As you’ve probably guessed, I love to read. (In fact, I get paid to do it.)

And summer is traditionally a time when people make an effort to read more, either for school assignments or just for pleasure.

Lately, I’ve been reading mostly nonfiction, particularly books pertaining to religion in America (both academic-type books and more personal, memoir-type books).

If you’re interested in this subject, these are the ones I really liked:

• “Christless Christianity: The Alternative Gospel of the American Church” by Michael Horton. My church did a Lenten series on this book, but I just got around to reading it now, and I love Horton’s take-no-prisoners style. He argues that modern American Christians (whether evangelical or liberal, Catholic or Protestant, or any other label you want to use) are abandoning the gospel message for something wishy-washy, neo-Pelagian and neo-Gnostic (if you don’t know what that means, look it up) that “turns the good news into good advice” and actually hurts people. You may or may not agree, but it was a good course corrective for me, and maybe it will be for you. I also like Horton because, unlike a lot of Christian authors/pastors I’m familiar with, he actually likes journalists and journalism. (What a concept!)
• “Sin Boldly: A Field Guide for Grace” by Cathleen Falsani. I was fortunate enough to meet Falsani (like me, a Medill grad) at the Festival of Faith and Writing two years ago, and her honesty, personality and sense of humor really shine through in this book, some of it based on her experiences covering religion for the Chicago Sun-Times. No matter where she travels or who she meets, she manages to see grace and encourages readers to look for it, too.
•  “Mormon America: The Power and the Promise” by Richard Ostling and Joan K. Ostling. Richard Ostling (yet another Medill grad!) is one of the greatest religion journalists ever, in my opinion, and this book, which he wrote with his wife, Joan, shows why. If you’re looking for some kind of screed on why Mormons aren’t really Christians, this is not the book for you. But if you want to objectively learn more about a uniquely American religion, its history and how it influences culture and politics (especially as Mitt Romney might be gearing up for another presidential run next year), you’ll enjoy this. I found it a little dull in the beginning, but as I got more into it, I was fascinated.

On my list for the rest of the summer is Stephen Prothero’s latest, “God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World - And Why Their Differences Matter.” I’m especially giddy after reading an excerpt in the Christian Science Monitor and seeing him on “The Colbert Report.”

What’s on your summer reading list?