An unscientific Internet search shows that currently, four million books are published each year, with the U.S. leading the pack with over 275,000. So choosing which books to read can be daunting. I struggle to read every book that interests me, much less those on the fringes.
I try to be careful with nonfiction. Since I’m interested in a number of topics, I quickly go down the proverbial rabbit hole. To wit, this past week, I checked out a library book on how to declutter the brain (my words), only to discover the author is an atheist philosopher. As I encountered snide remarks about Jesus, I said, “Nope. Back it goes.” Admittedly, I’m not discerning about library books because I can say, “Nope. Back it goes,” without any financial consequence. And believe me, I’ve checked out many “Nope. Back it goes” books. Hmmm. Perhaps I need to rethink my library book selections.
If I bought everything in my Amazon cart, I’d need a U-Haul to take it home. Every once in a while, I clean it and think, “What made me decide I’d want that book?” At some point I must have encountered a comment about working with one’s shadow self. I decided to dig into the topic before committing to the book. When my Internet search took me to occultic and witchcraft sites, I immediately exited and deleted the book.
I took you on this journey to say that our consumption of nonfiction is critical to our spiritual wellbeing. The Christian publishers our agency works with labor to stay on the path of helping and edifying readers while being faithful to Christ. This doesn’t mean every Christian agrees on every fine point. However, books from Christian publishers look to train, help, and uplift readers within the context of our faith. Readers won’t find disrespect of the Lord or advice that encourages readers to stray from His path.
This is an incredible service Christian publishing provides to all readers. As an agency, we do our best to represent those authors who seek to aid and assist readers through the tools Christian obedience offers, which are many. When seeking the finest nonfiction, look to Christian authors for superlative guidance.
Reading has become quite tough,
I reread almost every line
’cause my brain doesn’t have enough
strength that I may yet combine
the paragraphs that I just read
with those that lately came before,
so pleasure-reading is quite dead
and I curate at my mind’s door
to admit what will inspire,
turning all the others back.
When your feet are in the fire
and it’s time and thought you lack,
you make these choices carefully,
that what you read will set you free.
***
I’ve got to focus on true stories of hope and strength, to bolster my hope that there is some kind of tomorrow for me, not just a palliative-care fall into drugged degradation.
So my to-be-read list includes memoir authors like Mick Flynn, Al Sever, Alex Henshaw, and Tony Dudgeon, not so much for their specific stories as for overall attitude and worldview.
DVDs are similarly curated; two that stand out are “Guy Richie’s The Covenant” and “Kilo Two Bravo” (the latter has a lovely, haunting closing-credits song, “All Of My Life”, by Phoebe Katis; look for it on YouTube, but know that it can stick in your heart, for it is in Barb’s, on permanent repeat).
If this gives the impression that I do a lot of re-reading and re-watching, that’s absolutely correct. I read authors I trust. Every day, every hour in cancer’s realm is a fight, not so much for survival as for meaning, and losing even a little of that is perilous, as it might not be regained. “It’s not what you do, it’s who you are!” has become something of a shibboleth, a phrase valid in times of health when life could be philosophically parsed.
Now I am most definitely defined by what I do, and choose my reading and viewing with care to inspire me to rise to each hour’s occasion.
I thank those who have read to this end, and thank you, Tamela, for the grace of permitting time and space here.
I’m thankful God has given you the presence of mind and strength to do all you’re doing. It’s no small thing, Andrew! Even if it feels that way. ((hugs)) and prayers!
Thank you so much, Pam. What it takes is really a decision, made every moment, to walk in hope, and to wear the ‘shoes’ needed for that sometimes rocky path.
Amen!
This is SUCH a good point, Tamela. Because reading a book takes literally hours, it can be dangerous to soak our minds in ideas that may not conform to Scripture, yet after hours of hearing the best the idea has to offer, it may start to sound plausible and attractive. I really appreciate your thoughts on this topic and even though I read much more fiction than non-fiction, this makes me all the more determined to be sure that everything I choose to invest hours and hours in is edifying or at least informative. It also reminds me to pray specifically for discernment as I read and to trust the Holy Spirit to show me what aligns with Scripture and help me forget the rest.
