thursday thirteen

Here are thirteen Christian books that I have read at least two times.  

1. The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom - The true story of a family in Holland who hid Jews during the Holocaust.

2. A Chance to Die by Elisabeth Elliott - the biography of Amy Carmichael who was a missionary to India during the turn of the last century.

3. By Searching by Isobel Kuhn - Isobel's story from doubt to faith.  She went to China as a missionary in the 1920's.

4. A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken - A beautiful autobiographical tale of deep, passionate, consuming love.

5. Run Baby Run by Nicky Cruz - the autobiographical story of Nicky Cruz, a gang member who finds God.

6. Christy by Catherine Marshall - A fictionalized account of a true story.  Christy goes into the Smokey Mountains of Tennessee to teach school at the age of 19. 

 

7. C.S. Lewis' Space Trilogy.  Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, That Hideous Strength.  These are very imaginative.  You have to keep in mind that they were written in the 40's, so the thoughts he had about space travel are pretty cool.  There is a great spiritual thread running through the books, of course.  It IS C. S. Lewis.

8. Phantastes and Lilith by George MacDonald. Actually, several books by George MacDonald.  He is an old time writer.  His books have been edited so that we can understand them because they were originally written in  old Scottish dialect.  The style is still old, but I love his books.  These two I mentioned are fantasies and while I enjoy reading them for entertainment, I am pretty sure the deeper stuff goes over my head.

9. Calm My Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow -  A non-fiction book about contentment, worry, regret, forgiveness and more.  

10. Lord I Want to Know You by Kay Arthur - A wonderful book teaching about many of the different names of God.

11. The Path of Loneliness by Elisabeth Elliot - we've all had times of loneliness, but this book is full of wonderful encouragement and wisdom for any time.

12. The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis - we all are pretty familiar with these books now.  If you haven't read them, though, DO.

13. The Bible by God - It's essential.

 

new blog

Monday through Sunday has created a new blog and its all about books!  She has invited me to contribute, too.

Go take a look at Books and Starbucks.

reading meme

My friend Megan, who has a book coming out in April, tagged me the other day over at A Prisoner of Hope. I ran into her today, too, at Panera. There I was with my husband writing away and she showed up with her laptop to write, too!

Here is the tag as it is supposed to be played:

The Rules:

1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages), or whatever book you are currently reading.

2. Open the book to page 123.

3. Find the fifth sentence.

4. Post the next three sentences.

5. Tag five people.

But, I'm a rebel, so I'm doing it my own way. I opened my book to my bookmark and will pick up where I left off. If I tag you, you can do it the right way or the wrong way, I don't care. But let us know if you do it.

I am reading The Messenger of Magnolia Street by River Jordan.

"He has crossed over into a world where the unbelievable can happen, where spring is still indescribably beautiful in the middle of what he now knows to be an encroaching darkness. Trice's eclipse. He is no longer banking on the plausible."

I'm also not going to tag anyone. If you want to play, just let us know so we can see what you are reading!

poll closed

The majority of us treat our books with polite, respectful care. Twice as many as those of us who take our books with us in the shower.

I am one of the latter. Ok, I don't really take them in the shower, but I can't be bothered to stop reading long enough to eat, and I'm not going to skip eating! So, stuff happens. And sometimes it is just more comfortable for me to read it with the front cover rolled back (this drives my nine-year-old son crazy). I can sometimes find a scrap to use as a bookmark, (don't know what happened to all those I buy) but when I can't I won't hesitate to dog-ear.

Now this is for my own books. If you've lent me a book, relax. I treat other people's books better than my own.

There is a new poll up now! Please share your opinion.

about the last post

You know, I do enjoy happy endings. And sometimes I want to read something just for fun or to relax. So I am in no way criticizing those kind of books. It's just that I would like to see more variety. And I would like to see a stark contrast between Christian fiction and secular fiction. I can relax with books from either market; I want something more from my Christian fiction.

I thought I was really weird and, well, I was right. But I can't help being weird, I guess. My husband and I did these personality tests -- you can see it on the right side of my blog. In fact it's free and it's fun, so you should go do it. There are a lot of links then that tell you all about your personality, or temperament type. Mine happened to mention that my type enjoys being sad. I knew that about myself, but I kept it secret because, well, it's weird. But apparently it's sort of ingrained, so I'm not gonna be ashamed anymore! LOL It is also a part of my temperament to love rain. And I do.

So while Camelot is one of my favorite stories because it is just so darn tragic, I guess maybe I am in the minority with that. Which means that probably I won't find a lot of books that don't have formulaic happy endings. And I guess really that is my biggest complaint is that so many books are just so predictable. And I like unpredictable. If it had a happy ending, but I didn't see it coming, I would like that, too!

So, enough about me. I really would like to hear what you specifically want out of a book. Whatever market you prefer. What genres do you like best and what do you want to gain or experience when you read a novel?

why i read christian fiction

I want to see God. I want to read stories about people dealing with real struggles, but handling them in a way that shows God's grace, power, and love. I want to see redemption. I want to see reconciliation. I want to see that the things that matter to God are so much different from the things that matter to us. Not because He has the wrong priorities, but because we do.


I don't want to just be entertained. I am disappointed in books that are nice reads and the character happens to be a Christian, (we know this because she occasionally goes to church).

I want to be challenged. I want to learn. I want to be convicted. I want to be different in some small, (or big) way from having read it.

I want to see people living the Christian life the way it should be lived, not the way it usually is lived.


I have read so many comments by people saying they don't want to be hit over the head with Christianity in Christian fiction. My question is, why do they read it then? I have read a lot of good secular books that are clean, and have a great message. Why not just read those?


Christian fiction is written for Christians. We shouldn't have to soft sell God in Christian fiction. If it were a story written for unbelievers, then some gentle tact is required in getting the message across, but the message still needs to get across. And it should probably be an ABA book so the person will pick it up in the first place. Most non-believers aren't buying up the Christian fiction, are they?


What I'd like to see more of: Characters who pray fervently about their decisions instead of winging it. People who look to God for direction and guidance. More stories demonstrating the sovereignty of God. People with questions and dilemmas that don't necessarily get solved. And I'd love to see some tragic endings. I am so tired of predictable story lines. Life doesn't always go the way we expect. How about stories showing that God is still in control even when our world falls apart. Life doesn't tie up neatly, there are always loose ends. I've read books about worlds falling apart and God picking up the pieces, but they always have the predictable happy ending. What if the person doesn't get cured from a deadly illness, but instead finds God's peace and strength to bear it? What if the handsome neighbor turns out to be an abuser, but the woman calls off the wedding just in time? Or what if she doesn't? What if a lovelorn woman continually has bad relationships until she realizes God is her all in all and that He will be sufficient for her in a life of singleness? Not everyone gets married. Not everyone gets cured. Not everyone has a marriage that is roses and walks in the moonlight.


Well, I hope there is some kind of market for this stuff that I want, because it's the way I plan to write.


I'm not saying there aren't some books out there like this. I'm saying there aren't enough. Lisa Samson's Tiger Lilly is a great example. If you know of some, tell me what they are.