MRHarvey Posted July 7, 2008 Group: Members Followers: 3 Topic Count: 23 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 32 Content Per Day: 0.01 Reputation: 30 Days Won: 0 Joined: 11/28/2006 Status: Offline Share Posted July 7, 2008 Hello, everybody! :-) I belong to a group that calls itself a "book club" but should more accurately be referred to as a "short story sharing club". And, pretty soon, it will be MY turn to share a short story. Therefore, I would like to ask anyone and everyone on Worthy Boards for suggestions! Of course, I would like it to be a short story with some Christian content. But I would prefer that it be one in which the Christian contet is fairly low-key, and non-controversial. Because many or most of my fellow members of this book club are non-Christians. In other words, I would like it to be a short story that can potentially plant a few seeds with some searching non-Christians, but without being likely to offend anybody! I would also like to to be either a story that is available for download on the Internet, OR a story that is now legally in the public domain. (And works that used to be copyrighted become public domain property fifty years after the death of the original author.) Finally, I would prefer it to be a story written by an author who is at least FAIRLY well known, such as John Bunyan or C.S. Lewis or J.R.R. Tolkein! Any recommendations? Thanks in advance! Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iryssa Posted July 7, 2008 Group: Royal Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 117 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 3,860 Content Per Day: 0.56 Reputation: 9 Days Won: 0 Joined: 05/10/2005 Status: Offline Birthday: 09/13/1984 Share Posted July 7, 2008 Does it have to be a short story in the strictest sense, or can it be an excerpt that makes sense without the rest of the book? 'Cause if you spend some time in the Narnia books you may be able to find something like that, or maybe even a selection from Pilgrim's Progress? Tolkien's The Silmarillion may have something (it wouldn't be outwardly Christian, as Tolkien was not at all fond of allegory such as what his friend Lewis wrote), though it's quite heavy and I haven't read it in a while, so I couldn't tell you whether there would be something of the right length in there (perhaps the story of Beren and L Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yesult Posted July 7, 2008 Group: Advanced Member Followers: 0 Topic Count: 3 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 326 Content Per Day: 0.06 Reputation: 1 Days Won: 0 Joined: 06/12/2008 Status: Offline Share Posted July 7, 2008 Pray. See if God gives you anything. Pray about the bookclub - and what role he wants you to have there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iryssa Posted July 7, 2008 Group: Royal Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 117 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 3,860 Content Per Day: 0.56 Reputation: 9 Days Won: 0 Joined: 05/10/2005 Status: Offline Birthday: 09/13/1984 Share Posted July 7, 2008 Oh, also, it doesn't need to be printable if you get a library card! Super-cheap (here in Calgary, for an adult it's just $12 for a full year to access all the Calgary Public Library books and locations), and opens up access to so much good stuff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iryssa Posted July 7, 2008 Group: Royal Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 117 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 3,860 Content Per Day: 0.56 Reputation: 9 Days Won: 0 Joined: 05/10/2005 Status: Offline Birthday: 09/13/1984 Share Posted July 7, 2008 Ooh, one more idea...search fanfiction sites (there's probably one out there for the Narnia lovers and/or Tolkien lovers) for short stories, then if you find one there e-mail or PM the writer and ask if you could print it off and read it at your book club (with full credit given to the author, of course). There are some really bad fanfiction writers out there, but some really good ones too (I know of a few that got published after years of just writing for fanfic message boards and RPG boards), so you may just stumble upon a little jewel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheya joie Posted July 7, 2008 Group: Diamond Member Followers: 7 Topic Count: 13 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 2,054 Content Per Day: 0.29 Reputation: 351 Days Won: 2 Joined: 03/15/2005 Status: Offline Share Posted July 7, 2008 *ahem* You might enjoy this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iryssa Posted July 8, 2008 Group: Royal Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 117 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 3,860 Content Per Day: 0.56 Reputation: 9 Days Won: 0 Joined: 05/10/2005 Status: Offline Birthday: 09/13/1984 Share Posted July 8, 2008 I don't know why I didn't think of these before...A couple you may look at (they're a little long, but I have no idea whether there's a time limit or anything) are "Unworthy the Angel" and "Penance." Both are written by Stephen R. Donaldson. His parents were missionaries, so there's Christian influence in there. Anyway, I have his short story collections in local libraries, so you may be able to find them there. They're fantastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRHarvey Posted July 15, 2008 Group: Members Followers: 3 Topic Count: 23 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 32 Content Per Day: 0.01 Reputation: 30 Days Won: 0 Joined: 11/28/2006 Status: Offline Author Share Posted July 15, 2008 (edited) I would like to thank all of you who participated in this discussion about good, Christian short stories. I prayed about it, and on the advice of another friend, I searched the Classic Shorts web site. And I finally decided on a story called "Was it Heaven? Or Hell?", by Mark Twain (whose true name, as I am sure you all know, was Samuel L. Clemens). For those of you who are interested, here is a link to the story: http://www.classicshorts.com/stories/wihoh.html Thank you once again, and God bless you alll! Mark Edited July 15, 2008 by MRHarvey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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