In an attempt to post something more interesting, I am going to ask you all who read my blog a question. Please do answer it - just take a few minutes and leave me a comment, telling me ...
What do you like in a Christian novel?
Realistic and/or convincing plots, intricate characters, imaginative and interesting 'time and place' descriptions, excellent story telling, inspiring faith, good moral ... ?
And ... what do you dislike in a Christian novel?
I'd really love to know what you all (as many of you dear people who read my blog, really!) like and dislike ... what your 'ideal' Christian novel does and does not comprise of!
Is that more interesting? I hope so! It is for me, anyway!
By the way, next week I'm planning to have a little holiday and do little more than go for walks, read books (I ordered some new ones from Amazon and am I excited?!? Some of them have arrived and some of them are still expected ... and I can't wait to read them!), watch movies (I'm planning to watch 'Amazing Grace' with my mother), write letters ... and maybe write some interesting blog posts. That would be ... nice, wouldn't it?!?
10 comments:
Hello,
Our names are Elisia and Hannah, 2 of the six Kuiper sisters (we have brothers too =} )
Anyway...
We just discovered and read your post: A Letter from one Daughter at Home to Another. (We really liked it! And I was encouraged) Then we came to your most recent post, and now will respond. =)
Our whole family loves to read, and Hannah and I always have a book on the go. Our favorite authour (fiction) is Mrs. Isabella Alden. (If you have read her, you know what a gem she is!) Of course our favorite nonfiction is the Word of God.
What we look for in an excellent book is... DEPTH in the characters (and in the authour) and application of scripture in the characters lives. One that also challenges me to live for Christ!
Hannah really appreciates how Isabella Alden tells the story really well, holds your interest deeply, and doesn't have the focus on "falling in love" etc. as so many "Christian" authours have.
To comment on your question.....
Realistic - definitely
Convincing plots - it does help =)
Intricate characters - and watch them unfold!
Imaginative and interesting 'time and place' descriptions - Depends. Not every single page, I like some books without.
Excellent story telling - indispensable!
Inspiring faith - it is encouraging!
What we do not enjoy (or what puts a book on the ToGo shelf)is...
Disrespect of authority
Hate/anger towards God
Impurity
Power of thought, magic etc.
(New Age indoctrinations)
Evolution
Sub-Main =) characters in the book, that have wrong influences.
(Obviously the main character too.)
...and anything opposite of Philippians 4:8 !!!
=)
So, there's our views (a.k.a thesis =}) on Christian Novels.
Hope you will be posting those blogs this week!
In Christ,
Hannah and Elisia
I'd have to give your question more thought and come up with some better likes and dislikes, but one thing that leaves a *very* bad taste in my mouth is "Christian" novels centered around romance. I love books that you're left with an impression of Christ, some new taste instead of thinking about how the couple got together with a Christian message as an afterthought.
just my $0.02!
Josie :)
Elisia and Hannah - welcome to my blog! I'm so happy you stopped by. Thank you for leaving a comment! :->
First of all, I'm so glad you were encouaged by "A Letter from One Daughter at Home to Another."
Secondly, thank you for sharing your thoughts on Christian novels. Fascinating! My whole family loves to read too and ... I love talking about books and learning what other girls do and don't like in books - in Christian novels especially.
Josie ... you're 2 cents are very much appreciated, as always! :-> BTW, I'm with you re: Christian novels and romance. If you'd care to give the subject more thought, I'd love to learn about your "likes and dislikes" sometime ... either here or on Facebook or via email ... or something! :-> Take care, Josie!
Hey! I'm here from Ana's Corner. I love reading "very well indeed" as Jane Austen would put it :)
What do I like in a Christian novel? Basically the same that I like in any novel... realistic situations, believable characters well developed so that I can empathize with them. Interesting plot. Also, really well written Christian novels, like George MacDonald's for instance, can lay out the road to Salvation without seeming to "preach." Not that preaching is bad, but I mean if a non-believer were reading a Christian novel I believe that they might be turned away by a chapter of preaching, whereas if the Gospel is perfectly worked into the story a bit at a time...
I really believe that a good balance of "story" and "witness" is very important in Christian novels.
