Into the Fire

I just finished a book with caricature characters and occasional laugh out loud humor. It was light fare and well written enough with some excellent metaphors. The not really a problem is I didn’t care for it, but this was no fault of the author’s. It’s just not my kind of story. The author did a very good job, and I’m sure there are many people who’ve enjoyed and will enjoy this novel. That I didn’t happen to be one of them is irrelevant because when I talk to those readers who enjoy light and humorous stories with some suspense to them, I will recommend this book.

Now to be fair-er, this book was given to me from my former manager at a Christian book store to read at my leisure. She’s backed up in her reading, and so are the others who work at the store. I was browsing in the store when she offered me this one and another one they’d been given to sample read before release. These particular books had been in the store for awhile— now well after their release—and no one had had time to read them yet. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have read the book or purchased it simply because it’s not my kind of story.

Which brings to mind the various discussions which come up fairly regularly on our different blog sites . . . Who knows or can predict what people will read and enjoy? I’m fairly definitive in what and who I like to read, although I’m always open to those authors I’ve yet to find who write what interests me.

I loved Redeeming Love, And the Shofar Blew, The Atonement Child, and Leota’s Garden (Francine Rivers), but I don’t read her biblical or historical novels. I enjoy Brandilyn Collins’ murder mysteries, all of Randy Singer’s novels, Robert Liparulo’s innovative, breakneck-speed books, James Scott Bell’s stories, Robert Whitlow, Kristen Heitzmann, Karen Ball, some Karen Kingsbury and Dee Henderson, some Tim Downs, John Robinson, Don Brown, Alton Gansky, and I love Frank Peretti and Randy Alcorn plus many others.

I’m a Christian writer, reader, and consumer. I buy a lot of books. I’m disappointed occasionally by a variety of factors. One of those is when an author does a series and makes the first book, usually a short one, a total setup for the next book in the series. That’s all about milking readers for dollars and cents, and I resent it. When the first and second book should be one instead of two, well . . . it speaks of the greed factor.

Yes, yes, we know: Christian publishing is a business. How many times is that fact used as a cop-out to publish those types of series I just described? Or to publish those tidy little reads which take one long afternoon to finish and require nothing of the reader? You know what? It is up to the reader what they read and what they will pay for a book. And it seems there is an audience for a book at every level. Just fewer for some than others.

I think I’ll make this a two-parter and continue tomorrow.

Father, help me to be reasonable in my discussions and not hurtful. Help me to be honest without being insulting. Help me to invoke thoughtful insights and/or commentary. Help me to understand, Lord. I ask it all in the Name of Jesus, Amen.