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Print In a society saturated with choices, sometimes it's nice to receive some knowledgeable recommendations. This week, instead of answering a letter, I decided to do an “Essentials” column. I have a few all-time favorite books that I can’t resist sharing with you all. Before I do so, I want to make a disclaimer. Three of these books have been made into movies—and not very good ones. Please don’t assume that the poor quality of a movie is indicative of the wonder of these magnificent books.
The Robe
by Lloyd C. Douglas My friend Julietta Turner Armstrong LeFleur always kept up to date on the popular books and mailed the ones she liked to me. This was one of the ones she sent and, as soon as the postman dropped it through the mail slot, I sat down to see what it was about. That was late morning. Several hours later, I realized that it was getting dark and I hadn’t even started dinner. I jumped up from my chair by the window and quickly decided to make breakfast for supper. (That was the fastest meal I could think of!) I read while I set the table and while I was mixing the pancake batter. I read while I cooked the pancakes (and burned a couple before I finally set the book down). My dear Harry could tell I was distracted all evening and, once we headed to bed, I took the book back out to see what would happen next. Harry dropped right off to sleep and I continued reading late into the night. He didn’t awaken until a half hour before sunrise, and that was from the sound of me blowing my nose after crying my way through the final chapter. The ending is very sad and I am deeply concerned about anyone who can read all the way through it without getting emotional. Douglas wrote other books in this genre, including The Big Fisherman about the life of Peter, but The Robe remains my favorite.
The Silver Chalice
by Thomas Bertram Costain It focuses on Basil, a slave who is hired by the Apostle Luke to create a silver chalice. Basil gets acquainted with the early church leaders and the reader meets them along with him. Once again, the world of the early church is opened up and I remember realizing, for the very first time, that Paul and Peter and Luke and the other disciples were real people, with real thoughts and feelings, just like me! This one, I read aloud to Harry during a car trip to Nebraska. My dear Harry did all the driving and I did all the reading. Goodness gracious, did it make the time go by quickly! Instead of watching corn and wheat fields go by, we were “seeing” Palestine, back in the days of the early church!
They Loved to Laugh
by Kathryn Worth Although this is not as intellectual as the other books I’m recommending, Harry and I enjoyed it thoroughly—as did my brown-eyed darling, Kristy, a half century later. What’s especially nice is that this book was recently re-released, which made it possible for me to buy it for all the young women in my church’s youth group.
Christy
by Catherine Marshall This book was written by Christy’s daughter 50 years after Christy traveled to the remote Appalachian town of Cutter Gap, Tennessee in 1912 to teach school at a mission. Her privileged life was no preparation for the poverty, hunger, illness, and feuds she encountered. By the end, however, she’s won the hearts of the townspeople, and of two very different men. This was another of those books that I could not set down, but by the time it was published in the 1960s, Harry had gotten accustomed to my occasional reading bursts and the day I read Christy, he cooked dinner for us, encouraged me to read at the table, and even handed me his clean handkerchief when I cried at the end.
Redeeming Love
by Francine Rivers This story, set during the 1850s California Gold Rush days, is the story of the love of a godly man for a sad and broken prostitute. You remember the story of Hosea in the Bible? Francine Rivers uses that story as a starting point for her tale of Michael Hosea and Angel, the woman he loves. Though this is basically a love story, I know several men who’ve read the book and they say it was life changing for them. This book is not for the squeamish! Although handled as tastefully as possible, this is, after all, the story of a prostitute, so be aware that the author does not hesitate to cover the difficulties of Angel’s life.
Happy reading! Sincerely Sincere, Gabby ninetyandnine.com © 2004, ninetyandnine.com --------- Gabrigail VanBurden, also known as Dear Gabby, writes a bi-weekly column for ninetyandnine.com. She has been reading for the better part of a century. It was a challenge for her to focus on the written page when she got her latest pair of trifocals, but she’s finally figured out which line to look through. |
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