Contemporary Christian fiction
My Hands Came Away Red by Lisa McKay.
A gripping story of a teen mission trip caught up in a riot. Not a typical happy ending, but it has a hopeful ending.
The Heart of Memory by Alison Strobel. A famous Christian writer has a secret, her husband also has a secret and their daughter struggles. They find hope in becoming transparent to God and to each other.
Dominion by Randy Alcorn. C. S. Lewis and former black slaves interact in heaven while black and white characters resolve a mystery and find faith on earth.
Christian non-fiction
Peacemaker by Ken Sande. A great book about conflicts among Christians and how to live at peace with one another.
A Praying Life by Paul Miller. A great book on prayer. Prayer is presenting our hearts to God, like a little child who says exactly what's on his mind. If we don't present what we're really thinking, the real us does not meet the real God.
Two Covenants by Andrew Murray. An older book, but says some good things about the New Covenant. He says if the New Covenant is to be better than the Old, it has to provide for man's obedience. "The New Covenant provides a guarantee, not only for God’s faithfulness, but for man’s too! And this in no other way than by God Himself undertaking to secure man’s part as well as His own."
My all time favorite writer
The writer who has influenced me more than any other (outside of the Bible authors) is Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. His story of learning wisdom in the Gulag Archipelago, enduring hellish circumstances without losing hope, is a sterling example of faith in grim circumstances.
His best works:
Gulag Archipelago. Originally in three volumes, there is a one volume abridged version (abridged with Solzhenitsyn's approval and cooperation).
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. His shortest novel.
In the First Circle. One of his two best novels. A few Gulag prisoners were almost comfortably treated, because they were skilled engineers. This is their story.
Cancer Ward. He survived not just the Gulag, but cancer as well. The other of his two best novels.