Do Christian bookstores have a problem surviving in your area? I know of one that closed about twenty years ago in the next town from where I live. It was one of two Christian bookstores in the West Michigan area owned by the same people. I was surprised that it could not stay in business with all of the churches in the area.   Then another Christian store which had been in the area went out of business.  For a few years the town where it was located had no Christian bookstores, but four years ago a new one opened. I am not sure how long it will last, but at least hopefully it will be here for a while.  This is their website:

https://www.focusonthefamily.com/about/visit-us/bookstore-michigan/

I noticed that many bookstores are offering other items that appeal to customers such as play areas for kids and coffee shops. Barnes and Noble has had a coffee shop for at least a few years. I think they want to provide an inviting atmosphere, which seems like a good policy. 🙂

If you love lighthouses you may find this interesting.  

I found a page from the Lighthouse Digest archives with articles from back issues of the magazine. I think the original physical magazine was better and more attractive.  Some old copies of it are still available.  But articles from many back issues are available on the website, and they are very interesting reading. 🙂

https://www.lighthousedigest.com/digest/ArchivePage.cfm

I will certainly miss this excellent magazine about lighthouses and their history.

@valiantarcher, I can't believe we actually got multiple new chapters of The Silent Bells in the same month.   I have mine on my desk where I can see them for the time being.  

With the westerns, I'm currently keeping two and still have one more to read. That's at least 25% not to keep. However we went book shopping two weekends ago at the nearby used bookstore and I bought 6 more books and although I might be using two for gifts, I know I will be keeping at least two of the remaining four...just like with the westerns. I read one of the books, a kids book about Davy Crockett originally published in the 1940s and it's already found a place on my shelves.  

It seems like people either really like G.A. Henty or can't stand him. I think I may have read one or two of his books via the library, but it's been ages...oh, I remembered one of the books was Under Drake's Flag. I know my siblings enjoyed With Lee In Virginia a few years ago. And their younger homeschool friends are currently reading and enjoying Henty, although I don't know which titles they've been reading.

I finally finished reading 1453 by Roger Crowley, I got way off on my reading goals in April and it took me all of May to get close to being back on track for the year. Still a couple books behind.  

I'm nearly done with another vintage western and I'm just starting Honor Thy Fathers by Zachary Garris as my current nonfiction read.

Posted by: @valiantarcher

I did just finish The Cat of Bubastes. Apparently it took me only (!) a week and it was a very busy and hectic week, but it felt like I'd been reading it for at least twice that long. 😐 I feel like it raised a few interesting threads, particularly about monotheism, but it didn't support them strongly or followed through in a way that felt unnatural or forced.

I think that lack of support was one reason my sister disliked it, actually. The only reason she gave that I can remember clearly. Ooh The Dragon and the Raven was one I did read. I remember liking it but I remember almost nothing about it now and the fact that I liked it may have had much more to do with the setting than the plot. 

I did finish my reread of Adam of the Road, and while it took me a little while to get back into it I did enjoy it. I have not yet started my intended reread of The Dragon’s Tooth because I’d forgotten about a book I was beta reading for a friend. It got to me a couple of weeks ago and though I read fast I may need extra time if I’m going to take any notes.

My morning audiobook is Idylls of the King by Alfred Tennyson is currently not doing its job of waking me up. I don’t fault the poem, but the narrator. I’m probably going to have to try a different narrator. Or a different audiobook entirely and switch to reading this one, but may wait till I’m done with The Faerie Queen for that.  

Has anyone on here read Jill Williamson’s Blood of Kings trilogy? I’ve just finished with the first two books of her new spinoff series and I can’t tell if they didn’t seem as good as the trilogy to me because they’re genuinely not as good, or if it’s because I have more of a sentimental attachment to that trilogy and it’s not as good as I tend to think of it. Or something in between.  

Posted by: @lady-merian

I did finish my reread of Adam of the Road, and while it took me a little while to get back into it I did enjoy it.

I recall reading that book for school a long time ago. It was good but not really my thing. I couldn't relate to a lot of stories about young boys when I was one myself since their protagonists tended to be dog people and I was/am more of a cat person.  

Speaking of cats, the criticism of The Cat of Bubastes actually kind of makes me want to read it. It sounds like if it's bad, it's bad in a way that's interesting to analyze.  

@col-klink I’m a cat person myself (dogs in real life can make me nervous. They can also make me itchy though that may be a stress response) but while I’m not often drawn to stories that feature dogs I tend to enjoy fictional dogs more easily than real ones. I liked Adam of the Road more for the setting and (some of) the people he meets in his traveling and how he grows in discernment along the way. A figurative journey as well as a literal one.

