Reading for Jesus?

It is really easy to find websites and other resources for Christian reviews/warnings about movies and music. Pluggedin Online is one of my favorites when I want to see how much moral liberty a film has taken. Music reviews are not something I need as much, because I have my tastes (mostly Christian rock and folky stuff anyway) and it's just a lot easier for me to turn off something that sounds questionable. But as an avid reader--often to the point of obsession--I have not found a good website out there that reviews mainstream fiction. There are plenty out there, like Discerning Reader, that review Christian non-fiction and fiction, and some mainstream fiction that has implications for evangelicals (like The DaVinci Code and The Shack, neither of which I've read but have heard are pretty horrible) but very few I've found that give me an idea of what mainstream books are "profitable" and I wouldn't be embarrassed to have Jesus catch me reading (a personal litmus test of mine). I love to read Christian fiction, and do quite a bit, but since Christian fiction is only recently moving away from Amish romances and clean-cut modern-day parables, I quickly tire of what I find to be mediocre writing and predictable stories and want something more...well, literary (for a full tirade on this subject, go here.)

As an English major, and having plenty of high school AP and college literature courses under my belt, I was introduced to plenty of the literary. And it wasn't always good. In fact, sometimes, despite the high caliber of writing skill, notoriety and historical importance of the book, it was very bad; bad in the sense that the authors promoted disdain or even outright hatred for Christian values, celebrated moral dissent, and put forth dangerous ideas that have arguably contributed to the decay of Western civilization. I think of authors like Lord Byron, Ernest Hemmingway, Oscar Wilde, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Virginia Woolf, Richard Wright, and others who definitely had important things to say, but whose personal lives spiraled into such debasement and rebellion against God that those "values" cannot but help turn up in their writing. And yet, their works are taught, praised, and celebrated in secular academia, without any thought or question as to what they were really saying and the lifestyles and paradigms they were really promoting.

That is true of the so-called canon books, and that is true of literature today. Whether authors are writing popular, best-selling page-turners, or quieter, more thoughtful novels read by book clubs and taught in modern literature classrooms, we've got the same problem. And what are Christians to do? Not every Christian can attend a private Christian college where these books are analyzed through the lens of Biblical discernment or rejected outright for the evil they promote, nor should every Christian do that! And when I'm looking for something interesting, and maybe not Christian to read, I don't want to get 20 pages into a novel only to find myself wrapped up in graphic scenes of violence, sex, bad language, or messages of rebellion and humanism. What we watch, listen to, and yes, read, does effect our thinking which eventually manifests itself in our actions and lives. As Christians, we've got to realize this and be very careful what we allow our senses to ingest.

So how do I know, before I buy a book or check it out from the library, what I'm getting myself into? Yes, I can read the backs or the book jackets, or a few pages in (and I do), but those never tell you much. But I'm craving something more, Christian perspectives. I want someone with a Biblical perspective on life to outline, maybe even spoil a book for me, so I can know whether or not to spend my time reading something that may or may not be profitable for me. Just like Pluggedin does with movies.

Thus far, I haven't found that kind of resource available. Does anyone know of one? If so, can you direct me to it? If not, I may make it myself, maybe a second blog. :-) I can't be the only one wondering about what dirt may turn up in the next novel they're interested in reading. So am I crazy, or is this a legitimate need?