Category: Bookish Question

What's your favorite classic Christian novel?

Bookish Question #150 | What’s your favorite classic Christian novel?

I’m never entirely sure what qualifies a novel to be called a classic.

It’s partly age—no one would argue that Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, or Dickens are anything but classic. But Christian fiction, as a genre, isn’t that old.

Yes, there are older novels written that are explicitly Christian e.g. the novels of George McDonald. There were novels written by Christians with Christian themes from authors such as CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien. There were more overtly Christian novels from authors like Grace Livingston Hill or Taylor Caldwell, but they never caught my interest. There were no doubt others that haven’t stood the test of time.

So I guess that’s what makes a classic: a combination of time and popularity.

On that basis, my first favourite classic Christian novel was Christy by Catherine Marshall. It is considered one of the earliest success stories in modern Christian fiction, and it’s the inspiration for the annual Christy Awards, which celebrate the finest in Christian fiction.

My other old favourite is An Echo in the Darkness by Francine Rivers. It’s the middle book in her Mark of the Lion series, and it’s always been my favourite of the three. In fact, I think it’s the only trilogy where the middle book is my favourite.

What about you? What’s your favourite classic Christian novel?

hat novels have you read and recommend that feature Easter?

Bookish Question #149 | What novels have you read and recommend that feature Easter?

Lots of people write (and lots more read) Christmas stories. Valentine’s Day stories are also popular, especially in romance. But I can’t think of many novels that feature Easter as a central plot point. Sure, several take place in March/April, but there is more to Easter than roast lamb and hot cross buns on Good Friday, and Easter egg hunts on Easter Sunday.

The only novel I can think of that features Easter is A Stray Drop of Blood by Roseanna M White. It’s one of the many books on my to-read pile … Maybe I’ll get to it over Easter.

What novels can you think of that feature Easter? What do you recommend I check out?

Do you re-read books? Why or why not? What's your favourite book to re-read?

Bookish Question #148 | Do you reread books? Why or why not?

Why or why not? What’s your favourite book to reread?

I used to re-read a lot of my favourite books. Back when I bought and read paper books, most of my bookshelf was books I’d read and re-read (the books I didn’t like enough to re-read were donated to the local charity book sale). I re-read books because I didn’t have an unlimited book budget, which meant there were times when I didn’t have anything new to read. So I’d re-read an old favourite.

I still have a shelf of paper books, and a lot of them are favourites, but I rarely re-read them.

Actually, I rarely re-read at all, and that’s mostly because of the Kindle. First, I do most of my fiction reading on the Kindle. Second, because Kindle has dramatically decreased the average cost of a novel, so I’m never in the situation where I don’t have anything new to read.

What about you? Do you re-read books? Why or why not? What’s your favourite book to re-read?

Do you read book endorsements? Do they influence your book buying decisions?

Bookish Question #147 | Do you read book endorsements?

No, I don’t read book endorsements, and they don’t influence my book buying decisions.

There is a reason for this. I had a bad experience a few years back when I bought a book based on the endorsement of an author I enjoyed reading. I can’t remember the book or the author (either of them). All I know is that I didn’t enjoy the book, and I was left feeling that the author endorsing the novel had misled me.

Then it happened again, with a different book and different authors.

I learned that some authors are expected to endorse other authors with the same publisher, which lessened the impact of all endorsements in my eyes. I later learned that some authors don’t even read the books they’re asked to endorse, which makes the endorsement the sad waste of a tree.

Fake endorsements are like fake reviews.

If you can’t tell which reviews are genuine and which are fake, you’re going to be wary of all reviews.

I’ve had a similar experience with those authors who advertise books in their newsletters. To me, advertising a book in a newsletter constitutes an endorsement. At first, I thought the authors were recommending books they’d read and enjoyed (and, to be fair, most are). But some are engaging in newsletter swaps to build their email list, and that means featuring books they haven’t read. It seems to me that advertising or endorsing a book you haven’t read could hurt your brand if your readers decide the books you’re endorsing aren’t up to standard.

And that’s why I started ignoring book endorsements.

What about you? Do you read book endorsements, and do they influence your book buying decisions?

What about you? How often do you like to receive author newsletters?

Bookish Question #146 | How often do you like to receive author newsletters?

It depends.

