Summer is a time for reading. Work slows down a bit, at least for some. I’m not traveling as much to speak and teach. School’s out. I spend more time at the lake. In fact, I’ve probably spent more time reading on a couch next to a lake than any other place. I’ve read everything from history to fiction to theology on that couch—it helps put my mind in the right place to relax then concentrate. Last weekend at the lake I finished C. S. Lewis’s Space Trilogy and read a couple books that we may take up for the next season of Gospelbound (on the topics of the Great Awokening, technology, and parenting).

But as we wrap up an extended spring season of Gospelbound, we turn to one of my favorite regular guests to suggest various options for summer reading. Melissa Kruger is the vice president for discipleship programming at The Gospel Coalition and cohost of the hit new podcast The Deep Dish. We talked about why we love reading and why reading still matters with social media and AI. And we offered dozens of book recommendations in many different genres.

If you don’t want to watch or listen to us explain our choices, you can still click the link below and browse titles from fiction to biography to beach reads to spiritual growth and more. You’re bound to find something you’ll enjoy, and something you can share with other book lovers.

I’d love to know what makes your list! Please pass along your recommendations before I get back to the lake.