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Preferences and Style

rose placed on book with book pages curled in to form a heart

Since we all have things we tend to gravitate toward, I thought I would compile some of my observations about my library and tastes from over the years.

For Christian fiction, I have noticed that:

  • I have a penchant toward getting series, especially for historical fiction. And due to being a completionist, I try to get as many backlist titles as I can.
  • I am growing a small collection of suspense books to offset the amount of romance that I read, but at the end of the day, I still like the warm and fuzzies (although some romances are definitely set against grittier themes).
  • I have some auto-buy authors, but I am realizing that I am quickly running out of space on my bookshelves. I appreciate the new releases; however, I am likely still trying to catch up!
  • I am starting to read more from independent authors, especially due to Kindle Unlimited. It has definitely been a way to find more Christian authors, and I appreciate that I don't have to worry about availability through the library.
  • I am finding that more and more contemporary titles seem to incorporate things that I would not necessarily have envisioned within Christian books. I understand that some authors are becoming cross-over authors for broader appeal, but there are still some things that are surprising to see from time-to-time, given the Christian worldview. As a result, I am more often second-guessing my contemporary fiction purchases whereas for historical fiction, I don't have to scrutinize my decisions as much.

For Christian non-fiction, I have noticed that:

  • I deeply enjoy reading books on apologetics. This stems from being introduced to The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel at a young age, and appreciating books more centered on logic and facts than on emotions.
  • I have a lot of books on cross-cultural relations due to my passion for this topic. There has definitely been more books on racial relations now than existed a few decades ago when I was writing my theses about the subject.
  • I am starting to add more books about contemporary issues, like the aforementioned. Since a lot of the Christian non-fiction books I have are from my time in Bible college and seminary, finding updated books has kept me a little more current with the social issues we're facing.
  • I have a sizeable amount of Christian books related to work, leadership, productivity, organization, and so forth due to professional development funds and gifts from over the years. I have not read all of them, but I am grateful that I get to have a Christian perspective on these topics.
  • I also have more biographies than I realized! I used to think this was a small section based on a few gifted books from authors, but it has been steadily growing. I think this may be attributed to the inspiration behind the book, 50 People Every Christian Should Know by Warren Wiersbe.

There you have it; a brief glimpse of my evolving library. My tastes will likely continue to change, but it's nice to be able to see my preferences as a snapshot in time.

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