The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

I know that The Chronicles of Narnia are often considered Christian lit, and C.S. Lewis a Christian author. I'm not sure if they "Demonstrate The Importance Of Living A Faith Centered Life." Can anyone offer some guidance?

Also, I noticed that The Lord of the Rings seems to be on some of the Christian Fiction lists here on goodreads. Would that qualify for this task?

This one is a bit outside my comfort zone. Any help would be appreciated.

I know that they are considered Christian lit but I would agree..I'm not sure that they demonstrate the importance of living a faith centered life. I think with alot of CS Lewis fiction it is really about alot of symbols and allegories pertaining to Christian life. But I haven't read everything by him..so I have not a clue if it will work.

Would the Left behind series work for this task?

I'm going to have serious trouble with this one ... does anyone have any recommendations for anything that is not overly religious? I guess I need to look more for 'spiritual' than religious .... I have no idea where to begin!

I was wondering what to read for this task myself. I hope Narnia's okay, or at least couldn't I read the Gospels instead of Christian fiction? Please?

Katie wrote: "I know that The Chronicles of Narnia are often considered Christian lit, and C.S. Lewis a Christian author. I'm not sure if they "Demonstrate The Importance Of Living A Faith Centered Life." Can an..."

I was wondering about Narnia too...

I know that my friend is very religious and after we saw Prince Caspian she explained about how important it was that Lucy had faith that she saw Aslan and none of the others believed her. I don't remember exactly, since it's been a year or two, but the way she explained it, it definitely demonstrated the importance of living a faith centered life.

Would the The Vanishing Sculptor A Novel work? It is a Christian allegorical novel.


Also, what about Beyond the Reflection's Edge?

I have been waiting to read The Vanishing Sculptor as I really enjoyed her DragonKeeper series. If not that is fine, I haven't read some of the Hideaway series by Hannah Alexander either which I am pretty sure fit this task.

Would The Shack work for this?

I read a lot of Christian fiction as a teen and have found that it's either really good or vomitrociously bad and there's very little in-between, so even though I'd prefer to read something new to me instead of re-reading something from the past, I'm nervous about picking something not enjoyable.

Anyway, I absolutely love C.S. Lewis and have read quite a few of the things he's written (he wrote a lot more than the Chronicles of Narnia!!!) but I have never gotten around to reading his space trilogy, even though I’ve had them sitting on my bookshelf for 10 or 15 years. From my understanding, it’s very similar to a lot of the things Lewis wrote after his conversion to Christianity—so very allegorical.

I plan on reading the first book in this trilogy for the science fiction task, so my question is whether the second in the series, Perelandra by C.S. Lewis would count for this task?

I only ask for clarification because Lewis’s writing style isn’t anything like the gentle fiction that people characteristically think of as “Christian fiction", which is what the task seems to imply to me as its written. His books are quite a bit more philosophical and gritty...

A lot will depend on what Julie has in mind for this task, but The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis is absolutely fascinating as a heads up to others. I've recommended it to Christians and non-Christians alike and have had some absolutely amazing conversations afterwards. It's written in epistolary format with letters back and forth between two devils who are discussing the best way to tempt a Christian (a senior devil advising a junior devil). It's really short and I've read it at a few different points in my life, which provided some very unique perspectives...

Hello! Christian fiction is not a genre I am very familiar with. I would like to check and make sure that The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell would fit this task.

I really hope Narnia counts for this task. I only have The Last Battle left to complete my re-"read" on audio.

Beverly Lewis is definitely Christian fiction. I enjoyed her Heritage of Lancaster County series (The Shunning, The Confession, The Reckoning) much more than some of her others.

If you don't like preachy, I would suggest avoiding What a Girl Wants or anything else from that series by Kristin Billerbeck. I forced myself to finish this one, but it was painful.

Beth(MN), you taught me a new word today, and I LOVE it: vomitrociously. Oh, so descriptive!

Julie, would you count Traveling Mercies Some Thoughts on Faith ? I've not read it, and it's about writing as well as faith, so I'm not sure where it falls.

Also, if Julie approves them, I wholeheartedly agree with the C.S. Lewis recommendations for anyone who's looking.

Maybe this can help those of us who have no clue/inclination...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_...

Of course it's up to Julie to give the okay on them.

Thanks for all the recommendations, guys. Keep them coming. Those of you who are in-the-know are really helpful with genre tasks like this.

I like Ted Dekker's books that I have read

Jamie wrote: "Would the Left behind series work for this task? "

The Left Behind books are DEFINITELY going to work.

