The Nonfiction Blog, part 3 (aka, Becca whipping nonfiction's behind)

Thanks commenter for suggesting The Heavenly Man. I'll have to steal it off Meghan's shelf sometime. But if you'll forgive me, I have a bone to pick with Meghan.

I notice Tozer didn't say "the function of a NONfiction book is..." No such specification. So try again.

And if we're gonna play a dead-people quotes game, you've come to the right place, sister. I can throw around plenty of quotes. Even from alive people.

Quotes from Dead People=

“A young man who wishes to remain a sound atheist cannot be too careful of his reading.” -C.S. Lewis

and

"Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become." - C.S. Lewis

I don't really know what that means, but a lot of people think that if C.S. Lewis says something, it's true, so I win.

Quotes from Alive people=
There's this dude named Chuck Colson who's on KTIS. And if something is on KTIS, everybody KNOWS it's true. And HE says (he didn't actually write this, but close enough. It's an article on his website by one of my favorite authors Mary DeMuth, and you can go there to read the nonfictiony words under the subheads if you really must) there are ten good reasons for Christ-followers to read fiction. And these are them:

1. Our view of the world beyond our door widens.
2. We learn empathy as we walk in a character’s different-sized shoes.
3. God uses stories to heal.
4. Fiction unmasks us.
5. God’s redemptive story permeates.
6. Novels allow for paradox, causing us to ask the kinds of questions that help us search for God.
7. Reading novels critically helps us navigate the Scriptures better.
8. Reading a novel connects us to the Creator
9. Reading a novel builds community.
10. Reading stories brings us face to face with Jesus, the grand storyteller.

Mary also says...

"Our hearts are typically instructed through story, not bullet points. I’ve never experienced healing or salvation from a list. But people telling their stories and reading others’ stories in literature stay with me, move through my heart, and open an unexpected door for Jesus to heal me."

I win.

(Actually, I thought about just going, "I'll give you five good reasons," [that fiction is better] and counting off my fingers to make a fist like Lucy does in Charlie Brown, but that'd be kind of hard to display in a blog, so this is what you get.)

Love ya, sis. What should we argue about next? I'm so excited.
-Becca

The Nonfiction Blog, pt 2

Becca, Becca, Becca...how could you be so misguided? Where did I go wrong? How could my own sister be so deceived about the benefits of non-fiction? Without it, we wouldn't have the amazing life stories we find in biographies. Even dicitonaries would be non-existent (and who doesn't love the thrill of learning the definition of a new word?) With nonfiction, we gain insight from the triumphs and mistakes and ideas of others.

And Becca! You who love to bake would be at a loss without cookbooks. You who speak Russian wouldn't have reached that distinction without Russian For Dummies, now would you?

As A.W. Tozer said, "The function of a good book is to stand like a signpost guiding the reader to the Truth and the Life." Where would we be without the life-giving truth of the Bible, as well as those masterpieces that guide one in the Christian life?

Just like a "slippery when wet" sign warns of oncoming disaster, the title "nonfiction" warns the fiction lover of just what's inside the book.

Now Becca, my dear, I recommend you start your nonfiction journey with....umm....hmm....uhhh...anyone have a nonfiction book that even Becca would love?

Meghan

The Nonfiction Blog

I thought it was high time for a blog post on this subject. I know you were all dying of curiosity, thinking how our house must be fraught with tension about this problem:

My sister Meghan is totally a nonfiction person, and I'm fiction all the way. The sad part of this is that Meghan is the one who introduced me to fiction in the first place. Half the books I read are hand-me-downs from her closet, where she hides an extensive library of Susan May Warren and Dee Henderson books that would go unread if it weren't for me.

Don't worry. I am more than happy to rise to the occasion. But.

It's time someone came and laid down the nonfiction law. Which I'm here to do, with my own array of subheads and bulleted points.

Nonfiction is not fiction
The very name "nonfiction" goes to show that those nonfiction authors have nothing worth telling if they couldn't even come up with their own genre name. They had to go and leech off of fiction's! You see my point? Fiction is fiction. So nonfiction is...not fiction? What kind of description is that? It's like they took out an ad in the newspaper and went, "okay everybody! look at us! We're NOT FICTION so you should read us!"

Nonfiction is pointless
What are nonfiction books for? Learning how to solve various problems, whether it's how to live a more purposeful life, how to make money, how to lose weight, or how to fix your garbage disposal. Unfortunately, most nonfiction books spend 350 pages
A) telling you what your problem is
B) convincing you that they, as the author, have the all-inclusive answer as to how to solve it
C) conveniently dropping off the face of the earth before they get around to telling YOU what this elusive secret to having a perfect life is.
(Even Meghan agrees with me on this point, so don't go arguing.)

Nonfiction gives you a big head
People who read nonfiction think they're smart. Hey, I even have a Bible verse to support me on this one: "Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil." (Proverbs 3:8) Okay, I realize that says nothing about nonfiction, but nonfiction in its modern forms didn't EXIST back in Solomon's time. (Whereas fiction DID. Because stories have existed since, like, people started writing them. Ha!) Me? I'm happy reading my fiction and letting people think I'm an airhead.

Miscellaneous Things I'm Right About

- C.S. Lewis is nonfiction, except his fiction books.
- If my name was Clive Staples, I would abbreviate it too.
- Meghan's probably going to come on here and refute this, but don't you worry. I am PREPARED to defend my friend religious fiction.
- Fiction is BETTER.

