The two books I selected for my May Book Club seem to have nothing in common. One is a Christian royal romance, the other is a nonfiction book about healthy digital habits. But stay with me here because there is always a thread that connects everything to Christ (we’ve seen it every month of our Book Club so far!). Of course. That’s life for a believer, right? But it’s always my challenge to find that one thread, that one phrase, that one gem that captures it all.
Here it is today: love well with Christ at the center.
It’s the theme of the romance, for sure. Hauck writes those very words several times. It’s also the theme of Redeeming Technology, though not nearly as obvious. I suppose you could say it’s the theme of everything. Let’s see how it works in these books.
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May Book Club Takeaways
How to Catch A Prince by Rachel Hauck
How to Catch a Prince is for all of you royal aficionados who stayed awake into the wee hours to witness the wedding of the 20th century between Lady Diana and Prince Charles–or if you are much younger, then for those who follow @princeandprincessofwales and all things #royal.
There’s something about the glitter of royalty that makes girls smile. I would love to dive into the psychology and theology of this (post for a future day!), but no time here. Let’s just go with the thought that royal stories can be an escape for many readers. If it’s not you, please consider just this once reading a royal romance from Rachel Hauck. She does these well.
I have a special place on my bookshelf for books by writers I’ve talked to. In person. This is one of them. Rachel Hauck has been part of the ACFW community, and when I first met her in person, she was the worship leader for the conference. I wrote about her in my favorite Christian Authors post, too.
She has a beautiful singing (and writer) voice and a heart for Jesus. Her stories reflect this. As a multi-published New York Times bestselling author, she also has a desire to mentor writers. She actually walked with me and offered writerly wisdom after I attended one of her workshops. (I snapped a pic with her, too!)
About the Story
This one is a royal love story with a happy ending, but it’s also a serious look at heartache, grief, and forgiveness in Christ. The plot is filled with more thoughtful complications and story conflicts than one might expect after reading the title and looking at the cover. (Faceless but clearly handsome bridal couple, lovely gown, ring, a crown, and a royal purple palette.)
The princess, Corina del Rey, is not your ordinary farm girl from Wisconsin who falls in love with a disguised prince (a.k.a. Julia Stiles in The Prince and Me). No, Corina is a beautiful Georgia belle, an heiress in her own right, who also happens to be a career journalist with a dream to make it big. She lands an assignment to cover a movie premiere in Brighton, the fictional country where the love of her life, Stephen, is the prince who left her at the altar, so to speak, more than five years ago. Corina has been struggling with the death of her twin brother, and she believes Stephen has the key to unlock the door to her healing.
Open Door Christianity
This does have what may loosely be called “open door” Christianity which simply means her characters are transparent as they wrestle with God, their faith, and their sins.
Prince Stephen, for example, shares his perspective:
“If Stephen gave any consideration to the divine, such as an all-knowing, all-seeing God, he might bow a knee and ask for guidance. But he’d seen God’s answer to please for mercy that evening in Torkham, when his mates lay moaning in their own pool of blood. Then each one, to the man, died. He didn’t understand that God.”
Closed Door Romance
But this book also has “closed door” romance. If you aren’t familiar with it yet, this is a good description to know, especially if you are a reader who is sensitive to what seems to be the norm these days – couples who sleep together on the first date. Books with R to X-rated scenes like that are often referred to as “open door” romance.
This one is appropriate for your teenage daughter or granddaughter to read. (But it does have romance and a few tender kisses.)
Toss in delightful secondary characters and story-lines, near-fantasy characters Adelaide and Brill, sparkling tiaras, designer gowns, and a Pisarro masterpiece, and you have a delightful page-turning story. It may not quench a thirst for James Joyce literary brilliance (I never did read all of Ulysses), but it will definitely fill anyone’s I-need-a-delightful-love-story hunger.
It will also remind you of the beautiful gift we have in Christ and how because of His love, we can love others well.
Redeeming Technology: A Christian Approach to Healthy Digital Habits
Redeeming Technology by A. Trevor Sutton and Brian Smith has been on my TBR shelf for two long years, but every time I picked it up, it didn’t feel like the right time. Have you experienced that? Right book. Wrong time. But I really wanted to read it, so I put it on my 2024 Book Club list for May. Randomly. But it wasn’t random at all. Reading this book led to a lightbulb moment (a.k.a. a God-wink) reminding me of how God is at work in even the small things in my life.
Digital Awareness
You see, earlier this month, my daughter invited me to a digital awareness challenge where we do one thing each week to identify the role that screen-time plays in our lives. Since much of my work is spent on a screen–writing and researching and teaching–I knew my screen-time was high. Couple that with a lovely hand-held device that has instant access with bright colors and tempting images and videos about cleaning products, shoes, poetry, and flowers.
I suspected I may have a slight issue with consuming online content. It’s like flipping through a magazine, I’d say to defend the behavior to myself and a few others. I stand in the grocery store line and scroll social media just like I used to flip the pages of People or Better Homes and Gardens.
But here’s the issue. I sit down to read a physical book for 30 minutes, but first I check my phone for the weather forecast. Briefly, I say. I want to take a walk later. Will it rain? Do I need a sweatshirt? Without a second thought, I’ve hopped over to Instagram to do I-don’t-know-what. Twenty minutes later and I have not read my book, but I learned about deer-resistant bushes, vertical planners, and writing tips. I also laughed at a few clever memes. The key here is that phrase without a second thought. It’s like a drug, right? Just one hit. Just one minute. Can’t stop.
So reading a book about healthy digital habits two years ago? I didn’t think I needed to improve my digital habits. My habits were healthy, or so I thought. But God was at work in me, and I’m thankful it’s not my work. It’s all His work.
About Redeeming Technology
This is a solid, well-researched book that covers so much about how technology touches every single one of us, and how it intersects with our faith. It’s written by two youthful (to me) highly educated guys, a pastor and a psychiatrist, and their approach is for everyday people like you and me. (They also both happen to be Michiganders which is cool.)
It’s well-documented (love the footnotes), includes chapter questions, and my favorite part is the end of each chapter. “Do This, Not That” is filled with actionable steps for the reader. The first chapter, for example, invites readers to take a technology audit. To count and evaluate how technology plays a role in our lives. I’m doing this.
The book covers everything from mental health and beauty to digital narcissism and artificial intelligence. It’s filled with references to classic literature, pop culture, scientific journals, and theological giants like Luther and Augustine.
Most importantly, the book leans heavily on God’s Word, grounded in its truth in Christ. The authors define technology as “things that are ancient and mundane, physical and nonphysical . . . language and paper clips, bridges and bombs, stone tablets and digital tablets” (29).
They offer thoughtful and biblical reflections on so many techie topics, and they encourage balance. They encourage honest and real flesh and blood connection with others. Relationships. Love.
Love well with Christ at the center. (They don’t use that exact phrase, but that theme is my takeaway.)
They share one of my favorite St. Augustine quotes: “Lord, You have made us for Yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in You.” The authors continue writing, “Although he lived in a time before digital technology when only birds tweeted, Augustine knew that restless hearts can only be cured by God . . . Restless hearts and minds can find true and eternal rest, peace, fulfillment, and satisfaction only in God.” (63)
Even if you don’t think you need a digital detox, someone in your life probably does. Read this book for yourself, your loved one, or perhaps a grandchild.
And let’s continue to love well with Christ at the center.
What’s all this about Beth’s Book Club? Let me fill you in.
In case you missed it, this year I chose 24 books to highlight for a “reading club,” two per month. One fiction. One nonfiction. Because that’s what I love to do. Then I write a blog post about those two books at the end of the month. I chose a variety of books, and I realize you might have zero interest in reading some. That’s okay. Read what you want, if you want, before or after I post. My blog post are filled with my Beth-review and takeaways. Nothing fancy. No quizzes. Just reading fun!
Playing catch up? Here’s what you might have missed:
