The volume of Christian books in the Christian bookstores today is so huge that I just don't know what to buy or where to begin to look whenever I step into the book store. I wonder whether you feel that way too?

If you are, here are what I found helpful when shopping for books.

Tips When Shopping For Books

• Read Christian Book Reviews

I usually spend a long time reading the back cover of each book and note the book reviews by other Christian authors or Christian leaders.

Most online book stores have book reviews by readers that can be very helpful. For example, you can see this feature when you browse Amazon books.

• Ask Your Christian Friends

Do you have friends who love reading? Ask them what books they are reading at the moment.

Usually, my friends will recommend good books that they have read and which helped them in certain area of their lives.

• Read the Footnotes and Bibliographies

If you enjoy a book very much, you might like to look at the footnotes and/or bibliography and see what source materials the author cited from or other Christian materials he or she recommends for further reading.

• Look for Christian Books by the Same Authors or Publishers

Books by same Christian authors: When you enjoy reading a book, it is quite likely that you might be interested in reading other books written by the same author. Look inside the front or back cover to see if the author has written other books.

Books by same book publishers: Look at the Also Available Books either on the inside front or back cover.

Jot down these suggested book titles with the names of each author and publisher in a notebook. Bring your notebook along when shopping for books so that when you walk into any bookstore, you will be able to zero in on those books listed in your notebook.

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I love to read and am always looking for more good Christian books to add to this list so that's why I call this an incomplete list. And since I love making up lists, I have more lists within this list.

Please note that although some of these books might not have any reference to God but each and every one of them listed here are safe reading materials for any Christian mind.

• Battlefield Of The Mind By Joyce Meyer
• A Woman's Call To Prayer By Elizabeth George
• Our Nearest Kinsman By Roy Hession
• Spiritual Depression By Maryn Lloyd-Jones
• Why Revival Tarries By Leonard Ravenhill
• Journey Into Rest By Elizabeth Sherrill
• Through Gates Of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot
• Love Has A Price Tag by Elizabeth Elliot
• No Easy Road By Dick Eastman
• Smith Wigglesworth Devotional
• In Search Of Truth By Derek Prince
• Pathway To Purpose For Women By Katie Brazelton
• When God Writes Your Life Story By Eric And Leslie Ludy
• Morning By Morning - Daily Meditations From The Writings Of Maria J. Dawn by Maria J. Dawn Edited by Karen Dismer
• An Interactive Guide To Inviting God's Presence By Larry Keefauver, D.Min.
• Disciplines Of The Beautiful Woman By Anne Ortlund
• The Holy Land : One Land - Three Religions By SAmi Awwad
• Writing To Inspire By William Gentz, Lee Roddy, And Other Leading Inspirational Writers.
• The Ultimate Gift By Jim Stovall
• Heroes Of the Faith - Fanny Crosby
• The Complete Book Of Hymns By William J. Petersen And Ardythe Petersen
• Then Sings My Soul Book By Robert J. Morgan
• Then Sings My Soul Book 2 By Robert J. Morgan
• Streams In The Desert By Mrs Charles Cowman
• Developing Your Personal Prayer Life By Ime Akpan
• Cover To Cover Through the Bible As It Happened By Selwyn Hughes And Trevor J. Partridge
• God's Generals By Roberts Liardon
• John G. Lake By Roberts Liardon
• Smith Wigglesworth On Spirit-Filled Living By Smith Wigglesworth

Other than Christian books, below are my collection of music, art and design, poetry, quotes and other miscellaneous books that interest me. So you will see that beside reading Christian books, I also purchase and read books that are related to my various hobbies; example, jewelry making, card making, scrapbooking and faithbooking, guitar collecting and journal keeping. i also included some non Christian books - motivational and entrepreneur books that would be necessary reading for internet / network marketers or any business persons.

• The Stratocaster Chronicles - Celebrating 50 Years Of The Fenders Strat By Tom Wheeler
• Fender Custom Shop - Guitar Gallery
• The Illustrated Directory Of Guitars By Nick Freeth
• The Fender Book - A Complete History Of Fender Electric Guitars By Tony Bacon and Paul Day
• Gibson Electrics The Classic Years By A. R. Duchossoir
• Electric Guitars And Basses - A Photographic History By George Gruhn And Walter Carter
• Martin Guitars - An Illustrated Celebration Of America's Premier Guitarmaker By Jim Washburn And Richard Johnston
• Critical Listening Skills For Audio Professionals By F. Alton Everest
• The Mixing Engineer's Handbook By Bobby Owsinski

• Half Time By Bob Burford
• What To Say When You Talk To Yourself By Shad Helmsetter, Ph.D.
• The Business School For People Who Like Helping People By Robert T. Kiyosaki
• The Power Of Positive Thinkng By Norman Vincent Peale
• The Amazing Results Of Positive Thinkng By Norman Vincent Peale
• Reaching Your Potential By Norman Vincent Peale
• Think And Grow Rich By Napoleon Hill
• First Things First By Stephen R. Covey
• The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People By Stephen R. Covey
• 17 Secrets Of The Master Prospectors By John Kalench
• How To Organize Your Work And Your Life By Robert Moskowitz
• Secrets Of Network Marketing Wealth By John Bremner
• The Innovative Woman - Creative Ways To Reach Your Potential In Business And Beyond By Norma Carr-Ruffino
• How To Organize And Operate A Small Business By Clifford M. Baumback
• Writing For The Information Age By Bruce Ross-Larson

