fascinating. sounds like 'forbidden' by Ted Dekker. geneticists removed all emotion but fear, even some that are not commonly thought of as emotions but really are. (sterilized version, the book was quite good. i have a copy.)
delicious books.
- Thread starter enril
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i
i read a lot of Novels as a young woman. All were Romance. one I really liked was titled Pendragon. it was a Regency Romance i have forgotten the name of thé author. i read a lot of Barbara cartland. I wish i knew better I would have read other Books.
Today I read only ministry books
and m'y best so far is "Every Believer a Disciple" by David E Bjork. it changed m'y view on Discipleship
i read a lot of Novels as a young woman. All were Romance. one I really liked was titled Pendragon. it was a Regency Romance i have forgotten the name of thé author. i read a lot of Barbara cartland. I wish i knew better I would have read other Books.
Today I read only ministry books
and m'y best so far is "Every Believer a Disciple" by David E Bjork. it changed m'y view on Discipleship
i
i read a lot of Novels as a young woman. All were Romance. one I really liked was titled Pendragon. it was a Regency Romance i have forgotten the name of thé author. i read a lot of Barbara cartland. I wish i knew better I would have read other Books.
Today I read only ministry books
and m'y best so far is "Every Believer a Disciple" by David E Bjork. it changed m'y view on Discipleship
i read a lot of Novels as a young woman. All were Romance. one I really liked was titled Pendragon. it was a Regency Romance i have forgotten the name of thé author. i read a lot of Barbara cartland. I wish i knew better I would have read other Books.
Today I read only ministry books
and m'y best so far is "Every Believer a Disciple" by David E Bjork. it changed m'y view on Discipleship
yes
Judging from the title, I thought this was about cook books.
There's a reason that I chose a picture of this particular Recipe book.
The funny thing is that I used to have a pet rabbit that had access to the lower shelf of my bookcase until I found this cookbook chewed around the edges. I don't know if she could read, but she liked the pictures. She really DID think it was delicious!
you beat me to it.Well, cookbooks are one of my favorites. Although, most of my favorite recipes are easy to come by online nowadays.
I love the Taste of Home year book collection and even though I can get the recipes through their website there is just something about flipping through the book going "ohhh that sounds/looks good" that is just so different and more comforting than doing so online.
My collection is like this one: every yearbook published- 1994- through current. Only mine is spread out on a couple of shelves on the bookcase, and I paid less than $5 each at yard sales and thrift stores (this photo came from an ebay post selling the set for $1,999!!!) They are very nice books. My daughter called dibs on any duplicate copies I had, so now we've started a second collection. Might have to start a couple more since my boys are expressing interest in them too.
Well, cookbooks are one of my favorites. Although, most of my favorite recipes are easy to come by online nowadays.
I love the Taste of Home year book collection and even though I can get the recipes through their website there is just something about flipping through the book going "ohhh that sounds/looks good" that is just so different and more comforting than doing so online.
My collection is like this one: every yearbook published- 1994- through current. Only mine is spread out on a couple of shelves on the bookcase, and I paid less than $5 each at yard sales and thrift stores (this photo came from an ebay post selling the set for $1,999!!!) They are very nice books. My daughter called dibs on any duplicate copies I had, so now we've started a second collection. Might have to start a couple more since my boys are expressing interest in them too.
That's a big blessing!
The fact your children appreciate them is even a bigger blessing.
I like paper books too.
I told my Bible study members yesterday that they need to commit to reading and writing cross references in the margins of their paper Bibles for future referal. The Holy Spirit will bring special related verses to mind.
Everyone is used to ebooks these days. There are a lot of benefits to paper.
Funny you mentioned your collection.
As we speak I have the collection of Paul and Patricia Bragg's library Vintage- New for a vegan friend.
They are on the end table next to me.
lately i have mainly read others like pattersons witch and wizard and sandersons reckoners and skyward serie's. i have done alot more reading lately..
I need to write an update to the entries I've made in this thread...
