In attendance today, 17 total:
Holley W, O’Neal Library
Jenn P, Smithfield
Rachel, Smithfield
Reba, Smithfield
Samuel R, Springville Road
Maura D, Trussville
Leslie D, Avondale
Samantha H, Hoover
Catherine F, BPL Central
Ellen S, Avondale
Shawn, Pinson
Alisha J, BPL Central
Amanda, Titusville
Jon N, Avondale
Michelle H, Irondale
Leslie W, Homewood
Loretta J, Books By Mail
BPL is debuting a new program, a weekly Community Interview, on Monday, February 15th at 10am on their Facebook page. The first interview will be with Lisa Yeager, Program Director at STAIR, a free after-school tutoring program for 2nd grade students at 13 schools across Birmingham. Monday, February 22nd will feature Rachel Bayerle and Nicole Putman, owners of Charm on 2nd, a locally owned and operated boutique in downtown Birmingham featuring jewelry, accessories, and handmade and locally made goods.
Join the Trussville Library over ZOOM Tuesday, February 23rd at 6:30PM as Dr. Aaron Hawkins discusses mental health and coping skills. You will not want to miss this interesting and engaging educational program! Sign-up here to receive the ZOOM link: https://forms.gle/q9uZxRzQNTKuLK3KA
The next meeting of the Reader’s Advisory Roundtable will be
Wednesday, April 14th at 9am on Zoom and the topic up for discussion will be
podcasts and other not-a-book recommendations.
Podcasts have come up in discussions before, but I don’t remember ever
exploring it as its own independent meeting so I’m particularly excited about
this one. Do mark your calendars to join
the conversation on April 14th!
Today, RART met for a discussion of
inspirational/Christian fiction.
Redeeming
Love by Francine Rivers
California’s gold country, 1850. A time when men sold their
souls for a bag of gold and women sold their bodies for a place to
sleep. Angel expects nothing from men but betrayal. Sold into prostitution
as a child, she survives by keeping her hatred alive. And what she hates most
are the men who use her, leaving her empty and dead inside.
Then she meets Michael Hosea, a man who seeks his Father’s heart in everything.
Michael obeys God’s call to marry Angel and to love her unconditionally.
Slowly, day by day, he defies Angel’s every bitter expectation, until despite
her resistance, her frozen heart begins to thaw.
But with her unexpected softening comes overwhelming feelings of unworthiness
and fear. And so Angel runs. Back to the darkness, away from her husband’s
pursuing love, terrified of the truth she no longer can deny: Her final healing
must come from the One who loves her even more than Michael does…the One who
will never let her go.
A powerful retelling of the story of Gomer and Hosea, Redeeming Love is a
life-changing story of God’s unconditional, redemptive, all-consuming love.
The
Red Tent by Anita Diamant
In the Bible, Dinah's life is only hinted at in a brief and
violent detour within the more familiar chapters of the Book of Genesis that
tell of her father, Jacob, and his twelve sons.
The Red Tent begins with the story of the mothers--Leah, Rachel,
Zilpah, and Bilhah--the four wives of Jacob. They love Dinah and give her gifts
that sustain her through childhood, a calling to midwifery, and a new home in a
foreign land. Dinah's story reaches out from a remarkable period of early
history and creates an intimate connection with the past.
Deeply affecting, The Red Tent combines rich storytelling and
the valuable achievement of presenting a new view of biblical women's lives.
Romance-focused Christian/inspirational fiction:
Deanna
Gist
Janette
Oke
Ryan
Phillips
Candace
Calvert (medical field focus)
Colleen
Cobble
Non-romance Christian/inspirational fiction:
Madman
by Tracy Groot
If there is a way into madness, logic says there is a way
out. Logic says. Tallis, a philosopher’s servant, is sent to a Greek academy in
Palestine only to discover that it has silently, ominously, disappeared. No one
will tell him what happened, but he learns what has become of four of its
scholars. One was murdered. One committed suicide. One worships in the temple
of Dionysus. And one . . . one is a madman.
From Christy Award–winning author Tracy
Groot comes a tale of mystery, horror, and hope in the midst of
unimaginable darkness: the story behind the Gerasene demoniac of the Gospels of
Mark and Luke.
Thirsty
by Tracey Bateman
"Hello, I'm Nina Parker…and I'm an alcoholic."
