Welcome to the December 2015 edition of the Christian Fiction Book Club Connection. Thanks for stopping by! Whether you’re a pastor or ministry leader thinking of forming a book discussion group at your church, a current member of a book club, or simply a fan of Christian fiction hoping to connect with other readers, you’re in the right place. Please consider subscribing to my blog so you won’t miss future posts.
Today I’m providing information on Christian fiction discussions scheduled to take place around the web this month. I’m also featuring a handful of recently released Christian fiction titles for which a discussion guide is available, either included in the book itself or on the author’s or publisher’s web site. Then I’ll wrap up the post with a discussion question I’d like you to chime in on.
Online Discussions Coming Up This Month
The ACFW Book Club will be doing something a little different for the month of December. Rather than choose a book for discussion at this busy time of year, the group is arranging for authors to offer giveaways on the discussion list. You can subscribe to the group’s e-mail list now, by following the instructions on their Web site, to be sure not to miss any announcements or discussion questions.
For December, the Christian Fiction Devourers group on Goodreads is discussing The Christmas Shoppe by Melody Carlson AND The Christmas Joy Ride by Melody Carlson. Grab your copies and head on over to the discussion forum to check in with others who are in the midst of reading these books.
The Fans of Amish Fiction Goodreads group discusses one Amish fiction title and one Christian fiction title per month. The selections for December are Love Finds You on Christmas Morning by Debby Mayne and Trish Perry AND The Christmas Cradle by Charlotte Hubbard. To join in, visit the group’s online discussion board.
Jamie of the Books and Beverages blog hosts a monthly Inklings discussion series for fans of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. Sometimes fiction, sometimes non-fiction, the title for the month of December is The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien. December’s discussion will cover the first fourteen chapters, saving the remainder for January.
The Cherished Book Club, the Christian Fiction Book Club, and the Fans of Christian Romance Goodreads group are taking breaks from discussion for the time being.
Recent Christian Fiction Releases Featuring Discussion Guides
Anna’s Healing by Vanetta Chapman (October 2015, Harvest House, Amish Romance)
The Golden Braid by Melanie Dickerson (November 2015, Thomas Nelson, YA Fairytale Retelling)
The Bronte Plot by Katherine Reay (November 2015, Thomas Nelson, Contemporary)
A Refuge at Highland Hall by Carrie Turansky (October 2015, WaterBrook Multnomah, Historical Romance)
Let’s Chat!
Last month I asked what book related topics others might like to discuss. Thank you to my friend Beckie from By the Book for offering a great idea for a discussion starter. Here’s what she had to say:
“I’d like a discussion about fun, book related events for book clubs. My book club has been meeting 13 years and it is a struggle to keep things fresh. In the past we have hosted authors, had author calls and gone on book field trips. I’d love to hear how others are making book club exciting.”
What a great suggestion! So are my fellow readers ready to brainstorm? What are some fun book club activities you’d like to try (or that your club has already tried)?
Fun question! I’m interested to hear what folks do!
Me too! Tweeting to hopefully bring in some more ideas.
Well, I’ll jump in on what my book club has done in the past. We have taken several book “field trips” — visiting places found in the books. For Savannah from Savannah by Denise Hildreth we took a trip to — Savannah. We did the trolley tour described in the book and visited other points of interest. We travelled twice to Atlanta for books written by Elizabeth Musser. We made a day of it — with visits to the Varsity, Lenox Mall, the library described in the book and a French restaurant for lunch to give a nod to that alternate setting. For Eugenia Price’s book The Lighthouse we spent two days on St. Simon’s Island with a special trip to Christ’s Church and the grave sites of many of the characters.
As Georgia residents, we are blessed with many fine authors and beautiful settings to visit. We haven’t ventured out of state yet, but that is definitely on our wish list!
Wow! Those field trips sound like so much fun! My group did potluck Christmas parties and we talked about reading different books on a single theme one month to discuss, but that’s about as ambitious as we got.
Off the top of my head, a costume party based on characters or historical periods you’ve read might be fun. Or I’ve heard of Cookbook Clubs, where you choose a cookbook for the month and everybody brings a dish from that cookbook. Which might be a fun change of pace for a regular book club to try sometime.
Thanks again for the great question, Beckie. Hopefully others will join in with some ideas.