delicious books.

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enril

Well-known member
Aug 18, 2024
686
342
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15
#21
After some thought, I feel a need to talk about the actual book that I mentioned. I have not re-read "Lightning" in decades so I'm going from my own fuzzy memory.

Laura Shane was born during a freak lightning storm, and if I remember right, it was during a snowy blizzard and not through rain. Starting with her infancy, a mysterious blond man appears in Laura's life every now and then, saving her from catastrophic events. Laura, being very young, comes to think of him as her guardian angel.

But who, and what, is he really? This is the mystery that the book takes you on.

Mr. Koontz's books won't be for people who want a 100% "pure, Christian" book. One of the best (in my opinion) aspects of his stories is that he really digs into the psychology of the characters. The bad guys think and talk like bad guys, so yes, there is some language, but it's not excessive like in most entertainment today. It's just enough to give you a feel for the character's plans and motivations. Mr. Koontz's earlier works had a bit more mentions of sex, when editors hounded him that he wouldn't be able to sell books without it, but now that he has the freedom to stick to his own true style, there is very little sex in his works, maybe a sentence or two here and there, and again, it's often used to display the mental state of a character.

I know other Christians will slam me for reading such things, but because my calling is to people who have lived messy lives and ask big questions ("Why didn't God save me from my pedophilic father when I was young and helpless?!",) I prefer stories that dare to dive into the real messiness of real life, with nothing prettied up or sanitized, the way life actually is.

One of the things that has embedded "Lightning" in my mind forever is an instance where Laura, as a child, is in danger of an orphanage employee who has nefarious intentions towards her. Although she survives unharmed and he is killed during their encounter, it also results in of Laura's new and beloved adoptive mother.

Years later, when Laura is an adult, she's able to confront her "guardian angel" and asks him why he didn't intervene to save her adoptive mother. And he explains to her that he had certain limitations on when and how often he could appear in her life, and that this was one situation in which, since he saw that she made it through "untouched" (by the orphanage employee, at least,) he decided not to interfere.

Mr. Koontz often has things like this in his stories that make me ponder our own relationship with God. Though God has no limitations, we all have incidences in our lives in which we wish He would have saved us from something, and many of us dare to wonder why He chose not to. The answers that Laura's "guardian angel" gives her had me thinking about why God might choose not to save us from some things rather others, deciding which will make us selectively stronger.

Mr. Koontz writes mostly standalone stories, but he has a "Frankenstein" series in which Dr. Frankenstein is a megalomaniac who is trying to replace the human race with his own Replicant creations. His first creature, the monster from the original Mary Shelley story, becomes the hero of the series and is trying to stop his creator.

One of the most fascinating aspects of the story for me is when Dr. Frankenstein's creations start to go haywire. One group isn't allowed free will or to feel pain, only to serve and obey, but they also feel no purpose to their existence and are not allowed to self-delete. As a result, some begin to feel an unquenchable sense of anxiety and begin doing things like gnawing off their own fingers because they have no other way to express what they feel.

In an age of cloning, DNA splicing, gene editing, and attempts to create "designer human beings" with this or that "weakness" taken out of a person's genetic material, these books had me pondering how far God will let is go when tampering with His original design -- and how much havoc we unleash when we keep trying.

I've read interviews in which Mr. Koontz has said (due to the extreme things he's gone through,) he has gone back and forth regarding the Christians faith, but is "definitely back in the believing camp" again, at least last I knew.

This thread has reinforced my resolve to try to finish my current fan letter to Mr. Koontz, which is why I won't be on CC as much -- I'm using that time to tackle his letter like I would a paper for a school assignment -- so far I'm up to 6 pages of raw material that desperately needs editing and polishing.

Thanks for giving me an extra kick of motivation!
fascinating. sounds like 'forbidden' by Ted Dekker. geneticists removed all emotion but fear, even some that are not commonly thought of as emotions but really are. (sterilized version, the book was quite good. i have a copy.)
 

