From My Bookshelf

I like reading. That's good, seeing as I work in a bookstore. Believe it or not, I have three lists of books I want to read, which I'm constantly adding to, so I'm not even making a dent. It'll probably take me a couple years to read everything I have on my lists, the way things stand now. Even though it'll probably never happen, I'm giving it a go anyway.

If you look at the right side of my blog, you will see a list of some of the great books I've read and I'm constantly adding to it. So, if you need ideas, there's some there, and if you have a question about one or need the author's name, just drop a comment. But for now, just for fun, I'm going to tell you a bit about what I have been reading recently and some of my favourites.

This past month, I read The Scottish Chiefs by Jane Porter. I first heard about the book from Eric Ludy when I learned about Ellerslie (a school I really hope to go to someday), and I although it was a little outside of my regular reading, I really enjoyed it. It tells the story of Sir William Wallace, a man of honour who fights for the freedom of his country, Scotland, and refuses to compromise his convictions. Having been written 200 years ago, it was a little difficult to get into at first, but once you get used to the older English, I dove right into the story. This is a great book of character for men and women alike.

I also read my first two books by Frank. E. Peretti. First, The Wounded Spirit is a combination of biography and Christian living and tells of the damaging effects of bullying. The second was Tilly, which is a short novel that tells the story of a woman dealing with grief over a past abortion and her experience of healing, forgiveness, and a love for her daughter. I saw the short film awhile ago and I was impressed with the accuracy between the two.

Now, as for my list, I would recommend anything by Eric and Leslie Ludy, although I haven't read all of their stuff yet. That would include Authentic Beauty, Set-Apart Femininity, The Lost Art of True Beauty, When Dreams Come True, When God Writes Your Life Story, The Bravehearted Gospel, and Wrestling Prayer. I'm also highly in favour of Do Hard Things and Start Here by Alex and Brett Harris. Unfashionable by Tullian Tchividjian is a great read that tells about the dangers of the modern church's ideas of being culturally relevant. It's a refreshing reminder that we as Christians are called to be different and not blend in with the world. Real Christianity by William Wilberforce is also a must read.

Now, in terms of fiction, I have a bit of an interesting taste. I think one of my favourite fiction books was The Binding of the Blade series by L.B. Graham. It's a mixture of fantasy and allegory that takes you from Satan's rebellion and the fall of man to the redemption of man. Laced throughout are many lessons on things you can apply to your own life, which I really appreciated. I've also enjoyed The Seventh World Trilogy by Rachel Starr Thomson and I'm looking forward to her third book in the trilogy coming out later on this year. In His Steps is another novel that has lots of substance to apply to your own Christian life.

I'm going to have to stop soon or else this will get way too long. I don't read a whole lot of biographies, but if I were to name one right now, I would say Faith Like Potatoes by Anges Buchan.

In the near future, I'm planning on re-reading a few of my favourite books and then embarking on No Compromise, the biography of Keith Green. That is, if I don't get sidetracked.

I'm almost thinking I'll have to do a DVD list in the near future. I don't watch a lot of movies and I know it can be difficult to find good solid Christian films, but I do still have some favourites that I can easily watch more than once.

God bless your week and happy reading!