Dominion Family

Mon 23 Oct 2006

20 Comments

1. You didn’t specify if they had to be modern or not…I think George MacDonald was so creative. We like both his children’s fiction and that for older readers, too, though I prefer the original, not the modern edited versions. It does make me sad that he rebelled against his Scottish Presbyterian upbringing and became a bit strange in some of his theology, so some things he wrote must be read with caution (though that’s true of any book).

   Speaking of links, I still think you ought to have an affiliate link with Amazon, as you are one of the most convincing people when it comes to recommending books.

   Comment by Carmon (October 23, 2006 @ 10:55 am )

2. I clicked the comment link ready to make a recommendation only to realize I can’t think of anything to recommend. But I am eager to see what everyone else says, so I can make a nice list

   Oh, and I don’t know if it was you, Cindy, or if it was Carmon who recommended Peace Like a River, but I just started it and am in love.

   Comment by lady laura (October 23, 2006 @ 11:31 am )

3. I enjoyed Parker Hudson’s The President very much and my daughters have all enjoyed it. Here’s a link.

   http://www.amazon.com/President-Parker-Hudson/dp/0880708468/sr=1-3/qid=1161626952/ref=pd_bbs_3/102-8250295-7227364?ie=UTF8&s=books

   Comment by Dana (October 23, 2006 @ 1:10 pm )

4. Jamie Langston Turner is a wonderful Christian fiction writer. She writes about real people and real problems but not in a “expose all the dirt” way. She’s very thoughtful and teaches truth through her characters.

   A bonus to her writing - I always want to start a book and poetry list as I’m reading because she mentions so many!

   Comment by Juanita (October 23, 2006 @ 1:59 pm )

5. A clarification - I changed my blog address a few months ago but the old one still showed up in the automatic entry. Now it should be right.

   Comment by Juanita (October 23, 2006 @ 2:00 pm )

6. Tennessee is not as pretty this afternoon as it was this morning.

   Comment by Tim (October 23, 2006 @ 4:37 pm )

7. Donna Fletcher Crow who wrote “The Fields of Bannockburn” as well as other historical fiction and, of course, Jan Karon.

   Aw, Tim, ain’t that sweet?

   Comment by Linda (October 23, 2006 @ 5:30 pm )

8. I like George Macdonald very much and almost bought a complete set of his original writings for $200.00 at a barn in Stasburg,Pa.

   I agree that George was reacting against Hyper-Calvinism. It is funny that George is somewhat responsible for this spate of Christian fiction. I don’t think there was such a genre 25 years ago when his books were being republished.

   I got sick of Christian fiction after about 4 Thoene books.

   Donna Fletcher Crow is on my to-read list.

   Comment by Cindy (October 23, 2006 @ 6:22 pm )

9. PS. Thanks for the kind words, Tim.

   Comment by Cindy (October 23, 2006 @ 6:23 pm )

10. That was so sweet, Tim. I’m going to have to get my sons to read this blog…maybe it will give them some ideas.:-) Of course it may be the quality of the mom.:-)

    Comment by Patti (October 23, 2006 @ 10:52 pm )

11. I’ve heard Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson is good (it comes highly recommended out here) but I haven’t read it yet so I feel sorta like I’m cheating by naming her.
    Flannery O’Connor is ‘good’ but I wouldn’t say she’s enjoyable.
    Dorothy Sayers is plain cool, but you know this already.

    See y’all soon!

    Comment by Michelle (October 23, 2006 @ 11:07 pm )

12. Michelle,
    Timothy is reading O’Connor now. He asked me what I thought of her and I just don’t know. I think I am a few IQ points away from ‘getting’ her.

    I read Gilead by Marilyn Robinson but our library doesn’t carry Housekeeping so I haven’t read it yet. I thought Gilead was good but not great.

    Comment by Cindy (October 24, 2006 @ 6:33 am )

13. Francine Rivers. (though I have to be in the right mood to read her stuff) She really gets down in the nitty gritty of the trenches and deals with thorny issues in today’s world, including the way “Christians” react. But you can trust her to do the right thing in the end even if her characters wonder what he right thing is in the course of the book.

    Comment by my Boaz's Ruth (October 24, 2006 @ 9:27 am )

14. Athol Dickson’s RIver Rising is a great book, and I must second the nomination for Jamie Langston Turner. I just read her book WInter BIrds, and I am quite impressed.

    Reviews here for WInter Birds and here for RIver Rising.

    Comment by Sherry (October 24, 2006 @ 9:51 am )

15. I think O’Connor is more of an aquiered taste. Honestly, I enjoy the settings of her stories and her descriptions. She writes about characters from the country, or ones who live in the country. Since I haven’t read very many modern authors who have done that, I’ve enjoyed it a lot.

    Francine Rivers is actually pretty good. I read her Mark of the Lion series a long time ago, and I remember liking it. Maybe now that I’m an ‘academic snob’ I wouldn’t like it so much, but hopefully I would.

    Comment by Michelle (October 24, 2006 @ 10:19 am )

16. I very rarely read Christian fiction, but I have enjoyed Elisabeth Prentiss. Though not nearly as well known, she did write other books besides ‘Stepping Heavenward’. I have read a few Isabella Alden titles and though light reading, still enjoyable. I think like Mr. MacDonald, the theology in the books by both of these ladies isn’t always perfect, so I read with that in mind. Can I count Douglas Bond? I know his ‘Crown and Covenant’ series was written for kids, but I thoroughly enjoyed each of the three titles as I read them to my boys.

    Comment by Lisa W. (October 24, 2006 @ 10:37 am )

17. I, how could I forget!? One of the most enjoyable fiction books I’ve read was printed in the ‘Focus on the Family Great Stories’ series edited by Joe Wheeler, who also chose the short stories for the ‘Great Stories Remembered’ and ‘Christmas in My Heart’ book series. (Though I’m not a fan of Focus on the Family, I have thoroughly enjoyed the stories in these books.) It is called ‘The Twenty-Fourth of June’ by Grace Richmond. I don’t believe it’s in print any longer, but Amazon has several inexpensive used copies available. Enjoy!

    Comment by Lisa W. (October 24, 2006 @ 10:59 am )

18. Thanks, Lisa,
    I think we have that book but I don’t remember actually reading it. I will take a look next month when we get out the Christmas books.

    Comment by Cindy (October 24, 2006 @ 11:33 am )

19. Next month?????????? Christmas books?????????????? I can’t believe it’s coming up so quickly! And you want us to lighten up?

    Comment by Linda (October 24, 2006 @ 4:06 pm )

20. Graham Greene, Walter Wangerin Jr., Joy Kogawa.

    Joy Kogawa info: http://www.abcbookworld.com/?state=view_author&author_id=3755

    Comment by Mama Squirrel (November 27, 2006 @ 1:05 pm )

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