Oh. My. Goodness.
So I've always said that Mr. Dean Koontz's "Lightning" is my favorite-ever fictional book, but I just finished "From the Corner of His Eye," and I was astounded that this book is a formidable contender.
You're going to get a little of everything in Mr. Koontz's books -- suspense, terror, warmth, humor, and usually a little supernatural -- in fact, when he was starting out, he said he drove editors crazy because they told him he had to choose one genre and stick with it. But the fact that his stories are everything AND the kitchen sink are exactly why I love them. As extreme as they can get, there's always some tale of triumph, someone who believes in doing what's right, someone who sacrifices everything for someone else, and, some bad guys are GOING to get their due.
This book had me alternatively crying, laughing, and cheering ("Go get that bad guy, Mr. Tom!") every other chapter. Although the story is centered around a vicious psychopath, there are still some who wind up with happy endings.
Among the ones that had me bawling were:
A 3-year-old boy (Barty) who has just had his eyes removed due to cancer. He meets a little girl (Angel) who is the same age. She asks him, the way children do, why he doesn't have eyes and why he can't see. And when he explains it to her, she announces, "Well, I can see, and I can talk," (to which he says "Yeah, you sure can!!" because she talks non-stop!)
And she tells him, "I am going to be your talking eyes. Anything I can see, I can tell you about, and then you'll be able to see it, too."
The two have always been child prodigies in different ways, and become inseparable. When they are 9 years old, they gather their families to show them something -- Barty, though he can't see, climbs to the top of a treasured family tree all by himself.
Barty is a math prodigy, and Angel explains that she has climbed that tree hundreds of times by herself -- and used her explorations to describe every last nook, crook, branch, and knob to Barty, detailing all the exact distances and location between them along the way. He in turn has created a 3-dimentional map of the tree in his head, and is able to climb it using the familiarity of this mental map. Astonishingly, the two children have actually mapped out 3 different routes to the top of the tree, each with different challenges -- but Barty, being Barty, chooses to climb to most difficult route first.
When Barty and Angel are 18, they marry, and the first morning after they are married, without a word needing to be said between them, they head to that old tree and climb it together -- so they can sit at the top and feel the sunrise.
Barty's mother, Agnes, who lost Barty's father to a car accident the day Barty was born, later meets a lovely man named Paul who is very interested in her. He asks if they could possibly have a future together.
She takes him to a private room and undresses, but modestly covers her front.
She does this, not for the purpose of intimacy, but because she wants to show him what he will be in for. From neck to toes, her skin is a mass of ugly scars and mangled flesh, the reminders of a father who constantly told her that "her sins needed to be beaten out of her."
Agnes explains that she knows most men would find her condition repulsive, and she understood that and held no ill will against Paul if he chose to walk away. Instead, he starts to weep, holds her close, tells her she's beautiful, and asks her to marry him. He also tells her that because his own wife had lifelong polio (and passed away because of it,) they had little to no intimacy at all, and that he is woefully inexperienced and might disappoint her.
The two cry together, she redresses, and they make plans to have a proper wedding.
I could barely read the pages because my eyes were so clouded over. In real life, God seems to send these kinds of people to me all the time (people who have been through extremes,) and it is so satisfying to think of someone with all the odds stacked against them finally getting a happy ending, even in just a book.
And these are just some of the side events!!
The devoted police officer (Mr. Tom) who relentlessly tracks down the bad guy of the book is like the good guy version of Hannibal Lector (from "Silence of the Lambs.") No, he's not a cannibal. But Mr. Tom is a former priest who saw the aftermath of a horrible crime, and felt he could do more to catch criminals by becoming a police officer rather than just praying.
Another reason I read these books is because all too often, God sends me people who have been abused by those who are never caught. Every now and then, I need to read about someone who actually gets caught and has to pay some consequences in this life, not just the next, even in a fictional story.
Mr. Tom is incredibly smart and adept at understanding how the villain thinks, toying with him until the bad guy gets reckless enough to finally get caught. I wish there would have been an entire book series centered around Mr. Tom (who goes back to the priesthood and being Father Tom after this case is solved.)
As stated in my earlier posts, I am currently working on a fan letter to Mr. Dean Koontz, the author of the story. I'd better finish soon or my letter will become a novel in itself (I'm already up to 8 typed pages -- if you think my posts are long, you should see my personal correspondence.)
But I sent letters that long to Mr. Koontz back in the day, and he was kind enough to answer some of my specific observations in his own handwriting.
However, I am not, of course, respecting a response to this letter. The reason I mention it is because it gives me the hope that Mr. Koontz will have actually have a chance to read my letter. And my only wish is that he will have a chance to read it and know how deeply his writing has affected -- and helped me.
So until I finally get that piece of writing finished -- and until CC hopefully fixes its glitches so I don't write for almost 60 minutes, only to have the site lose everything I'd written like it did last week -- I probably won't be here as much.
Many thanks to @enril for writing this thread and giving me enough focus to keep working on my letter!
Oh. My. Goodness.
So I've always said that Mr. Dean Koontz's "Lightning" is my favorite-ever fictional book, but I just finished "From the Corner of His Eye," and I was astounded that this book is a formidable contender.
You're going to get a little of everything in Mr. Koontz's books -- suspense, terror, warmth, humor, and usually a little supernatural -- in fact, when he was starting out, he said he drove editors crazy because they told him he had to choose one genre and stick with it. But the fact that his stories are everything AND the kitchen sink are exactly why I love them. As extreme as they can get, there's always some tale of triumph, someone who believes in doing what's right, someone who sacrifices everything for someone else, and, some bad guys are GOING to get their due.
This book had me alternatively crying, laughing, and cheering ("Go get that bad guy, Mr. Tom!") every other chapter. Although the story is centered around a vicious psychopath, there are still some who wind up with happy endings.
Among the ones that had me bawling were:
A 3-year-old boy (Barty) who has just had his eyes removed due to cancer. He meets a little girl (Angel) who is the same age. She asks him, the way children do, why he doesn't have eyes and why he can't see. And when he explains it to her, she announces, "Well, I can see, and I can talk," (to which he says "Yeah, you sure can!!" because she talks non-stop!)
And she tells him, "I am going to be your talking eyes. Anything I can see, I can tell you about, and then you'll be able to see it, too."
The two have always been child prodigies in different ways, and become inseparable. When they are 9 years old, they gather their families to show them something -- Barty, though he can't see, climbs to the top of a treasured family tree all by himself.
Barty is a math prodigy, and Angel explains that she has climbed that tree hundreds of times by herself -- and used her explorations to describe every last nook, crook, branch, and knob to Barty, detailing all the exact distances and location between them along the way. He in turn has created a 3-dimentional map of the tree in his head, and is able to climb it using the familiarity of this mental map. Astonishingly, the two children have actually mapped out 3 different routes to the top of the tree, each with different challenges -- but Barty, being Barty, chooses to climb to most difficult route first.
When Barty and Angel are 18, they marry, and the first morning after they are married, without a word needing to be said between them, they head to that old tree and climb it together -- so they can sit at the top and feel the sunrise.
Barty's mother, Agnes, who lost Barty's father to a car accident the day Barty was born, later meets a lovely man named Paul who is very interested in her. He asks if they could possibly have a future together.
She takes him to a private room and undresses, but modestly covers her front.
She does this, not for the purpose of intimacy, but because she wants to show him what he will be in for. From neck to toes, her skin is a mass of ugly scars and mangled flesh, the reminders of a father who constantly told her that "her sins needed to be beaten out of her."
Agnes explains that she knows most men would find her condition repulsive, and she understood that and held no ill will against Paul if he chose to walk away. Instead, he starts to weep, holds her close, tells her she's beautiful, and asks her to marry him. He also tells her that because his own wife had lifelong polio (and passed away because of it,) they had little to no intimacy at all, and that he is woefully inexperienced and might disappoint her.
