Singles section in Christian bookstore = SERIOUSLY lacking!

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agirlandherguitar

Guest
#1
#1
I was at a Christian bookstore the other day and I came upon the Singles section and it was so very, very lame. There wasn't enough material to fill half a shelf. When I asked one of the girls who worked there if they were clearing stock or getting more in she said that they never get a lot of titles in regarding singles.

I was pretty disappointed. And yeah, maybe I'm overly sensitive about this issue or maybe the store I went to was only one example but are the Christian bookstores in your areas similar? There seems to be thousands of books on relationships and marriage and yet so few about singles. Do people assume that what we experience in our daily lives isn't worth writing about? Are our struggles trivialized in comparison to the almighty married person's struggles? Truthfully it's a reminder how a lot of people and even churches overlook the Christian single. I feel like a second class citizen next to the married woman with six kids. Does anybody else feel like this sometimes?

And just to clarify, when I mean singles books I don't mean self help books. There are enough of those that focus on the self. What I want is some hardcore reading! I'm running out of single friends to talk to about how I feel. I always bring my worries and feelings to God first and foremost and he has helped me through so much that it's unbelievable how lucky I am to have a relationship with him. Yet still, the burdens of the world press and press on my shoulders. I like to read and hear what other people have to say on the matter, which is why I come here and post and read other posts from all you lovely individuals who are so full of God's light.
 
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Fighting4Him

Guest
#2
#2
The singles section is always lacking, and usually what is there is filled with junk. By far, the best book I've read for singles is "When God Writes Your Love Story" by Eric and Leslie Ludy. Most books in the singles section are self-help books, usually the self-help is written by people who feel sorry for us single people. I agree with you, not enough good reads in the singles section.
 
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agirlandherguitar

Guest
#3
#3
Fighting, thanks for the suggestion! Maybe this thread could be a good place to post books that really spoke to you as a Christian single.

For me "Lady in Waiting" by Jackie Kendall and Debby Jones was a great help and opened my eyes to a lot of things that were going on in my life and my friends lives.

And yes... we don't need pity because there is nothing to feel sorry about. Support and love is what we need!
 
Z

zaoman32

Guest
#4
#4
I didn't even know there were books on singles, so even half a shelf is a good thing for me! I'm having more of a problem finding single friends my age to hang out with. All my friends are married and have kids.
 
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agirlandherguitar

Guest
#5
#5
Zaoman - Unfortunately we're at that age where most of our friends are getting married and having kids! I've heard that, statistically, the average man gets married at the age of 27-28 and I think a little younger for women like 26. That's in the states. I think the average is higher in Canada (31 for men and 28 for women). So naturally all of your friends are at that "average" stage in their lives. Being part of that age I feel a little lost and kind of like I'm being left behind because I'm single and have no prospects for marriage anytime soon. Kind of sucks, not gonna lie.

Next time you're strolling through your closest Christian bookstore you should look for the singles section. If it doesn't exist well then... case closed.
 
Ritter

Ritter

Banned
#6
Jul 25, 2005
2,417
34
0
#6
There could be many reasons for this.

1. Not necessarily low demand but the wish for low demand. I go to Liberty University. Here we have what I can best describe as a marriage/procreation emphasis so thick that it is only comparable to Nazi Germany's Lebensborn program. The goal is to make people responsible adults and more Christian babies.

Can't knock it. The world needs more of it.

2. Related to the previous post. Sometimes people purposefully bury their heads in the sand in hopes that ignoring a topic will keep people's minds off the topic and thereby let the issue resolve itself. This works on occasion. Think about it:
picking up and purchasing a single's book of any dimension helps solidify the status of single in one's head, leading to a defeatist sort of mentality.

3. Those who write have little interest in the matter. Most people who produce books these days write because life experience allows them to do so. Those with more life experience are more likely to be older. Those who are older are more likely to be married.

4. Low actual demand. I am Christian and single...but currently attempting to mingle. In any case, I have no interest in literature on the matter. Judging by the initial posts, this is a guy thing.

5. You have not written the seminal piece yet! Sometimes genres are barely given a look until you have a breakout. I do not believe there was a "teen paranormal romance" section of Barnes and Noble until Stephanie Meyer in her equal parts genius and hauntingly diabolical sense of what will induce irritable bowel syndrome in men scratched together the updated version of LeVay's Satanic Bible otherwise known as Twilight.

6. JFK, who currently heads the Illuminati, placed a kill-order out on Christians looking to write a decent book about single life.
 
