Methodism
- Chilcote, Recapturing the Wesleys’ Vision: An Introduction to the Faith of John and Charles Wesley (nonfiction, history, theology)
- Edwards, After Wesley: A Study of the Social and Political Influence of Methodism in the Middle Period, 1791-1849 (2013)
- Heidinger and Abraham, The Rise of Theological Liberalism and the Decline of American Methodism (2017, 4.4 stars)
- McGever, Born Again: The Evangelical Theology of Conversion in John Wesley and George Whitfield (Studies in Historical and Systematic Theology; 2020, 5 stars)
- Thorsen, The Wesleyan Quadrilateral: An Introduction (2018, 4-1/2 stars)
- Wesley, The Complete Sermons (2013, 5 stars)
- Yrigoyan, Belief Matters: United Methodism’s Doctrinal Standards—explains doctrinal standards of UMC, describes four official Doctrinal Standards of the UMC, including sermons, articles of religion, confession of fait
Christianity and Religion
- Crossan, The Power of Parable: How Fiction by Jesus Became Fiction about Jesus (2013, 4-1/2 stars)
- Crossan, Resurrecting Easter: How the West Lost and the East Kept the Original Easter Vision (2018, 4 stars)
- Ehrman, Jesus Before the Gospels: How the Earliest Christians Remembered, Changed, and Invented Their Stories of the Savior (2017, 4.5 stars)
- Ehrman, How Jesus Became God Frontline Series. The First Christians.
- Greer, Hilber, and Walton, Behind the Scenes of the Old Testament: Cultural, Social, and Historical Contexts (2018, 5 stars)
- Hollander, Dominion
- Noll, Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity (2012, 4.5 stars).
- Plato, Four Dialogues: Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Phaedo (trans. Tredennick) (essentials of Socratic thought and method, precursors to much in Christian doctrine).
- Plato, The Republic (trans. Grube) (government, classes, Allegory of the Cave)
History, Politics, Economics, Anthropology, Sociology, Human Rights
- Alexander, The Hospital: Life, Death, and Dollars in a Small Town
- Bourne, Economic Reasoning through Covid-19
- Guelzo, Robert E. Lee (new biography)
- Laderman, Rest in Peace: A Cultural History of Death and the Funeral Home in Twentieth-Century America
Classics and Literature
- Aeschylus, The Oresteia--Three Plays: Agamemnon, Choephoroi, Eumenides (Agamemnon’s return from Troy and the bloody aftermath, including the establishment of law and justice in place of cycles of revenge).
- Beowulf (trans. Heaney)
- Dante, Inferno (trans. Sayers)
- Dostoeveky, Crime and Punishment
- Hardy, Jude the Obscure
- Homer, The Odyssey (and perhaps watch O Brother, Where Art Thou? as a parallel).
- Milton, Paradise Regained (short epic, only four books, about Christ’s temptation in wilderness)
- Ng, Little Fires Everywhere (contemporary novel about privilege, prejudices, race, parenting; also a series on television)
- O’Casey, Three Plays: Juno and the Paycock, Shadow of a Gunman, The Plough and the Stars (urban plays about Ireland around WWI and concerning troubles with England)
- Robinson, Home and Lila (novels continuing the Ames-Boughton story in Gilead, Iowa, with Robinson’s Calvinism always significant)
- Shakespeare, Measure for Measure (a dark comedy about justice, right values)
- Sir Gawain and the Greene Knight, trans. Maria Boroff (journey and trial of simultaneously prideful and fearful Sir Gawain against the beheaded Green Knight who challenges Arthur’s court; a great read for Christmas)
- Sophocles, Three Plays: Oedipus Tyrannos, Oedipus at Colonos, Antigone (classics everyone should know); I would add Trachinian Women and Philoketes (these plays would lead to discussions about conflicts between man’s law and god’s law, problems with knowing, ironies of free will)
- Trevor, Selected Stories (by a master of the short story, winner of every imaginable prize, Irish elder statesman among writers in English)
- Vergil, The Aeneid (trans. Copley: the Latin classic about the founding of Rome)
Science, Medicine, Environment
- Barry, The Great Influenza (non-fiction study of medical education as developed in U. S. and of influenza epidemic during First World War)
- Kolbert, Under a White Sky (her latest work on science, environment, human damage and attempts to save)
- Mukerjee, The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer (also a PBS series produced by Goodman and Ken Burns—we could do both)
- Oshinsky, Polio: An American Story (2006; 4 and 5 stars; recommended by Marlene)
- Tyson, Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries (2014, 5 stars—good writer, easy to read on difficult topics)