Laura’s Reading Room

There’s an attack on US soil, and Brock―an agent of the CIA―finds himself in the middle of the mess. He soon discovers that there’s been a breach that threatens not only to destroy the nation’s safety, but very possibly, Brock’s own life.

In the race against the clock, Brock tries to keep his field officer’s wife and children safe and stay alive.

In the midst of the chaos, Brock discovers one of his closest allies is a part of the dangerous intelligence breach responsible for a recent string of crimes by an extremist organization.

It’s up to Brock to either take down the organization, or find himself―and those he loves most―at their mercy.

A Fifth of the Story is the suspenseful, action-packed tale of one man’s courage and resilience as he works against the clock to save the lives of his two best friends and, ultimately, the freedom he’s fought for as a CIA agent during one of the US’s history’s darkest hours, using the backdrop of espionage, loyalty, betrayal, and the ultimate test of friendship.

Corbin College, not quite upstate New York, winter 1959–1960: Ruben Blum, a Jewish historian—but not an historian of the Jews—is co-opted onto a hiring committee to review the application of an exiled Israeli scholar specializing in the Spanish Inquisition. When Benzion Netanyahu shows up for an interview, family unexpectedly in tow, Blum plays the reluctant host to guests who proceed to lay waste to his American complacencies. Mixing fiction with nonfiction, the campus novel with the lecture, The Netanyahus is a wildly inventive, genre-bending comedy of blending, identity, and politics that finds Joshua Cohen at the height of his powers.

Theo Decker, a 13-year-old New Yorker, miraculously survives an accident that kills his mother. Abandoned by his father, Theo is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. Bewildered by his strange new home on Park Avenue, disturbed by schoolmates who don’t know how to talk to him, and tormented above all by a longing for his mother, he clings to the one thing that reminds him of her: a small, mysteriously captivating painting that ultimately draws Theo into a wealthy and insular art community.

As an adult, Theo moves silkily between the drawing rooms of the rich and the dusty labyrinth of an antiques store where he works. He is alienated and in love — and at the center of a narrowing, ever more dangerous circle.

The Goldfinch is a mesmerizing, stay-up-all-night and tell-all-your-friends triumph, an old-fashioned story of loss and obsession, survival and self-invention. From the streets of New York to the dark corners of the art underworld, this “soaring masterpiece” examines the devastating impact of grief and the ruthless machinations of fate (Ron Charles, Washington Post).

NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FINALIST • From the award-winning, bestselling author of Americanah and We Should All Be Feminists—a haunting story of love and war. • Recipient of the Women’s Prize for Fiction “Winner of Winners” award.

With effortless grace, celebrated author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie illuminates a seminal moment in modern African history: Biafra’s impassioned struggle to establish an independent republic in southeastern Nigeria during the late 1960s. We experience this tumultuous decade alongside five unforgettable characters: Ugwu, a thirteen-year-old houseboy who works for Odenigbo, a university professor full of revolutionary zeal; Olanna, the professor’s beautiful young mistress who has abandoned her life in Lagos for a dusty town and her lover’s charm; and Richard, a shy young Englishman infatuated with Olanna’s willful twin sister Kainene.

Half of a Yellow Sun is a tremendously evocative novel of the promise, hope, and disappointment of the Biafran war.

Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results

No matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving–every day. James Clear, one of the world’s leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results.

If you’re having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn’t you. The problem is your system. Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don’t want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change. You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. Here, you’ll get a proven system that can take you to new heights.

Clear is known for his ability to distill complex topics into simple behaviors that can be easily applied to daily life and work. Here, he draws on the most proven ideas from biology, psychology, and neuroscience to create an easy-to-understand guide for making good habits inevitable and bad habits impossible. Along the way, readers will be inspired and entertained with true stories from Olympic gold medalists, award-winning artists, business leaders, life-saving physicians, and star comedians who have used the science of small habits to master their craft and vault to the top of their field.

Learn how to:

• make time for new habits (even when life gets crazy);
• overcome a lack of motivation and willpower;
• design your environment to make success easier;
• get back on track when you fall off course;

…and much more.

