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Booklist Reviewers Turn a Phrase
". . . although there's something to offend almost everyone here,
there's also plenty to think—and laugh—about." >>read more
From the Editor
 Funny Books about Belief
Like many people, I grew up believing that religion wasn't a topic for public discussion—belief was both a private matter and a conversational minefield. Not wanting to inadvertently offend, I didn't talk about it outside the family, and I sure as heck didn't joke about it.
 But taking a vow of silence when it comes to religion can have damning consequences. Given that most of my knowledge came not from meaningful debate but from a comic-book Bible, I grew up more ignorant than I should have. It's only by asking questions, sometimes the most basic (Where are you from? What do you believe?) that we can really put our ideas to the test.
Now, while I have become much more interested in learning about and discussing people's religious beliefs, I still don't crack wise about Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, or even Animism. As the comedian Harry Shearer often says (usually in the context of reporting a politician's apology for an ill-fated attempt at humor), sometimes you have to leave comedy to the professionals.
But, fortunately, many professional writers have given themselves license to take on this ticklish subject. For the latest installment of Great Reads, I've compiled a list of books about religion that range from mildly amusing to side-splittingly funny. I'm sure many of you will find something that could offend you—but let's just say I have great faith in your sense of humor.
So don't miss this list of funny books about people who believe and the things they believe in. And scroll down to find a selection of top 10s, columns, and reviews from our Spotlight on Religion and Spirituality, in the November 15, 2012, issue of Booklist.
—Keir Graff
kgraff@ala.org
High-Demand Reviews
Adult Books
  Cold Days
By Jim Butcher
Harry Dresden, the Chicago PI and professional wizard, has been having a pretty weird time of it lately. In 2012's Ghost Story, Harry is trapped between life and death but on the trail of his own killer all the same; after discovering that killer's shocking identity, he decides to let himself pass into death. >>read more
 My Beloved World
By Sonia Sotomayor
When Sotomayor joined the U.S. Supreme Court in 2009, she made history as the first Hispanic on the high court. She'd also achieved the highest dream of a Puerto Rican girl growing up in a Bronx housing project longing to someday become a judge. >>read more
 See Now Then
By Jamaica Kincaid
A decade after her last novel, Mr. Potter (2002), Kincaid returns to fiction with a vengeance. Her urgent subject has always been her life in Antigua and America imaginatively and courageously transformed into a microcosm of the crimes, psychic pain, and social aberration unleashed in the fateful year of 1492. >>read more
Books for Youth
 Etiquette & Espionage
By Gail Carriger
Set 25 years before her Parasol Protectorate series, Carriger's YA debut brings her mix of Victorian paranormal steampunk and winning heroines to a whole new audience. After an incident involving a plummeting dumbwaiter and an airborne trifle, Sophronia is sent to Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy to learn how to be a proper lady. >>read more
Spotlight on Religion and Spirituality
 Faitheist: How an Atheist Found Common Ground with the Religious
By Chris Stedman
Current discussions about atheism seem to be defined as much by the caustic and confrontational manner of its proponents as by the actual examination of its characteristics. Enter Stedman, avowed atheist, former Fundamentalist Christian, and current interfaith activist whose heartfelt and thought-provoking account of his struggle with God and religion serves as a call to arms for those seeking to bridge the gap between the religious and the secular. >>read more
 Top 10 Religion and Spirituality Books
By Ilene Cooper
History, biography, politics, and even comedy all find a place in this year's top 10 religion and spirituality books. All titles were reviewed over the last 12 months. >>read more
 The Law of Divine Compensation: On Work, Money, and Miracles
By Marianne Williamson
For more than 30 years, Williamson, a student and teacher of the spiritual "discipline" called A Course in Miracles, has been distilling the guide's dense texts for a general audience. Her seminal piece, A Return to Love (1992), remains a classic of spirituality writing, and in subsequent books, she has used parts of that original volume to show how the Course can be applied to such diverse problems as reshaping America and even losing weight. >>read more
 Talking with Marianne Williamson
By Ilene Cooper
While much of Marianne Williamson's advice on how to deal with a faltering economy is personal, she also has some thoughts on what the faltering economy means to the spiritual health of the country. >>read more
 The Oldest Bedtime Story Ever
By Benjamin Morse
There are many books of Bible stories for children, but this handsome, oversize addition is not quite like the others. Morse, both biblical scholar and artist, takes the familiar (and not so familiar) stories, trims them to a few lines or paragraphs, and fills in the blanks with wonderfully original artwork. >>read more
 Top 10 Religion and Spirituality Books for Youth
By Ilene Cooper
This year's top religion books for youth, fiction and nonfiction, run the gamut from saints to a satiric teenage God and everything in between. These titles, which were reviewed in Booklist over the past 12 months, capture faith in its many shapes and shades. >>read more
 Zayde Comes to Live
By Sheri Sinykin
There are many books that help young children cope with death, but this is a particularly moving one—and it's surprisingly direct about how different religions view the subject. The narrator's grandfather, Zayde, has come to live with Rachel's family because he is dying. >>read more
 Carte Blanche: Still the Last Taboo
By Michael Cart
When Sotomayor joined the U.S. Supreme Court in 2009, she made history as the first Hispanic on the high court. She'd also achieved the highest dream of a Puerto Rican girl growing up in a Bronx housing project longing to someday become a judge. >>read more
 The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization: Volume Ten, 1973–2005
edited by Deborah Dash Moore and Nurith Gertz
Working internationally to advance Jewish education and promote Jewish culture in the public sphere, the Posen Foundation supports scholarship in the area of modern Jewish history and culture. Yale University Press has collaborated with the Posen Foundation for what is projected to be a 10-volume series, billed as a treasury of 3,000 years of Jewish creative works from around the world. >>read more
Ask a Book
 Have a burning question about etiquette or literature?
Ask a book!
Dear The Old Testament of the King James Bible,
After months and months of feeling lonely, I finally met someone! It was after Zumba, believe it or not, and I was feeling wiped out and sweaty—definitely not my best. But then a gorgeous classmate named Terry walked over, gave me a clean towel, and complimented my abs. It was love at first sight! We've dated since then and I'm still over the moon. The problem: Terry is an Aquarius. I'm a Pisces. My astrologer says it will never work. What do you think? Is the end of our love written in the stars?
Sincerely,
Pat the Pisces
Dear Pat,
 Yea, verily, as it is written in the Book of Leviticus, thou shalt forswear the false art of astrology. For though the stars number the works and majesty of the Lord, and are an everlasting reminder of His goodness to man, astrology is a false belief whose practice thou shalt abhor. As it is written, its followers shall be stoned with stones, their blood shall be upon them! (Also, is Terry a man or a woman? And what are you? We may have more to talk about.)
—The Old Testament of the King James Bible
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