Jesus Freaks for Writers discussion

Let us know what books you recommend. Good, clean literature!
Please include a link to each book, for convenience.

All those lists from the Brainstorm thread can get moved to here.

Alrighty, Books that I highly recommend:

Fantasy:
Everburn
(It's a really nice allegory. Can drag at points, but the worldbuilding is delicious)
Plenilune
(Planetary Fantasy. It takes place on the moon, but it's very magical. Wording can be heavy, and some of description is a bit much, but it's also very beautiful)
The Dragon Within
(The author's first book, so it is naturally not as great as it might be, but I still recommend it to people who are looking for Christian books about Dragons)
Prophet
(I'm not sure I've read a Christian fantasy like this one before. It's like reading Exodus set in another world. It's beautiful)
Ella Enchanted
(Not a Christian, but it is clean. My favorite retelling of all time. I love most of the author's other books as well.)
Toxic
(Another really great Christian Fantasy. The story felt disjointed at first, but once the three MC's met, I couldn't put the book down.)
Champion in the Darkness
(Wonderful book about having faith in God even in the darkest of times. I'm working on reading the sequel)
Abby Linford and Her Imaginary Friend
(One of the best spins on imaginary friends I've ever read. Christianity isn't really an element, but I did get a Catholic vibe off of it.)
Heartless
(This whole series is good. The first book is the most allegorical, but this world is so beautiful, and the author herself is very sweet)
By Darkness Hid
(This is a Christian authoress who isn't afraid to deal with some controversial issues. I really enjoyed this trilogy)
The Word Changers
(Another beautiful allegory, though the romance was a bit unnecessary. If you enjoy my books, this is of the same flavor)
Jeweler's Apprentice
(Non-magical, read almost like Historical fiction, but it still had distinctly fantasy elements. Really enjoyed it)
The Cove
(Well, half of it's Fantasy. It's also some sort of spy/terrorist/environmental/thriller thing.)
Raising Dragons
(The best Christian spin on dragons I've ever read. And King Arthur. Amazing)
Makilien Trilogy Set
(This is the series that introduced me to not non-magical fantasy. They're also one of the few books that I've read twice all the way through.)
Resistance
(Same author, different name, more persecution and better characters.)
The Heart of Arcrea
(This series is beautiful, and I've only managed to read the first two books!)
Auralia's Colors
(Another book with thicker writing that's hard to get through, but you won't regret reading it. It's beautiful)
King's Warrior
(This is fantasy after the heart of Tolkien himself. Dragons, swords, mysterious dark warriors. This book has it all.)
The Book of Three
(I've only managed to read the first two books, but I loved them. They're not strictly Christian, but they're clean and well written)
The Phantom Tollbooth
(Again, not Christian, but it's adorable. I've read this book multiple times as well)
The Claidi Collection
(Not Christian, but clean, and wonderful world building. I haven't gotten my hands on the fourth book, but I love the first three that are in this collection.)
Annabeth's War
Captive of Raven Castle
(More non-magical fantasy with the taste of historical. I love both of these books)
At the Back of the North Wind
The Lost Princess
The Light Princess
(I don't know why, but all of the MacDonald books that I've read have been the lesser known ones. They've all been amazing and beautiful, though. I should really read the better known ones someday ...)
The Shells of Chanticleer
(Non-Christian, though with Catholic elements, but it's about conquering fear. I really loved this book)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
(I love this series, have read almost every book.)
The Moorchild
(Not strictly Christian, but it's a nice study of the traditional beliefs of the medieval period)
Beyond the Deepwoods
(Non-Christian, but again, great worldbuilding)
The Foundlings
(This is one of the few books that has managed to completely destroy me with its cliff hanger, I'll make that warning. Great Christian Fantasy)
Foundlings
(Not to be confused with the last book. I really like this trilogy. They're not strictly fantasy, but they're not strictly historical fiction either. They're set in the post-Babel, pre-Abraham days, and it's very interesting)
The Prophecy of Atlantis
(I read this book looking for mermaids. Instead, I found another lovely allegory. This is another book that I'm dying for a sequel that isn't out yet, and the author doesn't have a website, so I have NO idea when to expect the next book)
A Stretch of Loyalty
(The Kindle edition is badly formatted, so I would recommend getting a paperback, but it is a great story nonetheless, though it needs some polishing.)
Wren
(Non-magical, but good. A very sweet romance. I haven't read any of the other books by the other authors, though. Sigh.)
Shadowbloom
(Non-Christian, kinda weird, but an amazing worldbuilding. I devoured all three books of this trilogy.)
The Amulet of Renari
(The plot twists in this book are great, a very interesting book)
Kendra Kandlestar and the Box of Whispers
(Non-Christian, very magical, but there's something about this series that I just love. Might be the MC's name. It reminds be a bit of Oz, too ...)
Irving Wishbutton and the Questing Academy
(Non-Christian, but every author needs to read this one, so they can find out what happens to their characters while they're working on writing their books.)

