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- Rank: Eccentric Mentor
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Well, I’m about to give in and buy a new Kindle and sign up for KU and all that expensive booknerd stuff…so I’m looking for recommendations. Whilst I’ve got my free three months of KU, I’d like to read as much as I can. Therefore, I’m turning to you booknerds for suggestions. I’m open to nonfiction, classics, poetry, and any other Christian fiction–so long as your grandmother would read it too!
@e-k-seaver @r-m-archer @jenwriter17 @william-starkey @nova21 @joy-caroline @libby @writerlexi1216 @scripter-of-kingdoms @scoutfinch180 @kathleenramm @abigail-m @devastate-lasting @tag-other-people-because-i-am-running-out @thank-you-all@gracie-j Hidden Current and Forsaken Island by Sharon Hinck is really good (Christian allegory). I also really love the Weaver Trilogy by Lindsay A. Franklin and the Out of Time series by Nadine Brandes. For Whom the Sun Sings by W. A. Fulkerson is one of my most recent reads and that’s really good too.
*tries very hard not to go full fangirl and overwhelm you*
I'm a Kapeefer 'TIL WE'RE OLD AND GREY!
www.jennaterese.com@gracie-j
Ooh, that’s so cool. If they have John Fischer’s Dark Horse, that is the best fiction book I’ve ever read. It’s a short allegory about faith, leadership, and calling told through the POV of a horse. Although I think there are other books with the title ‘Dark Horse’, so you’d have to make sure it’s the right one. But it is such a great allegory!
Also:
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, by Jacqueline Kelly,
Paint the Wind, by Pam Munoz Ryan,
Sweet Home Alaska, by Carole Estby Dagg,
The Poetry of Robert Frost,Are all on my favorites list.
- Rank: Eccentric Mentor
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@gracie-j
Of course, my number one recommendation will always be To Kill a Mockingbird if you haven’t read it. XD
And The Anne of Green Gables series. If you’ve not read all nine books, I would definitely recommend checking it out. Only the ninth book, The Blythes Are Quoted, has much darker themes – there’s only one or maybe two optimistic stories in it – so for that reason I’m usually hesitant to recommend it. But if you don’t mind that, it’s still a masterpiece in my eyes because it’s Anne and L.M. Montgomery.
For nonfiction, I love A Trip Into the Supernatural by Roger J. Morneau, which is what convinced me to choose the Adventist faith. I also love The Autobiography of the Pioneer Missionary to the New Hebrides (Vanuatu) by John G. Paton, which is his epic true story of converting cannibals. And then there’s The Life and Diary of David Brainerd by David Brainerd and Jonathan Edwards, which made me sob at many parts because Brainerd suffered from tuberculosis and depression while preaching to Native Americans.
I also cannot forget the Two from Galilee trilogy by Marjorie Holmes. Two from Galilee, Three from Galilee, and The Messiah are the books in the series. They inspired me to write Biblical fiction.
The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White is a kid’s book. But I actually think it’s AMAZING for all ages. It’s a heartfelt story no matter how old you are, and I still reread it because it is awesome!
Also The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis if you’ve never read those. I received the series as a Christmas gift and love them. I also love Lewis’ nonfiction Mere Christianity.
Those are all my top recommendations. I’m pretty sure everyone else will be hopping on with other awesome suggestions, so I hope you don’t get overwhelmed!
@gracie-j Uhhh I would suggest East of Eden by John Steinbeck except there’s like some swearing in it and also one of the MCs becomes a prostitute BUT I think that if you can handle Gone With the Wind I think you can handle this too…it’s really good, trust me. It won Steinbeck the Nobel Prize.
Some other of my favorite classic books! Most of which are foreign lit.
- My Sweet Orange Tree by José Mauro de Vasconcelos (I read this in Chinese so I’m not sure how much or how bad the language is in the English version…if there is an English version. But it’s very good.)
- Night on the Galactic Railroad by Kenji Miyazawa! (Again, I read this in Chinese but I believe everything is okay…)
- Wind, Sand and Stars by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (If you’ve read The Little Prince I’m sure you’ll like this one too! It’s a memoir, very beautiful.)
- The Flying Classroom by Erich Kästner (It’s been years since I’ve read it and I don’t know if there’s an English translation but it’s a kids book so I think it’s content is pretty safe!)
And that’s all off the top of my head! Hope you can find some of these on Kindle.
