Category: Bookish Question

Which Christian books have you had on your bookshelf the longest?

Bookish Question #199 | Which Christian books have you had on your bookshelf the longest?

Which Christian books have you had on your bookshelf the longest? And when did you last read them?

I read very few paperbacks these days, but I still have a collection of old favourites (although it’s been several years since I read any of them).

The oldest books on my bookshelf are books I’ve read and reread (and loaned to other people, then read again myself).

Here are a few of my favourites, although I probably haven’t read any for ten years or more:

  • The Refiners Fire series by Lynn Austin—a great Civil War trilogy, written from the perspectives of a Southern lady, a Northern lady, and a slave.
  • The Mark of the Lion series by Francine Rivers—a fantastic trilogy set in Roman times (and this is one of the few trilogies where the middle book is my favourite)
  • An American Family Portrait series by Jack Cavanaugh—a longer series that follows a single family from the 1600s to the present day.

Have you read any of these? Is my list showing my age?

There is another series I read and reread, but I’ve lost the middle book in the trilogy (I loaned it out and it never came back): Tourmaline and Nightwatch by Jon Henderson (I’m missing Tigers and Dragons). I haven’t read them for a while (because they’re paper books and I’ve mostly switched to ebooks). If I did read them again, I’d probably find them dreadfully dated. I remember the hero had a digital camera in one of the books, back when they were virtually unheard of. Even better, he had a satellite phone he could use to upload his photographs to (I think) the CIA. Now pretty much anyone can do this with their smartphone. Anyway, I loved them when I first read them.

What about you? What Christian books have you had on your shelf the longest? When did you last read them?

What's Your Favourite Christian Nonfiction Genre?

Bookish Question #198 | What’s Your Favourite Christian Nonfiction Genre?

I’m not a big nonfiction reader—at least, not in terms of books. I read plenty of nonfiction articles online 🙂

I have a range of unread nonfiction books on my Kindle – books I’ve picked up on the recommendation of others (or books that were on sale through BookBub), and books I’ve requested to review (and generally haven’t).

When I do read nonfiction, they tend to be books on writing or book marketing 9or some related topic), and often aren’t written by Christians. Even when they are written by Christians, they’re not specifically “Christian” books in that they’re aimed at writers in general, not Christian writers.

Where I do read Christian nonfiction, I’m generally interested in seeing a Christian response to a topic I’m interested in. I’m not interested in general self-help books aimed at Christians (too many of them can be summed up with a few obvious sentences: read your Bible. Pray. Eat well. Sleep. Exercise. Follow God, not people.)

But every now and again, I do find a nonfiction book that hooks me. Here are a few I recommend:

The Enneagram for Beginners by Kim Eddy

I’ve seen various posts about the Enneagram online, some claiming it’s a great personality tool we should use more in church, and others claiming that its origins in unorthodox spiritism make it suspect. What interested me most was the Enneagram’s focus on motivation … something I’ve found hard to pin down when it comes to writing fiction. I wouldn’t use the tool on real people, but I think it’s an underused asset for fiction writers.

Click here to read my review.

Redeeming Your Time by Jordan Raynor

I’m now working three days a week in a local company, so have less flexibility in my schedule (being self-employed had a lot more flexibility). that means getting organised in a way I haven’t had to in a good while, so I’ve been looking for tips. Raynor offers a Christ-centred approach (based on the Getting Things Done methodology).

This releases on 19 October. Click here to find Redeeming Your Time on Amazon.

Writing in Obedience by Terry Burns and Linda Yezak

I recommend this to a lot of my editing clients, although I haven’t posted an actual review. I like it because it discusses why we write and what we write from a Christian perspective. I particularly like the way it breaks down our writing into four potential audiences, and gives tips on how to attract each audience.

Click here to find Writing in Obedience on Amazon.

I don’t know if that answers the question, but it perhaps illustrates the kind of Christian nonfiction I do read.

What about you? What’s your favourite Christian nonfiction genre, and why?

Bookish Question #197 | What’s Your Favourite Christian Fiction Genre?

What’s your favourite Christian fiction genre?

In the past, I would have said romance – specifically, contemporary romance. I may have backed that up with a fondness for historical romance (especially Regency romance), with a few romantic suspense novels thrown in for variety.

But my reading habits have changed somewhat.

I find myself veering towards women’s fiction, and towards historical romance where the romance isn’t the major plot point. (I don’t know if that means it’s still historical romance, or whether it’s then historical fiction with a romance subplot).