And ... umm ... I'm running out of Characters. I think I have room for my Contemporary recommendations, and then I'll carry on to my Sci-fi's and Hi-fi's in a separate comment.

Contemporary:
Becoming Nikki
(How a girl rebuilds her crumbling relationship with her brother after he suffers memory loss)
and ...

Umm ...

I don't think I've read any more contemporary that I'm willing to wholeheartedly recommend. It's, uh, just not my genre. Anyways, I'll be back with more in a moment.

Alright, back.
Sci-fi:
Out of the Silent Planet
(Because C.S. Lewis. It can be hard to get into - as can the sequels - but it's well worth it.)
The Destiny of One
(It is the author's first work, so it is necessarily a bit choppy, but it's a king story set in space, as a friend put it, and it, with Lewis's Space Trilogy, provided the stepping stone for me that at last convinced me that Sci-fi wasn't all evil.)
Red Rain: The Prequel to Crook Q
(Lost Bibles in space. A must read.)
Radialloy
(I haven't read the sequels, though they're on my kindle waiting for me, but I loved this first book. Brilliance defined)
Exchange
(One of the few Christian sci-fi's bold enough to include aliens. I'm patiently awaiting sequels. This one was just so interesting! And sad, too ... a bit.)
Cinder
(A cyborg cinderella. Not Christian, but I love them.)

Please note that I'm new to this genre and have only been reading it for about a year and a half.

Now, for Historical fictions, which I affectionately label Hi-fi
The Pirate Daughter's Promise
(Christians and Pirates in the same book. This is a must read. A bit choppy and forced in places, but as the author's first work, I can't expect it to be Resistance, after all!)
The Shadow Things
(The Dark ages of Britain, and the coming of Christianity. The writing style is heavy, but still. Read this book)
The Soldier's Cross
(Written by the sister of the above. I don't love this book as much as TST, but it was a touching story just the same.)
In Freedom's Cause: A Story of Wallace and Bruce
The Cat of Bubastes: A Tale of Ancient Egypt
(Actually, I recommend any of Henty's books, these two are just my favorites)
Adventures and Adversities
(A nice look at the faith of the medieval period)
A Different Kind of Courage
(A chapter of the American Revolution that I don't see covered very often. Brilliantly done)
Or Give Me Death: A Novel of Patrick Henry's Family
(Speaking of little talked about chapters of the Revolution, this is about Patrick Henry's family. Not strictly Christian, but I love the writing of this book. Very sad, too.)
Fly Away Home
(I don't read much modern history, but this book was very sweet. I quite enjoyed it.)
Two from Galilee: The Story of Mary and Joseph
(Not entirely historically accurate, but it is very well done.)
Vashti and the strange God
(Actually, I'm not sure this is strictly Hifi, but it's about rural India, and the difference that education and Christianity makes. Very beautiful. It has rendered me almost to tears)
The Golden Goblet
(Not Christian, but it's Egypt. It's very hard to make Egypt Christian. Very well done. I enjoyed it.)

