The Revealer’s Winter Reading Recommendations
Our annual list of recommended books by Revealer writers
Every December, we put together a list of books we love authored by people who have written for The Revealer. If you’re looking for a good book to curl up with this winter, or a gift idea for a reader in your life, we recommend these books.
1) If you want beautifully written prose full of astute observations about the dire situation of the political far-right in the United States, you should check out Jeff Sharlet’s newest book. Sharlet was The Revealer’s first editor. Don’t miss his new and powerful New York Times bestselling book, The Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War.
2) If insights into today’s white evangelicals interest you, take a look at Jill Hicks-Keeton’s work. She is the author of The Revealer article, “The ‘Slave Bible’ Is Not What You Think.” Her new book explores how white evangelicals interpret the Bible based on how they view the world, a process that is constantly changing despite their claims that the Bible possesses unchanging truths. Check out her incisive Good Book: How White Evangelicals Save the Bible to Save Themselves.
3) If you’re looking for books about religious innovation and queer religious people, we have a fascinating book to recommend on LGBTQ Muslims. Katrina Daly Thompson, author of The Revealer article, “Breaking Down Gender Binaries, Building Muslim Community,” released a new book this year on how queer, transgender, and nonbinary Muslims are transforming Islam. Thompson’s book, Muslims on the Margins: Creating Queer Religious Community in North America, is insightful and filled with important stories.
4) With the New Year approaching, you might make some resolutions—even some that include dieting. In her new book, Catherine Newell, author of The Revealer article, “The False Messiahs of Space Exploration,” investigates the religious and scientific dimensions of diet culture. Don’t miss her engaging and fascinating new book, Food Faiths: Diet, Religion, and the Science of Spiritual Eating.
5) Our next recommendation is not a book, but an intriguing web comic series by a scholar of religion. Created by Matthew Cressler, author of The Revealer article “Exorcists, Abusers, and When Catholic History is Horror,” the series explores American Catholic racism and social justice activism. Check out the enthralling first installment of the comic series Bad Catholics, Good Trouble.
6) For our final recommendation, we would like to suggest (with great enthusiasm) the excellent books we profiled in 2023 on the Revealer podcast:
*The Gospel of J. Edgar Hoover: How the FBI Aided and Abetted the Rise of White Christian Nationalism by Lerone A. Martin.
Revealer podcast episode: “The FBI and White Christian Nationalism”
*Funny, You Don’t Look Funny: Judaism and Humor from the Silent Generation to Millennials by Jennifer Caplan.
Revealer podcast episode: “Jewish Comedy”
*The Holy Vote: Inequality and Anxiety among White Evangelicals by Sarah Diefendorf.
Revealer podcast episode: “Evangelicals’ Anxieties and Their Politics”
*Vodou En Vogue: Fashioning Black Divinities in Haiti and the United States by Eziaku Nwokocha.
Revealer podcast episode: “Vodou, Gender Variance, and Black Politics Today”
*The Jews of Summer: Summer Camp and Jewish Culture in Postwar America by Sandra Fox.
Revealer podcast episode: “Summer Camp and American Jews”
*Righting the American Dream: How the Media Mainstreamed Reagan’s Evangelical Vision by Diane Winston.
Revealer podcast episode: “Reagan’s Religious Vision for America and the Impact Today”
*Sacred Pregnancy: Birth, Motherhood, and the Quest for Spiritual Community by Ann Duncan.
Revealer podcast episode: “The Spiritual Birthing Movement”
*When We Collide: Sex, Social Risk, and Jewish Ethics by Rebecca Epstein-Levi.
Revealer podcast episode: “Sexual Ethics for Today’s World”
*The Church’s Unholy War: Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine and Orthodoxy by Nicholas Denysenko.
Revealer podcast episode: “Religion’s Role in Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine”
Happy reading!