Someone needs to PM Julie and get her over here... ;) Does anyone know which Julie is the Kansas Julie?

Julie, would Chicken Soup for the Soul work - in any of its iterations?

Julie, I'd like to read

Zipporah, Wife of Moses A Novel by Marek Halter

I have this one on my shelf. I read his book, Sarah A Novel, several years ago, which I enjoyed.

"christian-fiction" shelf: http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show?s...
"christianfiction" shelf: http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show?s...

I've been meaning to watch the Love Comes Softly series of movies... so maybe I'll read Love Comes Softly by Janette Oke... Or this one looks like it might be interesting: The Measure of a Lady by Deeanne Gist. Ooh, actually a few of Deeanne Gist's look good... If you like romance novels... haha!

I'm just glad I live deep in the heart of Texas... Christian fiction novels are plentiful...

Here's another site for locating Christian fiction:

http://www.christianbook.com/

Julie, I was wondering whether The Screwtape Letters is acceptable for your task?

Thanks.

Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers is a Christian romance novel that appears to have been enjoyed by both Christians and non-Christians. It's a historical novel set during the time when gold-mining was just beginning in California. The main character feels lead by God to rescue a prostitute from her terrible life. She doesn't want his help and has suffered a really hard life and they become seperated several times during the book as she deals with her past issues. The main character talks to God throughout the book and asks for advice on how to help Angel, the girl, and this is the main "Christian" thing about the book - in my opinion, it wasn't preachy, but you have to accept that God will be mentioned.

If you want something shorter, Mark Rempel wrote a few teenage novels about a fictional school shooting and how it affected several Christian students - I'm guessing it was inspired by Columbine. I don't know how easy these books are to locate as I read them about six years ago!

Melody Carlson has written LOTS of Christian novels for both adults and teenagers and I think they're quite easy to locate as the ones listed here have lots of reviews. Again, they aren't preachy and just talk about how Christian men and women deal with issues in their lives.

Meg Harper wrote several childrens' novels about a girl who is the daughter of a female minister. The references to Christianity are quite basic, but they are there.

Kacy Barnett-Gramckow wrote three novels based on events in the book of Genesis in the Bible. I've only read the first but it was very well written.

Beverly Lewis has written many Amish novels, the most famous being The Shunning. There are a lot of other authors of Amish Christian fiction, but she's the only one I've read.

Hope this helps!

Crossing my fingers for Narnia! I have been wanting to read those for a while now!

Sara wrote: ""christian-fiction" shelf: http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show?s...
"christianfiction" shelf: http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show?s......"

I've only seen the first two of the Love Comes Softly movies, but I love them :)

Candace wrote: "Sara wrote: ""christian-fiction" shelf: http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show?s...
"christianfiction" shelf: http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show?s......"

I've never seen the movies, but I do like this series of books.

Katie wrote: "Candace wrote: "Sara wrote: ""christian-fiction" shelf: http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show?s...
"christianfiction" shelf: http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show..."

Maybe I'll read one of those books then since I'm flipped from you :) LOL

This is not one of my normal reading genres so I'm a little lost.

Is At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon ok for the task? Otherwise, it's going to be The Shack if Julie gives the thumbs up.

If you want a good cry and are ok with 9/11 fiction, One Tuesday Morning is a REALLY good book.

Heather in KS

Jennifer L. wrote: "This is not one of my normal reading genres so I'm a little lost.

Is At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon ok for the task? Otherwise, it's going to be The Shack if Juli..."

My mom loves the Mitford books and I'm pretty sure she's told me that they're Christian Fiction.

Jennifer L. wrote: "This is not one of my normal reading genres so I'm a little lost.

Is At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon ok for the task? Otherwise, it's going to be The Shack if Juli..."

I can't imagine why The Shack wouldn't work. It's fiction, the main character is Christian, Christian ideals play a major role, Jesus is actually in the book (personified), and it absolutely demonstrates the importance of living a faith centered life. Personally, I thought the writing was terrible, but if that won't bother you then go for it!

If you don't want anything that is too preachy, you may be interested in The Red Tent. It's the story of Dinah who is mentioned in the book of Genesis. I loved it. It can be considered for Christian and/ or Historical Fiction.

Would any book from the Steeple Hill (HQN) series work? Found a free Kindle book from that series. It's labelled religious fiction but not sure if it applies to a strong religious character. Dunno. The description for Steeple Hill is for characters displaying faith.

http://www.amazon.com/Homespun-Bride-...


