Finding Needles in a Haystack
G’day, readers!
I’m Jack Cuison with seven tips for navigating the young adult section in the library as a Christian. We all are aware of how woke libraries are becoming. Parents are still fighting for purity in the children’s section, but the YA books were quickly overtaken. Nowadays, I’ve found it hard to pick up a young adult book without propaganda, constant swears, and graphic romance. So in this post, I’ll be sharing several tips and tricks I’ve found helpful lately for locating the few needles (good books) in the haystack known as the Young Adult Section.
Photo by Guzel Maksutova on Unsplash
Before we begin, I just want to address that I highly recommend visiting church libraries. While they don’t offer as much variety or the same quantity of books, church libraries are a great place to go if you are super wary of modern corrupted literature and want to ensure what you’re reading is Christian-approved. If your church doesn’t have a library or you don’t know where to find good Christian books, check out Christianbook.com, a website featuring only Christian literature available for purchase. And I’ve linked their teen fiction lists here if you want to look through those. Now, let’s get to those tips.
1. Check for signs
A very obvious tip, make sure to check the book’s cover and synopsis (found on book’s the back or interior side flap) for any tell-tale signs of inappropriate content. Is there a pride flag on the cover? Any corrupted messages conveyed in the synopsis? Does the cover appear demonic? If you can make out signs like this among others, I would advise setting the book back in the haystack (shelf) and continuing your search for the needles.
2. Inspect the author
This is another obvious one and one of my go-to’s. In relation to the previous tip, if the author is wearing inappropriate clothing or symbols on their clothing in their author picture, avoid picking up the book. Is the author gay? Are they in a cult? Do they support anything major your parents do not? If so, I would either ask your parents about the book or just set it back on the shelf.
3. Check the publication year
I know they’ve been removing a lot of old books, but I still think it’s wise to leave books on the shelf if they are published after 2015 (or even earlier) unless you are truly interested in the plot and have applied tips one and two. The reason my family uses 2015 is because that is the year LGBTQ+ stuff really started to become accepted and published in young adult literature. If you are super wary, even of books from earlier than 2015, 2010 is another good date to go by.
4. Read the first chapter
If your book has passed tips one through three—no clear signs in the appearance, synopsis, or author and published before 2015—but you’re still unsure, or if your book hasn’t passed the previous tips but you’re still pretty interested in it, I would recommend reading Chapter One of the prologue, whatever is the first part of the book’s story. While you read, check for signs and analyze the wording and themes. If anything seems off to you or you discover any signs of propaganda, don’t hesitate to slam that book shut with necessary aggression and place it gently back on the shelf. If you’ve read the first chapter/section of the book and everything seems okay, check this tip of your list and continue on to number five.
5. Read a review or refer to a friend
Whether you’re unsure if you should check out a book you’re interested in or not, hearing or reading someone else’s opinion about the book should prove helpful. My mom often refers to the book’s online reviews and ratings but you can also ask a friend or sibling what they thought of it and if they think you would enjoy it or should read it. To me, you should always have your parent(s) inspect your book before you read it unless you are alone or over the age of 16.
6. Consider why you want it
One thing I believe you should ask yourself when picking up a book, whether you’ve already applied the previous tips or not, is why you find the book interesting. What about this book is appealing to you? The cover? The synopsis? The author? If you are simply drawn to the cover but the other tips deem it probably unwise to read, I would put it back. If you find the plot description interesting but it was published after 2015, ask your parents permission and apply tip number five. If you have read other books by the author and you wish to read another one of their works, I would pick it up if the previous tips allow it.
7. Ponder what God would want
The most important in this list, ask yourself if God would want you to read it. Does it seem like a book God would approve of? Do the themes go against what God commands us? Is the book’s message something God would want you to think about? Whether you’re in the young adult section, the kid’s section, a bookstore, or even a church library, it’s always a good idea to seek God’s approval through prayer, reflection, or careful consideration. Keep in mind, not all the books you read have to be Christian, though it’s always wise to read Christian books. What matters is that you keep in check what you feed your mind and your heart and consider if it is helpful or harmful, which brings us to the final point.
Why Should We Do This?
Some of you may be wondering why all this matters. What is the problem with reading books with LGBTQ+ characters, woke messages, and/or constant swear words? Well, for one, Philippians 4:8 tells us:
“In conclusion, my friends, fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honorable.”
It’s crucial to note that whatever we fill our minds with reflects our hearts. Think about it like this: if we fill our bodies with garbage, we won’t be able to function correctly; but if we fill ourselves with healthy foods, we will function best. In the same way, filling our minds with garbage will cause our minds and our hearts to function incorrectly. As Paul tells us in Philippians, we should be filling our minds with good things. So the reason for the seven tips above is to help you filter out the bad stuff and improve your skills in finding the few needles in the giant haystack known as the young adult section.
I hope you all found these tips helpful and will consider applying them on your next library visit. If you liked this post, please hit the like button so our audience can grow and more people can hear what we have to offer in posts like this. Thank you guys for being here and I’ll see you in the next post!
Call me a coward, but I don't think we should go into /this/ kind of controversial content... if this blog ever does blow up, then problems could arise as people who don't share your views discover content like this...
ReplyDeleteOther than that, this was a handy post!
I will call you a coward, Jo XD this blog ain't blowing up any time soon and we're outspoke about our beliefs so I think we're good
Deletethat's da thing bout bein' a christian. they ain't popular. when peeps learn i'm a christian they think i'm like religious and boring and I'm like a priest. its so exasperating because they think i'm a party pooper because I don't cuss or do "cool" things like drink at the young age of 18.
