From My Bookshelves

Are you a collector of books? I certainly am. I don’t have as many as some of you, but I have my fair share. All of mine are housed in my office on Ikea bookshelves. Nothing fancy, but they get the job done, and for minimal expenditure. Besides, with the books inside, you won’t even notice the shelves. Just all those glorious books.

I’ve recently cleaned out several books I’d collected over the years. Books by very famous teachers or preachers with whom I can no longer agree. Their gospel doesn’t align with the one in which I put my faith and trust. I pulled them from my shelves and my sweet hubby took them to our Friends of the Library used bookstore.

BURN A BOOK? NOT THIS GIRL!

Someone told me I probably should have burned them. Ouch. They’re books. I didn’t because not all their teaching is false. There are bits of wisdom to be found. And if someone has never heard about Jesus, well, He’s within the pages. I have to trust God with the rest.

I have row upon row of writing books. Everything from grammar to poetry, to plot and structure, a few that are genre-specific, and many on how to self-edit. Something makes me think I need to pull those out as I edit my WIP (work in progress).

SMALL IN SIZE, BUT IT DELIVERS

From My Bookshelves @DDuPreeWilliams #writing #writingcommunity Share on X

Imagine my delight when I ran across this little gem today. How had I missed this one? After all, I write within the Christian writing world. Perhaps its size is what made me miss it within the confines of my shelves. It’s not very big, but Is filled with helpful information for anyone writing and publishing works considered to be Christian.

 It is The Little Style Guide to Great Christian Writing and Publishing by Lenonard G. Goss, and Carolyn Stanford Goss. It was published in 2004. I have no idea when I purchased it. How could I since I didn’t even know I had it?

It covers all manner of things a writer of Christian works, be it fiction or non-fiction, may need at some point. Everything from proper use and spelling of religious terms to those words that give us all trouble. You know the ones I mean—spelled similarly, and sound alike or somewhat alike. But which one to use? And, in the back are proofreading marks and their meanings. I’ve never learned those. Good to have them at my fingertips.

Lastly, they have a list of books they feel every author or editor should have. A great list, by the way. I’ve never heard of many of them. I can see the need for either a new bookcase or purging some of my old friends. Sigh. I think the new bookcase will win this one.

Go forth and tell His story! Your words have the power to change someone’s eternity!

Have you had any surprise books show up lately? Please tell us about them. Happy writing, editing, or reading.

Blessings, y’all!