Chicks On Lit discussion

Hi All
I pick the books for my church book club and am starting to run out of ideas. The books shouldn't have any swearing or sex scenes. Anyone have any suggestions?

Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Saving Ceecee Honeycutt: A Novel

both those come to the top of my mind. Ill try to think of more for you :)

What have you read so far? Have you done Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet? I don't think there's any swearing in it and I know there are no sex scenes. I'll try to think up some others.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett.

The Autobiography of God: A Novel by Julius Lester

This was recommended to me by a pastor of a Unitarian church - loved it!

A Walk with Jane Austen: A Journey into Adventure, Love, and Faith – great nonfiction book about a woman who goes to all the places mentioned in Austen's books or in Austen's life. There's a religious side to the tale as well.


Fireflies in December – winner of a christian fiction award and I read this after The Help. It's deliciously powerful and riveting. I came across it by random happenstance. A task for a reading challenge required a xtian fiction read. Kindle offered this book for free. I said why not! And was happy with the choice. There might be some cursing BUT it's the dialogue. I wouldn't say it's overly cursing. Just a few times like in The Help.

Bel Canto. My book club loved this novel. We even acted out the characters and asked another questions regarding our motivations or actions in the story. It produced a lot of talk. I forgot this one has a sex scene but it isn't graphic. It's kinda you know they went into a room.

Karen Kingsbury books are appropriate as well as Janette Oke. Brenda, Are you familiar with those authors?

I second "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett.

Another suggestion...
"Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust" by Immaculee Ilibagiza or her other book
"Led by Faith."

The Wednesday Letters – sniffed so much!!!

These are the first ones that came to mind:

Home Another Way by Christa Parrish

The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom

Redeeming Love or anything else by Francine Rivers

Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God by Francis Chan

When Crickets Cryby Charles Martin

In Search of Edenby Linda Nichols

The Screwtape Lettersby C.S. Lewis

I'm sure I can think of some more, but that's a start!

Thanks for all the ideas. Keep them coming !!!!

Have a Little Faith: The Story of a Last Request Loved this book
The Last Lecture ditto

Heather wrote: "These are the first ones that came to mind:
Home Another Way by Christa Parrish
The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
Redeeming Love or anything els..."

I really loved The Screwtape Letters, it made me a C.S. Lewis fan, if you don't end up picking it for your book club, I still recommend it.

Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. My all-time favorite book. Everyone I know who read this loved it. Based on the book of Hosea, but in a California gold rush setting. Never could get into any of her other books.

At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon.

The Shack
there is a lot here for a good discussion

Between Sundays a little sappy, and predictable ending, but a great modern christian read

and of course Left behind, I just finished the first one and have plenty of questions if I had someone to discuss with

Orson Scott Card has a nice series about women in the Old Testament.

Little Bee, Mudbound, The Five People You Meet in Heaven, Olive Kitteridge, Stones Into Schools, Sarah's Key, The Water is Wide, and Tuesdays With Morrie are some that come to mind.

The Peacegiver: How Christ Offers to Heal Our Hearts and Homes
I know you weren't looking for "churchy" books, but this one is pretty amazing.

The Elm Creek Quilt series by Jennifer Chiaverini and the Mitford series by Jan Karon.

Anything by [[author:Frank E. Peretti|5544] - This Present Darkness is especially good. It's definitely on the scary side, but an excellent discussion piece!

How open minded are your church group? do they like to debate issues of faith? - if you want to try some non-fiction The Puzzle of God by Peter Vardy is very interesting. We used this book when I did my A Level in Christian Theology and I found it opened a lot of doors in my mind.

If you're looking for fiction reads though I can suggest I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith, which is a wonderful fairytale for adults and has some laugh out loud moments.

Ally

Hi, I don't know if this helps..probably not, but if you are looking for fiction, I have written a Christian family novel called 'Where The Fox Goes.' Set in the end of the twentieth century, it has a town facing hardships and closures being gradually brought together to save the allotments and Wastelands, partly by their compassion for each other, and in caring for a small lost cat. In the early nineteenth century, the same land was threatened by the enclosures. It's about people power and Christian ethics. It's in pdf form at present, which means it could back up a minimalistic budget.
This group looks fun, or I wouldn't have the timidity to join.

Hi, I don't know if this is any use, probably not. However, I have written a Christian family fiction novel called Where The Fox Goes. It's about a town facing hardships and closures, whose only green space, the allotments and Wastelands are under threat from developers. The residents love this area, and their compassion for each other and concern for a small lost cat enable them to make enough contacts to fight the scheme. This action is set in the late twentieth century, but over a hundred years before, the same land was the subject of the Enclosures Act. It's only in pdf at present, but this might help a minimalistic group budget! It's about people power and Christians trying to live by their beliefs.
(This group looks fun or I wouldn't have the temerity to join.)

