Monday, October 03, 2005

A New (Old) Slew of Book Recommendations -- Volume Two

See the earlier post for the explanation of how our Christmas letter works and for the first four recommendations in my fiction list. (Upcoming: the rest of my fiction picks, the non-fiction picks, and Claire's mixed-genre selections.)

5) The works of Rafael Sabatini. I just discovered this writer two years ago and have devoured seven of his adventurous novels so far including Scaramouche, The Hound of God, and Bardelys the Magnificent.

6) I re-read as much as I read nowadays and I’ve recently repeated a dozen or so of John Buchan’s wonderful stories. They are chock full of heroism, adventure, intrigue, and romance in its classic meaning. Start off with The Thirty-Nine Steps.

7) Safely Home by Randy Alcorn. I do not read Christian fiction much but I’ve made Randy an exception. Very good writing, believable plots, orthodox theology – you get far more than the run of the mill stuff from this writer. His Ishbane Conspiracy is another I’d heartily recommend from my recent reading.

8) You Know Me, Al by Ring Lardner. This nearly forgotten novel is Americana at its best. You like baseball? Humor? Droll observations of life? The special delights of American slang and tall tales? They’re all here...and more.