The Library…A Lifetime Oasis

This week, on Kingdom Bloggers, we each have a chance to share three books that are favorites of ours, beside the Bible.

I once accompanied my husband on a business trip to Kansas. I was left to explore the area when he was busy .I spent my days visiting the local Library. My friends laughed. They were like “huh?... Didn’t you go to visit any local sites?…the Shopping Mall?” It didn’t make sense to them.

I love to read. I am one of those people who hope that books never stop being made, as I love holding a literal book in my hand.

From early on, the Library was a refuge. Our house could get very noisy with 6 children. We lived in 4 rooms, so privacy was a misnomer. The 3 other apartments held a slew of relatives. People walked in and out of each other’s apartment, even without knocking.

I remember walking to the Library on Saturdays. (And yes I walked many miles, even in the snow…just kidding!!!). There, we would climb the creaky stairs to the upper room, where we listened to stories introducing us to various characters and bringing us to faraway places.

I smile at the pride I felt when I could print my own and therefore qualified to get my very own Library Card.

I devoured books then and I do the same now. I visit our local Library at least 3 days a week. My hobby is also visiting Libraries across CT.

My preferred genres are varied.  Here are some books from recent times.

My first favorite is a series. I cannot separate each book as they weigh in on the whole story. It is called The Redemption Series by Karen Kingsbury. It is about a multi generational family…the Baxter’s.

She is a Christian author with mostly fiction books. Up until reading her, I had leaned heavily towards nonfiction books… particularly Biographies. With her books, I have taken a turn to enjoy fiction books.

One thing about her books, that sets them apart, is that she expresses Contemporary Christian living in an honest manner. She does not explain away problems or sugar coat them. Rather she talks about real life issues, while ultimately offering solutions of faith through Jesus Christ. Her books could be an excellent tool to reach non Christians.

I have read pretty much all of her books. Not all of her series match this one, yet she does have a lot of excellent stand alone titles. One in particular is Divine. It is a very difficult book to read. Yet, as a Christian Author, she again delves into some very real and hard life issues.

My second choice is Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. In the book, she offers writing advice, in a practical way. She can be a bit irreverent at times yet she is very funny…helpful and encouraging to authors. This book makes writing seem doable and even fun.  The main take away from this book is to be an observer of life and to carry index cards around, so as to jot down ideas/observations that you glean in your everyday life.

My third choice is again, not one book but a 2 book set by Jill Austin. They are titled The Master Potter and the Master Potter and the Mountain of Fire. They are allegorical writings.

In them, Jill takes the main character, Forsaken through her journey towards wholeness. She includes heavenly and satanic forces that battle for Forsaken’s soul, until the Master Potter rescues her, giving her a vision of a bright destiny. Eventually, Forsaken’s name is changed to Beloved. In the second book, the journey continues as, Beloved deals with some very important life issues such as, unforgiveness, suffering, illness, a need for miracles as well as a moral failure of someone close to her.

I was drawn to Jill Austin’s Books after hearing her testimony, I found her to be an authentic Christian. She was at once serious and yet hilarious. To me, she exemplified living a Christian life with passion and fearlessness. Sadly, she died a few years ago, unexpectedly. If you can get any of her teaching Cd’s I would recommend them too.

Well…that’s all folks!!!

I remain…

A Lover of Books who says NO to Kindle!

Linda Maynard

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