25+ Ideas for Stay-at-Home Reading

I hope and pray you are safe and learning how to cope and take care of yourself and your family during this global pandemic. Just as you are creating space around you socially, I hope you're also carving out mental space that can be filled with good things completely unrelated to COVID-19, the news, empty grocery shelves, etc.

To that end, I'm recommending books that will whisk you away and inspire you. You'll find 5 nonfiction titles, 10 novels, and 10 series to choose from. Did you know that reading just six minutes a day can lower stress by 68%? (But really, who can stop after just six minutes?) Reading gets one's mind off one's own worries and circumstances, brings fresh insights, and has been proven to build our empathy and compassion muscles. 

Ready? Here we go.

Nonfiction

*Note: The Bible is not specified in this list because it should go without saying that God's Word is our most important reading of every day.

1. Keys to Bonhoeffer's Haus: Exploring the World and Wisdom of Dietrich Bonhoeffer by Laura M. Fabrycky. An American guide of the Bonhoeffer-Haus in Berlin, the author takes readers on a tour of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's home, city, and world. She shares the keys she has discovered there that unlock what made Bonhoeffer who he was.
2. Adorning the Dark: Thoughts on Community, Calling, and the Mystery of Making by Andrew Peterson. This is written for writers and songwriters, but may have a broader audience. Gems of wisdom tucked into a conversational style.
3. Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh. This very short book is a classic, full of meditations on youth and age, love and marriage, and basically what it means to be a woman. I quote from this book in Free to Lean: Making Peace with Your Lopsided Life.
4. Surprised by Oxford by Carolyn Weber. One of my favorite memoirs. An academic agnostic finds God during graduate study at Oxford University.
5. Once We Were Strangers: What Friendship with a Syrian Refugee Taught Me about Loving My Neighbor by Shawn Smucker. We may need to keep our social distance right now, but this lovely book keeps us thinking about what it means to be a neighbor.

Novels

*Note: I'm not listing my own titles in these numbered spots, but I sure wouldn't mind if you checked out my new release, Veiled in Smoke, set during and after the Great Chicago Fire. ALSO for you Kindle readers: The Mark of the King is included in the Kindle Unlimited program, and you can read A Refuge Assured and Between Two Shores for free if you are an Amazon prime member. 

1. The House at the End of the Moor by Michelle Griep. This Regency England tale just released, and I had the pleasure of endorsing it!
2. Against the Tide by Elizabeth Camden. I just listened to this story about the opium trade in 1800s America, and it might be my favorite by Camden that I've read.
3. The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery. If you enjoyed the Anne books, don't miss this one! It's a lighthearted classic and made me laugh out loud.
4. The Tea Chest by Heidi Chiavaroli. This could be my favorite split-time story from Heidi. I love how she captures the Revolutionary era.
5. A Note Yet Unsung by Tamera Alexander. This is part of a series, but works as a stand-alone just fine. If you love music, you'll adore this one, set in late 19th-century Nashville.
6. The Printed Letter Bookshop by Katherine Reay. One of my favorite contemporary novels. It revolves around a bookstore, so you can't go wrong there!
7. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Yes, the children's book. But isn't there something comforting about returning to a beloved story?
8. The Frontiersman’s Daughter by Laura Frantz. This was the first book I read by Laura and it remains one of my favorites. If you like frontier fiction, try this.
9. Burning Sky by Lori Benton. Another must-read in the canon of Christian frontier fiction. The main character is a returned captive of Mohawk Indians.
10. Christy by Catherine Marshall. This timeless classic is long enough to keep you busy for a while. I'm going to start reading this out loud with my family tonight. Ask me next month how it went. haha

Bonus:
Those of you who actually want to read novels with epidemics in them, try I’ll Watch the Moon by Ann Tatlock (polio, 1950s); As Bright as Heaven by Susan Meissner (general market, Spanish flu, 1918); and if you’re extremely brave, Outbreak by Davis Bunn (virus, contemporary).
 

Binge-worthy Series

1. Shadows Over England by Roseanna M. White. Start with A Name Unknown, which I recently read and ADORE. 
2. Sunrise at Normandy series by Sarah Sundin. Start with The Sea Before Us. (I also LOVE her very first series, Wings of Glory!)
3. Exotic Pet-Sitter Mysteries by Heather Day Gilbert. Begin with Belinda Blake and the Snake in the Grass. These clean (general market) contemporary cozy mysteries work as stand-alones, too.
4. Mark of the Lion series by Francine Rivers. Start with A Voice in the Wind. A bit heavier than others on this list, but a gold standard in biblical-era fiction. Totally absorbing and inspiring.
5. The Pearl Spence books by Susie Finkbeiner. Start with A Cup of Dust: A Novel of the Dust Bowl. You'll love the child protagonist, Pearl.
6. Vintage National Parks series by Karen Barnett. Begin with The Road to Paradise. These might scratch your itch to travel!
7. Price of Privilege trilogy by Jessica Dotta. Start with Born of Persuasion. The protagonist, Julia, is basically sheltering in place for a big chunk of time in this Gothic England story, so, you know. We can relate. 
8. Parish Orphans of Devon series by Mimi Matthews. Start with The Matrimonial Advertisement. Another series set in England in the 1800s, although the second book takes you on a journey to India. These are clean (general market) Victorian regency romances.
9. Under Northern Skies series by Lauraine Snelling. Start with The Promise of Dawn. Norweigian immigrants make a life for themselves in Minnesota. Sweet and hearty stories.
10. Orphan Train series by Jody Hedlund. Start with With You Always. America's orphan trains have always fascinated me.