I also am tempted to read The Cat of Bubastes just to see if it is indeed fairly typical of Henty (character-wise) or if @valiantarcher is likely to have a better experience with The Dragon and the Raven. Which I am also tempted to reread. My personal favorite Henty is still In Freedom’s Cause.

Posted by: @lady-merian

Has anyone on here read Jill Williamson’s Blood of Kings trilogy? I’ve just finished with the first two books of her new spinoff series and I can’t tell if they didn’t seem as good as the trilogy to me because they’re genuinely not as good, or if it’s because I have more of a sentimental attachment to that trilogy and it’s not as good as I tend to think of it.

I did; way back when. I remember enjoying them but I have no desire to reread the trilogy and I haven't read anything of hers since Darkness Reigns failed to keep my interest so my opinion leans to the former.

I can't even remember if I read The Dragon and the Raven... I read around ten Henty titles and the character interaction was not their most memorable aspect.  

One of my recent rereads was Greenwitch by Susan Cooper which is probably the weakest entry in the Dark is Rising sequence. On the other hand it was kind of refreshing to see a very straightforward low-stakes sequence of events. 

A quick question: for awhile now, I have had an interest in the beginnings of the Jubilee Singers of Fisk University (this group was formed just after the USA Civil War). I first heard their powerful and moving story years ago on Adventures in Odyssey and would love to read a thorough biography on this dedicated group and faithful leader (Charles White). Does any one know of such a book? 

There aren't a lot in the way of bookstores around here currently, @Narnian78 - I think the oldest might go back 20-30 years, but it's not open full-time. Not sure about Christian-specific bookstores here either.

Sounds like an interesting selection of literature in school, @waggawerewolf27!

It is a shock to the system, @SnowAngel!
Oh boy. Sounds like a net gain with the purchased books overall.
I could see Henty going further too if the reader has a strong interest in the specific time period or historical figures encountered and the stiff/formal characters probably read better in certain settings and historical contexts. Do you remember much your general impression of the Hentys you read?

Did you figure out a better audiobook or narrator, @Lady-Merian? I'm hoping to get to The Dragon and the Raven this summer still, so I'll try to remember to report back about it.
I have read The Blood of Kings trilogy, but was not favourably impressed. XD

@Col-Klink, yeah, I think you could probably pull some analysis out of a read of The Cat of Bubastes.

@Mel, did you carry on with a The Dark is Rising reread?

@Jo, I don't have any recommendations for you, sorry. I hope you can find a good biography or two, though; sounds like it'd be an interesting read!

I just finished a reread of Loamhedge by Brian Jacques, which finishes off my rereads of the Redwall books I own. Unfortunately, I don't think it was one of his stronger books - the quest plot is weak, most of the characters are rather flat and indistinct, and the ending (and end arc for some of the characters) just doesn't feel satisfying. That said, I'm not getting rid of it at this point because it was one of if not the first book I bought for myself at a bookstore that doesn't exist anymore, and I was really excited to buy it.

@valiantarcher My brother really liked the Redwall books when he and I were growing up. I didn't like them as much as he did but I remember

@narnian78   Do Christian bookstores have a problem surviving in your area?

Not only Christian bookstores, but also bookstores, in general, when from 2020 to 2023, the Pandemic restrictions meant people couldn't go to either churches or the local library for a while. It became easier and cheaper to order books online, if they were wanted, and when the parcel deliveries did a roaring business. Outfits like eBay, or WOB (World of Books), dealing with second-hand books kept us entertained, and Amazon also sells Kindle e-books which save not only expense but also much clutter about the place. Our main second-hand bookstore went out of business, and though a new Dymocks store opened by Christmas last year, the old one was sorely missed once the couple who ran it decided to retire, just before the Pandemic. 

Religious bookstores, not already part of the communities of our parish churches, I haven't noticed all that much, & it depends on which religious books they try to sell. Catholic bookstores also selling devotional materials, including rosary beads, have been around for ages, and Islamic bookshops are plentiful in various Sydney suburbs, nearer the CBD, where there certainly will be Catholic, maybe Anglican, Orthodox or other sorts of Christian bookshops in the main part of Sydney. 