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kayem77

Guest
#7
#7
Almost the whole Bible talks to singles...except those parts we all know like Ephesians 5,1Peter3, Colossians,etc. I think the reason why there's a lacking on this subject is because we all know what we must do as singles. ''Seek the kingdom of God and everything else will be aded to you'' pretty much sums up all we need to hear on the subject lol. I know you already know this though, but I don't know what else could be added to a book on singleness. Maybe they should write a book about not making marriage and relationships an idol.That would be helpful :)
 
AAAPlus

AAAPlus

Senior Member
#8
Aug 2, 2011
601
10
18
#8
I have a guess about this...

If you read a book about construction, you'd want it to be written by a construction worker. A book about medicine should hopefully be written by a doctor. So if you were going to read a book about being single, shouldn't it be written by a single?

My guess is that most folks who write Christian books are a bit older; people who have a lot of experience in the subject that they are writing in. And most folks who are old enough for that are married already, so they can't write a book about singleness.

Of course many would say they still could, but I'm thinking that most married folks wouldn't be bold enough to.
 
hhhlga89

hhhlga89

Senior Member
#9
Apr 23, 2012
174
0
16
#9
You're avatar makes me want to watch Daria :-( ...
 
zeroturbulence

zeroturbulence

Senior Member
#10
Aug 2, 2009
24,581
4,269
113
#10
agirlandherguitar said:
I was at a Christian bookstore the other day and I came upon the Singles section and it was so very, very lame. There wasn't enough material to fill half a shelf. When I asked one of the girls who worked there if they were clearing stock or getting more in she said that they never get a lot of titles in regarding singles.

I was pretty disappointed. And yeah, maybe I'm overly sensitive about this issue or maybe the store I went to was only one example but are the Christian bookstores in your areas similar? There seems to be thousands of books on relationships and marriage and yet so few about singles. Do people assume that what we experience in our daily lives isn't worth writing about? Are our struggles trivialized in comparison to the almighty married person's struggles? Truthfully it's a reminder how a lot of people and even churches overlook the Christian single. I feel like a second class citizen next to the married woman with six kids. Does anybody else feel like this sometimes?

And just to clarify, when I mean singles books I don't mean self help books. There are enough of those that focus on the self. What I want is some hardcore reading! I'm running out of single friends to talk to about how I feel. I always bring my worries and feelings to God first and foremost and he has helped me through so much that it's unbelievable how lucky I am to have a relationship with him. Yet still, the burdens of the world press and press on my shoulders. I like to read and hear what other people have to say on the matter, which is why I come here and post and read other posts from all you lovely individuals who are so full of God's light.
Click to expand...
Maybe because according to the bible, singleness is a gift.

Wow they took away the winky smiley. That was my favorite smiley! :mad:
 
PopClick

PopClick

Senior Member
#11
Aug 12, 2011
4,056
136
63
#11
kayem77 said:
Almost the whole Bible talks to singles...except those parts we all know like Ephesians 5,1Peter3, Colossians,etc. I think the reason why there's a lacking on this subject is because we all know what we must do as singles. ''Seek the kingdom of God and everything else will be aded to you'' pretty much sums up all we need to hear on the subject lol. I know you already know this though, but I don't know what else could be added to a book on singleness. Maybe they should write a book about not making marriage and relationships an idol.That would be helpful :)
Click to expand...
Lol! That's pretty much what I was going to say. You saved me some typing! ;)
 
K

kayem77

Guest
#12
#12
PopClick said:
Lol! That's pretty much what I was going to say. You saved me some typing! ;)
Click to expand...
You're welcome! You can send me your fish as a sign of gratitude now :p
 
zeroturbulence

zeroturbulence

Senior Member
#13
Aug 2, 2009
24,581
4,269
113
#13
kayem77 said:
Almost the whole Bible talks to singles...except those parts we all know like Ephesians 5,1Peter3, Colossians,etc. I think the reason why there's a lacking on this subject is because we all know what we must do as singles. ''Seek the kingdom of God and everything else will be aded to you'' pretty much sums up all we need to hear on the subject lol. I know you already know this though, but I don't know what else could be added to a book on singleness. Maybe they should write a book about not making marriage and relationships an idol.That would be helpful :)
Click to expand...
But couldn't one also say that almost the whole bible talks to married couples, or people who are brokenhearted, or those who are looking for a job, or who are suffering through hard times, etc... My point is that just because the bible seems to address it in a general way (which a lot of people would probably miss unless it was all pointed out to them) doesn't mean there shouldn't be a lot of books written about it.
 
zeroturbulence

zeroturbulence

Senior Member
#14
Aug 2, 2009
24,581
4,269
113
#14
So anyway, here is what I think the real reason is. Its simple marketing. Maybe books about being a single christian just don't sell much. Simple as that.
 
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