Sarah’s Comments (group member since Dec 07, 2015)

Sarah’s comments from the VT Christian Reading Challenge group.

I'm not sure why you don't want to read Wright; I'm going to plug for his book "How God became King" for anyone else reading this. Even if you disagree on his views of justification, this book is the most helpful I've ever read on understanding how Jesus fulfilled the law and the prophets from the Jewish mindset.

Becky wrote: "Melinda wrote: "I am just finishing Ender in Exile. I've really enjoyed it, and I will be looking for other books by this author."

I would recommend Orson Scott Card's Worthing Saga..."

The part of Ender's Game that I hated was the part about speaking for the dead. I liked the action, liked the twists, but hated that the end of the book just seemed to be a vehicle for Card's own worldview. It was dull and plodding and I felt like the book would have been five times better without it. ;)

I've been reading a lot of thrillers by Steven James and they're fantastic. A little gory, but no sex scenes, and he's a believer.

Danette wrote: "I recently enjoyed, 'The Prize Winner of Defiance, Iowa'.
For a bit of fantasy, anything by N.D. Wilson. 'Lepike Ridge' was my favorite."

Danette - my mom LOVED that first book, and I listened to it in HS with her as an audiobook. Really fun one.

I'm looking forward to getting This Is Awkward: How Life's Uncomfortable Moments Open the Door to Intimacy and Connection by Sammy Rhodes, an RUF pastor and frequent tweeter. I like his writing style so it should be good.

If you are someone who prefers to only read missionary biographies and John Piper books, this isn't the discussion for you. ;)

Let me preface this by saying that I'm not asking for books that glorify sin, just for suggestions other than most I've seen around here. I like to read theology books. They're great. I love practical theology books. They're great. I've read tons of Puritan Paperbacks.

But I also like reading funny books. I also like reading novels that are thrillers. I also am okay with reading non-fiction books about cults or school shootings or biological warfare. I loved The Martian and enjoyed Ready Player One, even though both contained curse words. I read books from heavy charismatics and those who are Armenian. I don't mind reading books from Catholics. I'm not threatened by other worldviews and enjoy reading about them.

I don't read books with sex scenes in them, or at least ones I can't skip easily. Reading about violence doesn't affect me because I don't picture anything, and I am not easily offended by curse words. I like good stories. And that may be Gilead or it may be The Great Train Robbery or it may be The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. I've seen a lot of suggestions in this forum that seem to be narrowly focused on "good, proper Christian books" and I wanted some suggestions for those who don't just read Christian books.

So any suggestions from my fellow varied readers out there, either of novels or non-fiction?

[And please, if this offends you, just avoid the discussion. I don't feel like getting into an argument about whether or not my reading habits are sin or not. I believe this falls under Christian freedom and I am not convicted about them. If a book is too much, I will put it down, not finish it, or return it to the library. I walk with the Spirit and I'm willing to listen to what He says.]

I came to see this thread and was shocked at the amount of strong comments in the negative toward the original poster. Elena, "you do you" as the kids say. It certainly wouldn't be wrong or sinful or anything for you to approach the challenge in that way. For the Popsugar challenge last year I allowed a book to count for up to 3 categories and I STILL read 50 books and STILL read oodles of books that I wouldn't have otherwise, which was the heart of the challenge for me. This is your challenge and if you want to do it like that, DO IT!

Am wrote: "On audio, I've liked The Martian, although there is appropriate swearing - F word in the first paragraph. As my teenage son said,"I've seemed to have gotten myself in quite a pickle" doesn't seem t..."

I completely agree, and tell people all the time that the language in that book, while a ton, is exactly what someone would say if they were not a Christian in that context. I would much rather read a book with language than a book with a sex scene, and The Martian didn't have one.

Vinoth Ramachandra would be an excellent choice for this category. He's a Sri Lankan physicist/theologian and if that doesn't catch your fancy I don't know what will.
I like to be challenged in my worldview and his book "Gods That Fail: Modern Idolatry and Christian Mission" is all about how we as Westerners equate certain parts of our worldview as inherently Biblical when really they're just Western (capitolism, for example). He's a Christian, I think that book is published by IVP, but he's NOT Western and that will shake your worldview in a really good way.

If anyone is looking for a great audiobook, Francis Chan reads his own book, Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit. It was one of those free Christian Audio books a few years ago and was fantastic.

I also listened to GK Chesterton's The Club of Queer Trades: which I downloaded from Librivox.org - it's a little tougher to get into but a delightful read. Plus it's free to download!

For those who may be willing to not read such a "Christian" book, Bossypants by Tina Fey was a superb audiobook as well.