Perhaps it’s my reaction to this strange and politicised world we live in, but I’m becoming more interested in novels where characters explore deep and difficult issues. Don’t get me wrong: there is definitely a place for light and fluffy romances which are pure entertainment. But we (I) sometimes want to read something with a little more depth. And that can be harder to find.

So I’m reading historical fiction from authors like Elizabeth Camden, Fiona Veitch Smith, and Sarah Sundin. Novels that teach us something about history and how we got to where we are.

I’m also reading women’s fiction (and some contemporary romance) that shows a deeper kind of faith, one that focuses on love for the unbeliever and showing that love through acceptance and positive action – helping them, not berating them. Fiction that shows the church as it should be …

What about you? What’s your favourite Christian fiction genre? Why?

What would lead you to not finish a book?

Bookish Question #196 | What would lead you to not finish a book?

What would lead you to not finish a book?

I like to finish what I start. I might read the first few pages of a book to decide whether I want to read it or not, but I tend not to abandon books. Once I’ve made the decision to read a book (especially a novel), I’ll almost always finish reading.

But, as it happens, I have recently DNF’d (did not finish) a book …

Why? There were a few reasons.

The writing lacked polish.

Although the book was from a best-selling multi-published author, the writing was bland and uninteresting. I judge writing contests for unpublished writers, and  this book wouldn’t have made it past the first round of judging.

The main character wasn’t compelling.

The Prologue introduced a nice lady living a nice life in a nice small town on a nice lake. here was nothing exciting about the plot or setting. At the end of the Prologue , she found out her father had died, and that could have been the beginning of something compelling, except then we were treated to a nice funeral where we met her nice friends and nice boyfriend.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t make a habit of attending funerals of people I don’t know. The rare exception might be to support a close friend in their bereavement. Reading the funeral of a character you don’t know and who you have no connection with is the literary equivalent of being a funeral crasher.

The romance wasn’t right.

The novel was a romance, and it was obvious the main character was going to end up with the new man in town, not her nice boyfriend.

The problem was that while I liked the man who was being set up as the love interest, I didn’t like the main character or the way she treated him. I thought he deserved better… so I stopped reading so I can pretend she marries her nice boyfriend and has a nice life, and the hero goes back to his hometown where he meets and marries someone else, someone who values and appreciates him.

It doesn’t help that I’m not a fan of stupid heroines … and this heroine struck me as stupid (if your objective is to save the family business, shouldn’t you understand why the family business might be at risk? You could visit it, or open the computer and check the bank statement?).

Content Issues

The other reason I might not finish a book (which didn’t apply in this instance) would be content issues e.g. graphic on-the-page violence or sex scenes in a Christian novel, or dubious theology. If I wanted to read about those topics, I wouldn’t be reading Christian fiction.

What about you? What would make you DNF (did not finish) a book?

Is there a topic you'd like to see more of in Christian fiction?

Bookish Question #195 | Is there a topic you’d like to see more of in Christian fiction?

Is there a topic or issue you’d like to see more of in Christian fiction?

Yes 🙂

Well, this would be a short blog post if the answer was “no”.

I can think of two main things I’d like to see more of in Christian fiction:

1. Genuine Christian Content

It sees that a lot of Christian fiction is fiction written by Christians which features Christian characters. Now, there’s nothing wrong with that. But I would like to see more stories featuring characters dealing with some of the challenges of the Christian life:

  • How do we be Christian workers in the secular workplace?
  • How do we respond to the hard questions from unbelievers, like “where is God when it hurts”?
  • How to we respond to a world that is becoming more anti-Christian?
  • How do we deal with people who claim to be Christians but don’t act in a Christ-like manner?
  • How do we respond to #MeToo and #ChurchToo and #BLM?
  • As Christians, how do we respond to issues like abortion or war or even public health initiatives in a Christian way?

Many of these topics and issues have easy answers, but I want writers to go deeper. Yes, Abortion is bad. What can we do about it? (I suspect the answer is by changing hearts and minds, not by making something against the law.)

I’d also like to see these questions answered from a broad perspective, not just the perspective of North American evangelical churchgoers. There is a whole world out there. We should seek out more than the North American perspective or evangelical perspective.

2. International Fiction

On that note, I’d like to see more international fiction in general—more fiction set outside North America. After all, fiction is a great way to travel and learn about other countries and cultures, so why not do that through fiction?

So that’s me.