I'm having a hard time making sense here; hopefully you caught my meaning! :)
What do I dislike in Christian novels? Perfect Christians! Elsie Dinsmore is foremost in my mind.
What do I like?: A focus on Christ. The characters need to focus on Christ. Maybe they're not saved, then there need to be characters who show Christ to them. There needs to be growth, there needs to be trials, there needs to be pain, (just like real life). There needs to be depth, something that challenges me, spiritually and mentally. I like books that I can look at and know that something like that COULD happen.
What I don't like. Unrealistic novels. Where life is perfect, people are always happy, nothing ever bothers them. There is no mention of Christ, no need to focus on Him, no need for leaning fully and completely on Him. No depth, no growth, not helpful to myself.
I really like what Elisia and Hannah said too, I'd agree with their likes and dislikes.
i've read few "Christian" novels. most of the fiction that i read is classics, many of which have christian influences but are not overtly christian.
i enjoy historical fiction especially, and those centered around Bible characters i find fascinating. oftentimes historical fiction has what other fiction doesn't, a realistic ending. i don't like always-happy-endings. i understand that it's pleasant to have a happy ending, but a good story will be more realistic.
alot of inclusion of Scripture is good, and the main characters having more of a "christian" life than merely attending a service once a week.
Girls ... thank all SO much for sharing your thoughts! It's fascinating, reading your perspectives on what should and should not be in a Christian novel! :-> Thank you all for sharing so generously!
Oooh... I have such a hard time finding Christian books that I like. In so very many of them it seems that the Christianity is put in there simply because it must be there, so rather than have real relevance or depth or truth, it seems so shallow and artificial.
If I may use a classic example, Tolkien's Lord of the Rings is a beautifully written and deeply Christian work. In a very subtle and deep fashion, the books are full of truth, beauty, and hope.
Of course, it needn't be even as subtle as that. C.S. Lewis' Narnia books are more explicitly Christian, but at the same time they aren't artificially so.
I'm trying to think of a concise way to phrase what I'm trying to get at here.
I guess the word that could sum it up is that the same word that Elisia and Hannah emphasized: Depth. The Christian faith is full of depth and truth, and I wish books would reflect that more often. A random Bible verse thrown in, a depiction of a church service, all those things put in there just to make sure we understand quite clearly that it's a Christian book... it just seems so put-on, so fake to me. The truth and beauty should be woven throughout the story in a subtle fashion.
What Abigail said about Elsie Dinsmore, I quite agree with. I found no inspiration in Elsie Dinsmore, no heroism, no depth. Instead a found a girl who was so obviously put on us as the model of Christian virtue, and was only irritating and frustrating. Just no depth.
I prefer the subtleness of Lord of the Rings, or the more explicit but still deep story of Narnia. Those are solid, something that you can really meditate on, something that really feeds the soul. The sublimity of the hope in the midst of despair, the beauty in the midst of ugliness, the love in the midst of hate, the sacrifice in the midst of selfishness... these, I think portray more accurately the deep truths of our Christian faith.
"I have such a hard time finding Christian books that I like." Yup, me too! Mamselle Duroc, you make some great points - I especially love your thoughts on depth and on Elsie Dinsmore. (I could probably write a whole post about how much I DON'T appreciae Elsie Dinsmore, if only I could persuade myself that it would be constructive to do so ... ! :-P)
Seriously, about depth - "The Christian faith is full of depth and truth, and I wish books would reflect that more often. A random Bible verse thrown in, a depiction of a church service, all those things put in there just to make sure we understand quite clearly that it's a Christian book... it just seems so put-on, so fake to me. The truth and beauty should be woven throughout the story in a subtle fashion." That's a beautiful way of phrasing it - thank you! :->
What do I Like in a Christian novel? Realistic, interesting characters -- people with real personalities and flaws. A storyline that shows the characters journey in faith as events unfold in their lives.
What I dislike in a Christian novel is harder to describe. The entire story usually centers on people who are described as perfectly beautiful, perfectly handsome, perfectly good, etc -- with just a few references to the Bible scattered here and there. The characters don't seem real and the story is predictable.
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