Novels Worth Reading

If you are like me, you’ve already got a stack of novels planned out for this holiday weekend. My casual reading bounces from fiction to nonfiction in a broad spectrum in each category. I wanted to take a few minutes to call a couple of new books to your attention and link to my reviews.

Dinner With A Perfect Stranger, An Invitation Worth Considering by David Gregory is a little book which has been receiving a lot of recent media attention. What if you received a mysterious invitation to dinner with Jesus of Nazareth? What would it be like and what would you discuss? I found the book a stimulating reading experience and it’s also something you could give to friends and co-workers who are on a spiritual search. The book has solid Biblical answers yet in couched in a novel format. This week I heard about an agent who turned down representing this book (it happens). Also note this author sold the book over the transom (or without an agent representing the book). Again it happens.  Another bit of information which doesn’t show in my review link (but you might care about) is the category information on the back of this book. It’s not listed as fiction (where it clearly falls) but as “Christian Living/ Personal Growth.” I know these labels occur early in the production process but are important because the retailer uses these labels to know where to put the book in their store. I suspect it is something that will be fixed on a later printing. Check out this link from BookPage (a different review) and you will see they clearly label the book in the fiction category.

Fire by Bill Bright and Jack Cavanaugh. If you want to curl up with a great historical novel. I’d recommend this title which is the second in The Great Awakening Series. Dr. Bill Bright, the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ teamed with award-winning historical novelist Jack Cavanaugh during the final days of his life. Each book in this series is based on a historical event where personal and spiritual upheaval stirs the waters of our souls. Fire is the second novel in the series and is set in 1740–1741.

The Trouble with Tulip by Mindy Starns Clark is a terrific page turner. I admit that I don’t usually read “chick-lit” or a book that is green and pink—but I fell in love with this story and the characters. It’s worthy of your consideration.

Finally have you ever seen a toxic church situation and wondered how to escape? It’s the situation Dinah Traynell faces in this contemporary novel Pocketful of Pearls by Shelley Bates. While underneath the page-turning plot and fascinating characters, serious issues about life are in play in this novel. I learned a great deal and found it a terrific experience.

These novels are only a few of the great new reading experiences which have entered today’s marketplace.