Christian Goodreaders discussion
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Common reads
All the best with your knee replacement, Mike. Praying everything goes smoothly.
Werner, perhaps the reason there's been little interest in Francine Rivers for a group read is because she is so popular. A lot of us have already read her books. I went through a stage of reading them, but I've moved on and don't have any inclination to return to her writing.
I've only read a few of Francine Rivers books and would love to read another one. I also have Ben-Hur on my list to read.
I agree- I don't participate in group reads because I am a painfully slow reader who does not want to slow everyone else down. However, I often follow polls and such to get ideas for what I might want to keep in mind for my next read. (Is it really bad that I didn't realize Ben Hur was a book before it was s movie?) Prayers for a successful surgery, Mike!
Janelle wrote: "Werner, perhaps the reason there's been little interest in Francine Rivers for a group read is because she is so popular. A lot of us have already read her books. I went through a stage of reading ..."Janelle, thanks for sharing your perspective; I'd never thought of it from that angle. It stands to reason that a popular author who's been writing for decades would be likely to have been read by more people than a less prominent one; and if it's important to you that the book chosen be one you haven't read before, I could see why you wouldn't be interested in choosing anything by her. (My own attitude is that it's fine to take part in a group discussion of a book you've already read --having some more seasoned readers in the discussion sharing their retrospective thoughts just makes the conversation more interesting-- and you wouldn't have to reread the book to do that, unless you can't remember it well enough.) As Jessica's comment shows, though, there are also a lot of readers out there who haven't read all of Rivers' work, and in some cases none of it. Members of this group are of a wide range in ages --teens to senior citizens-- and at all different stages in their familiarity with the world of books; and the sheer, vast volume of books out there ensures that there are many authors, even very popular ones, whose work a lot of readers haven't sampled yet, even after decades of reading. (I'm 65, and Rivers would still be a new-to-me author.)
T. C. wrote: "I don't participate in group reads because I am a painfully slow reader who does not want to slow everyone else down." T. C., for whatever it's worth, it takes me awhile to get through a book too --I can read at a reasonable speed when I have time to do it, but I can't allot much time in a typical day to do it. My view of the matter, where common reads are concerned, is that we have a whole month to do it, and it's normal to expect everyone will read at different rates. Since Goodreads invented spoiler tags to hide spoilerish comments unless the reader clicks on them, the slower reading of some needn't inhibit the faster readers' discussions at all. That's just a thought to consider! (And I'd bet that a LOT of modern readers aren't aware that the movie Ben Hur was adapted from a book.)
Jessica, is there a particular book by Rivers you'd like to read next? (For the poll, I'm thinking that it would be a good idea to narrow the Rivers selections down to one, so that the "Rivers vote" (if there is such a phenomenon! :-) ) isn't unfairly scattered among multiple choices.
I think Redeeming Love or Atonement Child sound like good choices for Francine Rivers books. Redeeming Love, as the title suggests, focuses on the ability of God's love and His love through others to fix our brokenness. Atonement Child would be relevant to current political/moral issues regarding abortion.
Werner, I'm happy to reread books, if we chose Ben Hur it would be a reread for me. It just so happens that I'm not interested in reading more books by Francine Rivers, although this in no way indicates a lack of respect for her books. There are many good reasons why she is so popular.I'm pleased to see that Jessica is keen to read her books and has put forward two good suggestions. I've read Redeeming Love so if that's chosen I will probably join in the conversation. I haven't read Atonement Child.
If we include Ben Hur/Quo Vadis and one of River's books in the poll, will there be a third book to choose from? I was thinking it might be nice to include a non fiction book. I was browsing my to read shelf for ideas, but I don't know what authors people are likely to have access to.
Yes, Janelle, I'd be glad to have a third book in the poll, and glad to have a nonfiction option. (We've done common reads of both, though in most years we've done nonfiction.) In the digital age, access to a wide range of books through interlibrary loan is easier than it used to be; books by authors who've been published by large, established presses, that command notice from the reviewing venues that librarians generally look at, tend to be fairly easy for most people to get, at least here in the U.S.
I've got hundreds of non fiction Christian books on my to read list. Are there some specific topics people might be interested in?
Janelle wrote: "I've got hundreds of non fiction Christian books on my to read list. Are there some specific topics people might be interested in?"In today's world, for Christians concerned about living faithfully as children of God, two of the most crucial topics are respect for human life, and how we are to live as sexual beings whose sexuality is a gift of God and intended to fit into His plan. Both of these are areas where the church, IMO, has often failed in its teaching ministry; but serious books by responsible and faithful Christian teachers can be an important aspect of that ministry. The growing worldwide persecution of Christians, our response to issues of race and gender, economic justice, and environmental stewardship are also important topics (at least, to me personally).
On the other hand, all of the above are definitely heavy topics, many of which involve areas of potential controversy even in the church (which is both a cause and an effect of the unwillingness of most churches to discuss them), and in some cases, such as the persecution of Christians, certainly depressing. It's been suggested on this thread before that, when on Goodreads, many people prefer to gravitate towards lighter and less controversial discussions. (That might also be an argument for preferring Redeeming Love over Atonement Child.)