The two cry together, she redresses, and they make plans to have a proper wedding.
I could barely read the pages because my eyes were so clouded over. In real life, God seems to send these kinds of people to me all the time (people who have been through extremes,) and it is so satisfying to think of someone with all the odds stacked against them finally getting a happy ending, even in just a book.
And these are just some of the side events!!
The devoted police officer (Mr. Tom) who relentlessly tracks down the bad guy of the book is like the good guy version of Hannibal Lector (from "Silence of the Lambs.") No, he's not a cannibal. But Mr. Tom is a former priest who saw the aftermath of a horrible crime, and felt he could do more to catch criminals by becoming a police officer rather than just praying.
Another reason I read these books is because all too often, God sends me people who have been abused by those who are never caught. Every now and then, I need to read about someone who actually gets caught and has to pay some consequences in this life, not just the next, even in a fictional story.
Mr. Tom is incredibly smart and adept at understanding how the villain thinks, toying with him until the bad guy gets reckless enough to finally get caught. I wish there would have been an entire book series centered around Mr. Tom (who goes back to the priesthood and being Father Tom after this case is solved.)
As stated in my earlier posts, I am currently working on a fan letter to Mr. Dean Koontz, the author of the story. I'd better finish soon or my letter will become a novel in itself (I'm already up to 8 typed pages -- if you think my posts are long, you should see my personal correspondence.)
But I sent letters that long to Mr. Koontz back in the day, and he was kind enough to answer some of my specific observations in his own handwriting.
However, I am not, of course, respecting a response to this letter. The reason I mention it is because it gives me the hope that Mr. Koontz will have actually have a chance to read my letter. And my only wish is that he will have a chance to read it and know how deeply his writing has affected -- and helped me.
So until I finally get that piece of writing finished -- and until CC hopefully fixes its glitches so I don't write for almost 60 minutes, only to have the site lose everything I'd written like it did last week -- I probably won't be here as much.
Many thanks to @enril for writing this thread and giving me enough focus to keep working on my letter!
It's taken over a month of writing (I started June 2,) but I think I'm almost ready to send my letter to the author, Mr. Dean Koontz.
He's just such a likeable person. I spent a good chunk of this past week listening to interviews with him while working. He's incredibly intelligent, often reading about things like quantum physics -- and I was delighted to hear that he said he's been criticized by those who work in science because they refuse to believe in God -- but Mr. Koontz sees everything he learns as strong evidence that all points back to God.
My letter is now 10 pages. I had better stop and get it sent, because I have 2 more of his books on hold at the library and if I keep reading, my letter will be almost as long as his novels.
I just pray that it will properly, though I'm sure inadequately, express to him how much I appreciate his work. He is also very involved in charity work, such as providing canine helpers to the differently abled. I can't help but want to be a better person the more I learn about him.
In one of the interviews I listened to, he was on a podcast that was only supposed to be an hour, but he stayed an extra half hour on his own time, answering the channel's Patreon member questions, because he knows YouTube creators rely on this for their livelihood.
I know I needlessly gush about the man, but it's hard to find someone this admirable in real life, let alone a world-famous author (and yes, I know it could be a carefully crafted image just for publicity) -- but the guy has been doing this for 50 years, and that's an awful long time to get away with faking who you are.
I'm also happy to see that CC seems to be on the mend...
So we'll see how soon I'm back to stirring up some trouble in the forums.
He's just such a likeable person. I spent a good chunk of this past week listening to interviews with him while working. He's incredibly intelligent, often reading about things like quantum physics -- and I was delighted to hear that he said he's been criticized by those who work in science because they refuse to believe in God -- but Mr. Koontz sees everything he learns as strong evidence that all points back to God.
My letter is now 10 pages. I had better stop and get it sent, because I have 2 more of his books on hold at the library and if I keep reading, my letter will be almost as long as his novels.
