"Seek ye out of the best books" (D&C 88:118)

A couple of years ago I realized that some of the novels I was reading wouldn't pass muster as a movie i.e. I was tolerating language and other inappropriate behaviors in the books I read that I would have walked out of had it been a film.  It was then that I decided to upgrade the quality of books I was willing to read.  Consequently, I put several of my favorite authors on the "do not contact" list among them Clancy, Lincoln and Childs, Flynn, and Grafton, just to mention a few. 

After purging my bookshelves of these and other offending authors, I was at a loss as to what to read.  So, remembering the counsel of the Lord in D&C 88:118 I sought divine guidance in discovering authors that would entertain but not contaminate me. It took some effort and false starts but here are some writers that I have come to enjoy:

--Alexander McCall Smith:  wrote several series including the highly acclaimed "The #1 Ladies Detective Agency"

--Jan Karon:  well known for her delightful Mitford series which tell of the fortunes/misfortunes of Father Timothy Kavanaugh, an Episcopal priest, and his quirky parishioners

--Louis La Amour: best western writer ever

--Chris Stewart: one of the best LDS fiction writers in today's market, wrote the Great and Terrible series of six books dealing with the last days--riveting!

--Joel C. Rosenberg: penned a four book series, also on the last days from a Christian (non-LDS) point of view beginning with "The Last Jihad". 

Hopefully these and other authors will continue to publish so that I and others can continue to "seek...out of the best books"