To be read, to be loved, to be missed

My TBR(To Be Read) pile is growing. Especially in my Pandigital Novel e-reader and my print book pile. Below is the list of books I will be reading and reviewing pretty soon. Have a list compiled too? Share that list here!

Nonfiction

Miracles Are For Real, James L. Garlow and Keith Wall

 

The Essential Guide to Healing, Bill Johnson and Randy Clark

Growing Up Amish, Ira Wagler

Managing God’s Money, Randy Alcorn

If God is Good, Randy Alcorn

I Love Everybody(And Other Atrocious Lies), Laurie Notaro

Fiction

Fools Rush In, Janice Thompson

Halflings, Heather Burch

My Soul To Take, Tananarive Due

Shadow Walker, L.A. Banks

*This completes the list of books I hope to finish before the end of winter 2012. They seem to be pretty decent titles and I love how it is a mixture of self-help, intriguing, fiction, and refreshingly real biographies. Can’t wait.

On a sad note, I just read a sample of Shadow Walker by L.A. Banks and thoroughly enjoyed those sixty pages written with such description and clarity, I felt I was a part of the Neteru Academy. However, after browsing the web for this author I learn that she has passed away last year due to Adrenal Cancer…this kicked me in the gut because when I first learned about Octavia E. Butler in 2007 I find out she passed away the year before and again it was a kick in the stomach as if I knew these two African American women as close friends.

Their words live on in their stories.

Free e-books disguised as christian literature makes readers see red

Microsoft Images

In the words of Sophia Petrillo(from Golden Girls): “Picture it. It’s 2011 and you created a nifty e-book to reach all people not just the Christians of the world and you even make it dirt cheap or free and then you wait.”

And wait.

The reviews pour in and people are handing out the one stars like the hand stamps from Chuck E. Cheese.

What happened?

Mike Duran, author of The Resurrection, have posed a great question: Are we deceiving readers when we do not specifically label that the book has a Christian worldview? Amazon reviews threw out every bad comment they could, ranging in intensity from “I wish they’d label their stuff” to “Why read this drivel about subservient women?” The posts get longer and more vicious. (Continue reading on Examiner.com).

*Okay, so I’ll be nice and give my own personal thoughts about the issue here. Obviously if you’re reading this blog you either like reading, writing, or just enjoy staying informed. Kudos! Me too!

• As a writer, I believe in “just telling my story” this means I may have a hidden intent for my characters, however once the ball gets rolling, readers are usually smart enough to come up with their own conclusions.
• Given the first point, if your conclusion is based upon your own worldview as a reader then you will run across several problems. Namely the book’s protagonist/antagonist not matching what you thought should happen. Which leads to,
• My final point is that even Christians who read “other” books give a fair review. For instance, I spoke with a Christian woman last year who said she enjoyed reading The Hunger Games and I shared with her that I love Octavia E. Butler’s Xenogenesis series. However, the woman kindly said the book was hard to put down and will not let her children see the movie because it tends to have questionable elements. Fair enough.

So, why can’t we all just…read along and enjoy the story?

Have you read something that went against your own worldview but you gave it a great review anyway because the structure and story was awesome?

I’d love for you to share that and your opinions here!

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Until next time…