Glad you wrote this, Tamela. It is so important that we take in things that are like-minded with Christ: things that are good, pure, and upright. I believe that reading those things of darkness can cause splinters in our protection and can leave openings for that darkness to intrude. Scary, really. Important to keep our eyes focused on God and all of His goodness, even in what we read.
Hi Tamela, I agree with you, and that is my mission to help and uplift people showing them God’s way and not my own. One question I have is; when it comes to writing, should it be as authentic as possible? Meaning if I’m writing about a non-fiction character and the person is not a Christian; do you think I should scale it back or keep that person as real as I feel. Some Christians may judge because of one or two bad words and that character behaving ungodly. But how can I show the change that Christ brings about in one’s life, if I can’t be authentic with my characters behavior.
Mark 2:17 Jesus was being criticized for eating with tax collectors and sinners. He explained that his mission is to those who recognize their needs for spiritual healing, not those who believe they are already righteous.
Chevelle, you can be honest about a person’s life without going into any detail about sin. I don’t think cursing adds anything, either. It’s not a matter of judgment, but rather what a reader wants and needs to know to form an understanding about the person.
For instance, though the marriage bed is undefiled (Hebrews 13:4), I can read a book about a happily married couple and see them joyfully sharing toast and coffee on a Saturday morning without reading any details about the previous night.
That’s my take, anyway. Thanks for asking!
I think it might be good to remember this point, are we married to Jesus Christ or just dating Him?
If the latter, then our entire physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional states, must be bonded to Him and the Triune God.
That being said, we must be discerning to the nth degree about what we feed our brains, knowing that our enemy has practiced deception to perfection.
Great post!!! All the best, Jeannie
Thank you for this post, Tamela. As one of the non-fiction authors represented by this (amazing) agency, I am continually reminding myself of the mission to “aid and assist readers through the tools Christian obedience offers”. In my case that mission is to show the harmony between science and Christian faith, and to help Christian students, youth and others understand that the so called conflict between the two is a myth. There are many of us scientists who write from a strong Christian view point about the miracles of God’s creation, and as a whole, I like to believe our works are making a difference. Christian non-fiction, on any topic, is indeed uplifting for all. Even for those who generally prefer reading fiction.
Christian fiction can be used to illustrate specifics of how believers live out their faith through difficult events and circumstances. Hopefully, this reaches people who rarely read nonfiction. I think of it as adding icing onto doctrine, and writers definitely can do that without being “preachy.”
In my current fictional effort, I thought I couldn’t get into the head (and mouth) of the very evil antagonist–until I really had to. His POV was eventually written without foul language, and part of that was showing his anger and selfishness. It’s doable.
I am concerned most Christians only apply a doctrinal filter to non-fiction. Another important filter is if the book accurately describes the world around us. How do we know? Who is going to teach us how to discern the trustworthy credible from the dubious credible from the deceptive credible?
A book entitled “I won the lottery ten times; you can too” triggers our incredulity. A book entitled “Build a financial legacy for your family” triggers our interest and perhaps our trust if we know little about personal finances and the book is a bestseller.
I spent about thirty years doing professional R&D and analytics, both qualitative and quantitative. A critical skill I developed was figuring out what information and what sources could be trusted. When I apply my experience to non-fiction books, I find many well-regarded best-sellers have serious problems.
Western education has not prepared us for an avalanche of information which requires scrutiny and discernment. We were spoon fed too many authoritative textbooks and took too many tests with binary factual questions. I believe Christian writers have a moral obligation to move beyond this; in the same way they have an obligation to improve their writing craft beyond writing essays for English classes.
The standard non-fiction writing advice–solve a problem for a reader, tell good stories, state your points authoritatively, and back them up–often leaves me shaking my head. Why? It’s great for sales but not so much for truth. Some best selling non-fiction writers are great storytellers and speak authoritatively…and cherry pick information to support ludicrous conjectures. And no one seems to care as long as sales are high–indeed many see high sales as proof of validity. I’ve seen some of these books go viral and stated as fact years later.
I have yet to see Christian influencers or thought leaders seriously address this in a universal pragmatic manner other than screening out doctrinal error. I’ve decided to start addressing this lack by my writing in retirement, at least when I’m not tilting at windmills.