Christian books for women: gifts for the season she's in

Your sister lost her husband in the spring. Your daughter just started reading the Bible on her own for the first time. A friend from church has four children under ten and has not finished a sentence since August.

All three would be glad of a book, and that is where most lists of Christian books for women go wrong: they rank titles as if every woman were the same reader. Choose by the season she is in instead, and the right book is usually obvious.

So this guide is grouped by what she is walking through. The books from other publishers are named for what they are, with nothing claimed that we cannot stand behind. One of them is ours, and it is the one made to stay out on the table.

How do you choose Christian books for women?

Start with her week, then her shelf. A book that meets the thing she is carrying right now will be opened; a book chosen because it is popular may sit wrapped in its cellophane until spring.

Think about how she reads, too. Some women read a chapter in bed every night. Others read in snatches, two pages at the kitchen counter while the kettle boils. A daily devotional suits the second reader far better than a long argument, however good the argument is.

And think about where the book will live. A paperback goes in a handbag and gets worn soft. A cloth-bound book goes on a coffee table or a nightstand and stays in sight, which is a different kind of gift: one she sees every day, even on the days she does not open it. If a book is not quite right for her, our guide to Christian gifts for women she will keep covers prayer, art and the gifts that cost nothing.

If she loves a designed Bible book, our comparison of Alabaster's Bible books and Mercy & Light's art books shows which suits her shelf.

Proverbs describes the woman many of us are buying for: "She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness" (Proverbs 31:26, KJV). The best book for her is one that gives some of that kindness back.

What do I give a woman who is grieving?

Something short, honest and unhurried. Grief shrinks the attention, so the book should be one she can open anywhere and close again after a page without losing her place.

A Grief Observed by C. S. Lewis is a slim book of notes he wrote after the death of his wife, Joy. It does not tidy anything up. It reads like the inside of a grieving mind, questions and anger included, and that honesty is the gift.

Streams in the Desert by L. B. Cowman is a daily devotional, one short reading for each day of the year, gathered by a woman who had nursed her own husband through a long illness. A grieving friend can read today's page and nothing else.

Whatever you choose, write the reason inside the cover. The psalmist's line is a good one to borrow: "The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit" (Psalm 34:18, KJV). A book given with that verse written in it says you have not forgotten her.

What about a woman who is new to faith, or full of questions?

Give her the plainest, clearest account you can find, and give her the Gospels' own story alongside it. Questions are a good sign; the book should treat them as welcome.

Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis began as radio talks he gave on the BBC during the Second World War, written for ordinary listeners. It sets out what Christians believe in plain sentences, one short chapter at a time, which suits a woman who is asking for the first time. If she wants to read about Jesus himself next, our guide to books about Jesus, by kind of reader picks up where this one leaves off.

For the story itself, a woman new to faith often wants to know who Jesus was before she is told what to think about him. If that is where she is, our account of the life of Christ told in order is a gentle place to start, and the book below tells the same story in paintings.

Which book stays on the table for years?

One she can return to without reading it front to back. Some books are read once and passed on; a few are opened again and again, a page at a time, for the rest of her life. Those are the ones worth giving in cloth.

The CHRIST book is the one we made for that. It follows the life of Jesus from the manger to the empty tomb, each scene an illustration set beside the passage of Scripture it shows. It is a clothbound coffee-table book, made to be kept, and it reads in any order: a woman can open it to the Sea of Galilee one evening and to the Good Shepherd the next. To see it beside the other illustrated lives of Jesus, we set seven of them side by side, ours included.

That matters for the women on your list who are tired. A book of art asks nothing. She can turn a page with her coffee, look at one scene and read the verse beside it, and still feel she has spent a few minutes with Christ before the day starts.

Mary is the picture of this kind of reading. After the shepherds had gone, "Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart" (Luke 2:19, KJV). A book left open on a table is a small invitation to do the same.

The CHRIST book can be given as a Christmas gift; the CHRIST product page carries the current details on timing, and it is the only place we state them.

What do I give a mother with no time to read?

A book built for two minutes. A busy mother rarely needs another book she is supposed to finish; she needs one that meets her at the sink, in the car line or at the edge of the bath.

Every Moment Holy by Douglas Kaine McKelvey is a book of short written prayers, which it calls liturgies, for ordinary moments: washing dishes, folding laundry, a child's first day at school. It fits the life of a woman whose day is made of exactly those moments.

Jesus Calling by Sarah Young is a daily devotional of short readings, written in the voice of Jesus speaking to the reader. It is made to be read one entry a day, at the nightstand or the counter. If you know she already owns it, choose something else from this list.

Jesus' word to Martha belongs on the card for this woman: "But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her" (Luke 10:42, KJV). Tell her the book is permission to sit down for that one thing.

What do I give a woman who needs courage?

A true story of a woman who was brave when it cost her something. Courage is easier to borrow from a life than from an argument.

The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom, written with John and Elizabeth Sherrill, tells how her family hid Jewish neighbours in their home in Haarlem during the Second World War, and what came after their arrest. It is a story of faith held under the worst pressure, told by the woman who lived it.

Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot is her account of the death of her husband, Jim, and four other missionaries in Ecuador in 1956. It suits a woman facing a hard call of her own, because Elliot writes about loss and obedience without softening either.

Mordecai's question to Esther is the verse for this gift: "who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" (Esther 4:14, KJV). Write it in, then write what you have seen her do already.

What should I write inside the cover?

A verse in full, one sentence about her, the date and your name. The inscription is what she will read years from now when she takes the book off the shelf, so write it slowly.

Write the verse out, with book, chapter and verse. Then say one true thing: why this book, why now. The date matters more than people expect. Ten years on, it tells her which season you saw her through.

If you are stuck for a passage, Lamentations has one that fits almost any woman in almost any year: "It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness" (Lamentations 3:22-23, KJV).

For more ideas chosen the same way, see our guide to Christian gifts for a friend, season by season, and for the wider list there are our Christian Christmas gift ideas that mean something. The books, canvases and other pieces we make for giving are gathered in our Christian gifts collection.

A book she will see every morning

Choose by her season, write in the front, and give it in person if you can. A woman remembers who handed her the book that found her in a hard year.

If she is someone who keeps her Bible open on the kitchen table, our books for the home are made for that table. PSALMS gathers prayer, comfort and praise beside paintings; it and NATIVITY are coming soon, with waitlists open for news. "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path" (Psalm 119:105, KJV). The right book keeps that lamp in reach.

Frequently asked

What are good Christian books to give a woman as a gift?

Choose by what she is walking through. For grief, A Grief Observed by C. S. Lewis or Streams in the Desert by L. B. Cowman; for questions, Mere Christianity; for courage, The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom. For a book that stays on the table, the CHRIST book tells the life of Jesus in art and Scripture.

Is a devotional or a full book better for a busy woman?

For most busy women, a devotional or a book that can be read in any order. Short daily readings, written prayers or a book of art with Scripture fit a day made of interruptions. Save the long book for a season when she has asked for one.

What should I write in a Christian book I am giving?

Write one verse in full with its reference, one sentence about why you chose this book for her now, the date and your name. The date helps her remember the season years later. Keep it short; the book does the rest.

Can the CHRIST book be given as a Christmas gift?

Yes, the CHRIST book can be given as a Christmas gift. Timing details are kept on the CHRIST product page, which is the place to check before ordering. A verse written inside the front cover makes it personal.

Passages cited: Proverbs 31:26; Psalm 34:18; Luke 2:19; Luke 10:42; Esther 4:14; Lamentations 3:22-23; Psalm 119:105