What topics or issues would you like to see more of in Christian fiction?

Do you prefer to read fictional or real settings, or both?

Bookish Question #193 | Do you prefer to read fictional or real settings, or both?

Do you like to read about real places, or do you prefer made-up settings?

I don’t mind. I enjoy real settings, because it feels like an opportunity to take a virtual vacation. But I also enjoy well-developed fictional settings that are written so well they feel real.

What I don’t enjoy is reading a novel where I have no idea where it is set.

It’s usually obvious whether a story is set in a big city or a small town, but what country is it set in? What part of the country? The location impacts on big-picture story elements like language and culture, so is important. But location also impacts on smaller story elements, like weather and seasons (and is Easter in spring or autumn … or fall?).

I’m also not a fan of authors taking a well-known real setting and changing the name.

Either set the novel in the real place and tell us, or set it in a fictional place (and make that clear). If I’m reading a novel and wondering if New Cambridge is Boston or an imaginary setting , then I’m not thinking about the characters … and if I’m not thinking about the characters, then I’m probably not paying much attention to the plot.

(Okay, so that could be a problem with the plot or characters and not the setting. But it’s still a problem).

I like to be able to place myself in the setting, whether that setting is real or fictional.

I don’t mind which, but I do need enough information that I can imagine myself being there.

What about you? Do you prefer fictional settings, or real settings? Or both?

s there a book topic you'd prefer not to read?

Bookish Question #192 | Is there a book topic you’d prefer not to read?

I like stories with happy endings.

I like romances because the guy and the girl always end up together on the last page. I like women’s fiction because the main character learns something and is a better person on the last page than the first. I like mysteries because the mystery is always solved. I like suspense novels because the good guys always vanquish the evildoers.

I am not alone in this. I was listening to an episode of the Gracewriters podcast a few weeks ago, and Belinda Pollard made a comment to this effect: that we are programmed to want the happy ending.

So the I prefer not to read books where the characters don’t get their happy ending, or where good doesn’t win in the end. I guess that’s why I prefer fiction over nonfiction: in fiction, the author can choose the happy ending. In nonfiction, the author has to share the actual ending … and that might not be happy.

If I want to see the pain and ugliness in the world, I can watch the TV news. But for entertainment, I don’t want those topics and issues. I want the security of knowing I’m going to get a happy ending.

I prefer not to read fiction that looks too much like a newspaper headline. That includes:

  • Fiction based on real crimes. I enjoy reading mysteries and suspense novels, but I’ve discovered I’m less interested in true crime, even historic true crime such as Barbour’s excellent True Colors series. Yet I’m happy to read historical (or even contemporary) fiction featuring real people, places, and events, especially when that can give me an insight into history or ideas.
  • Anything about modern slavery or sex trafficking. Sex trafficking and slavery are real modern problems, so there’s a fine line between this and true crime. Now, you could say the same about most mystery or suspense stories, and you’d be right. For some reason, they bother me less (which may well be a different kind of problem).
  • Anything related to Covid-19. As I write this, Delta has just arrived in New Zealand so we’re back in lockdown. That means I’m probably back to reading historical fiction or contemporary fiction published before 2019, as anything newer set in the USA or UK that doesn’t mention Covid or lockdown seems about as relevant and realistic as a contemporary novel where the characters don’t have internet or smartphones.
  • Novels where the main character’s problem or the villain’s motive is related to health costs (because I’ve always lived in countries with universal healthcare, and while that is not perfect, I still have trouble comprehending how a rich, first-world country forces citizens to choose between medical care for cancer or diabetes and bankruptcy/death).

I think my problem is that I try to stay informed about current events, so I know all these things are real issues. That makes them current events, which are not entertaining or enjoyable.

Those are the topics I prefer not to read about.

What about you? Are there any book topics or issues you prefer not to read about? What are they?

Which character would you choose for Book Week fancy dress?

Bookish Question #191 | Which character would you choose for Book Week fancy dress?

Book Week and dressing up wasn’t a thing when I was at school. Even now, it’s not common in New Zealand. I can only remember one instance of my children dressing up for Book Week.

When my son was about eight, her persuaded us to buy him a three-piece suit to wear to a family wedding. He later wore the suit to school for Book Week—he was James Bond. I have to admire his choice.

If I was going to pick a character to dress up for during Book Week—and if money was no object— I’d choose to dress as Caroline Delacroix, heroine of A Gilded Lady by Elizabeth Camden. Caroline is secretary to Ida McKinley, First Lady of the United States, a role that requires a lot of fancy, expensive gowns to attend fancy, expensive functions.