Atomic Habits will reshape the way you think about progress and success, and give you the tools and strategies you need to transform your habits–whether you are a team looking to win a championship, an organization hoping to redefine an industry, or simply an individual who wishes to quit smoking, lose weight, reduce stress, or achieve any other goal.

Boundaries is the book that’s helped over 4 million people learn when to say yes and know how to say no in order to take control of their lives.

Does your life feel like it’s out of control? Perhaps you feel like you have to say yes to everyone’s requests. Maybe you find yourself readily taking responsibility for others’ feelings and problems. Or perhaps you focus so much on being loving and unselfish that you’ve forgotten your own limits and limitations. Or maybe it’s all of the above.

In the New York Times bestseller, Boundaries, Drs. Henry Cloud and John Townsend help you learn when to say yes and know how to say no in order to take control of your life and set healthy, biblical boundaries with your spouse, children, friends, parents, co-workers, and even yourself.

Now updated and expanded for the digital age, this book continues to help millions of people around the world answer these tough questions:

• Can I set limits and still be a loving person?
• What are legitimate boundaries?
• How do I effectively manage my digital life so that it doesn’t control me?
• What if someone is upset or hurt by my boundaries?
• How do I answer someone who wants my time, love, energy, or money?
• Why do I feel guilty or afraid when I consider setting boundaries?
• How do boundaries relate to mutual submission within marriage?
• Aren’t boundaries selfish?

You don’t have to let your life spiral out of control. Discover how boundaries make life better today!

Plus, check out Boundaries family collection of books dedicated to key areas of life – dating, marriage, raising kids, parenting teens, and leadership. Workbooks and Spanish editions are also available.

20-25% of Americans suffer from a diagnosable mental illness. Divorce is epidemic. Abuse of all kinds is rampant. Suicidality is at an all-time high. Domestic violence is out of control. Cohabitation and out of wedlock births are at unprecedented levels. Addictions are more widespread than ever.

These and many other problems confront our culture today in alarming proportions. Consequently, mental and relational health issues find their way home. To everyone’s home.

People with these and other concerns typically turn first to the church for help. Yet most churches are not equipped to adequately minister to the depth and magnitude of these overwhelming problems. This book was created as a comprehensive resource to provide the church with practical tools to care for these hurting people in a biblically sound and emotionally healthy way.

We at the American Association of Christian Counselors hope and pray this book finds its way into the hands of every pastor, church leader, counselor, and Christian caregiver in America. Because the struggle is real. The struggle is real indeed.

This is a lineup of experienced healers and caring writers. It will be a valuable resource for the field of mental and emotional health for years to come.

John Ortberg, Ph.D., Senior Pastor of Menlo Church, Menlo Park, CA,

Clinical Psychologist and best-selling author

People everywhere are hurting, including those inside the church. Written by a team of experts, this important resource is designed to shine the wonderful and liberating light of the gospel into the dark and difficult areas of people’s lives. What’s here will heal. You need this book and the people you love need it too.

Johnnie Moore, Founder, The KAIROS Company

People today are struggling in ways that only the church can help. The Struggle is Real is an excellent resource for equipping ministry leaders and counselors alike to meet this most pressing need.

Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference

I heartily recommend The Struggle Is Real…Clinton and Pingleton have provided exactly what the church needs.

Jeremiah J. Johnston, Ph.D., President, Christian Thinkers Society,

Professor, Houston Baptist University

We are not fine; the people we serve are not fine-we all struggle! This book is an invaluable resource for helping us minister to people who need our understanding.

Greg Surratt, Founding Pastor, Seacoast Church, Mount Pleasant, SC,

President, Association of Related Churches (ARC)

In this book, Tim Clinton and Jared Pingleton provide a solid guide to better understand the issues and dynamics of trouble that people experience and how to effectively minister to them.

