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Here is the true story of “The Sound of Music” written by Maria herself. The Story of the Trapp Family Singers is delightful and full of insight, chronicling the family’s journey from the time she first met them all, to their settling here in America. Written with honesty and humor, Maria tells of pre-WWII Austria, of their flight from the Nazi invasion, and their attempts to keep the family alive and together through their music. The inventiveness and willingness to work of the Trapp family will amaze you. It’s a great read that will enrich your understanding of “just a few of our favorite things” – music, religion and ritual, family, patriotism, and faith.

Phil Vischer, creator of the famed VeggieTales series, has recently turned his creative talents more towards writing children’s books. 47 Beavers on the Big Blue Sea is a rhyming fable based on Ecclesiastes 4:9, 10: “Two are better than one . . . because if one falls the other will lift him up.” A group of beavers (guess how many?) escapes the clutches of Trapper Stu by fleeing in his boat onto the deep, big sea. All seems lost until one beaver remembers the above verse and realizes they each have a talent that God has given them that can be used to save them from the various disasters they encounter. Filled with colorful characters, dry wit, and moral fiber, as well as shark incisors and a beaver dinner theater, 47 Beavers is a delight for young and old.

Silence has been called the finest Japanese novel ever written.  Set in the 17th century, it deals with the inner struggles of Rodrigues, a Portuguese priest who becomes a missionary to Japan in part to investigate the outrageous claims that his mentor from seminary has apostatized in the face of overwhelming government persecution.   Is God really silent when believers are hung from their ankles in pits of filth?  Is silence the only response when Christians are forced to trample on images of Christ to prove their apostasy?  Writing in the mid-20th century, Endo provides a complex and gripping story of faith, doubt, and the character of God.

In this bicentennial year of Lincoln’s birth, many people are looking for a great read on the great president.  And while Team of Rivals is certainly a great read, it is certainly not just another Lincoln book. Here Doris Kearns Goodwin gives us an account of the entire team of personal and political competitors that Lincoln brought together to lead the country through its greatest crisis. Lincoln voluntarily chose most of his cabinet from men who were his rivals, knowing that they were of the best political minds in the country. Four of the key players were contenders for the 1860 Republican presidential nomination. Throughout the pages you meet them in the settings of politics, economics, culture and relationships. You will also find the thrill of romance, betrayal, ambition, personal tragedy and every day life.  Team of Rivals is easy to read, entertaining, and yet a very deep discourse on an important time in American history.

It isn’t the particular denomination or movement one belongs to that determines spiritual vitality and emotional health. It isn’t what we call something that matters as much as what it actually is.

Toxic Faith is Steve Arterburn’s brilliant analysis and explanation of how false ideas distort belief so that church groups become dysfunctional and misdirected, just as individual families can, in practical ways which bring pain and disappointment instead of growth and maturity to relationships.

The reader will see that, in the end, pleasing God in the midst of a fallen and sinful reality means being willing to face and deal with what is real—including the reality of forgiveness and grace applied to real problems.

Spirituality is hip.

Much less popular is true spirituality, which requires submitting one’s will to God. This classic work shows us how to walk in step with His spirit.  Like all of Schaeffer’s work, True Spirituality requires concentration and hard work to understand.  But, as with all Schaeffer’s work, it is well worth the effort.

Henryk Sienkiewicz, Polish writer, patriot, and Nobel Laureate of 1905, wrote many bestselling historical novels which have inspired generations. Abroad, he is best known for his monumental epic Quo Vadis. The Latin title may be translated “Where are you going?” and refers to the Biblical verse John 13:36 where Peter asks Jesus where he is going.  Written in the classical romantic literary style of the nineteenth century, Quo Vadis brings ancient history to life.   Within these pages you will find politics and romance, friendship and betrayal, as well as love and redeeming faith, all presented against the backdrop of the reign of corrupt Emperor Nero and the emergence of early Christianity in Rome.

Nope, not the local Lawrence restaurant, but a classic book by Robert Persig.  Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance was first published in 1974 and is an indispensable aid to understanding 21^st century American culture. It reflects where we were at the time it was written, and it has profoundly influenced where we have come since then. Using a blend of novel and philosophical treatise, Pirsig demonstrates how extremely clever man can be in concocting theories about the transcendent. Unwittingly, however, he also shows how futile and shallow is any worldview that does not derive from the God of the Bible.  Recommended for anyone who wants to understand the mushy state of what passes for contemporary thinking.