I LOVE "The True Vine" by Andrew Murray. Get it. Read it.

ooh, I'd second Knowledge of the Holy. It's one I re-read every year.

I liked Professor Horner's plan - I recommend it often to people - but I switched from it because I felt like I was reading to finish and not reading to change. I currently read a chapter in Psalms/Proverbs, a chapter in the OT, and a chapter in the NT. I don't go in any particular order, just listen to the Holy Spirit to lead.

What I tell my students when approaching Bible reading plans is this: don't become legalistic. I encourage people to get a plan that's not attached to a specific day, because if you miss 2 or 3 days in a row [and you're doing a year-long plan], then you feel guilty and there's a ton to read and it's really easy to quit. Instead, just keep moving. Your life is not like someone else's, and while someone may have the structure in their life to schedule 10 chapters or is a fast enough reader that 3 chapters can easily fit into each day, you may not. It's better to be consistent and just read the whole thing than it is to kill yourself just trying to get it done in a year.

For awhile I also read D.A. Carson's "For Love of God", which has a reading plan attached to it. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to study the Word more but needs more historical context as they read.

Most novels and literary non-fiction I get from the public library {or from our school library, as I'm a teacher} but most books I'd like to keep I buy cheap used copies on Amazon. Most of the time they're under $10 and I like having copies of books. If I really like a book I'll buy a few more used copies and send them to friends.

I'm a "footprinter", so I like to leave notes in my theology books, which means borrowing them is really out of the question.

I love "The Bible Speaks Today" series - they're incredibly readable but still thorough. I've heard the one on Isaiah is great, though I read Stott's on Romans.

If you want a book that's not quite so thick, but still good, please get a copy of Way into the Holiest by F.B. Meyer. He's one of my favorite "lost" authors and that book in particular is one of the most Jesus-exalting commentaries I've ever read. Plus it's on the book of Hebrews, which is I think perhaps the most underrated book in the whole Bible [The OT fulfilled! Jesus is better! Reminders of eternity! Rest, grace, comfort, warning! So good].

So anyone reading this - get it.

Bryan wrote: "I too LOVE The Prodigal God. If you’re looking for another book in the “life-changing” category, I would say When I Don’t Desire God by John Piper. No book besides the Bible has changed my day-to-d..."

Bryan [and everyone else] if you're looking for a book that is from a completely different theological perspective, I recommend the fantastic out-of-print book Gods That Fail: Modern Idolatry & Christian Mission by Vinoth Ramachandra. He's a Sri Lankan physicist and theologian, and has a very unique perspective. Tim Keller quotes him - I think in Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters- which is why I initially picked the book up.
It was written in the mid-90's and is incredibly prophetic. I love reading non-Westerners because they really challenge my theological assumptions and help me to see what I believe not because it is simply biblical, but because it's part of the worldview of the area of evangelicalism in which I find myself. It's a hard book to read because of that, but incredibly worthwhile.

I'm similar to Bryan - I tend to use audio books for books that aren't top on my to-read list or books I know I won't want to write in. My car that I got in Oct has a cd player, so I've been listening only because of that, and just borrow books from the library.
I tend to like listening more to the literary non-fiction than anything else, and probably will listen to only 10 or so next year.

My goal is to always read a certain number of books, but I don't want to be limited to just the categories. :)

Dave wrote: "Sarah wrote: "Stephen wrote: "I think my 2016 reading will be a hodgepodge of all the levels, honestly. I hope to use the Challenge List as a way to diversify my reading and get me out of my comfor..."

Why did you decide it was the opposite, Dave? :)

I'm sure we'll all have recommendations for different categories of books - for example, if anyone has not read Peace Child: An Unforgettable Story of Primitive Jungle Treachery in the 20th Century, they should for a "Book by/about a missionary".

But this discussion is less detailed - what lesser-known book[s] would you recommend that anyone read, that they find a category that it would fit into, that you wish everyone would get to.

So these shouldn't be books that are frequently on "must read" lists - obviously we think about fantastic books like "Mere Christianity" or "To Kill a Mockingbird". I'm thinking more books that are hidden gems. What is a book you recommend over and over and over again that other people might miss?

Stephen wrote: "I think my 2016 reading will be a hodgepodge of all the levels, honestly. I hope to use the Challenge List as a way to diversify my reading and get me out of my comfort zone in terms of what I norm..."

Stephen, I'm right there with you. I set my goal at 50 books, but I'll probably do what I did this last year with the Popsugar challenge. With that one I used it as a "roadmap" of sorts to stretch me - I allowed every book I read to count for no more than 3 categories. That way I hit all the categories, but I could also just read a book that struck my fancy. I think I'll use this the same, that way if I find a missionary biography written by a woman, I've got two categories checked off. ;)