• Timeless Thoughts on Love - An Anthology of Quotations
• The Language of Recovery
• Sound Of Colors By Jimmy
• Love Just Like Pretty Postcards

Origami / Paper Folding

• How To Fold
• Folding Patterns For Display And Publicity
• The Packaging And Design Templates Sourcebook Compiled By Luke Herriott
• Origami Architecture By Masahiro Chatani
• Encyclopedia Of Paper Folding Designs
• New Encyclopedia Of Paper Folding Designs

Rubber Stamping / Woodblock Printing

• Ukiyo-e The Art Of Japanese Woodblock Prints
• The Stamp Artist's Project Book By Sharilyn Miller
• Magenta Style Paper Magic by Nathalie Metivier and Leslie Conron Carola
• Designing With Stamping

Jewelry Making

• Brilliant Beading By Anna Morgan
• The Beader's Handbook
• The Bead Maker By Mary Maguire
• Glamorous Beaded Jewelry By M. T. Ryan
• French Inspired Jewelry By Kaari Meng
• Bead On A Wire By Sharilyn Miller
• The Art Of Antique Beading
• Making Designer Gemstone And Pearl Jewellery By Tammy Powley
• Vintage-Style Beaded Jewelry By Deborah Schneebeli-Morrell
• The Jewerller's Directory Of Decorative Finishes By Jinks McGrath
• Gemstones By Cally Hall
• The Basics Of Bead Stringing By Debbie Kanan
• Antique Style Bead Accessories By Matsuko Sawanobori
• Jewelry Making And Beading For Dummies
• Bead Fantasies By TakaKo Samejima
• The Jewelry Book By Arlene Hamilton Stewart
• Jewellery Making Basics By Nicola Hurst
• The Art Of Enameling By Linda Darty

Card Making

• Embroidery On Paper By Erica Fortgens
• Basic Of Embroidery On Paper By Erica Fortgens
• Basic Of Embroidery On Paper 2 By Erica Fortgens
• Pergamano Japanese Parchment Craft
• Thinking Of You - A Treasury Of Handmade Cards
• Handmade Cards By Anne Akers Johnson
• Tips On Making Greeting Cards By Bill Gray and Jane Van Milligen
• Papr Art 01 - Card Design

Scrapbooking / Faith Booking

• Chicken Soup for the Scrapbooker's Soul by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Allison Connors and Debbie Haas
• Picture Yourself - Creating Digital Scrapbooks By Lori J. Davis and Sally Beacham
• Creating Keepsakes A Treasury of Favorites - Scrapbook Tips And Techniques
• Creating Keepsakes Collection Artistic Effects - Backgrounds
• Creating Keepsakes Collection Artistic Effects - Photographs
• Getting The Most From Your Scrapbook Tools - Memory Makers
• Scrapbooking Techniques
• Encyclopedia Of Scrapbooking
• Scrapbooking Your Favorite Family Memories
• Designing With Stamping
• Designing With Color

Journal Keeping

• Visual Chronicles By Linda Woods And Karen Dinino
• The Book Of Questions By Gregory Stock, Ph.D.

Postcard Designing

• Sales Postcard Design

Color Study

• Designer's Guide To Color 3
• Color Harmony Packaging
• Color Harmony
• Color Harmony 2
• Vital Color by Joanna Copestick And Meryl Lloyd
• Think Pink By Tricia Guild

Patterns

• Pattern Palette Sourcebook
• The Complete Pattern Library
• Japanese Patterns
• 1000 Great Quilting Stitch Patterns by Luise Roberts

Other Crafts

• Creating Books And Boxes - Fun and Unique Approaches to Handmade Structures by Benjamin D. Rinehart
• Craft Workshop - Batik By Susie Stokoe
• Hook Knitting - New Concepts In Crochet
• Sew A Circle of Friends - Adorable Cloth Doll Projects By Anned McKinney
• Cloth Dolls By Brenda Brightmore
• The Complete Book Of Decorative Painting By Tera Leigh
• The Merehurst Book Of Needlework
• Painting Still Lifes By Mary McLean, CDA
• Bright And Beautiful Flowers In Watercolor By Jean Uhl Spicer
• The Brushstroke Handbook By Maureen McNaughton

Miscellaneous

• The New Drawing On The Right Side Of The Brain By Betty Edwards
• The New Drawing On The Right Side Of The Brain Workbook By Betty Edwards
• The Power Of Paper In Graphic Design By Catherine Fishel
• Emma Pearce's Artists' Materials
• Figure Drawing For Fashion Design
• Made In Hong Kong - A History Of Export Design In Hong Kong (1900 - 1960)
• The Non-Designer's Type Book By Robin Williams
• Leonardo da Vinci's Machines
• The Creativity Book By Eric Maisel, Ph.D.

This list of Christian books as well as secular books will be updated by and by. It's a big collection so not all the books are recorded here. And besides these Christian books, there are also other art and design books in the Chinese and Japanese languages which are also not included here.

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