For Nina, it's not the weighty admission but the first steps toward recovery
that prove most difficult. She must face her ex-husband, Hunt, with little hope
of making amends, and try to rebuild a relationship with her angry teenage
daughter, Meagan. Hardest of all, she is forced to return to Abbey Hills,
Missouri, the hometown she abruptly abandoned nearly two decades earlier–and
her unexpected arrival in the sleepy Ozark town catches the attention of
someone–or something–igniting a two-hundred-fifty-year-old desire that rages
like a wildfire.
Unaware of the darkness stalking her, Nina is confronted with a series of
events that threaten to unhinge her sobriety. Her daughter wants to spend time
with the parents Nina left behind. A terrifying event that has haunted Nina for
almost twenty years begins to surface. And an alluring neighbor initiates an
unusual friendship with Nina, but is Markus truly a kindred spirit or a man
guarding dangerous secrets?
As everything she loves hangs in the balance, will Nina's feeble grasp on her
demons be broken, leaving her powerless against the thirst? The battle between
redemption and obsession unfold to its startling, unforgettable end.
The books of Kimberla
Lawson Roby
The Left Behind series by Tim LaHaye
1. Left
Behind
2. Tribulation
Force
3. Nicolae
4. Soul
Harvest
5. Apollyon
6. Assassins
7. The
Indwelling
8. The
Mark
9. The
Desecration
10. The
Remnant
11. Armageddon
12. Glorious
Appearing
13. The
Rising
14. The
Regime
15. The
Rapture
16. Kingdom
Come
Mystery/Thriller authors:
Robin
Lee Hatcher
Dee
Henderson
Lynette
Eason
Terri
Blackstock
Julie
Klassen
Tracie
Peterson
Ted
Dekker
No religious/spiritual focus, but “clean” stories:
Craig
Johnson (modern western-themed crime novels)
Adriana
Trigiani (women’s fiction)
Shadow Mountain Publishing’s Proper Romance
imprint; these titles are available in PB and digitally in the JCLC
|
Allen,
Nancy Campbell – Beauty and the Clockwork Beast |
|
Brass
Carriages and Glass Hearts |
|
Kiss of the
Spindle |
|
My Fair
Gentleman |
|
The Lady in
the Coppergate Tower |
|
The Secret of the India
Orchid |
|
Donaldson,
Julianne – Blackmoore |
|
Edenbrooke |
|
Heir to
Edenbrooke |
|
Eden,
Sarah M – Ashes on the Moor |
|
Healing Hearts |
|
Hope Springs |
|
Longing for Home |
|
The Gentleman and the Thief |
|
The Lady and the Highwayman |
|
The Sherrifs of Savage Wells |
|
Garriott,
Leah – Promised |
|
Hawks,
Arlem – Georgana's Secret |
|
Jensen,
Krista Lynne – Miracle Creek Christmas |
|
Kilpack,
Josi S – A Heart Revealed |
|
All that Makes Life Bright |
|
Daisies and Devotion |
|
Forever and Forever |
|
Lord Fenton's Folly |
|
Miss Wilton's Waltz |
|
Promises and Primroses |
|
Rakes and Roses |
|
The Lady of the Lakes |
|
The Vicar's Daughter |
|
Todd,
Ilima – A Song for the Stars |
|
Walker,
Megan – Lakeshire Park |
|
Wilhite,
Rebecca – Check Me Out |
|
Wright,
Julie – Glass Slippers, Ever After, and Me |
|
Lies Jane Austen Told Me |
|
Lies, Love, and Breakfast at Tiffany's |
Resources:
Libraries with NoveList subscriptions will
find much assistance there. If you don’t
have access to NoveList, Literature-Map is a fun exploration: https://www.literature-map.com/.
Fantastic Fiction, long a treasure trove for
series information and forthcoming publications, also has a genre area and
Inspirational is one of their offerings: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/genres/?gp=I.
Jon from Avondale has generously shared access to a
genre-organized list of 50 Christian fiction authors, which does overlap and
reorganized discussion above. Your
mileage may vary!
Contemporary
Samson, Lisa (The
Church Ladies)
Historical
African American authors
North American Historical
Historical International
Cavanaugh, J. (Fire)
Romance
Western
Suspense
