Recently, a friend emailed to ask me to recommend a book for a lady she knows. Said lady likes to garden, read about other countries, etc. Said lady, said my friend, is "a Christian."
That request has caused me enough thinky-time to last the rest of my life. I was a librarian in a public library for over 3 decades, and I have been an enthusiastic book-recommender for most of my life. Never, ever, was a request for a book for someone else delimited by the descriptor, "a Christian."
Had I been at my job, I would have ignored it, recommended books based on the other guidelines, and left it to the patron to opt in or out on the titles. I would have ignored any such descriptor. Why would it concern me that the person who would be reading the books was described as Christian, Jewish, atheist, or Jain? These are such broad terms that they are meaningless in the context of reading preferences. I would never presume to say "oh, Christians want to read/don't want to read (fill in the blank)."
Would you?
I know and have known multitudes of people who self-describe as Christian. Aside from a belief in Jesus as son of God, they have had nothing in common. Being "a Christian" does not mean they like a certain type of book, music, flower, or house paint.
Am I missing something?
In case you're interested, I recommended two books by Hazel Gaynor: A Memory of Violets, and The Cottingly Secret. I also have asked my friend to refrain from asking me again if one of the descriptors is "a Christian." I hope she will not take it amiss. If she does -- well, all I can do is control my own behavior, right?
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