But Caroline’s beautiful dresses were nothing in comparison to the $8,000 gown Ida McKinley wore for the inauguration ball:

Cream satin, embroidered with silver thread, and lavishly embellished with crystals and pearls … the gown was fit for a queen and tailored to perfection.

I couldn’t spent $8,000 on a single gown now, let alone in 1901 or whenever McKinley was President. But I still enjoy looking at pretty things, and we’re talking imagination and fantasy … I wish I’d been able to see the gown or even find a picture.

What about you? Which character would you choose for Book Week fancy dress, and why?

Does an author's online behaviour affect your buying behaviour?

Bookish Question #190 | Does an Author’s Online Behaviour Affect your Buying Behaviour?

We live in the era of “cancel culture”.

Some people try to say it’s new, but it has existed in various forms since before the time of the Pharaohs (for example, Thutmose III tried to literally erase Hatshepsut from history).

I historically knew this concept as boycotting—individuals choosing not to buy products from organisations if they disagreed with the organisation’s business practices. This can be a good thing: if consumers decide not to support organisations that use child labour or slave labour, those organisations might be persuaded to change their practices.

It can also be a practical thing. Vegetarians can choose meat-free alternatives to a steak dinner. People who are lactose-intolerant can choose dairy-free alternatives to cheese and ice cream. That’s consumer choice, not cancel culture. Consumer choice is a feature of a capitalist economy.

As such, it is my consumer choice which businesses I choose to support financially.

And that includes the books I read. There are some authors I don’t read because they write in genres I don’t read. That’s consumer choice, not cancel cultures. There are some authors I don’t read because I just don’t relate to their topics or style of writing. Again, that’s consumer choice. But I will admit that there is a small handful of authors I’ve stopped reading because of something they wrote online—generally about book reviews.

If an author says they want honest book reviews from readers (and most do), then they have to understand that “honest” does not mean “glowing”. Authors, please don’t have an online hissy fit when a reviewer posts a less-than-glowing review. Don’t write a retaliatory blog post explaining why you were right and the reviewer was wrong. Please don’t mock specific reviewers because they didn’t like your book.

Act like an adult. Be professional.

Not everyone will like your books, just like not everyone likes kale or kombucha. Understand that if I (or any other reader) chooses not to buy your books, that’s our free choice as consumers. 

Just make sure that the reason I choose not to read your books is because you’re writing in a genre I tend not to read, not because your writing isn’t up to standard … or because you’re known for being a badly behaved author.

What about you? What affects your buying behaviour? Would you choose not to buy certain books based on the author’s behaviour?

Do you prefer to read small town or big city settings?

Bookish Question #189 | Do you prefer small town or big city settings?

(And is that related to where you live or have lived?)

I spent most of my school years living in small towns. The first had a population of around 5,000 people. I knew everyone at my small primary school. There were only two classrooms when I started, so I knew or knew of all the families in the area with school-aged children.

I enjoyed living in that small town, but there were disadvantages. The high school wasn’t great, so it was probably good that we moved before I reached high school age. Our next home was in an even smaller town, population around 1,500. There was one primary school, and we were all bussed to the next two (population around 10,000) for high school.

I’ve also lived in cities. I lived in Auckland, New Zealand’s biggest city, for nine years. I lived in London, England, for ten years. Living in a big city has advantages—more facilities, better jobs— but it also has disadvantages—more traffic, more crime, more expensive.

I’ve also lived (and am still living) in a mid-sized city (population around 100,000). Well, that’s big for new Zealand, but mid-sized for the rest of the world.

I’ve lived in tiny towns and big cities. There are advantages and disadvantages to both.

And it’s the same with books. I enjoy small-town series where the characters are linked, and there are common characters across all the stories. I’ve enjoyed stories where the setting is almost another character. But small-town stories can get a little predictable, because there are usually only a limited number of occupations that make sense in a small town.

Big city settings open up a lot more opportunities in terms of careers and therefore characters and plots. I also like novels where the characters have unique careers, and these are usually set in big cities (e.g. Elizabeth Camden and Washington, DC, and Roseanna M White and London). Their characters have ranged from librarians to spies, but all needed the city setting.

I don’t mind whether a novel has a big city or a small town setting.

What is important is that the setting is right for the plot and characters.

What about you? Do you prefer small town or big city settings? Or both?