November 19, 2003
-
Ever since I became a Christian, I have done a lot of research on the hot topics of marriage, dating and purity. Here’s a list of the books I’ve looked into & what I think of them. If you want more info on a book, just ask me. I’d be glad to give you a summary, pros & cons, etc.
Rating Scale
HR – Highly Recommended
R – Recommended
IA – It’s Alright
NR – Not Recommended
** Top Two (After all my research, these two are the best in their category.)
Marriage
Living in Love (Richard Strauss) – R
Rocking the Roles (Lewis & Hendricks) – NR
Great Expectations (Toben) – IA
Marriage Takes More than Love (Jack & Carole Mayhall) – R
How to Be Happy Though Married (LeHaye) – R
Pre-Engagement: 5 Question to Ask Yourselves (Powlison & Yenchko) – R
Design for Christian Marriage (Dwight H. Small) – R
Dr. Wayne Mack (audio tape series) – R
Please Understand Me II (Keirsey) – HR
The 5 Love Languages (Chapman) – R
Building a Great Marriage (Anne Ortlund) - HR **
I Married You (Walter Trobisch) – HR **Dating
Passion and Purity (Elisabeth Elliot) – HR **
Quest for Love (Elisabeth Elliot) – HR
I Kissed Dating Goodbye (Joshua Harris) – R
Boy Meets Girl (Joshua Harris) – R
Choosing God’s Best (Don Raunikar) – HR **
Should I Get Married? (M. Blaine Smith) – IA
Best Friends for Life (Phillips) – R
Boundaries in Dating (Cloud/Townsend) – NR
Sex/Purity
Gift-Wrapped By God (Linda Dillow)– (for women) HR **
The Purity Principle (Randy Alcorn) – HR **
Not Even a Hint (Joshua Harris) – R (youth)
And the Bride Wore White (Dannah Gresh) – (youth) R
Who Moved the Goal Post (Bob Gresh) – (youth) R
Every Man’s Battle (Stephen Arterburn) – (adult) R
Every Woman’s Battle (Shannon Ethridge) – (adult) R
(I’m currently starting my “research” on parenting.)
Comments (4)
hey mree, did you read all those books?
I didn’t finish Rocking the Roles cuz it was so blah.
I didn’t read every thing in Please Understand Me II.
I didn’t finish 5 Love Languages b/c I got the gist.
I didn’t finish Boundaries in Dating cuz I didn’t find it compelling.
I only skimmed through Not Even a Hint (but I found Harris’ writing to be much better in this little book than in IKDG and Boy Meets Girl; he is older, has more experience and writes with more authority in this book, so that’s why I’d recommend it.)
The last four in the Sex/Purity category, I only skimmed through to see if it was good. I thought they seemed pretty good! Sam has also read/looked at them, and she agrees with me on the recommendations.
I read the rest of them though. I’ve read more too but can’t remember them all. I think that I’m done reading up on these topics now though. I’m ready to apply. hahahahahaha.
mary ann, trippin! how could you rate IKDGB by harris over SIGM by smith???? and passion and purity as the top of the class? for reals?? that book’s an idealized christian romance novel!
only 1 eprop!
obviously, my ratings are biased…
the ratings are based on how they revolutionalized my life and thinking. i don’t think ikdg is the greatest book in the world, but his ideas are good. and i liked it much better than SIGM. definitely!
passion & purity is a good book for women, i think. contrary to most memories, she was not so straitlaced about her ideas and NEVER struggled. she struggled a LOT, and that’s what’s helpful about that book.