Need inspirational book recommendations (originally posted in Bookclub)

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Devil Ledbetter

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I have a friend who is in prison, and will be for a very long time--probably the rest of her life. I send her books, because other than e-mailing her cheery messages, sending greeting cards and putting a little cash into her commissary account, it's about all I can do. The prison only allows books ordered directly from Amazon.com and dropped shipped, so I can't use any sub-sellers which means used or out-of-print books are out of the question.

I mainly send her novels I've read that are somewhere on the line between not too depressing and not so frivolous that she won't be able to get into them. This is a harder goal to hit than you'd think, so I'm always happy to take more recommendations on these, too.

However, I know that she's really gotten into her faith (Christianity) since her imprisonment. She sometimes asks for specific spiritual books, and if Amazon has them I send them. But it worries me because they tend to be of the Prosperity Gospel variety that couple Send Me Money with Magical Positive Thinking, using the ever-present out that "If it didn't work for you, you just failed to pray hard enough."

I hate to support those charlatans.

So what I'm looking for is any recommendations of sincere, uplifting Christian/spiritual books suitable for a prison inmate. If you have any suggestions, please share!
 

Calla Lily

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Tracy Groot's books. All of them. She is the only Christian autjor I read. Her stuff is excellent and meaty. They have some Christian-speak, naturally, but well worth reading.
 

Carrie in PA

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Don't know if these would fit what you're looking for, but...

I personally really enjoyed the Sister to Sister trilogy by Virginia Smith. They're not quite as fluffy as the description sounds, but they have a more realistic feel than, say, Karen Kingsbury.

Liz Curtis Higgs's Bad Girls of the Bible (then Really Bad Girls & Slightly Bad Girls) is really good, too. She mixes fiction with fact (as in she writes a story set in today's time that mirrors the Biblical woman, then goes into factual info) and gives in-depth looks at the women God used, warts and all.
 

mrsmig

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Does she like fantasy? If she wouldn't be offended by receiving books intended for younger readers, you can't go far wrong with C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. Classic fantasy with strong Christian themes.
 

Deb Kinnard

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About the only C-fic writer I read anymore is Carolyne Aarsen. She's terrific. If your friend likes romances where everything doesn't just fall into place because someone prays, these books may be a hit with her.
 

ULTRAGOTHA

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Dorothy L. Sayers’s The Man Born to be King. Also, any of her other Apologia. She also did a translation of Dante’s Inferno.

The Man Born to be King is a series of 12 radio plays Sayers wrote during or just after WWII for the BBC. They run from Christ’s birth to the Assumption. I find them fascinating and there exists the possibility she could organize a reading of the plays with other inmates which might pass the time and be a bit of fun. Now’s a good time to start as the first few plays deal with Christmas.

I don’t know if it’s available on Amazon, alas. But if it is, it’s well worth the read.

Would she enjoy Christian-themed books like A Wrinkle In Time by Madeline L’Engle or books set during the time of Christ like The Bronze Bow by … Elizabeth(?) George?

These are YA books so I don’t know if your adult friend would like them. I like them very much despite my accumulation of years.
 

A_Read

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I really like Elizabeth Goudge. She's old school, wrote in the 40's and 50's and early 60's, but they have really well-constructed moods to them. Really take you out of where you are and make you feel like you're there. They aren't usually sold as Christian, but her characters always have a (Christian) faith journey integral to the story. Green dolphin street is supposed to be the best. I just finished the Scent of Water. Everything did not work out perfectly just because someone learned to pray, but rather it was more about acceptance.
 
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Devil Ledbetter

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These all sound great! Please keep the suggestions coming, I have a lot of years to send books to her. She has enjoyed the YA books I've sent her previously.
 

ULTRAGOTHA

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What other YA books has she enjoyed?

What restrictions does the prison have on the content of books inmates can receive?
 

Devil Ledbetter

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What other YA books has she enjoyed?
She really liked Tell the Wolves I'm Home. I'm not sure if it's YA or litfic, but it does have a young protag.

What restrictions does the prison have on the content of books inmates can receive?
I don't know of any specific restrictions. I think you can send any book you like, but whether it reaches the inmate is at the discretion of the correctional staff.
 