What do the rest of you folks think?
I'm sure I have books on my shelves that would cover what you've mentioned, Werner. I will be interested to hear what others in the group think. Of course, we don't have to include a non fiction book from my to read shelf. It's just a good resource for me to use in making a suggestion for the poll.
Janelle, I think all of use our to-read shelves as a resource for suggesting group reads! With 1,384 books on it, yours would offer much better pickings than mine, with a comparatively measly 390 (though a certain number of those are Christian nonfiction as well). I ran a "compare books" program on our bookshelves earlier this week, to see if the Christian nonfiction listings on our to-read shelves overlapped anywhere, but they don't appear to.Another shelf I have that could be a resource for suggesting books is my "to reread" shelf. That only has 20 books on it, but a half dozen of those are Christian nonfiction.
Werner, I'm surprised our Christian nonfiction shelves don't overlap somewhere, but I guess that does broaden our resources. :) I went through my shelves yesterday and came up with a shortlist of books I thought might suit the group. Of course, I may be off target, or other folks may have better suggestions.
Here's my list:
A Place of Healing: Wrestling with the Mysteries of Suffering, Pain, and God's Sovereignty
Little Black Sheep: A Memoir
The Truest Thing about You: Identity, Desire, and Why It All Matters
Glorious Mess: Encountering God's Relentless Grace for Imperfect People
Fully Alive: A Biblical Vision of Gender That Frees Men and Women to Live Beyond Stereotypes
The Question That Never Goes Away
AHA: The God Moment That Changes Everything
I guess my shortlist looks rather long, but I do have a lot of books on my shelves!
Just now, I drafted a shortlist of my own from my to-read and to-reread shelves, and came up with four books. Maybe this list can supplement Jenelle's as a source of ideas:Heretics by G. K. Chesterton.
Natural Theology (1802) by William Paley.
Oneness Embraced: Through the Eyes of Tony Evans. (This one was recommended by our fellow group member Jonathan as good reading for Christian reflection on racial issues and reconciliation.)
Life is a Miracle: An Essay Against Modern Superstition by Wendell Berry. (This is the only one I pulled from my to-reread shelf; I've read it twice since the BC library got a copy, but it's short, and I'd be glad to read it again.)
I have Heretics on my DNF shelf, but I'd be willing to take another shot at it if it's chosen.
Both Janelle and I, I think, are basically tossing out suggestions to see if any of them "catch fire;" so if any of you folks reading this discussion have an interest in any of the titles suggested --or one to suggest yourself!-- be sure to speak up. We need your input!I'll add three titles from my "read' shelf that I think are enormously important works that can be helpful to us in our individual and common lives. (Though I rarely reread books, I'd be willing to take part in a read of any of these if the group picks it, so that my contribution to our discussion can be based on a fresh reading!)
The Problem of Wineskins: Church Structure in a Technological Age (1975) by Howard Snyder. (He updated this book with a sequel in 1996, Radical Renewal: The Problem of Wineskins Today; I'd also be willing to read that one.)
The Purpose Driven Church: Every Church Is Big in God's Eyes by Rick Warren.
Toward Understanding the Bible by Perry Yoder.
Exactly Werner, just trying to get an idea of what folks might be interested in.
I have A Place of Healing on my list. Not that that makes it a big recommendation, but it is one I know I cal easily get a hold of.
I have Josh McDowell's "God-Breathed: The Undeniable Power and Reliability of Scripture" but haven't gotten around to reading it yet.
Here's the link to the Goodreads description for the book Betty just mentioned: God-Breathed: The Undeniable Power and Reliability of Scripture. I've read (back in the early 70s) and really liked McDowell's more comprehensive study of Christian evidences, Evidence That Demands a Verdict (he updated it in 1999 with a newer version, The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict: Fully Updated). IMO, any of these books would be good resources for Christians who want and need to understand (and ideally, this is something ALL Christians need to understand!) that our faith isn't something we believe arbitrarily and blindly, just because it's the thing to do in our sub-culture.
God breathed is on my to read shelf too
It seems that God-breathed has drawn the most interest of any nonfiction that's been suggested. So, for the poll, would everybody be happy with this line-up: Ben Hur, God-breathed, and Redeeming Love? I'm hoping to post the poll sometime tomorrow.
Sounds like a good list Werner. I hope we have plenty of readers join in this year.
Okay, the poll is up, at this link: https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/1... . I've set it to run through Oct. 15, and I'll be sending out a general invitation to group members to vote later today. Yes, I too am hoping for a lot of participation this year!
Glad to hear that, Ron! It looks like several people have voted since the general invitation went out.It appears that God-Breathed has a study guide published as a separate book; a question was raised as to whether, if the group picks the book itself for a read, participants are also expected to read the study guide. I would say no. Our discussion will not be a systematic, formal study led by a teacher, and IMO shouldn't require a study guide. It will just be a friendly, informal exchange of our personal impressions from our own reading.
