I don't have anything against fiction, or people who do read fiction. But for most of my life I have regarded fiction as a gigantic waste of time. I read a ton, but not just for the joy of reading. I read for the joy of learning. If I want fiction, I watch MSNBC.
Just kidding.
I'm leaving for vacation on Friday. I'll be gone for about week. We're going to a location where my cell phone and email will not work. If someone wants to get a hold of me (other than Kari), they'll need to get on an airplane. I love my job and the people at our church, but I'm going to a place where they can't find me.
And, I need a couple of books to read while I'm laying on the beach. But, I'm not allowing myself to take any non-fiction books along. If I read non-fiction, I'll think about how to apply it at work, and I'd like to not think about work so I can be fully refreshed when I return.
Here's my request: You get one (1) fiction book recommendation. If it isn't one of the "Left Behind" books, "The Da Vinci Code," "The Shack," a Nicholas Sparks book, "The Giver," or "Elmo Wants to Play," I haven't read it. Which single book of fiction would you recommend?
Keep in mind, I'm reading for entertainment on the beach... not to be beat over the head. Don't come at me with Dostoevsky or something that's going to make me read with a dictionary. I don't want to carry a dictionary to the beach. They're heavy.
So... I need your help. What's one fiction book I can't miss? Comment away.
13 comments:
Hawke by ted bell-kind of a modern james bond
Since you are looking for fiction and can go at it from that angle, read The Shack. I'd be interested in your comments on it anyway.
Hey Malcolm,
"The Shack" is one I've read. If you're interested in my comments, I blogged about it a couple of years ago. http://chrisfreeland.blogspot.com/2008/05/shack.html
Ice by Shane Johnson
Sorry, I missed the way you phrased your recommendation request. I have another for you. East of Eden.
At work, the first that come to mind:
The Glass Castle--Walls
Of Mice and Men--Steinbeck
Farenheit 451--Bradbury
The Adromeda Strain-Crichton
Night--Wiesel
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denosvich--Solzhenitsyn
Poisonwood Bible-Kingsolver
Oh, I cheated on so many levels with that answer.
Oh! how could I forget:
The Kite Runner
and
A Thousand Splendid Suns
same author, can't remember the name.
Excellent both; but disturbing.
Any book by Ted Dekker is phenomenal. I've yet to read one I didn't like. If I had to pick just ONE, I'd go with the Circle trilogy. Ok, so technically it's three books, but they come bound together in one book, so does that count as one?!
Another good one is Obsessed. Also by Dekker. Have fun!
Your mom recommends Toby Tyler.
I'd go with a classic by Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, or Anthony Trollope.
Jeremiah recommends Once Upon a Potty.
Hey Chris!
I think your blog is great and I hope y'all have a restful vacation. (This is Adam's wife, by they way). Adam and I tend to reread Harry Potter books and Lord of the Rings on vacation...we're just nerdy like that. We know its entertaining and light reading.
I've been wanting to reread a book I read in college, Deadline by Randy Alcorn. You may enjoy it.
Kendall & Adam Brunson
Kendall,
Thanks! Great to hear from you. You tell Adam whenever he is ready to be hired away from his current place to give me a call so I can tell the people where to back up the dump truck full of cash.
Chris
Fiction Vacations are good to take sometimes. I second Deb. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is a fantastic read. Fantastic writer, educational in some sense. In no sense a Christian book, but I support a fellow missionary in Afghanistan, and it help give me an inside look at his world and the people he is working with.
The Circle Trilogy by Ted Dekker is also good. Dekker is not as much of a word smith like Hosseini but it is the best Christian Fiction I have read.
I am not a huge fiction guy either but both Hosseni and Dekker left me wishing there was more to read.
Enjoy the vacation.
I know it is after your vacation (I am behind in reading blogs), but I echo the Ted Dekker recommendation. The Circle trilogy is particularly powerful. In addition, "Heaven's Wager" is very challenging. My first Dekker book was "Blessed Child" which he co-wrote with Bill Bright. It is worth the read.
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