Lately, it's been on my brain
Would you mind letting me know
If hours don't turn into daysI recommend:
- Phantastes by George MacDonald: I only caution you that there is an instance where a character uses dark magic, but it is not lauded.
- The Princess and The Goblin by George MacDonald: it and it’s sequel are both great reads. i can’t think of anything that would make one feel wary of reading it.
- Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson: this is an all-ages series and is delightful.
- The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis: I love this book! it is a phenomenal insight into the ways that Satan tries to trick us written as letters from a demon to his nephew concerning the his “patient” *queue ominous music*.
- The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis: Awesome! Contains nudity of a non-sexual nature, if you’re bothered by that.
We crazy people are the normal ones.
@gracie-j I’m going to recommend a few of my fave books, but as I’m quite a bit younger than most of you guys the titles and content will prob be different 😅
What We Found In The Sofa and How It Saved The World by Henry Clark is probably my favourite book of all time, and that’s saying a lot. I have, like, a gazillion books. Even though it’s a kids’ fiction book, you definitely should read it. It is so amazing, and is one of those books that words don’t do it justice and you sound really stupid if you try to explain the plot. XD
If you haven’t read any Tolkien, I’d suggest it. I’m currently reading The Two Towers (and have been for quite a long time, since I’m constantly reading other books XD and forget to read it). The Hobbit, all three of the Lord of The Rings books. There is magic in them, and some war scenes, but it’s too good not to read.
Another kids’ book series, I will recommend, but my mom read these and she loved them. The series is called Finding Serendipity, by Angelica Banks, with the first book of the same name. After that is A Week Without Tuesday and then Blueberry Pancakes Forever. It’s a series about a girl whose mom is a writer, and she accidentally is transported inside her mom’s fictional world. It’s really beautiful, about writing and characters. And again, words can’t do this one justice. Nothing concerning in this series, either.
And another kids’ series, but it’s actually really good and quickly became a favourite of mine. If you haven’t read this – The Green Ember by S.D. Smith. This one is really hard to explain, but… if you haven’t, definitely give it a go!!
If I think of anything else, I’ll let you know! 🙂
staring at the fields
if nothing's really real
i'll make the winter now my home@gracie-j
In classics, I would 100% recommend A Tale of Two Cities (my favourite book of all time), Hard Times, and Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens. The last two are lesser known Dickens books, but so good! There’s also a BBC miniseries of Little Dorrit if you enjoy that sort of thing. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley. Jane Eyre and Northanger Abbey (though I’m sure you’ve read them already).
As for non-fiction, I would recommend all of Elisabeth Elliot’s books, if you haven’t read them already. Passion and Purity and These Strange Ashes are both great.
INFP Queen of the Kingdom commander of an army of origami cranes and a sabre from Babylon.
@gracie-j For poetry, I recommend Across the Miles by Annie Douglass Lima!
She’s an indie author that teaches at the main campus of the international school I attended. The poems range from fantasy to spiritual to life anecdotes, and they’re not just really good, but they also made poetry as an art form feel really accessible to me (as someone who barely writes it haha).
It's g-h, 2-4-6-8 twice, three 9's
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I agree with Joy Caroline, To Kill a Mockingbird is certainly worth your time : )
When it comes to good fiction, if you haven’t read The Lord of the Rings, that book is probably one of the greatest works of fiction I have ever read. As for other classics besides the ones Chelsea already mentioned, Pride and Prejudice and The Count of Monte Cristo are some I’d recommend, as well as At the Back of the North Wind. You might like Gaskell’s North and South, too : )
If somehow you are feeling like you need a good YA read from a Christian author (which I know you don’t love that genre, but maybe…) my suggestion would be to check out Nadine Brandes’ books, Fawkes and Romanov are both powerful reads. Or Kara Swanson’s Dust.
My just normal/historical Christian fiction recommendations that you might possibly enjoy fall down to Ishmael and Self-Raised, by E.D.E.N. Southworth, Stepping Heavenward, by Elizabeth Prentiss, They Loved to Laugh, by Kathryn Worth, and The Perilous Gard, by Elizabeth Marie Pope. Behold the Dawn, by K.M. Weiland, is also a pretty decent read.
Non-fiction recs include Radical, by David Platt, Don’t Waste Your Life, by John Piper, Born Again, by Charles Colson, and For the Glory: Eric Liddell, by Duncan Hamilton.