Edith

Active member
Apr 21, 2025
226
89
28
#22
same-same. i used to read around 300 books a year, in the last9 or so months ive read maybe 6-9. only classics (i.e. dune, not 'classics in the more common sense.)or recommended books now.
oh myyyy
 

Edith

Active member
Apr 21, 2025
226
89
28
#23
i
I am 100% sure there was another book thread, but I couldn't find....
what are your favorite books? I'm asking for your favorite, not my favorite, any book, does'nt need to bee a normal 'classic' novel either.
i read a lot of Novels as a young woman. All were Romance. one I really liked was titled Pendragon. it was a Regency Romance i have forgotten the name of thé author. i read a lot of Barbara cartland. I wish i knew better I would have read other Books.
Today I read only ministry books
and m'y best so far is "Every Believer a Disciple" by David E Bjork. it changed m'y view on Discipleship
 

enril

Well-known member
Aug 18, 2024
686
342
63
15
#24
i


i read a lot of Novels as a young woman. All were Romance. one I really liked was titled Pendragon. it was a Regency Romance i have forgotten the name of thé author. i read a lot of Barbara cartland. I wish i knew better I would have read other Books.
Today I read only ministry books
and m'y best so far is "Every Believer a Disciple" by David E Bjork. it changed m'y view on Discipleship
i know there is a pendragon cycle??…
 

Edith

Active member
Apr 21, 2025
226
89
28
#25
i
I am 100% sure there was another book thread, but I couldn't find....
what are your favorite books? I'm asking for your favorite, not my favorite, any book, does'nt need to bee a normal 'classic' novel either.
i read a lot of Novels as a young woman. All were Romance. one I really liked was titled Pendragon. it was a Regency Romance i have forgotten the name of thé author. i read a lot of Barbara cartland. I wish i knew better I would have read other Books.
Today I read only ministry books
and m'y best so far is "Every Believer a Disciple" by David E Bjork. it changed m'y view on Discipleship
i know there is a pendragon cycle??…
yes
 

HealthAndHappiness

Well-known member
Jul 7, 2022
12,119
5,314
113
Almost Heaven West Virginia
#26
Judging from the title, I thought this was about cook books.
1751325533635.jpeg
There's a reason that I chose a picture of this particular Recipe book.
The funny thing is that I used to have a pet rabbit that had access to the lower shelf of my bookcase until I found this cookbook chewed around the edges. I don't know if she could read, but she liked the pictures. She really DID think it was delicious!
📚🐇
 

Godsgirl1983

Well-known member
Feb 2, 2023
2,147
1,336
113
#27
Judging from the title, I thought this was about cook books.

View attachment 277099
:LOL::LOL: you beat me to it.
Well, cookbooks are one of my favorites. Although, most of my favorite recipes are easy to come by online nowadays.
I love the Taste of Home year book collection and even though I can get the recipes through their website there is just something about flipping through the book going "ohhh that sounds/looks good" that is just so different and more comforting than doing so online.
My collection is like this one: every yearbook published- 1994- through current. Only mine is spread out on a couple of shelves on the bookcase, and I paid less than $5 each at yard sales and thrift stores (this photo came from an ebay post selling the set for $1,999!!!) They are very nice books. My daughter called dibs on any duplicate copies I had, so now we've started a second collection. Might have to start a couple more since my boys are expressing interest in them too.

 

HealthAndHappiness

Well-known member
Jul 7, 2022
12,119
5,314
113
Almost Heaven West Virginia
#28
:LOL::LOL: you beat me to it.
Well, cookbooks are one of my favorites. Although, most of my favorite recipes are easy to come by online nowadays.
I love the Taste of Home year book collection and even though I can get the recipes through their website there is just something about flipping through the book going "ohhh that sounds/looks good" that is just so different and more comforting than doing so online.
My collection is like this one: every yearbook published- 1994- through current. Only mine is spread out on a couple of shelves on the bookcase, and I paid less than $5 each at yard sales and thrift stores (this photo came from an ebay post selling the set for $1,999!!!) They are very nice books. My daughter called dibs on any duplicate copies I had, so now we've started a second collection. Might have to start a couple more since my boys are expressing interest in them too.

That's a big blessing!
The fact your children appreciate them is even a bigger blessing.

I like paper books too.
I told my Bible study members yesterday that they need to commit to reading and writing cross references in the margins of their paper Bibles for future referal. The Holy Spirit will bring special related verses to mind.
Everyone is used to ebooks these days. There are a lot of benefits to paper.

