Faith 'N Fiction

Today's Topic: One of area of Christian fiction that is thriving is Biblical Fiction. Biblical fiction, in case you don't know, is when an author takes a story from the Bible and imagines more of the details. Tosca Lee's Havah would be a recent example of Biblical fiction. What I want to know today is how you feel about Biblical fiction. Have you ever read any Biblical fiction? Did you enjoy it? Do you think Biblical fiction helps us to understand people who lived during Biblical times better or do you think that it's unnecessary? Have you ever read any Biblical fiction that offended you?

I have read and enjoyed Biblical fiction over the years. So far I have not come across anything that has offended me, but that could be because I am careful about what I choose to read. I do believe it has a place and does help bring to life how people lived during those times if it is done correctly. Some of my favorites are:
Two From Galilee by Marjorie Holmes
Sons Of Encouragement: Five Men Who Quietly Changed Eternity By Francine Rivers
The Lineage of Grace Series By Francine Rivers
Mark of the Lion Series by Francine Rivers

Faith 'N Fiction Saturday

Today's Discussion: I( My Friend Amy) was reading over at Novel Journey the other day (a great blog, by the way!) and this post caught my eye and just really really grabbed at the heart of what I think is the conflict around "preachy" Christian fiction. So I'm going to take this quote from the quote in the post, and ask you to share your thoughts about this topic.

"Too many Christians think we are supposed to use the arts to give people the answers. We’re not. We’re supposed to use the arts to lead them into a question."
Barbara Nicolosi

What do you think? Do you think Christian fiction should provide answers or lead us to questions?

I enjoy christian fiction books that get their message across in a realistic and relatable way rather than feeling like I am being hit over the head with it. Sometimes that may raise questions that challenge me not only to think but to grow and change for the better. Other times it may just be an entertaining story that allows a few hours of escape.

Faith 'N Fiction Saturday

This week Amy asks:
You have a good friend who is a devoted Christian and voracious reader. He or she, however, tried to read a Christian fiction book in the past and found it to be too preachy and unrealistic. Your friend wants to try it again and has asked you for a recommendation. Their favorite genre of book is what is considered literary fiction. What book would you recommend to them?

You also have a friend who is not a Christian but wants to read fiction that is considered clean without being too Christian. They have asked you if there are Christian fiction books that might meet their reading needs. They are interested in romance and novels. What book would you recommend to them?

Hmmmm literary fiction throws me a bit. Can't think of a book that would fit. But for a friend that wants to try Christian fiction again I would recommend anything by Brandilynn Collins, Ted Dekker, the "Try" series by James Scott Bell or The Patrick Bowers Files by Steven James.

For a friend who wants to read a good clean romance I would recommend the Daughter of Boston series by Julie Lessman, The O'Malley series by Dee Henderson, anything by Cathy Marie Hake, or the Nobel Legacy series by Susan May Warren.

Looking forward to everyone's recommendation.

Faith 'N Fiction

My Friend Amy hosts this weekly carnival. This week she asks: One thing we share in common is a love of books. I know there are participants of Faith 'n Fiction Saturdays that read over 200 books a year! But while we may read a lot of books, only a few books in our lifetimes are special enough that we would never part with them, always recommend them, and maybe even reread them.

So...what fiction books with faith elements are on your keeper shelf? Please keep your answers to no more than 5 books!

This is a great question, but it is also hard to choose only 5!! I will cheat a bit as well and count a series as one!

The O'Malley series by Dee Henderson - these books got me reading more Christian fiction because they were good without being "preachy"

Courting Trouble by Deanne Gist - love Essie and her spirit

The Mark of The Lion series by Francine Rivers - I could not put these books down

A Passion Most Pure by Julie Lessman - I have recommend this book to many and they have not been disappointed

The Mitford series by Jan Karon - Fell in love with Father Tim, Dooley, Cynthia & Barnabas!

Faith 'N Fiction Saturday

Today's Question:
There are a lot of great new books being published in 2009! But which ones are you the most excited about? Please pick some Christian fiction books you are excited to read this year and tell us all about them! But just to give this a little twist...be sure to visit everyone else's posts and find some books you might be interested in reading as well that are different from your picks! It will come in handy for a fun bonus question next week!
There are so many books coming out this year that I am looking forward to reading, a few of them are:

A Passion Denied by Julie Lessman

She's In a Better Place by Angela Hunt
Exposure by Brandilyn Collins

The Apothecary's Daughter by Julie Klassen

How Do I Love Thee? by Nancy Moser

Maggie Rose by Sharlene MacLaren
Yesterday's Embers

Faith 'N Fiction Saturday

My Friend Amy asks:

What are your reading goals for the new year?
I signed up for many reading challenges this year mostly to get out of my reading comfort zone and experience other genres.

Do you have plans to read through the Bible or complete any Bible studies? I am right in the middle of Beth Moore's To Live Is Christ. Also participating in a read through the Bible with a few ladies from my church.

Do you hope to expand your reading horizons or reread some old favorites?
As stated, many of the reading challenges I signed up for are to expand my reading horizons.

Do you want to read more fiction or non-fiction?
Every year I plan to read more non-fiction, but never do so I am not going to make it a goal and see what happens.

Do you want to increase the amount of Christian fiction you read? Last year I read a nice mix and have no plans to increase one or the other.