I just pray that it will properly, though I'm sure inadequately, express to him how much I appreciate his work. He is also very involved in charity work, such as providing canine helpers to the differently abled. I can't help but want to be a better person the more I learn about him.
In one of the interviews I listened to, he was on a podcast that was only supposed to be an hour, but he stayed an extra half hour on his own time, answering the channel's Patreon member questions, because he knows YouTube creators rely on this for their livelihood.
I know I needlessly gush about the man, but it's hard to find someone this admirable in real life, let alone a world-famous author (and yes, I know it could be a carefully crafted image just for publicity) -- but the guy has been doing this for 50 years, and that's an awful long time to get away with faking who you are.
I'm also happy to see that CC seems to be on the mend...
So we'll see how soon I'm back to stirring up some trouble in the forums.
i need to chech this guy out. another author i loveis brandon sanderson(guess he cant just call himself by his initials like another aauthor i read) recently i have been reading his ya novels, and man, his adult novels are less dark and more suitable for younger ages than the ya ones. but hes an incredible author.It's taken over a month of writing (I started June 2,) but I think I'm almost ready to send my letter to the author, Mr. Dean Koontz.
He's just such a likeable person. I spent a good chunk of this past week listening to interviews with him while working. He's incredibly intelligent, often reading about things like quantum physics -- and I was delighted to hear that he said he's been criticized by those who work in science because they refuse to believe in God -- but Mr. Koontz sees everything he learns as strong evidence that all points back to God.
My letter is now 10 pages. I had better stop and get it sent, because I have 2 more of his books on hold at the library and if I keep reading, my letter will be almost as long as his novels.
I just pray that it will properly, though I'm sure inadequately, express to him how much I appreciate his work. He is also very involved in charity work, such as providing canine helpers to the differently abled. I can't help but want to be a better person the more I learn about him.
In one of the interviews I listened to, he was on a podcast that was only supposed to be an hour, but he stayed an extra half hour on his own time, answering the channel's Patreon member questions, because he knows YouTube creators rely on this for their livelihood.
I know I needlessly gush about the man, but it's hard to find someone this admirable in real life, let alone a world-famous author (and yes, I know it could be a carefully crafted image just for publicity) -- but the guy has been doing this for 50 years, and that's an awful long time to get away with faking who you are.
I'm also happy to see that CC seems to be on the mend...
So we'll see how soon I'm back to stirring up some trouble in the forums.
Got a one volume Tozer that has most of his works. I must say his section on Heretical things is sooo good, how when you start ignoring Bible versed you do not like you are on the path to heresy.
Hmm, just finished re-listening to the Screwtape letters. Listing to Monster Hunter International now.
My relisten/rereads are the Dresden Files, and David Drake's works.
My relisten/rereads are the Dresden Files, and David Drake's works.
@seoulsearch i got a copy of odd thomas and am about to read it.
K
kqr_anointed
Guest
Keep me posted on what you think!
I have to be honest in that Odd Thomas wasn't among my favorites, but I love that the hero is just an everyday fry cook who loves his job (and is known all over town for his infamous fluffy pancakes.)
I spent about a week listening to all the Dean Koontz interviews I could find, and he said his publisher hated Odd Thomas and didn't want to publish it. One of the reasons is because the main character is so "ordinary," and the publisher argued that you can't have a fry cook as the main hero of an action story. But the readers heavily disagreed, and Odd became one of his most popular characters.
I did love the fact that Odd is always respectful and polite. His girlfriend, Stormy, came from a history of abuse and wants to remain abstinent before marriage so she knows he really loves her, and not what he could get from her, and Odd, wanting whatever makes Stormy happy, obliges without complain (but with some humorous banter.)
Odd Thomas became an 8-book series, which is unusual for Mr. Koontz, as he mostly writes standalones. Unfortunately, my local library system only had 4 of the 8 (and each can be a bit of a standalone, so you don't have to read them all or in sequence to understand what's going on.)