@waggawerewolf27 

It was rather surprising that Christian bookstores were completely gone from the town only about five miles from where I live when there are so many churches. But now one has started again although I am not sure how long it will last. It is true that church membership has dropped in recent years and we have some churches that are ready to close. But I don’t know how much that affects book sales. There are still some churches that are thriving, and some of their members may be readers. But I think there will probably be only one Christian bookstore in a town with a population of 30,000, although other secular bookstores may be open for business. Bookstores won’t disappear completely because there always will be people who will want to read physical books.

Posted by: @valiantarcher

@Jo, I don't have any recommendations for you, sorry. I hope you can find a good biography or two, though; sounds like it'd be an interesting read!

Thanks, Valia. I am finding it tricky to track a bio down on this subject of the Fisk Jubilee Singers. Another biography I would dearly love to read is one about Fanny Crosby. I have read her small autobiography, but would really appreciate having a more extensive one. I was thinking the other day that if one has not been one written yet, maybe I should consider it, ha. Although I am not really a writer, so there's that.   Crosby has added a multitude of excellent, solid songs to our hymnody ... it would be great if there was a thorough documentation on her life, imho. 

I just finished the gripping short book, A Boy's War, by David Michell. We have been friends with the Michell family since the early 1970s, and I had forgotten Dave (the father), had written on his unforgettable experiences as a young boy in a Japanese concentration camp during WW2.

Eric Liddell, the famous Scottish Olympic runner who refused to run on Sunday, the Lord's Day, was in the same camp (he died there of a brain tumour not long before the war ended), and was hugely respected. They called him "Uncle Eric", but he was more like a father figure, David said, as he and hundreds of other children were separated from their parents during those years.

This little book is an insightful, moving, important read, and I only wish it were longer. Dave, with his wonderful British accent, was a strong, gracious, God-fearing leader. Tragically, his sudden death was brought about when he was driving home from an Oversees Missionary Fellowship event near Toronto (he was director of OMF for years) by a drunk driver on Christmas Eve more than a couple of decades ago, leaving here on earth his wife, Joan, and his four precious children. 

@Col-Klink, I found that frustrating too! I never finished all the Redwall books, but as far as I know, Jacques never answered that question.

Sorry to hear you have had trouble finding biographies for both the Fisk Jubilee Singers and Fanny Crosby, @Jo. I wonder if there are possible some out of print books on them?
A Boy's War sounds like a hard but good read. How sad about the author's early death, though.

I finished reading Penny Plain by O. Douglas this week; after my last experience with the author, it took me quite a while to trust that this book might have a proper ending much less a happy one. I still think I like Taken by the Hand best of the now three books of hers I've read, but this one had some great moments and I did appreciate how she (more or less successfully) presented even the more antagonistic characters as having redeeming qualities. Jock and the Mhor were my favourites; though the romantic relationships worked out the way I hoped they would, I was underwhelmed to dissatisfied with how they worked out. Ah well.

More satisfyingly, I also read Land Alive by Ronald Rood. It's non-fiction with sort of mini-essays about the natural world, often illustrated by his and his family's experiences. I found it an engaging and fun read, and it's left me wanting to learn more and with a renewed appreciation of the world God created.

A while ago, I mentioned in this thread that I was using Google Translate to translate the fairy tales of Marie-Catherine d'Aulnoy from the original French into English and then making my own loose translations based on that. (Yeah, I have too much time on my hands.) I ended up branching out into other French fairy tale writers, both famous and obscure. One of them was Charles Deulin. His stories were the hardest for me since there aren't any English translations to read online. (Except for a handful of them which Andrew Lang included in his fairy books. But those translations were both edited for children and not the most engaging for modern readers.) I ended up buying Ruth Berman's English translation of Deulin's complete fairy tales, which is the most recent one and, as far as I can tell, the only one. I'm very glad I did so! 

According to the introduction, Deulin's tale weren't authentic examples of French (or, rather, Flemish) folklore. He basically took fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm and reimagined them as coming from his own culture. In some cases, he took different Grimm tales and blended them together. (For example, Green-Jeans is a combination of A Tale About the Boy Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was and The Two Brothers.) Since so many folktales from different cultures have the same or similar plot points, I honestly wouldn't have known this and since I was reading for entertainment purposes rather than to study French oral storytelling, I didn't mind at all. Some of Deulin's versions I'd actually consider superior to their Grimm counterparts and that's not something I say lightly. I'd say Gayant the Bold is an improvement on Strong Hans, The Twelve Dancing Princesses is an improvement on The Worn-Out Dancing Shoes and Death's Godson (which is split into two parts) is an improvement on Godfather Death.

I agree with Ruth Berman that Charles Deulin's fairy tales deserve to be better known. Check them out if you're interested in the genre and you have money to spare.