[OneWithTheMud]

And now my opinion on the list in the first post:

The Time Traveler's Wife - I've hear it was good.
1984 - not bad, and referred to everywhere
The Little Prince - also not bad, and an easy read
The Stand - a few of my friends are obsessed with it
The Hobbit - I would recommend it.
The Kite Runner - I just read it and would also recommend it.
Everything is Illuminated - I haven't read it, but a friend has and I trust her opinion.

(Agreeing with Bryan) I've also heard good things about Night by Elie Wiesel.

[Bryan]

leiarose,

I'm surprised that since you wrote in the OP that you are looking for books for self-improvement and enjoyment, but yet there are very few Christian authors and books about the Christian world view.

[rkfan4]

The Time Traveler's Wife
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Lolita
1984
A Prayer for Owen Meany
The Great Gatsby
My Sister's Keeper: A Novel
American Gods
The Little Prince
The Lovely Bones
The Secret History
Twilight-favorite
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
On the Road
The Stand
Brave New World
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Memoirs of a Geisha
Rebel Angels
The Hobbit
The Kite Runner
White Oleander
The Mists of Avalon
Atlas Shrugged (and The Fountainhead)
Crime and Punishment
Neverwhere: A Novel
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Everything is Illuminated
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Foundation Series
Anna Karenina
Watership Down: A Novel
Eragon
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
A Tale of Two Cities
Flowers for Algernon
Jitterbug Perfume
The Last Unicorn
Their Eyes Were Watching God

[beanbag]

Originally Posted by Bryan

leiarose,

I'm surprised that since you wrote in the OP that you are looking for books for self-improvement and enjoyment, but yet there are very few Christian authors and books about the Christian world view.

I think she is specifically looking for fiction. (unless that is what you meant.)


as for quality christian fiction, I have some material for you, Leia:

The Robe (did I mention this? I think I did) --Lloyd Douglas
Mark of the Lion Trilogy --Francine Rivers
Redeeming Love --Francine Rivers (buy a box of kleenex or two. it's based on the story of Hosea and Gomer.)
Shepherd of the Hills -- Harold Wright Bell, I think
The Last Sin-Eater --Francine Rivers (it's a little confusing, and a lot of my friends didn't like it, but I did.)

...actually, basically anything Francine Rivers. I didn't care for And the Shofar Blew, but my best friend loved it.


also (non-christian):
Girl with a Pearl Earring --Tracy Chevalier (it inspired the movie)

[leiarose]

Kenny: I changed it in my offline list - thanks!

Sabrina: I'll have to get that version of Villette! Much more enjoyable.

Originally Posted by Bryan

Night by Elie Wiesel was a book that still haunts me to this day it was so good.

I'd also recommend The End for which God Created the World by Jonathan Edwards
John Calvin's Institiutes

Dallas Willard has some great works on discipleship Divine Conspiracy & Revolution of Character

Thanks for the suggestions. These sound great.

Originally Posted by Bryan

leiarose,

I'm surprised that since you wrote in the OP that you are looking for books for self-improvement and enjoyment, but yet there are very few Christian authors and books about the Christian world view.

Thank you for pointing that out - I was really hoping to get a good assortment of fiction and non. My initial list contained fiction because I really have no clue on non-fiction to read. I think I'm afraid of getting into literature that is unwholesome and not recognizing it quickly enough. :/ Hence my asking for suggestions! I have a fabulously long list now and I would love to look for any more Christian works you can recommend.

Originally Posted by beanbag

The Robe (did I mention this? I think I did) --Lloyd Douglas
Mark of the Lion Trilogy --Francine Rivers
Redeeming Love --Francine Rivers (buy a box of kleenex or two. it's based on the story of Hosea and Gomer.)
Shepherd of the Hills -- Harold Wright Bell, I think
The Last Sin-Eater --Francine Rivers (it's a little confusing, and a lot of my friends didn't like it, but I did.)

...actually, basically anything Francine Rivers. I didn't care for And the Shofar Blew, but my best friend loved it.


also (non-christian):
Girl with a Pearl Earring --Tracy Chevalier (it inspired the movie)

I liked that movie from Girl with a Pearl Earring although I don't remember why. I don't know if it's bad of me but I really don't want to read The Robe or Francine Rivers. Gosh, that sounds awful! I cannot stand the majority of Christian romance/fiction/historical things. Absolutely hate them. I have heard great things about the Sin-Eater though! Have you seen the movie? I don't know if it's out yet, actually.

Added: The Stand, The Kite Runner, Everything is Illuminated, Twilight, The Last Sin-Eater, Shepherd of the Hills, and others mentioned above.

Thanks again, everyone.

My reading has begun! I am in the middle of two philosophy/culture type books recommended by my boss: The Passion of the Western Mind by Richard Tarnas and Meaning in Life: The Creation of Value by Irving Singer. Also I began reading The Picture of Dorian Gray (Oscar Wilde) at the beach today. I only read the first chapter and it almost felt like too much without actually digesting it more. I like the implications of society's temperament and how Wilde is drawing the characters as more than just a person - an ideal or something. I'm not quite sure. I loved trying to understand though.

[beanbag]

Originally Posted by leiarose

I liked that movie from Girl with a Pearl Earring although I don't remember why. I don't know if it's bad of me but I really don't want to read The Robe or Francine Rivers. Gosh, that sounds awful! I cannot stand the majority of Christian romance/fiction/historical things. Absolutely hate them. I have heard great things about the Sin-Eater though! Have you seen the movie? I don't know if it's out yet, actually.

I haven't!

and I can understand your not wanting to read christian romance, etc. I dislike the majority of that kind of stuff too, but I absolutely love those ones. you might give Francine a try some time. she's really an incredible author. (and The Robe is just classic. maybe you could rent the movie first and see if you want to read the book after.)

[Amanda]

Hunt down a book called The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner by James Hogg, and then read John Piper's Desiring God or something so you won't think Calvinists are all as crazy as the folks in the former book, haha.

More:
David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas
Michael Chabon, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
Walter Wangerin, Jr., Paul: A Novel
Lauren Winner, Girl Meets God
John Piper, Don't Waste Your Life
Graeme Goldsworthy, According to Plan
C.S. Lewis' Space trilogy
Tim O'Brien, Going After Cacciato
Flannery O'Connor, The Violent Bear It Away
Evelyn Waugh, Brideshead Revisited
William Faulkner, The Sound and the Fury (warning: will require some serious SparkNotes action to make sense of it in your first reading)