I don’t know if you’ll enjoy any of these, haha ^.^ But they’re all worth taking a look at from my perspective, and hopefully some of them from yours. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to spill out a whole bunch of my favs : ) I’m so sorry because this list is not concise and I feel like it’s evolved into overwhelmingness. No need to pay any heed to any of these books if you don’t feel like it, of course ; ) *leaves you to enjoy your three months of bliss*
Elen síla lúmenn' omentielvo
- Rank: Eccentric Mentor
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Whoa! Let’s see here…
@jenwriter17 Thanks for reminding me about Sharon Hinck! I’ve been wanting to read hers for a while now! I’ve also got Nadine Brandes on my list, and if I continue to hear good things about the Weaver trilogy, I may have to read that as well!
@abigail-m I’ll have to check Dark Horse out! Thanks for the suggestions, girl!@joy-caroline I knew TKAM would be on the top of your list! It’s a-going on mine! Ooh…interesting in the nonfiction department! And, yeah, I have read Narnia, but I hope to read more of C.S. Lewis! I’m definitely going to look into Marjorie Holmes–based on what you’ve said about her Biblical fiction, she sounds like a great author to read!
@devastate-lasting I’ll have to look into some of those! Thanks!
@scoutfinch180 I without a doubt want to read The Screwtape Letters and The Great Divorce! I’ve heard about George MacDonald, so he’s definitely one to consider!
@scripter-of-kingdoms I’m currently (aka, very, very slowly) reading LOTR, so check! I’ll have to check those others out! Thanks!
@seekjustice Dickens is on my list! So is Northanger Abbey! I’ll have to check out Elisabeth Elliot! (Just remembered I know exactly who she is… She’s definitely going on the list!)
@gh24682468999 Ooh…I’ll definitely check her out! Thanks!
@libby P&P is on the list! Thanks for reminding me about North and South–that’s one I was considering! Kara Swanson and Nadine Brandes are at the top of the list too! I’ve been wanting to read K.M. Weiland’s books for quite some time now, so thanks for reminding me of her! I’ll have to look into the other his-fic you mentioned!And your overwhelmingness is not overwhelming at all! Thanks so much for all the suggestions!
@everyone-who-replied Thanks, you guys, for all the recommendations! I really appreciate it!
And so does my TBR list, which has turned into a fifty page document! XD- Rank: Eccentric Mentor
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Another TKAM fan! YAY! *hands you a piece of cake*
@gracie-j
YES! You will totally love TKAM! I was just rereading it today, lol. It’s basically a Saturday tradition with me. That’s read-my-favorite-book-of-all-time day. (After the Sabbath, of course. XD) Marjorie Holmes is an amazing author! I’m glad you liked the suggestions!
@gracie-j Yay! I’m a big fan of foreign lit and I always like pushing my niche interests onto others!
Lately, it's been on my brain
Would you mind letting me know
If hours don't turn into days- Rank: Eccentric Mentor
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@joy-caroline Of course! Thank you! 🙂
@devastate-lasting I know how that is! XDWhy is it that anytime someone asks for book recommendations, I suddenly forget every book I’ve ever read? 😛
That being said, here are a few books/authors I did enjoy:
Most of Lloyd Alexander’s children’s books. It’s been a while since I’ve read any of his stuff, but The Marvelous Misadventures of Sebastian was quite a fun read, I believe. (I mean, it stars a cursed violin, so I was obligated to like it, right?)
The Giver by Lois Lowry. It deals with some pretty heavy themes at times, but a beautiful read.
The Chestry Oak by Kate Seredy. By far the most niche book I love, but it’s just so good. It’s a WWII story set in Hungary, so it also has some pretty heavy themes at times, but it’s one of my favorites nevertheless.
N.D. Wilson. The 100 Cupboards series is one I’ve re-read several times. Granted, it has a fair bit of magic in it (way more than, say, LOTR), but he’s a Christian author and it shows. I also really enjoyed the Legend of Sam Miracle series because…you know…it’s a fantasy western about a time-traveling gunslinger. 😛
It seems that you’ve already been recommended Tolkien, so I shan’t echo that too heavily (even though I do love taking every chance I get to talk about my fav). But yes, LOTR is lovely and good luck working through it!!!
“Seven seconds till the end. Time enough for you. Perhaps. But what will you do with it?”
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