George O. Wood, P.Th.D., J.D., former General Superintendent, The General Council of the Assemblies of God

A bold new vision for optimizing our health now and in the future

What if depression, anxiety, infertility, insomnia, heart disease, erectile dysfunction, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s, dementia, cancer and many other health conditions that torture and shorten our lives actually have the same root cause?
Our ability to prevent and reverse these conditions – and feel incredible today –  is under our control and simpler than we think. The key is our metabolic function – the most important and least understood factor in our overall health. As Dr. Casey Means explains in this groundbreaking book, nearly every health problem we face can be explained by how well the cells in our body create and use energy. To live free from frustrating symptoms and life-threatening disease, we need our cells to be optimally powered so that they can create “good energy,” the essential fuel that impacts every aspect of our physical and mental wellbeing.
If you are battling minor signals of “bad energy” inside your body, it is often a warning sign that more life-threatening illness may emerge later in life. But here’s the good news: for the first time ever, we can monitor our metabolic health in great detail and learn how to improve it ourselves.
Weaving together cutting-edge research and personal stories, as well as groundbreaking data from the health technology company Dr. Means founded, Good Energy offers an essential four-week plan and explains:

• The five biomarkers that determine your risk for a deadly disease.
• How to use inexpensive tools and technology to “see inside your body” and take action.
• Why dietary philosophies are designed to confuse us, and six lifelong food principles you can implement whether you’re carnivore or vegan.
• The crucial links between sleep, circadian rhythm, and metabolism
• A new framework for exercise focused on building simple movement into everyday activities
• How cold and heat exposure helps build our body’s resilience
• Steps to navigate the medical system to get what you need for optimal health

   Good Energy offers a new, cutting-edge understanding of the true cause of illness that until now has remained hidden.  It will help you optimize your ability to live well and stay well at every age.

Understanding the Old Testament’s Purpose in the Christian’s Life Today

The Old Testament makes up the majority of the Christian Bible, yet incorrect teaching of its texts abounds in the church. Without effectively studying these stories, covenants, and kingdoms within their close, continuing, and complete biblical contexts, believers miss the beauty of the Old Testament, including how it points to Jesus, and why it still matters today.

Jason DeRouchie helps Christians delight in the books of the Old Testament and read them the way God intended―as relevant parts of Christian Scripture. This accessible guide stresses the need to keep Christ at the center and to account for the progress of salvation history when applying the Old Testament today. It helps Christians interpret the Old Testament, see how it testifies to Jesus, believe that Jesus secured every divine promise, and understand how Jesus makes Moses’s law still matter. By more strongly comprehending Old Testament teachings and how they relate to the New, Christians will better enjoy the Old Testament itself and increasingly understand all that Jesus came to fulfill.

• In-Depth Study: Shows the lasting relevance of Old Testament laws, history, prophecy, and wisdom, and gives insight into the authors and audience of Old Testament books
• A Great Resource for Pastors, Students, and Small Groups: Prepares Christian leaders to faithfully teach the Old Testament and equips all Christians to embrace that the Old Testament is Christian Scripture
• Accessible: Includes numerous case studies, “Review and Reflection” points for every chapter, and a glossary of key terms

Lee Strobel, former atheist and legal editor of the Chicago Tribune, weaves together the latest evidence from a range of brilliant scientific and philosophical minds to answer the most consequential question of all time.

“Is God real?”

More than two hundred times a second, around the world, questions about God’s existence are being typed into search engines. Google alone provides nearly 4 million results to that single question.

The topic of the existence of a Creator has enormous implications on our lives, including whether or not we have free will, if there’s any such thing as an afterlife, and whether or not there’s any basis for human morality.

In Is God Real?, Lee Strobel—author of the New York Times bestselling book, The Case for Christ—pulls together material from his previous books to create this updated rational exploration of the proof of God’s existence and the basis of our hope.

Writing to skeptics, believers, and anyone who’s ever gone through (or is going through) periods of doubt and disillusionment, Lee turns his critical mind and expert interview skills to perennial questions such as:

• If God is real, why is there so much suffering?
• How do we know which God is real?
• If God is real, why does he seem so hidden?
• How do recent scientific findings support the claim that God is real?
• If God is real, what difference does it make?

Is God Real? is a life-changing exploration of the inquiry at the center of our being.