Been so long since I had a lot of my Christian Fiction novels. And I /just/ finished a couple.

Melissa wrote: "If you don't want anything that is too preachy, you may be interested in The Red Tent. It's the story of Dinah who is mentioned in the book of Genesis. I loved it. It can be considered..."

Thank you! I already own that book, so that's what I'll use.

When you posted your favorite authors on the task, did you mean Janette Oke? I can't find anything on GR or at the library by Jeanette Oakes.

Lyn wrote: "When you posted your favorite authors on the task, did you mean Janette Oke? I can't find anything on GR or at the library by Jeanette Oakes."

I'm almost positive that's who she meant, Lyn. Janette Oke is a wildly popular Christian author who's been around for a long time. It’s been at least 15 years since I was “into” the Christian fiction scene but she was definitely one of the heavy-hitters in the genre at the time and still seems to be very popular.

Melissa wrote: "If you don't want anything that is too preachy, you may be interested in The Red Tent. It's the story of Dinah who is mentioned in the book of Genesis. I loved it. It can be considered..."

Aha! I have that one! Thanks, I'll be using that as well as Cait!

The Book of Samson or The Preservationist, both by David Maine should work for this also. (I think) :)

Jessica wrote: "The Book of Samson or The Preservationist, both by David Maine should work for this also. (I think) :)"

Yay, I have The Preservationist too!

For those who like YA, I was obsessed with the Christy Miller series by Robin Jones Gunn as a teenager. :)

Rachel - TY!!! I have been trying to remember the name of a series I read. Christy Miller remined me of Christy by Catherine Marshall.

Beth(MN), The Screwtape Letters does look really interesting. I think that's what I've settled on. Thanks for the recommendation.

So...how should an atheist approach this challenge? I'm not, but it seems interesting to me that the directions to read "Christian Fiction" about a "Faith-Centered Life" are not mutually exclusive.

Sam wrote: "So...how should an atheist approach this challenge? I'm not, but it seems interesting to me that the directions to read "Christian Fiction" about a "Faith-Centered Life" are not mutually exclusive. "

I was wondering about this too, Sam. I'd really like to use The Battersea Park Road to Enlightenment which is about faith and living a faith-centered life, but it's not about Christianity.

Sam wrote: "So...how should an atheist approach this challenge? I'm not, but it seems interesting to me that the directions to read "Christian Fiction" about a "Faith-Centered Life" are not mutually exclusive. "

I agree.

The God Cookie A Novel my library lists this as christian fiction, it sounds like a good way for me to branch into this genre, is this okay

Amanda wrote: "Katie wrote: "Sam wrote: "So...how should an atheist approach this challenge? I'm not, but it seems interesting to me that the directions to read "Christian Fiction" about a "Faith-Centered Life" a..."

Any other suggestions? I've already read those.

Katie wrote: "Sam wrote: "I was wondering about this too, Sam. I'd really like to use The Battersea Park Road to Enlightenment which is about faith and living a faith-centered life, but it's not about Christianity. "

I saw "Faith-Centered Life" before "Christian Fiction" and thought, "Ooh...Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

Sam wrote: "So...how should an atheist approach this challenge? I'm not, but it seems interesting to me that the directions to read "Christian Fiction" about a "Faith-Centered Life" are not mutually exclusive. "

The fact that they aren’t mutually exclusive is exactly why I’m questioning whether I can read C.S. Lewis or not.

But if Lewis is approved by Julie, I would absolutely recommend The Screwtape Letters to anyone who feels a bit iffy about reading Christian fiction. C.S. Lewis was a self-proclaimed atheist for years before his conversion to Christianity, which I think gives even his Christian writings a unique twist.

I'd love to get a ruling from Julie about using any of these three books. I think a couple of them have been mentioned in this thread, but I haven't seen a response yet. Thanks!

The Sparrow
Traveling Mercies Some Thoughts on Faith
Plan B Further Thoughts on Faith
--or--
The Dance of the Dissident Daughter

Amanda wrote: "Katie wrote: "Sam wrote: "So...how should an atheist approach this challenge? I'm not, but it seems interesting to me that the directions to read "Christian Fiction" about a "Faith-Centered Life" a..."

Here's my question: If these books aren't about Jesus or the Bible, how to we know they're Christian fiction? Why not call them spiritual fiction? Doesn't the word Christian imply a theological specificity beyond an allegory about faith or good living? Is it just because the author identifies as a Christian?