Funny you mentioned your collection.
As we speak I have the collection of Paul and Patricia Bragg's library Vintage- New for a vegan friend.
They are on the end table next to me.
 

enril

Well-known member
Aug 18, 2024
686
342
63
15
#29
lately i have mainly read others like pattersons witch and wizard and sandersons reckoners and skyward serie's. i have done alot more reading lately..
 

seoulsearch

OutWrite Trouble
May 23, 2009
17,637
6,410
113
#30
I need to write an update to the entries I've made in this thread...

Oh. My. Goodness.

So I've always said that Mr. Dean Koontz's "Lightning" is my favorite-ever fictional book, but I just finished "From the Corner of His Eye," and I was astounded that this book is a formidable contender.

You're going to get a little of everything in Mr. Koontz's books -- suspense, terror, warmth, humor, and usually a little supernatural -- in fact, when he was starting out, he said he drove editors crazy because they told him he had to choose one genre and stick with it. But the fact that his stories are everything AND the kitchen sink are exactly why I love them. As extreme as they can get, there's always some tale of triumph, someone who believes in doing what's right, someone who sacrifices everything for someone else, and, some bad guys are GOING to get their due.

This book had me alternatively crying, laughing, and cheering ("Go get that bad guy, Mr. Tom!") every other chapter. Although the story is centered around a vicious psychopath, there are still some who wind up with happy endings.

Among the ones that had me bawling were:

A 3-year-old boy (Barty) who has just had his eyes removed due to cancer. He meets a little girl (Angel) who is the same age. She asks him, the way children do, why he doesn't have eyes and why he can't see. And when he explains it to her, she announces, "Well, I can see, and I can talk," (to which he says "Yeah, you sure can!!" because she talks non-stop!)

And she tells him, "I am going to be your talking eyes. Anything I can see, I can tell you about, and then you'll be able to see it, too."

The two have always been child prodigies in different ways, and become inseparable. When they are 9 years old, they gather their families to show them something -- Barty, though he can't see, climbs to the top of a treasured family tree all by himself.

Barty is a math prodigy, and Angel explains that she has climbed that tree hundreds of times by herself -- and used her explorations to describe every last nook, crook, branch, and knob to Barty, detailing all the exact distances and location between them along the way. He in turn has created a 3-dimentional map of the tree in his head, and is able to climb it using the familiarity of this mental map. Astonishingly, the two children have actually mapped out 3 different routes to the top of the tree, each with different challenges -- but Barty, being Barty, chooses to climb to most difficult route first.

When Barty and Angel are 18, they marry, and the first morning after they are married, without a word needing to be said between them, they head to that old tree and climb it together -- so they can sit at the top and feel the sunrise.

Barty's mother, Agnes, who lost Barty's father to a car accident the day Barty was born, later meets a lovely man named Paul who is very interested in her. He asks if they could possibly have a future together.

She takes him to a private room and undresses, but modestly covers her front.

She does this, not for the purpose of intimacy, but because she wants to show him what he will be in for. From neck to toes, her skin is a mass of ugly scars and mangled flesh, the reminders of a father who constantly told her that "her sins needed to be beaten out of her."

Agnes explains that she knows most men would find her condition repulsive, and she understood that and held no ill will against Paul if he chose to walk away. Instead, he starts to weep, holds her close, tells her she's beautiful, and asks her to marry him. He also tells her that because his own wife had lifelong polio (and passed away because of it,) they had little to no intimacy at all, and that he is woefully inexperienced and might disappoint her.

The two cry together, she redresses, and they make plans to have a proper wedding.

I could barely read the pages because my eyes were so clouded over. In real life, God seems to send these kinds of people to me all the time (people who have been through extremes,) and it is so satisfying to think of someone with all the odds stacked against them finally getting a happy ending, even in just a book.

And these are just some of the side events!!

The devoted police officer (Mr. Tom) who relentlessly tracks down the bad guy of the book is like the good guy version of Hannibal Lector (from "Silence of the Lambs.") No, he's not a cannibal. But Mr. Tom is a former priest who saw the aftermath of a horrible crime, and felt he could do more to catch criminals by becoming a police officer rather than just praying.

Another reason I read these books is because all too often, God sends me people who have been abused by those who are never caught. Every now and then, I need to read about someone who actually gets caught and has to pay some consequences in this life, not just the next, even in a fictional story.