Jane Eyre-- I'd recommend this to anyone, actually

Jane Eyre-- I'd recommend this to anyone, actually

ChristybyCatherine Marshall

A Man Called Peter: The Story of Peter Marshallby Catherine Marshall

The Good Earthby Pearl S. Buck

The Yearlingby Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

I have read several by Beth Moore
and haven't found one I didn't love. That holds true for Max Lucado but Im sure you have him on your list already. Beth Moore

Daughter of China I started this one but never finished it. It seemed to have an interesting premise and some good characters.

If you want something lighter, you can try the Hope Street Church mysteries. The first is called Stirring Up Strife. Here's a list of Christian titles from Thorndike Press: http://thorndike.gale.com/upload/CLP2... They have a line of large print Christian books, you can just search for books, don't have to read them in large print.

Hi, I'm a bit late to the conversation, I just found this thread. I've written a book that I like to call a "Presbyterian Mystery," called Tree Huggers, about a single mom who takes a job as a reporter and ends up covering a murder trial. Although it's not a certified Christian approved book, the issue of faith, redemption and the benefits of having a church family are part of the plot. And while there's a romance, there are no sex scenes. (I can't write those without laughing)

The Dream Giver
A Voice in the Wind
An Echo in the Darkness
The Oath
The Impact of a Single Event

The Robe by Lloyd C Douglas. It was written in the 1950s and is about the soldier who tossed for Jesus' robe and won and how he sets out to discover who Jesus was. Excellent book.
The Robe

The Boy from Baby House 10: From the Nightmare of a Russian Orphanage to a New Life in America

This is a perfect choice for a church book club!

Anything from Francine Rivers, Angela Elwell Hunt - those are two of my favorite Christian fiction authors. Their books and characters really draw you in, but always have great themes and a message for one to draw from.
There is also an author whose book I finished recently, named Kathleen Morgan. Her book Daughter of Joy was very good if you like Christian romance.

Brenda wrote: "Hi All
I pick the books for my church book club and am starting to run out of ideas. The books shouldn't have any swearing or sex scenes. Anyone have any suggestions?"

Hi Brenda, I just finished a book by Marie Bostwick called book:Threading the Needle|11543651] It was a nice, clean read about new beginnings and regaining trust.

I haven't read this book yet so I have no idea if it applies, but it's worth looking in to.Thin Places: A Memoir

Don't have the time to read through all the postings, so I am not sure if these were already mentioned, but my churchgroup really enjoyed:

Left To Tell

Same Kind of Different As Me

both memoire type books.

I loved The Potluck Club by Linda Evans Shepherd and Eva Marie Everson.

This is a series and deals with so many issues that occur in church social circles.

My church has two book groups. One reads mostly nonfiction; the other mostly fiction. For nonfiction, I recommend An Altar in the World by Barbara Brown Taylor. She's a wonderful writer. And A People's History of Christianity: The Other Side of the Story by Diana Butler Bass. Fascinating and informative about how ordinary people spread this new faith.

For fiction, recent group favorites are Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, Cutting for Stone, My Name is Mary Sutter, and The Syringa Tree: a Novel. This month's read is The Cookbook Collector

I was just starting to reread The Warden, by Anthony Trollope. Its central figure is a religious, but not at all self-righteous, man.

Shelley
Rain: A Dust Bowl Story
http://dustbowlpoetry.wordpress.com

The Year of Living Biblically is a great book club read. Our church book club read it a couple of years ago.
The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible As Literally As Possible

"Out of the Fire & Into the Light" is the true story of living with domestic violence, abortion, suicide and betrayal. It is also a story of forgiveness and God's protection through extreme trials.

There are a few points of profanity which depict the rage of the husband at the time.

Out of the Fire & Into the Light

Crestmont by Holly Weiss.

Our reading group has read the following:
Sarah by Marek Halter
Faking Grace by Tamara Leigh
The Penny by Joyce Meyer
A Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers
Healing Waters by Nancy Rue
Any Minute by Joyce Meyer
Cherished by Kim Cash Tate
Soon by Jerry Jenkins
And a whole lot more ...

The Housekeeper and the Professor has no sex, no swearing, no violence. It is not overtly religious, infact religion is never mentioned, but it is very appropriate for a church group.

I'm a huge fan of Susan Howatch and her series called The Starbridge Series, is soooo good. It is a historical series about the Church of England. Not at all a topic that I usually read but since Howatch wrote it, it's a series to read. There are 6 full length novels in the main series and then a present day 3 book series that wraps things up. My very favorite is The High Flyer which helps explain some of the puzzles of life. At least it did for me!

I enjoyed the Susan Howatch series Lori mentioned. I really liked the simplified philosophical questions and the bits of church history, in which I am interested .