Nuns have been popping up in popular culture lately. The viral video of the beatboxing nun from Brazil has provided the weary with some much needed joy. The cannabis-growing sisters featured in Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another are a real group of women - Sisters of the Valley - and while they are non-religious, they draw inspiration from the medieval Beguines. Then there is recent coverage of the trends of Gen Z women booking convents as getaways and monastic interiors.
Feeling those nun vibes? We have some books for you.
If you prefer your nuns subversive, check out Scorched Grace, the first installment in the Sister Holiday mystery series. Set in New Orleans, the series features a chain smoking, punk rock, queer, music teacher who moonlights as an amateur detective.
If a 12th century nun-poet building a female utopia behind the walls of an abbey appeals to you, check out Lauren Groff's powerful fictionalized life of Marie de France in Matrix .
Seeking an understated literary gem? Stone Yard Devotional , which was included in Our Favorite Books of 2025, features a disillusioned lay woman who takes refuge in a convent in Australia during the COVID-19 lockdown. It's an introspective and deeply humane novel exploring grief, guilt and forgiveness.
Get the true story of a woman who took an unexpected turn in midlife leaving behind her husband and career to become an Episcopalian nun in Sister Monica Clare's candid and entertaining memoir A Change of Habit.
Could the writings of Renaissance-era nuns offer guidance for our contemporary troubles? Check out the clever and amusing Convent Wisdom: How Sixteenth-Century Nuns Could Save Your Twenty-First-Century Life for the insight you are seeking.
Finally, Chicago is mourning the recent passing of one of it's most beloved nuns, Sister Jean, the joyful chaplain of Loyola University Men's basketball team. Find out more about Sister Jean's inspiring life in her memoir Wake up With Purpose!
Share your favorite nun-related books in the comments.
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