I'm anxious to see that result too, Marlene! (At the moment, Ben Hur is in the lead, but the lead has changed more than once so far.) We've already had more votes on this poll than on any similar one we've taken since our group started doing common reads, back in 2013.
I think we have a great line up of books to choose from this year, Werner. When will the poll close? I'm eager for the results too.
Janelle wrote: "I think we have a great line up of books to choose from this year, Werner. When will the poll close? I'm eager for the results too."The poll closes at the very end of the day on Sunday, Oct. 15, at midnight (or technically at the very beginning of Monday, Oct. 16, depending on how you look at it --it's sort of like the Celtic idea of the "time between times" :-) ) I always try to run polls for two weekends, since I think voting is usually heaviest on weekends.
That makes sense, Werner. Most people have a little more free time on weekends.
Janelle wrote: "That makes sense, Werner. Most people have a little more free time on weekends."That was my thought too, Janelle.
We've had our strongest response ever to a poll with this one, with 48 votes cast. Voting was also relatively close, especially at first; and even at the end, the first and last place finishers were only six votes apart. But Ben Hur is the clear winner, with 19 votes. (God-Breathed garnered 16 votes, and Redeeming Love 13.) I'm looking forward to the read, and will hope to have the discussion thread up on Nov. 1.
Thanks for the update, Werner. I hope lots of people participate in the read.
Janelle wrote: "Thanks for the update, Werner. I hope lots of people participate in the read."You're welcome, Janelle! I hope so too.
I did not vote, but I've been lurking/watching. I am interested in reading Ben Hur. How does one participate in the book club conversation? What will the expectations be?
Tom, good questions! There aren't many expectations (and most group members usually don't participate in the reads, though those of us who do typically find them rewarding). All you need to do is read the chosen book during the month of November. I'll try to get a discussion thread going on Nov. 1 (I can post the link here, if that would helpful), and if you have any comments, questions, insights, background information, etc. that you want to share as you read, just post them there. And if you review the book when you finish reading it, you could post a link to your review on that same thread. Hope that helps!
After some discussion between ourselves, occasioned by experiences in a couple of other groups, Banner and I have agreed to set a new policy for our group's common reads. Books written by group members will not be considered for these, and will not be put in the polls. Author promotions in the appropriate folder are fine and encouraged (I'm an author myself!); but involving group-member authors in the common reads process opens the door to too many abuses and problems. (There's never been such an occasion in this group, but we'd like to prevent the possibility.)If authors want to offer free electronic or paper copies of their books to group members, that's fine! However, those who do this should handle the distribution of these copies themselves. (The group moderators will not take on the responsibility.) It's also fine for authors, as well as other group members, to use the new "Buddy reads?" thread, here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... , to suggest and arrange buddy reads of books, whether they're written by group members or not.
One group has a separate thread for group and group reads by authors who are members of the group. That sets up 2 separate group reads of course but people still choose whether to participate or not.
Mike (the Paladin) wrote: "One group has a separate thread for group and group reads by authors who are members of the group. That sets up 2 separate group reads of course but people still choose whether to participate or not."Just to clarify, the "Buddy reads?" thread is for group members to use for suggesting and arranging informal shared reads that don't involve the whole group, and don't go through the polling process. They don't HAVE to be reads of books by authors who are members of the group, though they can be. (We felt that allowed our author members some legitimate leeway.) They may just be books that don't interest the whole group, but interest some people. This thread, on the other hand, is for suggesting books for our annual formal common read in November. And yes, participation in either kind of read is strictly voluntary!
Given the timing of our annual group common read for November, I usually try to start serious brainstorming about what to read at the beginning of September. Because of some disruption in my schedule this weekend (long story!) I thought that this year I'd kick it off a day early.One nonfiction book that I'll toss into the ring as a possibility is Life is a Miracle: An Essay Against Modern Superstition by Wendell Berry, who's a very perceptive Christian writer and thinker. This particular book isn't explicitly Christian --it's a critique of philosophical materialism, based just on general revelation-- but of course it's written from a Christian standpoint; and it's a quick read. I've read it twice, but would be willing to read it again.
I would like to (if I may of course) suggest we consider Making Room: Living with One Another in Our True Humanity
.I know Linda she's a senior pastor in our denomination. I've not read all this as it's a series of articles she has written over time (I get them as they come out, LOL so I haven't read them in book form yet.
I plan to get the book to of course but the writings are uplifting and usually thought provoking.
Mike, you certainly may make a suggestion(s); anybody in the group can! (That's the whole idea of brainstorming. :-) )I only see one problem with Making Room, but it's a major one. The book was just published last month. Even if some libraries acquire it that quickly, the vast majority of them aren't going to want to lend it by interlibrary loan that soon. It would be more accessible if we opted for it next year, and went with a less recently published title this time around. Just my opinion!
Okay. Yeah for now most would have to buy it I suppose.
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Okay, I was misusing a term, apparently! I meant the lady had both knees replaced --not necessarily that they were both replaced in the same procedure, or simultaneously. In her case, I don't know exactly how her doctors arranged the timing.