Girly fiction

[Knoxienne]

It's too bad that Jane Austen it thought of as girly writing. I think men miss good literature by not reading her. I don't think a secular book should be read primarily for the story line. You miss so much good lit if that's why you read. One should read primarily to enjoy the artistic ability the writer has. You will find great artistic ability in the writings of the Bronte sisters, for example...especially Emily!

I've tried to get into Jane Austen and I just can't. I even tried reading Persuasion after seeing The Lake House and still couldn't enjoy it. And it's frustrating, because everyone loves her!

-----Added 5/29/2009 at 06:50:49 EST-----

I tend to love Jane Austen and Elizabeth Gaskell novels. Also, there's a great little book by Elizabeth Prentiss called Stepping Heavenward! Its wonderful, you would really love it based on the books you already mentioned!

Stepping Heavenward is great! I highly recommend that one.

 

[OPC'n]

Have you tried the Bronte sisters? They are much better than Jane. If you haven't, I would suggest Wuthering Heights to anyone. Again, the story line is less than top notch but her writing abilities go through the roof.

 

[Knoxienne]

Have you tried the Bronte sisters? They are much better than Jane. If you haven't, I would suggest Wuthering Heights to anyone. Again, the story line is less than top notch but her writing abilities go through the roof.

I'll try them! I'm horrible at fiction, but I'll try them and see. Thank you, Sarah.

 

[Gloria]

I read Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss and loved it. I haven't read any of her other books but can vouch for this one...

-----Added 5/29/2009 at 01:22:50 EST-----

Have you tried the Bronte sisters? They are much better than Jane. If you haven't, I would suggest Wuthering Heights to anyone. Again, the story line is less than top notch but her writing abilities go through the roof.

LOVED Wuthering Heights! It's slow, but good...

 

[Joseph Scibbe]

I have Wuthering Heights and could send it to you if you like. The last fiction book I read was Lord of the Rings so I could not telll you what is "in".

 

[Grace Alone]

I am glad you ladies reminded me of "Stepping Heavenward". I gave it to our older daughter for her 16th birthday, but I have never read it. I just went and took it off the bookshelf and will read it this summer!

I'm not much of a fiction reader, so I think I'd like to read "The Savage, My Kinsman", too. I've read a couple of Elisabeth Elliot's books before. Oh, and one of my favorite books is by her, "A Chance to Die", which is about the missionary Amy Carmichael. It's better than fiction because it is a true story!

 

[LawrenceU]

I'll check with my daughter, a voracious reader. She has quite a list that she has compiled over the years of worthy reading for women. She is almost 14, but she has the mind of a young lady in her early 20's when it comes to literature.

 

[JennyG]

Is anyone still reading this thread?
I don't think anyone mentioned the novels of Charlotte M Yonge. Does anyone know them? The Heir of Redclyffe, The Daisy Chain, Pillars of the House, Heartsease, Hopes and Fears etc etc etc including a host of (less good) historical titles if that's your thing.... they are my alltime dearest bedside books (which is when I want something really warming, uplifting and edifying but not intellectually hard work) and there are almost enough of them to keep in perpetual rotation. I slightly hesitate to commend them to anyone from the States because they are VERY Victorian English. I also slightly hesitate to commend them to anyone of a reformed persuasion because she was an anglo-catholic, deeply involved with the Oxford movement. Best of all is a writer whose thinking you don't have to apply a filter to, but her theology is sufficiently in the background that you can forget it. If you don't find that a problem with Lewis or Tolkien it shouldn't be with Yonge, and she is just such an excellent writer.
Typically in her novels (which are good for all ages -- some actual children's books among them) there will be a huge family, whose characters are depicted with such truth you feel you know each one of them intimately.. they grow up, they develop, interact, meet with trials, make good or bad choices, and through all, the writer's overarching concern is their Christian walk (of course that's the reason she went out of fashion after being a mega-bestseller in Victorian times). In Stepping Heavenwards I loved that same sense of literature made to serve a serious purpose more important than itself, but I didn't find the writing nearly so good, or the characters half as real and involving. Jane Austen and the Brontes are great writers, but they don't by any means put first things first.
I'm sure that what you feed your mind on in your leisure times is of crucial importance, so a writer like dear old Charlotte M Yonge can be pure gold to any believer who loves really good fiction! Sorry to go on so -- but I'm a born bookworm, and when I was fighting my way through from a worldly mindset and nominal Christianity towards the real thing, I owed her so much!

 

[rbcbob]

I love reading but I have run into a little problem... I´ve read through all Francine Rivers´books + some books of -Lynn Austin, -Bodie og Brock Theone, -Janette Oke, -L. B. Graham og Liz Curtis Higgs.
So I wondered; do any of you know some good authors?
Christian fiction, historic, biblical novelles.

The Parting by Beverly Lewis. It is Part One of a trilogy about an Amish couple who did not know the Lord but upon reading the Bible for themselves come to faith and suffer the consequences in their community.

There is a real-life version of this happening right now in Pennsylvania, USA. I know a Reformed Baptist pastor who has been instrumental in this awakening.

Beverly Lewis' books are very stirring and she knows the details of Amish life well.

 

[lynnie]

I would say that two of the best christian novels ever written are "Safely Home" by Randy Alcorn, and Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe.