JCPLA Reader's Advisory Roundtable: inspirational fiction

Showing posts with label inspirational fiction. Show all posts

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 15^th 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 2^nd grade students at 13 schools across Birmingham. Monday, February 22^nd will feature Rachel Bayerle and Nicole Putman, owners of Charm on 2^nd, 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)

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

North American Historical

Historical International

Cavanaugh, J. (Fire)

Romance

Western

Suspense

Billingsley, ReShonda T.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Cross-Genre Romance

Our next meeting will be on Wednesday, December 14th at 9am back at Emmet O'Neal Library. We'll be discussing Travel Writing. This is a nonfiction topic.
What are YOU reading?

Thirsty by Tracey Bateman
My first outing into Christian paranormal romance was not bad, not bad at all. The vampire involved was angsty (obviously, since he refused to indulge his inner cravings), the woman involved was likable, and the town was suitably woodsy and isolated. The vampire, Malcolm, encountered Nina when she was a teenager. Nina's father's alcoholism definitely found its way down the family tree and she had passed out at her highschool graduation party. Malcolm whisked the unconscious girl back to his cave and was about seriously thinking about draining her when the cops showed up to the party. He found some inner strength and took her back to the river bank to be found by the authorities. Flash forward about 20 years and Nina is returning to her hometown newly humbled. Just out of rehab, divorced, unemployed and having lost custody of her children, Nina is coming home to live with her sister, the town's sheriff, until she can get back on her feet. Almost immediately, Nina's careful attempts to reconstruct her life are well on the way to destruction. Her sister's very handsome neighbor is just as compelling as he is unnerving, a series of gruesome murders occur, and Nina's stormy relationship with her teenage daughter Meg seems to only worsen as the week goes by. The only things she's sure about is that one drink would make it all better. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure Malcolm feels the same way, just not about alcohol. Lots of metaphors for the finding, and Bateman's treatment of spirituality and evangelism is subtle and well-done, as is her handling of Nina's struggles with alcoholism.
Holley, Emmet O'Neal

Hawk's Prize by Elaine Barbieri
Mondretta, Leeds

Silver Metal Lover by Tanith Lee
Mary Anne, Southern History

The Hand I Fan With by Tina McElroy Ansa
Michelle Hamrick, Irondale

The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker by Leanna Renee Hieber
Gina, Gardendale

First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones
This debut novel is almost a “pick 6” in genres. Charlotte (Charley) Davidson is a private investigator in Albuquerque, NM (mystery). She works with and frequently assists her uncle, who is a homicide detective (police procedural). She is a young, urban professional who has a great relationship with her best friend and assistant, and they’re both single and looking (chick lit). She’s also the Grim Reaper, to which troubled souls are attracted so she can assist them to pass through her to the “other side” (paranormal). She’s got a dream lover with whom she is obsessed and who may, or may not, be a demon (romance), and her hilarious, sarcastic, and incisive dialogues are nearly incontinence producing (comedy). There’s truly something for everyone in this first novel and Ms. Jones delivers on all of them. She manages to weave the plots and sub-plots together with great characterizations and a truly innovative premise, and she’s not afraid of a little controversy.
Second Grave on the Left by Darynda Jones
Ms. Jones continues to expand the world of Charley Davidson by telling us more about the people (alive and dead) with whom she is surrounded. The mystery involves the disappearance of an old friend of Cookie’s (Charley’s best friend and co-worker). When other members of the missing woman’s high school class start turning up dead, the race is on to find the links between the past and the present. In other news, Charley’s boyfriend has left his body to be tortured by demons in order to prevent said demons from finding Charley. She’s determined to find and rescue his physical body while his spirit is determined to prevent her from doing so. Their relationship would definitely be listed as “It’s complicated” on Facebook! Throw in her lust-hate relationship with the handsome bounty hunter who works with her uncle, her growing awareness of her own special abilities, and something strange going on with her father and you’ve got all the makings of a first rate genre-crossing read!
Kelly, Springville Road

Cleopatra's Moon by Vicky Shecter
Cleopatra’s Moon is a young adult novel based on the true story of Queen Cleopatra of Egypt and General Mark Antony’s only daughter, Cleopatra Selene. This is a well-written book that cross-genre fans will enjoy.

Shecter’s Cleopatra’s Moon is an interesting blend of romance, history and adventure. She paints a vivid picture of ancient Rome and Egypt, a culture filled with extraordinary sights, sounds and smells. We learn about the deities that are important in the Roman and Egyptian culture, as well as important beliefs and rituals.

Cleopatra Selene is an intelligent, loyal, inquisitive and strong young female character. She has grown up in the royal palace on the Nile and has only known a privileged life. Now, the jealous Roman Emperor Octavianus wants to control Egypt and launches a war. As a result, Selene loses everything and is taken to live in Octavianus’ palace in Rome. She vows that she will regain her dignity, return to Egypt and reclaim her kingdom. While in Rome, she meets two young men who threaten to distract her from her ultimate goal. Will she choose love or her kingdom? You’ll just have to read the book to see.