Disclaimer: Perhaps some people can read nonfiction and not have it affect their heads. Perhaps all this has nothing to do with nonfiction at all. Perhaps it does. Perhaps there are nonfiction books I've read myself that I don't mind because they don't go around advertising the fact that they are nonfiction.

Perhaps there are nonfiction authors out there who are kind enough to let you know what to do when your TV's power button hasn't been working for MONTHS and no one bothers to put new batteries in the remote and turn off the television in order to save your nerves.

Perhaps I'll go write a nonfiction book on why nonfiction is bad.

hearts.

-becca mccann

A Totally Homemade Christmas Song (Story behind the song)

In case you didn't notice from my last post, I am a tad obsessed with Christmas music. I have an extensive list of Christmas songs that I want to cover and put on our yet-to-be-recorded Christmas CD. They're not very common offerings, because when too many people perform a song, the last just looks like they think they do it better than all those preceding. So you'll understand when I say that I would display my list except for Michael W. Smith could be a loyal follower of this blog just looking for ideas for the tracklisting of his next album.

Around Halloween, when I first broke out the Christmas music, I decided we should choose one of the carefully selected songs on Becca's Imaginary Silent Substitute Christmas CD, record it, and display it online for all you wonderful fans.

One problem: licensing. It's confusing and expensive. And since all the good Christmas songs more than a century old are, unfortunately, commonly done, there was only one solution: write one.

So I threw together "Hope is Alive," and Ryan recorded it for me. Hope you like it.
-Becca

Totally Homemade Music Video #2

...yet another Christmas blog

As far as Ryan writing a blog, let me just say: it's about time.

To the right is 16% of our Christmas movie collection. Today we filmed a very Christmasy Totally Homemade Music Video. Our house is filled with Christmas music, be it Nat King Cole, Point of Grace, or Family Force 5. (And yes, all of these are playing at the same time in near proximity.)

The overall mood in the McCann household (with FOUR stations playing Christmas music...yay!) has me thinking about...cheesecake. But no one will let me bake cheesecake, so I'm distracting myself, with more Christmas music. (Of course, it will just cause me to think more about cheesecake, but oh well. That's not such a bad thing.) I'm talking about the kind of Christmas music that just plain sounds like Christmas lights would if they had a sound. And then you go "OH MY GOSH! THIS IS THE PERFECT/BEST SONG!!!! EVER!!!!!"

So. The Best Christmas Albums Ever, According to One Member of the Band.
(Disclaimer: This list does not reflect the views of the remaining three-fourths of Silent Substitute)

5. Relient K, Let it Snow Baby, Let it Reindeer (if only for "I Celebrate the Day.")






4. Andy Williams, Andy Williams Christmas Album + Andy Williams, Merry Christmas







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4. Bing Crosby, White Christmas






3. Nat King Cole, that one Christmas CD that doesn't have a name. Or a CD cover available online, apparently.

2. Point of Grace, A Christmas Story (especially with my personal addition, "All Is Well" from Winter Wonderland)






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2. Vince Guaraldi Trio, A Charlie Brown Christmas







1. Michael W. Smith, Christmastime










Actually, these were very stressful decisions, and I'm bound to be forgetting something.

Maybe I should go bake some cheesecake while I think about it.

Meghan's Book Blog

For those of you who don’t know, I’m pretty much a nerd. In college, I enjoyed doing homework (most of the time). When I graduated, I actually missed that unending stream of reading and paper writing (sometimes). My four bookcases + closet overflowing with books keep getting fuller as the years go on. And it just wouldn’t do to keep their wisdom on the shelf. Thus, I have decided to share some of my beloved quotes with whoever will listen (or read).

For this blog, I have chosen one of my all time favorite books, Holiness: Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties, and Roots, by 19th century bishop J.C. Ryle. He states,

I fear much for many professing Christians. I see no sign of fighting in them, much less of victory. They never strike one stroke on the side of Christ. They are at peace with His enemies. They have no quarrel with sin. I warn you, this is not Christianity. This is not the way to heaven…
‘Be doers of the word, and not hearers only’. No victory—no crown! Fight and overcome! (James 1:22).
Young men and women, and specially those who have been brought up in religious families, I fear much for you. I fear lest you get a habit of giving way to every temptation. I fear lest you become afraid of saying, ‘No!’ to the world and the devil and, when sinners entice you, think it least trouble to consent. Beware, I do beseech you, of giving way. Every concession will make you weaker. Go into the world resolved to fight Christ’s battle, and fight your way on…
Be encouraged to fight on. The time is short. The Lord is at hand. The night is far spent. Millions as weak as you have fought the same fight. Not one of all those millions has been finally led captive by Satan. Mighty are your enemies, but the Captain of your salvation is mightier still. His arm, His grace and His Spirit shall hold you up. Cheer up. Be not cast down.
What though you lose a battle or two? You shall not lose all. What though you faint sometimes? You shall not be quite cast down. What though you fall seven times? You shall not be destroyed. Watch against sin, and sin shall not have dominion over you. Resist the devil, and he shall flee from you. Come out boldly from the world, and the world shall be obliged to let you go. You shall find yourselves in the end more than conquerors; you shall ‘overcome.’

Sounds rather important to me.

“For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith” (1 John 5:3,4).