And ... I think I'll stop there. I've got some writing to get done before I go to bed tonight!

Alrighty, here's my fantasy list. I think Kendra and I recommend a lot of the same books. :)


Resistance
DragonSpell and the rest of the series
The Door Within and the rest of the series
The Ankulen
Sew, It's a Quest
Makilien Trilogy Set
Starlighter and the rest of the series
Beyond the Reflection's Edge (Bryan Davis's stuff is sort of a mixture of sci-fi and fantasy)
The Chronicles of Narnia
The Lord of the Rings
The Prydain Chronicles
The Princess and the Goblin
The Princess and Curdie
Five Children and It
The Enchanted Castle
The Phoenix and the Carpet
The Story of the Amulet
The Phantom Tollbooth
Tuck Everlasting

I have other genres too, but I'll have to do that later.

The DragonKeeper Chronicles
DragonSlippers series
The Door Within Trilogy
The Berinfell Prophecies
The Chronicles of Chiril
Warriors
The Faeries of Dreamdark
Wings Of Fire

I don't know how to do links

By clicking "add book/author" at the top of the comment box

Ok thanks
Curse of the Spider King
Venom and Song
The Tide of Unmaking

:)

Great recommendations! I'll have to look into them all and see what I can get from the library. :)

Yay! I love the library.

Me too, although it's dissapointing when they don't have the books you want. I usually have to do inter library loan.

yeah..all the time

Ok, my list is not near as long. :P Didn't know if it was ok to recommend my own poetry book either but I'll put it below.

Since Narnia and Lord of the Rings have been mentioned I will not list those but I will add this!

The Silmarillion (Great book I though!)


On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness
North! or Be Eaten
TThe Monster in the Hollows
The Warden and the Wolf King

I LOVED the wingfeather saga! Some of my favorite books.


Poems of Varsian Lore: Chronicles of the Varsian Kingdom
Inspired Poetry

These are my own two poetry books.

All are on my to-read list!!

Fantasy/Sci-Fi
Season of Wonder This is a great book!!! I think this would be classified as Fantasy/Sci Fi
DragonSpell This is a great book and series!! I like Donita K Paul! Sometimes it's confusing (And a lot of time she doesn't give you good descriptions,) but a great series!!
One Realm Beyond This was a good book :) No fighting, or anything in this one! And there was some really neat ideas!
Flight Of The Eagles This is a very good series!!! It has seven books in this series and has a sequel series!

All that I have listed are Christian! :D

I've working on reading the sequel to Flight of the Eagles. It's a very interesting world.

Donita K. Paul is my 2nd favorite author!!!
(Wayne Thomas Batson is My 1st favorite)

Love so many of these books! :D So many of my favorites have been mentioned, but I didn't go through them all. Anything by Ted Dekker is INCREDIBLE though, OutlawOutlaw and Water WalkerWater Walker especially, whoa....but recently what I've been reading and loving is Orphan's SongOrphan's Song by Gillian Bronte Adams; great book that I definitely recommend! :D ResistanceResistance by Jaye L Knight is also wonderful!
Sorry, I'm not very familiar with or good at adding links and such with Goodreads. :p

Those all sound good!

Melody, Outlaw is my favorite book by Ted Dekker. :)

I would recommend the Tales of Goldstone Wood series by Anne Elisabeth Stengl

The Giver

I've been wanting to read that one for a while, Raevyn. What did you like best about it?

Everything! Mostly the writing. :)

Books I highly recommend:

Fantasy:
The Door Within by Wayne Thomas Batson
DragonSpell by Donite K. Paul
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

Sci-fi/Dystopian:
Anomaly by Krista McGee
The Choosing by Rachelle Dekker
Death Trap by Sigmund Brower

Historical:
Fire by Bill Bright & Jack Cavanaugh
Isle of Swords by Wayne Thomas Batson

Mystery:
The Last Thing I Remember by Andre Klavan
Hangman's Curse by Frank Peretti