There are some newsletters I’ve unsubscribed from because they emailed too often—generally once a week (sometimes more). The problem wasn’t so much the frequency as the fact that the email didn’t have any content I found useful. Often, it was little more than links to books by other authors in the same genre, and the author said s/he hadn’t read the books. Why would someone advertise or endorse a book they hadn’t read? It seems like a recipe for disaster.

I don’t mind more frequent emails when there is something to say e.g. a book is available on preorder, or there a book is on sale. I especially don’t want to miss out on sale books, and a lot of sales only last a few days. Readers might miss out of the author waited for their regular monthly or even weekly newsletter.

But in general, less is more.

I’m happy to receive a newsletter once a month, or more often if there is a good reason. Otherwise, I’m likely to either unsubscribe or (worse) delete without reading.

What about you? How often do you like to receive author newsletters?

Do you follow your favourite authors on social media?

Bookish Question #144 | Do you follow authors on social media?

Yes, I do follow my favourite authors on social media. Which social media networks? It depends.

Twitter

I follow over 10,000 accounts on Twitter, and most of them are author accounts. Therefore, I’m pretty sure I follow most of my favourite authors on Twitter. But I don’t see all their posts. Twitter, like all social media platforms, has an algorithm that shows each user the posts Twitter thinks we are mostly likely to like or engage with.

I rarely see posts from my favourite authors on Twitter, but I’m not sure if that’s because they’re not active Twitter users, or because they mostly use Twitter for self-promotion.

Facebook

I follow a lot of author pages on Facebook, but I rarely see posts from them. Instead, the algorithm shows me pictures from friends and posts from the groups I’m active in. I’m also a member of a lot of groups I’m not active in, and I rarely see posts from those groups.

I am part of a few street team groups on Facebook, and I usually see (and respond to) those posts. I’m not sure if Facebook shows me those posts because I do tend to respond, or because I’ve asked to always see notifications from those groups.

Facebook Tip

Authors, ask your group members to go to their notification settings and select “All posts” to increase your chances of showing up on their newsfeed.

Instagram

This is my favourite social network for following authors. It’s visual, which means it’s quick and easy to move through the feed, especially on a phone (I always check Instagram from my phone rather than my computer).

Oddly enough, Instagram is one social network where I don’t mind a little self-promotion.

I think this is because Instagram is visual, so people tend to post pictures of their book or quotes from their book rather than a more obvious “buy my book!” and link. This lack of spam could also be because Instagram only permits one link (in your bio), and doesn’t have any live links in posts.

Pinterest

Of the big four social networks, Pinterest is the one I use least often. When I do go on Pinterest, I’m usually looking for recipes rather than books. I do follow a bunch of authors on Pinterest, but the algorithm tends to show me pictures of food or clothes, not necessarily posts from the people I follow.

So I follow authors on all the main social networks, but Instagram is my favourite.

What about you? Do you follow your favourite authors on social media? If so, which social media networks do you use?

Do you read an excerpt or first chapter sample before buying a book?

Bookish Question #143 | Do you read an excerpt or first chapter sample before buying a book?

Sometimes.

(Well, I had to say something other than my usual “It depends”!)

There are times when I don’t read a sample before downloading (or buying) the book:

  • When the book is a review copy, because I’m not “buying” it, and there is no sample available (as review copies are usually pre-release books).
  • When the book is free on Kindle, because books are often only free for a short period, and I wouldn’t want to download the sample, not read it, then miss out on the free book because of my own tardiness.
  • I may also click Buy without reading the sample on a book that’s on a short-term 99 cent sale so I don’t miss out. This is especially the case if I’ve read and enjoyed other books by that author, or if I’ve seen the book recommended by someone I trust.
  • When the book is a preorder. Kindle samples are only available for books that are for sale, but many authors offer 99 cent or $2.99 preorder specials. If it’s an author I’ve read and enjoyed before, then it’s easy to click Buy on a 99 cent preorder.

If the book is more expensive, then my decision will depend on the price, the book, and the author—I’m more likely to click Buy on a book I’ve been waiting for (e.g. because it’s the next in a series I enjoy) than on an unknown book from a less familiar author.

Otherwise, I’ll download and read the Kindle sample.

