Friday, February 12, 2021

inspirational fiction

 










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                                                                 

Brunstetter, Wanda

Cramer, W. Dale                                                                              

Samson, Lisa (The Church Ladies)                                                             

Tatlock, Ann

Turner, Jamie L.

Gulley, Phillip

Whitlow, Robert

Karon, Jan

Colleen Coble

Richard Paul Evans

Andrew Greeley

Jerry Jenkins

Karen Kingsbury

Gilbert Morris

Janette Oke

Tracie Peterson

Francine Rivers

Lori Wick

 

Historical

Beazely, Jan and Thom Lemmons

 

African American authors

Michele Andrea Bowen

Victoria Christopher Murray

ReShonda Tate Billingsley

Vanessa Davis Griggs

Jacquelin Thomas

Kendra Norman Bellamy

T.D. Jakes

Sharon Ewell Foster

Michelle Stimpson

Kimberla Lawson Roby

Serita Jakes

Angela Benson

Sharon Ewell Foster

Linda Hudson-Smith


North American Historical

Austin, Lynn

Dow, Rosey

Morris, Gilbert

Oke, Janette

 

Historical International                                               

Cavanaugh, J.     (Fire)                                                                    

Rivers, Francine

                                                                               

Romance                                                                                                            

Heitzmann, Kristen                                         

Alexander, Hannah                         

Henderson, Dee

Palmer, Catherine

Hatcher, Robin Lee

 

Western

Bly, Stephen

 

Suspense

Alcorn, Randy C.

Blackstock, Terri

Bright, Bill

Bunn, T. Davis

Burkett, Larry

Coble, Colleen

Dekker, Ted

Singer, Randy

Rosenberg, Joel                                               

Morris, Gilbert

Peterson, Tracie

Lewis, Beverly

Kingsbury, Karen

Hatcher, Robin Lee

Wangerin, Walter

Billingsley, ReShonda T.

Thoene, Bodie                                                  

Huggins, James B.

Peretti, Frank

Martinusen, Cindy M.

Norris, Helen

Whitlow, Robert