Deleteum yes, i might have exactly become an adult...i really tried not to! 😰😪😓😳
DeleteAh yes, the moment I try to stop caring what people think of me they start saying im unsaved. (yes I'm aware I'm sorta committing a straw man fallacy, I'm leading up to making a point)
DeleteJesus said He wanted us to be innocent as doves... and cunning as snakes (Matthew 10:16). If you really want the spiritual battle to come to you, have a battle strategy. Don't just throw yourself out there so you can feel self-righteous when 'persecution' comes. But, if you do, don't be surprised when it comes back to bite you later. Everything you do has consequences.
So you can be wise or be, well, unwise.
Besides, bri, you wont have to deal with me for much longer. My parents are probably going to have me leave the blog :P
Deleteok I now realize this is the second time I have been passive aggressive towards someone on the blog, for which I am rlly sorry...
Deleteok that apology comment was me but I pressed send to early.
Deletethis is a bit of a sensitive area for me (often I will learn something super interesting in my bible class for example but when I try to articulate it to my youth group they look at my like I just committed blasphemy of the holy spirit) but you had no way of knowing that and hence I had no right to be angry at you...
dude you're good. You're leaving?! 😨
DeleteI probably will, and probably soon :shrug: (one of the reasons being I'm a bad communicator with a terrible sense of humor)
Deletebut then there won't be very many authors on this blog, only like, 4 and it seems like you guys struggle to write even with only that many.
Deletesomeday i'm going to start my own blog, hopefully in the fall. it's going to be for people who want to know what the military is like; people are often confused about it, so I want to share my daily life events inthe military in an HONEST way.
Deleteso it doesn't have to be for christians specifically, but it'll be hard, because i don't want a buncha cussing on my blog............
DeleteThat'll be cool. My dad's in the military and I plan on joining the Navy so your blog'll be something I'm definitely interested in! :)
DeleteJack that's cool! What branch is he? I'm going army, which is similar to the marines strength-wise. The Navy is a great option for those who are mentally strong.
DeleteHe's in the army but I'm going to join the navy
Deleteyou should join the army and become a combat medic like me. I recently created a video about being a combat medic if you want to watch it on youtube. Type in "Human services professional: Combat Medic". It's only four minutes.
DeleteAlthough I guess I do kind of make a combat medic sound scary in the video..........😬Oops....
DeleteBut before you join the Navy you should first publish as many books as you can. For some weird reason it seems like in history authors tend to die very young. I can just imagine it "Admiral Cuison dies in the Navy before seeing the publication of his novels." That would be sad.
DeleteWow....this convo is getting rather ...morbid...
DeleteI don't see what's morbid about Jack and me risking our young lives to serve our country. XDXDXD
DeleteJust the last comment about Jack dying before publishing his books....
Deleteit happens to the best of us. 😞
Deletewow, thanks! i especially like tip number 6, where you asked "why do we want to read it?" I think there's a lot of books with bad content, but sometimes people are actually drawn to that bad content. we should apply that bible verse about setting our hearts on spiritual things. like we should ask ourselves "If Jesus was sitting right here next to me, would I be ashamed of reading this?"
ReplyDeleteYeah tips 6 and 7 kinda go together (mainly cuz I had an idea for another tip but forgot 😆)
DeleteI actually want to say that this is a very well written and impressive article, and it definitely lives up to the word "controversial" in the blog title. I think it's a very good topic to address, and I was glad to read it.
ReplyDeleteI made the switch from juvenile fiction to young adult fiction right in 2020, when libraries shut down, so when I was finally able to go back in 2022 and find some books to read, I was very appalled by the books in the young adult section. The way I describe it to people is that "It was either about prom or it was about murder, neither of which are things I'm interested in." Because the selection of books is so terrible at the libraries around me, I've actually stopped reading. I only read non-fiction, really, if at all. The only things I read these days are the things I write.
I'll add an extra tip if I may, though, and that's to ask for recommendations by other readers with your beliefs. If you have people to give you good titles right off the bat, use those people to your advantage. That's how I was able to find out about a couple of books that someone I met thought I might like, and they were right.
You need to keep reading fiction, but don't expect to find any good YA books in a library. I would suggest you read the classics (such as Charles Dickens, Jules Verne, Ernest Hemingway, etc.). You should also (if you haven't already) read The Wingfeather Saga, or The Green Ember, which are great modern Christian young adult books.
DeleteWow! Now I'm super glad I don't read young adult fiction! I can't stand romance in general and I don't even wanna know what "graphic" romance is. 😬
ReplyDeleteuh... 😅
DeleteThere's been a few times where I've accidentally stumbled across "graphic" romance and it made me very uncomfortable. I DO NOT RECOMMEND the novel Lilac Girls or The Heir and the Spare.
Deleteum...yeah no need to elaborate, bri
DeleteThough it is an often used idiom of what not to do, nowadays, you really must and easily have the ability to judge a book by its cover. I have searched high and low in my local library for a cover that doesn't immediately look cheesy and stupid or is morally corrupt. They are hard to find.
ReplyDeleteIn a normal bookstore or library, it may be like looking for a needle in a haystack, but everywhere I have looked, it seems more like looking for a marked quarter in all of the money in circulation on planet Earth.
Let's say the needle is miniscule and the haystack is the size of betelgeuse
DeleteYeah. That's a better analogy.
DeleteJack, this is so true and extremely helpful too! (I know, I'm late to comment, but I just figured it out, so 🥳)
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I had to learn a lot of these things the hard way and had to get good at slamming books shut when the bad stuff started. Now I've become that book suggester you've mentioned lol because I read so many books and have a good eye for bad content. So it was just amusing to read that part about referring to a friend. But yeah, super helpful and I wasn't aware of the 2015 thing! Now I'm armed. 🗡️🛡️