This is an interesting novel filled with historical details. Cleopatra’s Moon is a great read for young adults or adults who are interested in historical fiction, Egyptian history or books about strong women in history.
Leslie, Central Fiction

Circus of the Damned by Laurell K. Hamilton
Leigh, North Birmingham

GENERAL DISCUSSION TOPICS

One participant mentioned the plot for a book she believed would have been great for discussion but she could not remember the author or title. We discussed a couple of websites that are useful resources for accessing the "collective knowledge" of readers to help in finding books when all you know is the plot. First off, look to your peers for outstanding RA assistance! Send an email to "everyone" in the JCLC email system. Many of us have had luck finding titles this way. Especially good for those hard to find children's titles is Loganberry Books' "Book Stumper" link. Smart Bitches, Trashy Books is especially good for romance titles. They have a special "Help a Bitch Out" archive and you can email them with HABO in the subject line. They are all over Facebook too so their collective intelligence is legion.

Time travel came up, and you can't mention time travel and cross genre romance without also mentioning Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. Also rans include Time and Again by Jack Finney and the 1979 movie, Time After Time, based on Karl Alexander's novel of the same name.

Thomas Perry's The Butcher's Boy, Sleeping Dogs, and The Informant.
Kirkus Reviews 2011 April #1
Twenty years after a trio of lowlifes forced him out of retirement (Sleeping Dogs,??1992, etc.), the Butcher's Boy is back. When you're a professional killer who works freelance, your employers are likely to include a large number of nasty guys. So it's not clear to Perry's nameless hero, who started calling himself Michael Schaeffer when he moved to England and settled in Bath as the husband of Lady Margaret Holroyd, which of his former associates sent the three men who inadvertently flushed him out of hiding and then tried to kill him. He has no trouble tracing the three to midlevel New York capo Michael Delamina, whom he kills on page two. In order to identify Delamina's boss, however, he has to consult his old nemesis, Elizabeth Waring of the Justice Department. Taking a leaf from Hannibal Lecter's??playbook, he urges her, "Tell me, and I'll tell you something." When Elizabeth fingers rising under-boss Frank Tosca as Schaeffer's next target, he gives her some juicy information on an old Tosca murder in return. But although "he had never failed to accomplish his goal when all it entailed was killing someone," her news comes too late to help. By the time Schaeffer kills Tosca, the ambitious under-boss has convened a sit-down in which his counterparts from across the country have agreed to join his vendetta against the Butcher's Boy-a goal Tosca's death only makes them more eager to pursue. For her part, Elizabeth is so determined to bring Schaeffer into the Witness Protection Program as the ultimate informant that she's willing offer him a series of unauthorized deals, which of course he spurns. Schaeffer is squeezed between two collective adversaries with virtually unlimited personnel and resources. On the other hand, only Schaeffer is the Butcher's Boy. Beneath the sky-high body count, the twisty plot is powered by Perry's relentless focus on the question of where the next threat is coming from and how to survive it.
Jon, Avondale

California - police officer dealing with ghosts who can do certain things
at certain times/locations- good read.

AUTHOR Dorst, Doug.
TITLE Alive in Necropolis / Doug Dorst.
PUBLISHER New York : Riverhead Books, c2008.
Booklist Reviews 2008 June #1
Headstones outnumber citizens in the sleepy California city of Colma, just south of San Francisco. Twenty-nine-year-old rookie cop Michael Mercer patrols the streets and cemeteries of this eerie enclave, where such legends as Joe DiMaggio and Wyatt Earp are buried and where the spirits of celebrities seem to materialize at will. But it's the real-time assault of privileged teenager Jude DiMaio (found drugged, bound, and naked in a burial area) that puts the neophyte officer to the test. Who would do such a thing, and why is DiMaio so reluctant to report the perpetrators? Meanwhile, Mercer has problems of his own. A romantic relationship with an older woman turns sour, and he seems to be drifting away from his cadre of college friends. He's also troubled by thoughts that a recently deceased officer lost his sanity toward the end, filing police reports about the offenses of residents long dead. Dorst's atmospheric if overlong debut is part mystery, part compelling account of an angst-ridden young man finding his way in the world. Copyright 2008 Booklist Reviews.
Jon, Avondale

Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's Atta Olivia Clemens series: A Flame in Byzantium, Crusader's Torch, and A Candle for D'Artagnan. Epic historical vampire romance, what's not to like? And BIG kudos to BPL for being the only library in the county carrying all three. I've just put A Flame in Byzantium on hold.
Holley, Emmet O'Neal

Also, Laura Whitcomb's A Certain Slant of Light. She haunts them, rather benignly, until they die (though not causing the unfortunate event). This time around, it's an English teacher and she enjoys her days listening to his lectures until the day she notices that one boy in class actually sees her. This has never happened before since she became a ghost. Then he talks to her! Turns out he's a ghost too and has discovered that you can possess a body, someone who's just committed suicide. Now they have to find her a body. Love ensues.
Holley, Emmet O'Neal