ULTRAGOTHA

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I read the synopsis of that book and it looks good; but my tastes are so very different that I don't know if anything I recommend would be similar.

Would To Kill A Mockingbird be too triggery for her?

There's A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

What about the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder?
 

Deb Kinnard

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It's not C-fic, but her work deals very gently with bedsports between consenting adults, and is not offensive in the violence thing either: Susanna Kearsley. This isn't YA fiction, it's meant for grown-ups. I recommend very highly THE SHADOWY HORSES and THE ROSE GARDEN, though I have never bought a Kearsley title I did not enjoy.
 

Carrie in PA

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It's not C-fic, but her work deals very gently with bedsports between consenting adults, and is not offensive in the violence thing either: Susanna Kearsley. This isn't YA fiction, it's meant for grown-ups. I recommend very highly THE SHADOWY HORSES and THE ROSE GARDEN, though I have never bought a Kearsley title I did not enjoy.

I was thinking about this thread yesterday and actually thinking of recommending her as well. You beat me to it. :) My personal favorites are Mariana and The Winter Sea. The Rose Garden is probably my #3 pick.

If she wants some fluffier C-fic, Janice Thompson's Weddings By Bella series is cute. I read the first 3 and just discovered #4. She has a ton of other books, too, but I've only read those three.
 

Lizzie7800

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My personal fave christian fiction authors are: Francine Rivers, Dee Henderson and Terri Blackstock.

new Christian authors that aren't as well known: Leah Banicki, Patricia Strefling

Non-fiction: Lisa Tyrkhurst is really good, very real.

Bible Studies: Beth Moore, Breaking Free might be good. Kay Arthur precept studies are awesome, but are pretty in depth.

I don't read as much non-fiction, as reading is my escape from reality. I could go on and one for specific fiction authors, but if you wanted that you could just go look at the library. :)
 

ULTRAGOTHA

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Not necessarily Christian, but check out Cynthia Voigt's books. I'm thinking primarily of her Tillerman series, which are YA, but all her stuff is good.

Homecoming; Dicey's Song; A Solitary Blue; The Runner; Come a Stranger; Sons from Afar; Seventeen Against the Dealer
 

Kersten

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After thinking a bit more….

Non Prosperity Gospel Nonfiction:

Orhodoxy. by G.K. Chesterton
Mere Christianity. C.S. Lewis
Benefit of the Doubt. Greg Boyd
Simply Jesus, N.T. Wright
Answering God: the Psalms as Tools for Prayer, Eugene H. Peterson
Evolving in Monkey Town, Rachel Held Evans

Fiction:

The Power and the Glory: Graham Greene
The Lord of the Rings trilogy

And erm…the YA The Goblin Wars trilogy: Tyger Tyger, In the Forests of the Night, and When the Stars Threw Down Their Spears by Kersten Hamilton (me!)
 

Chris P

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For non-fic, I really enjoy Ronald Rolheiser's books Against an Infinite Horizon and The Holy Longing. I haven't read it, but his book Restless Heart looks like it might be good for someone in your friend's situation.

A friend of mine reads a lot more inspirational stuff than I do. She's recently said a lot of good stuff about a couple books she liked, but I can't reacall the titles right now (some friend I am, huh?). I'll send her an email and post it when I hear back.
 

Chris P

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Here are my friend's recommendations:

Some more books might be 'The Shack,' 'One Thousand Gifts' by Ann Voskamp, 'Battlefield of the Mind' by Joyce Meyer, 'He Chose the Nails' by Max Lucado. I love Max Lucado and his books are fantastic! 'Not a Fan' is also good. 'God Told Me' by Jim Samra (pastor at a church I used to attend) is also good. Only 'The Shack' is fiction.
 

Lavern08

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I second Chris' recommendation of The Shack.
 

citymouse

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Any books by or about Corrie Ten Boom, who said, 'There is no pit so deep that God's love is not deeper still.' Wonderful!
C
 

Devil Ledbetter

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I am cataloging all of these great suggestions to send out to her over time. Everyone, thank you so much! And keep 'em coming. :heart:
 
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