Sam Storms has an 11 book list of his ten best books of 2012, included two books on, if not actually by, Jonathan Edwards. He also worries that D. A. Carson’s The Intolerance of Tolerance will not find the readers who need it.

Crossway has a butt full of recommendations for serious readers (I’m sorry. I meant to type heart-full, but a Twitter trend got in my way #replaceheartwithbutt So juvenile.) Crossway’s staff recommend serious titles each, from John Frame’s The Doctrine of the Knowledge of God to Ender’s Game. They also asked their authors to recommend reading for the coming year, and of course after removing all of the self-promotion, they had a pretty good list.

For more non-fiction recommendations, Tony Reinke of Desiring God Ministry has a list of twelve.

If you haven’t perused the fun novels, etc. at The Rabbit Room, you should.

If you have an e-book reader, you can get C. S. Lewis’ classic space trilogy, Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength, for $1.99 each for a limited time.

The links are to Amazon for Kindle versions, because we get a cut of our linked Amazon sales. But if you’ve got a Nook or Kobo, you can buy the books through the Harper & Row site here.

This has been a service of your friends at Brandywine Books.

And Rupert Murdoch, I suppose.

Goodreads has announced their winners for the 2012 Choice Awards in twenty categories. See what users have reviewed and scored highest for the past year.

Of potential interest for our esteemed readers, here are some $1.99 deals for today only:

Flyleaf copy: “Philip K. Dick (1928-1982) published 36 science fiction novels and 121 short stories in which he explored the essence of what makes man human and the dangers of centralized power.” His stories of almost human androids and clairvoyance have pressed in on us as part of a kind of modern mythology. This is a biography or exploration of the author who had many fascinating and some bizarre ideas.

Continue reading Kindle Interests for Today Only →

Today, America, it is your duty and honor to make what will be perhaps the most important choice of our lifetimes.

No, not that political race. Most of you, being upright citizens, have probably cast your votes in that one already.

No, I’m talking about the solemn and portentous decision as to what the cover of my next novel will be like.

As you know if you’ve been around here, I’ve gone to e-publishing, with the generous assistance of our friend Ori Pomerantz, who does the technical publishing stuff, and Phil Wade of this blog, who designs the covers. (You can see my previous masterwork, Troll Valley, here.)

The new book is another Erling Skjalgsson novel, and I call it Hailstone Mountain. It’s a sort of H. Rider Haggard-esque story, centering on a lost civilization high in the mountains of Norway. We’ve been brainstorming it and have gone through a few versions. Here’s one. The background is a photo I took during my last trip to Norway. It’s a famous place in Romsdal called Trollveggen (Troll Wall). The people in front are members of my Viking group, the Viking Age Club and Society of the Sons of Norway.

Continue reading Decision day! →

Slate Book Review and The Center for Cartoon Studies has announced a new award for excellence in cartooning. Get the goods here.

Kelsey Patton, who has some slight interest in the matter, has posted this YouTube video of my epic battle with her new husband in Minot:

In other ego-building news, this link will take you to the Amazon page for Troll Valley, where the latest reader review goes like this:

Most Expensive Book I Ever Bought

Lars, I bought a Kindle so I could read your books. I have loved all of them since finding Warrior in (of all places) a grocery store. Please write more.

Thank you, Joseph J. McConnell. I’ll try to make it a worthwhile investment for you.