Favourite Christian books

[PenguinsAndPandasOhMy]

The title probably says it all really! I’d love some recommendations for Christian books - books about Christianity, biographies or autobiographies of Christians, fiction books with a Christian theme, etc.

I’m not at all well read so I doubt my recommendations will be new to anyone, but I really enjoyed ‘The Hiding Place’ and ‘In My Father’s House’ by Corrie ten Boom, and also ‘Mere Christianity’ by C.S. Lewis.

In This House of Brede by Rumer Goden.
I Leap Over the Wall by Monica Baldwin

The Shack. By WM Paul Young.

I liked "The Jesus I Never Knew" by Philip Yancey, which someone gave me when I was 1st baptised.

Susan Howatch's Starbridge books and the St Benet's trilogy.

Susan Howatch was great. Hated The Shack. John Pritchard's How to Pray does what it says on the tin. Is accessible, encouraging and transformed my (prayer) life.

The Sacred Romance, Eldredge.

Gilead - Marilynne Robinson. Also Lila and another book with same characters but told from different points of view.

C S Lewis - The Screwtape Letters and The Great Divorce are both excellent
Dorothy Day - Notes on Following Jesus
The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry (can't remember the author)

Fiction:
Flannery O'connor - Wise Blood
Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov

I'm sure I'll be back with more!

I like John Ortbergs books, "the life you've always wanted" and "if you want to walk on water, you have to get out of the boat" in particular. I've also read "how to pray" by Pete Gregg recently and that was very good, as is the John Pritchard one mentioned above.
"The practice of the presence of God" by Brother Lawrence is worth reading too.

The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass aged 37 and 3/4

Feel led to keep a diary. A sort of spiritual log for the benefit of others in the future. Each new divine insight and experience will shine like a beacon in the darkness!

Can't think of anything to put in today.

Fiction: The Book of Deborah by Maggy Whitehouse (there are two sequels as well)
The Narnia series (even though I'm an adult!)

Non fic:
Surprised by Joy - CS Lewis
Surprised by Oxford - Carolyn Weber
A severe mercy - Sheldon Vanauken
Finding Happiness - Christopher Jamison
Finding Sanctuary - Christopher Jamison

For spirituality, Gerry Hughes, God of Surprises is wonderful.

Anything by Sara Maitland, a feminist theologian is surprising, challenging, delightful. Not sure what is still in print. Definitely worth looking at.

Actually, it might help if you say what you are looking for/want to find out about. It's a huge and varied field in publishing and if you could be a bit more specific I'm sure you will get more helpful suggestions

The Narnia series

Oh, also G K Chesterton is fabulous.

Chasing the dragon by Jackie Pullinger - an autobiography.
Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis.
Run Baby Run by Nicky Cruz
The Fourth Dimension by Yongi Cho

If you like Hiding Place, try God's Smuggler or Secret Believers by Brother Andrew.

I love Jeff Lucas especially Faith in the Fog and Specs and Planks.

Adventures in Fishing for Men is in the same vein as Adrian Plass's books

A second for Gilead and Lila by Marilynne Robinson. Both wonderful, wise, books.
For some reason I didn't enjoy the other two as much.

I second rumer godden "in this house of Brede". I've just finished "five for sorrow ten for joy" also about nuns but unexpectedly dramatic. Loved it. I'd read "Black narcissus" her first nun book but saw the 3 parter TV series at Christmas so don't want to read it just yet.

I recently enjoyed the audio book of Jane Eyre for free on Spotify. I really enjoyed how religion is a main theme. I'd not noticed that when I read it previously.

I also liked the religion aspects of "brideshead revisited" when I reread that. It's such a great book.

Am looking to find more classics that explore religion. Also planning to read some of the books mentioned here. Will come back to this thread. Thanks.

Ooh I forgot you have to look up Nick Page. He's amazing. So accessible and informative. I'd recommend the nearly infallible history of Christianity or something like that. Its like a horrible histories for Christianity. Funny and informative.

He also writes a trilogy that I enjoy reading around Easter and the appropriate times of the church year. One is called "the wrong messiah" which is the Jesus in the run up to Easter book. Then there is" the longest week" the Easter book. Another's "the ship of fools" which is Acts of the Apostles in detail. I'm going to read his Christmas book this Christmas.

@ZenNudist

I second rumer godden "in this house of Brede". I've just finished "five for sorrow ten for joy" also about nuns but unexpectedly dramatic. Loved it. I'd read "Black narcissus" her first nun book but saw the 3 parter TV series at Christmas so don't want to read it just yet.

I recently enjoyed the audio book of Jane Eyre for free on Spotify. I really enjoyed how religion is a main theme. I'd not noticed that when I read it previously.

I also liked the religion aspects of "brideshead revisited" when I reread that. It's such a great book.

Am looking to find more classics that explore religion. Also planning to read some of the books mentioned here. Will come back to this thread. Thanks.

Graham Greene, Flannery O'connor and Iris Murdoch are good for (modern) classics with religion spun in.

And of course Lord of the Rings!

Also not a book but the most beautiful poem I ever encountered in my Lit undergrad is an anonymous poem called 'Quia Amore Langueo'

Timothy Ratcliffe is excellent.

'The Mountain Calls' by Robin Matteson.

Fabulous!

You might have read it already but I'd also recommend 'God's Generals' by Robert Liardon. Contains biographies of various well known preachers.