffs,” “Fog,” or a “knowledge imperative” the same again.
Goldstone, Brian. There Is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in America. If you haven’t heard of this book, you will. Recently awarded the Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction, it also won the 2025 Los Angeles Times Book Prize, was a finalist for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction, and was named a best book of the year by The New York Times, The Atlantic, and many others. It is investigative journalism at its best as Goldstone follows working families in Atlanta who embody the “working homeless” in America. Stunning, convicting, eye-opening, and reading like a novel, it is a must-read for anyone who still has a beating heart.
Kingsolver, Barbara. Demon Copperhead. Released in 2022, I came to this book a bit late in the game. It was not the book’s fault, having won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction (not to mention being picked for Oprah’s book club). It took one of the many exchanges with my oldest daughter, in which we share with each other books we should read, that she told me I had to read it to spur me on to its pages. And? One of the best novels I’ve read in a very long time. I didn’t want it to end. It’s a modern retelling of Dickens’ David Copperfield, and every bit as eye-opening and moving.
McCullough, David. History Matters. I’ve recommended DMcC titles many times and genuinely mourned his passing. Imagine my delight at this wonderful collection of never-before-published essays and addresses, as curated by his daughter Doris McCullough Lawson and Michael Hill. To “hear” his voice and wisdom, insight, and learning again was nothing less than an unexpected gift.
Rundell, Katherine. The Poisoned King (Impossible Creatures, Book Two). I saw Rundell’s first installment in what is now known as the “Impossible Creatures” series in a Waterstones bookstore by Trafalgar Square in London. I devoured it in very short order and recommended it in the 2024 summer reading list. As I wrote then, it was a delightful fantasy tale in the line of Tolkien and Lewis. It revolves around the Archipelago, “a secret, unmapped cluster of islands where all the creatures of myth still live side by side with humans.” After reading this, the second installment, I am as enthused as ever.
Skoog, Ryan, Peter Greer, and Cameron Doolittle. Lead with Prayer: The Spiritual Habits of World-Changing Leaders. I will give this book one of the highest recommendations I can give—it was mandatory reading for our staff, and I’ve been giving it out to every other key leader in our church at every opportunity. We also invited one of the authors to speak to our gathered ministerial staff. The power of the book is not simply its teaching on prayer, which is strong, but also its passionate challenge to actually pray.
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Photo Credt: ©Getty/Jantanee Rungpranomkorn
James Emery White is the founding and senior pastor of Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte, NC, and a former professor of theology and culture at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, where he also served as their fourth president. His latest book, Hybrid Church: Rethinking the Church for a Post-Christian Digital Age, is now available on Amazon or from your favorite bookseller. To enjoy a free subscription to the Church & Culture blog, visit churchandculture.org where you can view past blogs in our archive, read the latest church and culture news from around the world, and listen to the Church & Culture Podcast. Follow Dr. White on X, Facebook, and Instagram at @JamesEmeryWhite.
Originally published May 28, 2026.