I've read about 50 of his books in the past 8 months; I have 2 more to go and unfortunately, will have gone through everything in the library. I then intend to start buying copies of what I want to read most and then will donate any I don't want to keep to a local retirement home.
The latest interview with Mr. Koontz that I could find was from about a year ago -- he said he gets 20,000 fan letters a year, and is able to answer about 4,000 (along with writing his own newsletter.) He explained that when publishers want their writers to have newsletters, they want to just write something promotional themselves and then just slap the author's name on it. Mr. Koontz insists on writing his own newsletter to have an authentic connection with his readers -- and they are hilarious (he has a website.)
He said he may not be able to answer every letter but he reads every single one.
How on earth he does all this -- writing 40-60 hours a week (he said it can be 80 if he's really in the zone,) puts out 2 books a year, maintains a great relationship with is wife (they've been married almost 60 years,) spends huge amounts of time on research, and reads all his fan mail -- at age 79!!!
I'd pay out the nose just to have 1/10 of the man's energy!
Even more than his books (which even I as an avid reader admit have hits and misses,) I have immense admiration for him and his wife as real people, as they also commit much of their efforts into charity work, often with the differently abled and those with special needs.
I sent my letter July 11, and feel very happy knowing that the chances are high that he will read it. Whether or not he'll enjoy it or not remains up for debate!
I'm excited to hear that you've been introduced to his works and will be eager to hear your honest opinion, whether good or bad.
i ave. arry potter was well written.
K
kqr_anointed
Guest
Hi @enril!
What do you think of Odd Thomas? Don't worry, I certainly won't be offended if you say it's not for you. Even a die-hard Dean Koontz fan like me knows each book will resonate with each reader differently. To be honest, there are some of his books where, if I had read those first, I don't know if I would have continued. These days I do try to read everything from him I can get my hands on just because I like him so much as a person.
I have a very exciting update to tell you about that!!!
But first, I wanted to recommend another author who writes Christian books, usually about our struggles with faith: Mr. Philip Yancey. When I was going through one of the roughest patches of my life, a young nurse suggested to my mom that she get me a copy of Mr. Yancey's book, "Disappointment With God."
That book, along with his, "Where Is God When It Hurts?" are the two most influential Christian books I have ever read (for my own faith, at least,) aside from the Bible. I wrote so many notes in my first copies of those books that they became unreadable -- and I had to buy new copies!
Mr. Yancey takes the toughest situations head-on without flinching. For one part of his research, he flew to a town in Indiana, to a small church where several members of the congregation had been on a certain airplane flight that had crashed. Some of the church members had survived, and some did not.
The pastor preached a sermon in the aftermath in which he prayed, "Thank you Lord, for bringing our fellow brothers and sisters home safely." But the pastor did not acknowledge the other side of the equation, which Mr. Yancey takes on: if you thank God for the survivors, what do you say to those whose loved ones (parents, children, etc.) did NOT survive the crash? (Very much like so many other situations we encounter today -- the family whose loved one's cancerous tumor miraculously disappeared, while the family sitting right across from them who are planning the funeral of their loved one who received no such miracle.)
Do you tell those people to rejoice and thank the Lord that their loved one is in a better place -- while the families of the survivors are all praising God for THEIR loved ones' extension of life and time they have with them? The Biblical answer would say this is exactly what should be done. But Mr. Yancey openly recognizes how troubling this is for the human heart, and tackles the subject with immense compassion and sensitivity.
Like any of us, he doesn't have the answers, but his earnest search for how to handle these very human circumstances with the love of God was a huge boost to my faith.
Back in the day, I wrote him 3 fan letters. As usual, I made notes while I read his books and then pointed out the things in his books that had such a profound effect on my faith, thanking him for all his hard work and efforts. And he answered each time, even sending me an autographed copy of his book, "Reaching for the Invisible God."
In his last letter to me, he apologized that he could not keep up regular correspondence but said he had thoroughly enjoyed my letters, and he that would remember the things I'd shared with him for a good long time.