Why? Because I already have hundreds of unread books (fiction and nonfiction) on my Kindle. I don’t want to spend money on more books unless I’m confident I’m going to read and enjoy it. The books I abandon are generally those where I didn’t read a sample first. If I read and enjoyed the sample, then I’m likely to want to read the whole book.

What about you? Do you read an excerpt or first chapter sample before buying a book?

Bookish Question #142 | Which authors or novels to you think best illustrate healthy Christian family relationships?

This is another excellent question.

Fiction is about conflict, and that conflict is often in the context of a family relationship. It may be a stage-of-life thing, but I’m over books where the teenage protagonist has #FirstWorldProblems with their (in my opinion) reasonable parent or parents. I’m also not keen on books where the parents are made out to be some kind of ogres … who have magically produced a well-adjusted child or teenager. #YeahRight.

But there is more to family relationships than parents and children.

There is also siblings … and there are a lot of stories which feature siblings.

Susan May Warren’s Christiansen Family series features the Christiansen siblings (and their parents). Now, it has to be said that they aren’t always “healthy” family relationships, but the emphasis is on acknowledging problems and doing whatever you can to fix the relationships. That’s healthy.

Dee Henderson’s O’Malley romantic suspense series features seven adopted siblings, so that’s a different kind of family. They also disagree, but they’re all noble adults who would do anything for each other.

And, of course, there are Clarke and Marty’s family from Love Comes Softly by Janette Oke, and the Baxter family by Karen Kingsbury, as I mentioned last week.

It’s interesting that all the examples I can think of are series.

Can you think of any standalone novels that do a great job of showing healthy Christian family relationships? Or any series I’ve missed?

The biggest subgenre in Christian fiction is romance, and the definition of a romance novel is that it ends with the promise of a happy-ever-after. It doesn't then go on to show that happy-ever-after. Some women's fiction novels do deal with marriage, but the focus is more likely to be a marriage in trouble. As such, it shows the main character (usually the wife) and their marriage partner overcoming their issues. Although, if I think about it, isn't that the definition of a healthy relationship: one where the people involved work together to overcome their issues? There is also the problem of the nature of fiction: it's about conflict. As such, a healthy Christian marriage is never going to be the focus of a Christian novel (although it could be the backdrop). After all, fiction loves contrast, and what better contrast to relationship drama than a healthy Christian marriage? There are several Christian authors who do this well, including Catherine West and Elizabeth Musser. Having said that, I do think their are some authors and series who do a great job of depicting healthy Christian marriage. The classic is Janette Oke, with both the Love Comes Softly and the Canadian West series (serieses?). Another example is Karen Kingsbury with the everlasting novels about the ever-growing Baxter family. Neither series depict perfect marriages (although the Baxter novels come melodramatically close), but that's good: there is no perfect marriage. And perhaps that's something our romance novels should make clear. But that's a topic for another day. What about you? What authors or novels do you think best illustrate a healthy Christian marriage? Why?

Bookish Question #141 | Which authors or novels do you think best illustrate a healthy Christian marriage?

The biggest subgenre in Christian fiction is romance, and the definition of a romance novel is that it ends with the promise of a happy-ever-after. It doesn’t then go on to show that happy-ever-after.

Some women’s fiction novels deal with marriage.

But the focus in women’s fiction is more likely to be a marriage in trouble. As such, it shows the main character (usually the wife) and their marriage partner overcoming their issues. Although, if I think about it, isn’t that the definition of a healthy relationship: one where the people involved work together to overcome their issues?

There is also the problem of the nature of fiction: it’s about conflict.

As such, a healthy Christian marriage is never going to be the focus of a Christian novel (although it could be the backdrop). After all, fiction loves contrast, and what better contrast to relationship drama than a healthy Christian marriage? There are several Christian authors who do this well, including Catherine West and Elizabeth Musser.

Having said that, I do think their are some authors and series who do a great job of depicting healthy Christian marriage. The classic is Janette Oke, with both the Love Comes Softly and the Canadian West series (serieses?). Another example is Karen Kingsbury with the everlasting novels about the ever-growing Baxter family.

Neither series depict perfect marriages (although the Baxter novels come melodramatically close), but that’s good: there is no perfect marriage. And perhaps that’s something our romance novels should make clear. But that’s a topic for another day.

What about you? What authors or novels do you think best illustrate a healthy Christian marriage? Why?