(My Spring Reading Thing Wrap-Up is below).
The Booking Through Thursday question for today is:
Think about your favorite authors, your favorite books . . . what is it about them that makes you love them above all the other authors you’ve read? The stories? The characters? The way they appear to relish the taste of words on the tongue? The way they’re unafraid to show the nitty-gritty of life? How they sweep you off to a new, distant place? What is it about those books and authors that makes them resonate with you in ways that other, perfectly good books and authors do not?
The short answer is…yes, all of those. I don’t know that any one of my favorite authors has all of those characteristics. But I love characters that are so real I feel I know them personally, situations that resonate with me and speak to my heart, beautiful language and expression, the ability to “sweep me off to a distant place,” and what I would call realism rather than nitty-gritty (I don’t really want to get in the gutter with someone, but good writing can help you picture a character or situation without dragging you through the gutter).
And in the Christian fiction I love, I also like when the lesson or spiritual application is balanced between preachiness and obscurity. No one wants to be “nagged at,” but there is a trend now to be so subtle that no one knows what you’re talking about. My favorite authors fit nicely between the two extremes.
Conversely, there is one author I read that I benefit from but I can’t say I enjoy. I love where her characters end up and I love the life lessons learned, but I don’t like the characters or how the story is told. I hear other people rave about her and wonder what I am missing. I think she would rather people benefit from her than enjoy her, but I would really like to do both. 🙂
To join in the Booking Through Thursday meme or read other answers, click on the button above.
Stray Thoughts 
I like books where Christian lives are walked out in a real way. And I, like you, like it when there is a good balance of not being too preachy but still getting the message across.
I think everyone can think of an author they just don’t get but everyone else seems to love.
I agree – all those things are very important.
Mine’s up
cjh
I agree with all you said at the top, and mostly I like real and believable characters 🙂 I haven’t read too many Christian fic, but the one I did were good 🙂
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