Theology: The Death and Resurrection of the Beloved Son by Jon D. Levenson.

This study by a Jewish theologian does so many things supremely well. First, its very form and argument make the best case I’ve ever seen for the virtue of a historical-critical approach to Scripture in order to understand it better theologically. Second, it excavates the root claims about God, and God’s relationship to sons, death, and restored life that Judaism and Christianity share. Third, it shows exactly why it is this common ground that causes the not-insignificant difference of opinion about the identity of Jesus to be so dangerous between Jews and Christians, without exonerating either: “Nowhere does Christianity betray its indebtedness to Judaism more than in its supersessionism.” Fourth, it is the most insightful reading of the Joseph story in Genesis I’ve ever come across. Christians committed to a more excellent way than most of our history with Jews can do no better than meditate on this book carefully and at length.

Novel: Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan.

You probably think this kind of book would have to be terrible: a novelization of the romance between Joy Davidman and C. S. Lewis. I was inclined to think the same. I was never so glad to be proven wrong. For all that Lewis remains a beloved figure, he comes off—in popular perception, and not without reason—as egg-headed, disconnected from real faith struggles (after his conversion), and chauvinist, in the politest English way possible. Perhaps he was. Then Joy invaded his life as only the grace of God can, disrupting every tidy thing he had set in place to protect himself. Theirs is an astonishing story. Callahan has turned it into a novel, faithfully based on records and correspondence. The portrait that emerges is not that lucky gal who landed the famous Narnia guy, but an incredibly complex, irascible woman of immense suffering and toughness whose sheer tour-de-force personality wrested Lewis out of his self-imposed enclosure. I understand now kind of unexpected marital love drove him to write A Grief Observed after her death. If this novel wins you over to Joy, then try her poetry, collected in A Naked Tree. I was bowled over by it.

Cookbook: Sababa by Adeena Sussman.

If I have not managed to cook every single recipe out of this cookbook, it’s only because it’s impossible to find whole artichokes and dried barberries in Japan. But everything else is accessible, and also brilliant—Middle Eastern and Israeli flavors developed, refined, and pushed to new heights. What astounding things you can do with home-fermented lemons, what surprising toppings both sweet and savory you can put on labneh, and what eye-popping colors (green, golden, pink, and mottled gray) you can make tahini sauce! And that’s only the beginning. Other favorites include Tahini and Olive Oil Granola, Pitaquiles, two different kinds of Shakshuka, yeasted flatbreads with dates and kumquats or za’atar and feta, Coffee-Rubbed Ribeye, Hawaijj Short Ribs, and pretty much the best assortment of salads of any cookbook, ever.