Compiled with respect, gratitude and love
Rev. Susan Moran

Notes:

• *denotes a fabulous author (of course all the poets are fabulous and not just the book I mention)
• (UU) denotes a Unitarian Universalist author
• These categories are my own and some books are probably addressing more than one topic
• The books are in no particular order and some are a bit more scholarly than others (this is especially true in the bible/theology category). Don’t be scared off! I listed very few books of fiction although I read more fiction than anything else. May all your spirits grow and gleam.

Pondering the Important Questions

• The Heart is a little to the Left, by William Sloan Coffin
• Kitchen Table Wisdom, by Rachel Naomi Remen
• My Grandfather’s Blessings, by Rachel Naomi Remen
• What Really Matters, by Tony Schwartz
• A Hidden Wholeness, by Parker Palmer
• Let Your Life Speak, by Parker Palmer
• Cycles of Reflection, by Rev. Robert Senghas (UU)
• Waking up the Karma Fairy, by Rev. Meg Barnhouse (UU)
• Morning Watch, by Rev. Barbara Pescan (UU)
• Instructions in Joy, by Nancy Shaffer (UU)
• Travelling Mercies, by Annie Lamott
• Plan B, by Annie Lamott
• For the Time Being, by Annie Dillard*
• Eat Pray Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert
• Telling Secrets, by Frederick Buechner
• Holy Listening, by Margaret Guenther
• Living A Life That Matters, by Lawrence Kushner
• How, Then, Shall We Live, by Wayne Muller
• The Sabbath, by Wayne Muller
• Anger: Wisdom for Cooling the Flame, by Thich Nhat Hanh
• Peace is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life, by Thich Nhat Hanh
• The Places that Scare You: A guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times, by Pema Chodron
• Deep in the Familiar: Four Life Rhythms, by Joan Cannon Borton

Praying

• Primary Speech: A Psychology of Prayer, by Barry and Ann Ulanov
• Talking to God, by Naomi Levy
• Simply Pray, by Erik Walker Wikstrom (UU)
• Prayer: A History, by Philip Zaleski and Carol Zaleski
• A book of Psalms, by Stephen Mitchell, translator
• With Open Hands, by Henri J M Nouwen*
• The Heart of God: Prayers of Rabindranath Tagore, edited by Herbert Vetter (UU)
• A Grateful Heart: Daily Blessings for the Evening Meal, edited by M.J. Ryan
• Being Home: A Book of Meditations, by Gunilla Norris

Poetry

• New and Selected Poems (Vols 1 & 2) and Thirst, by Mary Oliver
• Strike Sparks (a broad collection), by Sharon Olds
• Anything You Can Find, by E.E. Cummings
• The Captain’s Verses (the Love Poems), by Pablo Neruda
• Refusing Heaven, by Jack Gilbert
• The Trouble with Poetry, by Billy Collins
• Killing Floor, by AI
• The complete Works, by Jane Kenyon
• The Painted Bed, Without, by Donald Hall
• Selected Poems, by William Carlos Williams
• Ararat, by Louise Gluck
• The Continuous Life, by Mark Strand
• Love Poems from God: Twelve Sacred Voices from East and West, translated by Daniel Landinsky
• The Gift, Poems by Hafiz, translated by Daniel Landinsky
• The Essential Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks
• Selected Poems, by W.S. Merwin

The Holy

• The God We Never Knew, by Marcus Borg
• God and Other Famous Liberals, by Rev. Forrest Church*(UU)
• A History of God, by Karen Armstrong*
• Stories of God, by Ranier Maria Rilke
• Living Buddha, Living Christ, by Thich Nhat Hahn*
• How Do you Spell God: Answers to the Big Questions from Around the World, by Rabbi Marc Gelman and Monsignor Thomas Hartman
• The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, by Sogyal Rinpoche
• Bhagavad Gita, translated by Stephen Mitchell
• I and Thou, by Martin Buber
• God In Search of Man, by Abraham Heschel
• The Sabbath, by Abraham Heschel
• Letter to a Man in the Fire, by Reynolds Price

The Bible/Theology

• Genesis: A living Conversation, by Bill Moyers, moderator and editor
• Book of J, by Harold Bloom and David Rosenberg
• In the Beginning: A new Interpretation of Genesis, by Karen Armstrong*
• Wrestling with Angels, by Naomi H. Rosenblatt and Joshua Horwitz
• The Five Books of Miriam: A Women’s Commentary on the Torah, by Ellen Frankel
• The Bible with Sources Revealed, by Richard Elliott Friedman
• The Book of Job, translated by Stephen Mitchell
• The Women’s Bible Commentary, edited by Carol Newsom and Sharon H. Ringe
• Proverbs of Ashes, by Rev. Rebecca Parker* (UU) and Rita Nakishima
• The Essential Jesus, by John Dominic Crossan*
• Hear then the Parable: A commentary on the Parables of Jesus, by Bernard Brandon Scott
• The Gnostic Gospels, by Elaine Pagels
• The Soul of Christianity: Restoring the Great Tradition, by Huston Smith*
• The Good Book, by Rev. Peter Gomes*
• Jesus and Yahweh, by Harold Bloom
• Why Christianity Must Change or Die, by John Shelby Spong
• The Birth of Christianity, by John Dominic Crossan
• Desire of the Everlasting Hills: the World Before and After Jesus, by Thomas Cahill

Acquainted with Grief

• The Painted Bed, by Donald Hall (poet)
• In the Midst of Winter, edited by Jane Moffat
• Prayers for Healingb edited by Maggie Oman
• Disturbances in the Field, by Lynn Sharon Schwartz (fiction)
• Becoming A Man, by Paul Monette (memoir)
• Sophie’s Choice, by William Styron (fiction)
• When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times, by Pema Chodron
• How Can I help?, by Ram Dass and Paul Gorman
• Life Lessons, by Elisabeth Kubler Ross and David Kessler
• Learning to Fall: The Blessings of an Imperfect Life, by Phillip Simmons
• Living When A loved one Has Died, by Earl A. Grollman
• When Bad Things Happen to Good People, by Harold Kushner
• Night, by Elie Wiesel

The Natural World

• Small Wonder, by Barbara Kingsolver*
• High Tide in Tucson, by Barbara Kingsolver
• The Moon by Whale Light, by Diane Ackerman
• A Slender Thread, by Diane Ackerman
• A Natural History of the Senses, by Diane Ackerman
• The Hidden Life of Dogs, by Ellen Marshall Thomas
• The Emperor’s Embrace: Reflections on Animal Families and Fatherhood, by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson