Six LDS Writers and A Frog

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Top 102 LDS Fiction Books

By Julie Coulter Bellon

Josi Kilpack ((http://www.josikilpack.blogspot.com) recently put together a list of the top 102 LDS fiction books by asking several well read authors to pick their top ten. (Which was very hard for me to do!) I was really interested to see who would come out on this list and how many I have read.

I have included the list below and bolded the ones I’ve read and made comments after the ones I highly recommend. If you are so inclined, in your comments, you could list the ones you’ve read and also tell us which ones you highly recommend. I think it would be fascinating to see what our readers have read, enjoyed, and would recommend to others! (Maybe you can suggest which ones I should definitely add to my to read list.)

1) A Heartbeat Away—Rachel Ann Nunes
2) Almost Sisters—Nancy Anderson, Lael J. Littke and Carroll H. Morris
3) Angels Don't Knock—Dan Yates
4) An Old Fashioned Romance—Marcia Lynn McClure
5) A Question of Consequence—Gordon Ryan (my husband read it, does that count?)
6) Ariana: The Making of a Queen—Rachel Ann Nunes
7) As the Ward Turns—Joni Hilton
8) At the Journey’s End—Annette Lyon (Her temple books are unsurpassed in rich detail)
9) Baptists at Our Barbecue—Robert Farrell Smith
10) Charlie—Jack Weyland (I still love this one)
11) Charley’s Monument—Blaine M. Yorgason
12) Chickens in the Headlights—Matthew Buckley (on my to-read list)
13) Children of the Promise, Vol 1: Rumors of War— Dean Hughes
14) Children of the Promise, Vol 2: Since You Were Gone—Dean Hughes
15) Come Armageddon—Anne Perry
16) Daughter of a King—Rachel Ann Nunes (picture book, amazing art work)
17) Dead on Arrival--Jeffrey Savage (I absolutely loved this book. Highly recommend)
18) Double Cross--Betsy Brannon Green (Definitely Betsy’s best book to date)
19) Dusty Britches—Marcia Lynn McClure
20) Emeralds and Espionage—Lynn Gardner
21) Escaping the Shadows—Lisa J. Peck
22) Fablehaven—Brandon Mull
23) False Pretenses—Carole Thayne
24) Faraway Child—Amy Maida Wadsworth
25) Fire of the Covenant—Gerald Lund
26) First Love and Forever—Anita Stansfield
27) Flowers of the Winds--Dorothy Keddington
28) Ghost of a Chance—Kerry Blair (Best mystery I’ve read in a while!)
29) Gustavia Browne—Alene Roberts
30) Jimmy Fincher Saga Vol. 4: War of the Black Curtain—James Dashner (My daughter and son LOVED it)
31) House on the Hill—Annette Lyon (Again, loved the themes throughout her books)
32) House of Secrets—Jeff Savage (Excellent)
33) House on the Sound—Marilyn Brown
34) In a Dry Land—Elizabeth Petty Bentley
35) Lifted Up—Guy Morgan Galli
36) Love Beyond Time—Nancy Campbell Allen (This is my favorite book of hers.)
37) Mary & Elisabeth—S. Kent Brown (Non-fiction)
38) MaCady—Jennie Hansen (Jennie has a gift for romantic suspense. I own all her books and they are very dog-eared since they are favorites of mine.)
39) Molly Mormon—Tamara Norton
40) Mummy's the Word—Kerry Blair (Highly recommended)
41) My Body Fell Off—BJ Rowley
42) My Not So Fairy Tale Life—Julie Wright (Great read, and very real)
43) No Longer Strangers—Rachel Nunes (Absolutely loved this book.)
44) Nothing to Regret—Tristi Pinkston
45) On a Whim—Lisa McKendrick
46) On Second Thought—Robison Wells (I think the main character was based on Rob Hilarious!)
47) On the Edge--Julie Coulter Bellon (Well, it’s mine, so I have to recommend this one!)
48) One in Thine Hand—Gerald Lund
49) One Tattered Angel—Blaine M. Yorgason
50) Out of Jerusalem 1 (Of Goodly Parents)—H.B. Moore
51) Out of Jerusalem 2 (A Light in the Wilderness) —H. B. Moore (on my to-read list)
52) Out of Jerusalem 3 (Towards the Promised Land)—H. B. Moore (H.B. Moore’s books get a lot of critical acclaim because of the amazing research and how it brings the Book of Mormon to life. Can’t wait to read it.)
53) The Peacegiver—James L. Ferrell (I skimmed it, does that count?)
54) Pillar of Fire—David Woolley
55) Poison—Betsy Brannon Green
56) Prodigal Journey—Linda Paulson Adams
57) Pursuit of Justice—Willard Boyd Gardner
58) Return to Red Castle—Dorothy Keddington
59) Race Against Time—Willard Boyd Gardner
60) Sarah—Orson Scott Card
61) Saints—Orson Scott Card
62) Sixteen in no time—BJ Rowley
63) Spies, Lies and a Pair of Ties—Sheralyn Pratt
64) Standing on the Promises Vol 1: One More River to Cross--Margaret Young and Darius Gray
65) Strength to Endure—Tristi Pinkston
66) Surprising Marcus—Donald S. Smurthwaite
67) Tathea—Anne Perry
68) Tempest Tossed—Josi S. Kilpack (Very gritty true to life writing)
69) Tennis Shoes Among the Nephites—Chris Heimerdinger
70) The Alliance—Gerald Lund (on my to-read list)
71) The Book of Mormon—Nephi thru Moroni (non-fiction)
72) The Believer—Stephanie Black (I'm currently reading this one)
73) The Coming of Elijiah—Arianne Cope (fascinating)
74) The Counterfiet—Robison Wells (A deep intricate plot which I loved)
75) The Emerald--Jennie Hansen (Jennie is amazing in this genre)
76) The First year—Crystal Liechty
77) The Fragrance of Her Name—Marcia Lynn McClure
78) The Killing of Greybird—Eric Swedin
79) The Last Days, Vol. 1: The Gathering Storm—Kenneth R. Tarr
80) The Last Promise—Richard Paul Evans
81) The Looking Glass—Richard Paul Evans
82) The Miracle of Miss Willie—Alma J. Yates
83) The Single Heart—Melinda Jennings
84) The Visions of Ransom Lake—Marcia Lynn McClure
85) The Work and the Glory Vol 1—Gerald Lund (I loved the Work and the Glory books)
86) The Work and the Glory Vol 2—Gerald Lund
87) The Work and the Glory Vol 3—Gerald Lund
88) The Work and the Glory Vol 4—Gerald Lund
89) The Work and the Glory Vol 5—Gerald Lund
90) The Work and the Glory Vol 6—Gerald Lund
91) The Work and the Glory Vol 7—Gerald Lund
92) The Work and the Glory Vol 8—Gerald Lund
93) This Just In—Kerry Blair (A great read with lots of laughs)
94) Time Riders—Sierra St. James
95) Time Will Tell by Julie Coulter Bellon (Again, one of mine so of course I recommend it)
96) To Echo the Past—Marcia Lynn McClure
97) To Have or To Hold—Josi S. Kilpack
98) Towers of Brierley, Anita Stansfield (Of all of Anita’s books, I liked this one best)
99) Twelve Sisters—Leslie Hedley
100) Unsung Lullaby—Josi S. Kilpack (This is on my to read list, I’ve heard great things!)
101) Wake Me When it’s over—Robison Wells
102) Winter Fire—Rachel Ann Nunes (Rachel’s Huntington series is my favorite of hers.)

Contributing authors to the list: Tristi Pinkston, Julie Wright, Jeff Savage, Rachel Ann Nunes, Jewel Adams, Annette Lyon, Heather Moore, Stephanie Black, Julie Bellon and Josi S. Kilpack. Special thanks to Josi Kilpack for putting it together!


8 Comments:

At 3/15/2007 5:29 PM, Blogger Elizabeth said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

 
At 3/15/2007 5:31 PM, Blogger Elizabeth said...

You forgot Secrets in Zarahemla. It is one of the best pieces of LDS fiction I have ever read, and I have read a few. I recommend this book to everyone if they are interested in LDS fiction. Everyone I know who has read it loves it!

 
At 3/16/2007 2:17 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

How can there not be one book by Levi Peterson on this list?

 
At 3/16/2007 4:32 PM, Blogger William said...

Matt:

Are Peterson's book LDS?

This list really seems to be the top 102 LDS genre fiction books. Nothing wrong with making such a list.

 
At 3/16/2007 10:50 PM, Blogger Annette Lyon said...

I can't speak for the others who contributed, but while I've read Levi Peterson's work, I don't count him as one of my favorites. He's a great writer, don't get me wrong (and yes, I would consider his work LDS), but I don't care for it. I'd take Margaret Young and several others over him any day. This is more of a genre list, though, you're right about that.

 
At 3/17/2007 5:13 PM, Blogger Tristi Pinkston said...

And there's nothing wrong with compiling your own list, either -- any list will be incomplete as we all have different reading tastes.

 
At 3/21/2007 5:01 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I can't believe some of the books that are on this list. I know that everyone has personal tastes, but I would bet some of the ones on this list are only there because the authors surveyed are friends with the other authors. I'm not going to single out any books, but this list is absolutely laughable.

 
At 3/26/2007 2:19 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

This is an interesting list. Makes me realize how little I know about contemporary Mormon fiction.

The thing that weirds me out is that I didn't detect one book that predates 1980 on this list (beside the Book of Mormon).

 

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