"Journey of the Pearl" by A.E. Smith

This is a fascinating historical fiction book set during the Bible times shortly after the crucifixion of Jesus.  It centers around the centurion who crucified Jesus and tells his story.  Readers meet the Roman centurion and travel with him through his various trials, tribulations, struggles, and dangers.  There are backstabbing centurions, conniving slave owners, cruel masters, and more.  Famous characters like King Herod and Saint Peter also come into the scene.  This was a very fast paced story full of many twists and turns.  Since this book is of the Christian genre, there is emphasis on Jesus but not so much that it detracts from the rest of the story.  Regardless of your religious beliefs, this is a great adventure of a book that will keep you turning the pages.  My only complaint is that so many of the character names were exotic and unfamiliar to me, which made it difficult to keep up and follow along with who was who.  

"The Old Testament Case for Nonviolence" by Matthew Curtis Fleischer

This book exceeded my expectations in many ways.  It really made me think and challenged my worldview in the sense of how I interpret the Bible and think of God.  I didn't necessarily agree with everything the author wrote, but that's okay.  It gave me a lot to chew on, and I am grateful for that.  My favorite chapter was chapter 1.  It went into how the culture of the ancient near east (ANE) influenced the early Old Testament writers.  While some stories in the Old Testament may seem barbaric by our modern sensibilities, in light of other ANE customs, they were actually very progressive and merciful (by comparison, at least).  Fleischer poses the argument that much of the "violence" in the Old Testament is not necessarily what God wants or even representative of God's true nature.  Rather, God was using baby steps--or as Fleischer labels incremental ethical revelation--to educate ancient man.  Just like how a first-world missionary in a third-world tribe wouldn't start pointing out everything wrong but would instead tolerate some things for a bit until the natives are mature enough for more change...God did the same with ancient man.  The rest of the book is really good theologically, too, but I have to say the first chapter really hit me the most.  Since this book is written by a Christian, there are many New Testament references included alongside the Old Testament ideas.