Do you have any goals for reading as it relates to your blog?
To review more of the books I read.

Faith 'N Fiction Saturday

This week My Friend Amy asks, "...what are your favorite Christian fiction books that you read this year? You can compile your list anyway you like, by genre, ranking, or a favorite book of each month. Be as creative as you like the only requirements are that you read the books this year and that they are Christian fiction."
January - March
Perfecting Kate By Tamara Leigh
Splitting Harriet by Tamara Leigh
Just Jane by Nancy Moser
Catch A Rising Star by Tracy Bateman
April
Fancy Pants by Cathy Marie Hake
Crimson Eve by Brandilyn Collins Kanner Lakes series
May
Courting Trouble by Deeanne Gist
June
The Measure of A Lady by Deeanne Gist
July
Remember to Forget by Deborah Raney
A Passion Most Pure by Julie Lessman
Ever Present Danger by Kathy Herman
August
A Slender Thread by Tracie Peterson
Embrace Me by Lisa Samson
November
Candle in the Darkness by Lynn Austin
Anathema by Colleen Coble
A Promise To Remember by Kathryn Cushman
December
The Mark of the Lion series by Francine Rivers

If I had to pick one favorite this year it would be A Passion Most Pure! I loved, loved this book! I have recommended it to many others and they have loved it just as much (even those who normally don't like historical fiction).

New to me authors this year were Nancy Moser, Lynn Austin, and Julie Lessman.

What are some of your favorites?

Faith 'N Fiction Saturday

My Friend Amy hosts Faith 'n Fiction Saturday where we get together and talk about our love for Christian fiction.

It's Christmas time and one of my favorite things to do is read Christmas themed books. Do you enjoy reading holiday themed books? Do you have any special book you read every year? Do you have a special devotional you like to use? (not fiction..I know!) Have you read any good Christmas books this year?

Normally, I don't set out to read Christmas themed books, its more hit or miss. If one of my favorite authors has a Christmas themed book that comes out, I usually will pick it up. I do enjoy reading them but with all the other books on my TBR list, I don't purposely search them out.

A couple of my favorite themed books are The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Debbie Macomber's Surely, Goodness and Mercy series and How the Grinch stole Christmas. When the kids were younger, we always had an Advent devotional going to keep their little minds focused on what we were really celebrating.

Faith 'N Fiction Saturday

My Friend Amy hosts this weekly discussion and today's question is inspired by a conversation Lilly started over at Book Blogs. What do you think about labeling books as Christian fiction? As you know, the range of spiritual content in Christian books varies tremendously. Some books barely even mention God while others use a lot of Scripture. Do you think Christian fiction books should be in a separate section of the bookstore or library? Do you think this limits who might read these books? Do you have any idea of how they could be arranged differently? And a little off topic but do you have a preference about whether or not books have a lot of spiritual content or only a little?

My library has a large section of inspirational fiction off by itself. I have noticed that some authors(Francine Rivers, Angela Hunt, Karen Kingsbury, Frank Peretti, Thones & Left Behind books) are in with the "regular" fiction books(they do have a inspirational sticker on the spines)as well as in the inspirational fiction section. I like the section by itself because it helps me when looking for specific books, but do feel that many great books are being overlooked under the label of "inspirational" with many not knowing that they are great books without being too preachy. My library has a section of new fiction that does not have the new inspirational fiction releases included. I would like to see that changed as I notice many patrons go right to the new fiction section first.

I do not have a preference on christian fiction containing a lot or little spiritual content. I'm more concerned about the content of explicit s*x, language, and violence.

Faith 'n Fiction Saturday

I am a little late getting to today's question for the Faith-n-Fiction Saturday.

Today's Question:
We've been blessed to finally start seeing some of our favorite Christian books come to life on film. So far, these have been largely low budget films, but they generally get the heart of the books across. But my question for you is...if you had an unlimited budget, what Christian fiction book would you like to see made into a film? Who would you cast in the main roles? Would you have a preference on director? Any songs you'd like to see on the soundtrack?

There are very few adaptations from book movies that I have liked. If there are too many changes, even though I understand that things need to be condensed, I get mad. If they change sequence of events, add to the story or totally mess with the original story, I am so disappointed. Therefore, I would not choose any of my all time favorites to be made into a movie. I would rather watch a movie and then read the book than vice versa.

Check out what books other would love to see made into movies at My Friend Amy's.

Saturday Christian Fiction Carnival

My Friend Amy hosts this weekly carnival.

Whether or not you celebrate Halloween, there's something about the shorter days and chilly air that makes one want to curl up with a scary book. The horror market for Christian fiction is growing in creativity and testing all sorts of boundaries. The suspense market is also very rich with many talented authors.

So my question(s) for you is...what's the best Christian fiction horror or suspense novel that you've read? What book would you recommend to someone who wanted to try out these genres? What's a book in these genres you want to read but haven't yet?

I read a lot of suspense and would agree that Christian fiction has come a long way in the last few years in this genre. Some of my favorites are:

The Hidden Faces series by Brandilynn Collins
The Kanner Lake series by Brandilynn Collins
The Day of Evil series by Melanie Wells

My TBR list keeps growing and growing. I am looking forward to reading:
Susan May Warren’s Mission: Russia series
James Scott Bell's Buchanan series

Any recommendations?