Mr. Tom is incredibly smart and adept at understanding how the villain thinks, toying with him until the bad guy gets reckless enough to finally get caught. I wish there would have been an entire book series centered around Mr. Tom (who goes back to the priesthood and being Father Tom after this case is solved.)

As stated in my earlier posts, I am currently working on a fan letter to Mr. Dean Koontz, the author of the story. I'd better finish soon or my letter will become a novel in itself (I'm already up to 8 typed pages -- if you think my posts are long, you should see my personal correspondence.)

But I sent letters that long to Mr. Koontz back in the day, and he was kind enough to answer some of my specific observations in his own handwriting.

However, I am not, of course, respecting a response to this letter. The reason I mention it is because it gives me the hope that Mr. Koontz will have actually have a chance to read my letter. And my only wish is that he will have a chance to read it and know how deeply his writing has affected -- and helped me.

So until I finally get that piece of writing finished -- and until CC hopefully fixes its glitches so I don't write for almost 60 minutes, only to have the site lose everything I'd written like it did last week -- I probably won't be here as much.

Many thanks to @enril for writing this thread and giving me enough focus to keep working on my letter!
 

seoulsearch

OutWrite Trouble
May 23, 2009
17,637
6,410
113
#31
It's taken over a month of writing (I started June 2,) but I think I'm almost ready to send my letter to the author, Mr. Dean Koontz.

He's just such a likeable person. I spent a good chunk of this past week listening to interviews with him while working. He's incredibly intelligent, often reading about things like quantum physics -- and I was delighted to hear that he said he's been criticized by those who work in science because they refuse to believe in God -- but Mr. Koontz sees everything he learns as strong evidence that all points back to God.

My letter is now 10 pages. I had better stop and get it sent, because I have 2 more of his books on hold at the library and if I keep reading, my letter will be almost as long as his novels.

I just pray that it will properly, though I'm sure inadequately, express to him how much I appreciate his work. He is also very involved in charity work, such as providing canine helpers to the differently abled. I can't help but want to be a better person the more I learn about him.

In one of the interviews I listened to, he was on a podcast that was only supposed to be an hour, but he stayed an extra half hour on his own time, answering the channel's Patreon member questions, because he knows YouTube creators rely on this for their livelihood.

I know I needlessly gush about the man, but it's hard to find someone this admirable in real life, let alone a world-famous author (and yes, I know it could be a carefully crafted image just for publicity) -- but the guy has been doing this for 50 years, and that's an awful long time to get away with faking who you are.

I'm also happy to see that CC seems to be on the mend...

So we'll see how soon I'm back to stirring up some trouble in the forums. :cool:
 

enril

Well-known member
Aug 18, 2024
686
342
63
15
#32
It's taken over a month of writing (I started June 2,) but I think I'm almost ready to send my letter to the author, Mr. Dean Koontz.

He's just such a likeable person. I spent a good chunk of this past week listening to interviews with him while working. He's incredibly intelligent, often reading about things like quantum physics -- and I was delighted to hear that he said he's been criticized by those who work in science because they refuse to believe in God -- but Mr. Koontz sees everything he learns as strong evidence that all points back to God.

My letter is now 10 pages. I had better stop and get it sent, because I have 2 more of his books on hold at the library and if I keep reading, my letter will be almost as long as his novels.

I just pray that it will properly, though I'm sure inadequately, express to him how much I appreciate his work. He is also very involved in charity work, such as providing canine helpers to the differently abled. I can't help but want to be a better person the more I learn about him.

In one of the interviews I listened to, he was on a podcast that was only supposed to be an hour, but he stayed an extra half hour on his own time, answering the channel's Patreon member questions, because he knows YouTube creators rely on this for their livelihood.

I know I needlessly gush about the man, but it's hard to find someone this admirable in real life, let alone a world-famous author (and yes, I know it could be a carefully crafted image just for publicity) -- but the guy has been doing this for 50 years, and that's an awful long time to get away with faking who you are.

I'm also happy to see that CC seems to be on the mend...

So we'll see how soon I'm back to stirring up some trouble in the forums. :cool:
i need to chech this guy out. another author i loveis brandon sanderson(guess he cant just call himself by his initials like another aauthor i read) recently i have been reading his ya novels, and man, his adult novels are less dark and more suitable for younger ages than the ya ones. but hes an incredible author.