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Inspirational/Christian Fiction

The Lord Is My Shepherd by Debbie Viguie (The Psalm 23 series)
Mary Anne, BPL Southern History

An Amish Christmas by Cynthia Keller
Gina, Gardendale
Beth, Homewood

As Young As We Feel by Melody Carlson (The Four Lindas series)
Beth, Homewood

In Every Heartbeat by Kim Vogel Sawyer
April, Irondale

While We’re Far Apart by Lynn Austin
April, Irondale

Though Waters Roar by Lynn Austin
Beth, Homewood

Breach of Trust by DiAnne Mills (Call of Duty series)
Shannon, Hoover

Thirsty and Tandem by Tracey Victoria Bateman (billed as a sort of Christian vampire romance)
general discussion

The Devil’s Playground (DVD about Amish rumspringa)
general discussion

A Bride in the Bargain by Deeanne Gist
Anna is looking for another job in order to escape her lecherous boss. Joe is looking for a bride to secure his land and livelihood. Thrown together by the unscrupulous merchant, Asa Mercer, these two star-crossed romantics engage in a delightful battle of wills set in the 1860’s Seattle wilderness.
Holley, Emmet O’Neal

The Christmas Promise by Donna vanLierre
Mondretta, Leeds

A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg
Mondretta, Leeds

Philip Gulley’s Harmony series
Mondretta, Leeds

Gilbert Morris’s many, many series, particularly the Lady Trent mysteries
general discussion

All I Have To Give by Melody Carlson
Leigh, North Birmingham

The Trouble with Tulip by Mindy Starnes Clark
Theresa, Hoover

Plaguemaker by Tim Downs (faith-based thriller)
A fiendish mastermind is attempting to ignite the Black Death anew in the U.S. by strategically releasing containers of bubonic plague-infested fleas around New York City. FBI counterterrorism agent Nathan Donovan must race to find out who’s behind the plot before it’s too late. The author also writes the Bug Man series starring forensic entomologist Nick Polchak.
Holley, Emmet O’Neal

If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat by John Ortberg
Sally, Hoover

Authors to Remember

Linda Chaikin
Francine Rivers
Jan Karon
Vanessa Davis Griggs (local author)
Ted Dekker
Michele Andrea Bowen
Dynah Zale
Lutishia Lovely
Taylor Caldwell
Victoria Christopher Murray
ReShonda Tate Billingsley

Shared by:
Jon, Avondale
Mary Anne, BPL Southern History
Maya, West End

Our next meeting will be Wednesday, February 9^th at Emmet O’Neal Library at 9am to discuss Nonfiction of Choice!

Thursday, December 9, 2010

recent inspirational fiction webinar

In anticipation of our meeting next week, the lovely and talented April Wallace (Irondale) has shared the notes she took during a recent inspirational fiction webinar sponsored by Booklist! If you are new to the genre or just looking for a little....wait for it!....INSPIRATION for our meeting, have a look at the list below! If you'd like to view the webinar, here's the link: http://vimeo.com/14040381

Booklist Webcast – Selecting and Recommending Inspirational Fiction

Terms Defined

Inspirational Fiction encourages the reader to examine his or her own life in view of the characters’ struggles: it can be generally uplifting or morally prescriptive and may incorporate religious tenets.

Christian Fiction focuses on the characters’ relationship to God using a Christian worldview (the belief that Jesus Christ is God’s son and the Messiah).

Evangelical titles preach the Gospel with the intent to convert the character/reader; they usually offer at least one conversion during the course of the story and provide numerous Biblical passages.

Gentle Fiction offers clean language, chaste relationships, and minimal violence, generally occurring off-screen.

Examples

Amish/Bonnet – Wanda Brunsetter, Cindy Woodsmall, Ann Gabhart, Hillary Manton Lodge

Contemporary Mainstream – Karen Kingsbury, Terri Blackstock, William Young

Chick Lit – Judy Baer, Neta Jackson, Tracey Batemen, Laura Jensen Walker, Sandra Bickler

African –American –Michelle Andrea Bowen, Jacquelin Thomas, Victoria Christopher Murray, Vanessa Davis Griggs

Historical – Stephen Bly, Tamera Alexander, Sarah Sundin, Tracie Peterson, Lynn Austin, Julie Lessman

Speculative Fiction: Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy – Maurice Broaddus, Tracey Bateman, Mary Doria Russell, Stephen Lawhead

Crime: Cozies, Thrillers & Suspense – Ted Dekker, Frank Peretti, James Scott Bell, Dr. Richard Mabry

Romance Series – PJ Sugar Series by Susan May Warren (similar to Janet Evanovich), Call of Duty Series by DiAnn Mills (similar to Dee Henderson), Mercy Hospital Series by former ER nurse Candace Calvert (similar to Karen Kingsbury)

See you next Wednesday!

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