I'm not particularly Christian, but I enjoy the three 'Harmony' books I've read so far. The best examples of Gentle Reads I've come across recently. Not at all preachy. ( )

Sam Gardner, pastor of the Harmony Friends Meeting, continues his second year of ministry in Philip Gulley's Just Shy of Harmony, the second book in his Harmony series. As Sam reacclimates to his hometown, he continues trying to support the quirky and loving people through their joys and challenges.
 
In the midst of these challenges, ranging from the humorous -- the elder who decides to evangelize the world by producing chicken eggs with Biblical verses inside -- to the tragic -- a young mother in a life-and-death struggle with leukemia -- Sam faces his own personal challenge, the loss of his faith.
 
This adds a layer of melancholy to the life-affirming tales that Gulley spins in this charming book. In fact, Gulley's careful balancing of life's basic emotions, the good and the challenging, undergirds the resonance of his stories. He sees the humor in the self-absorption of some of his characters, who never quite understand why others don't see the world as they do, but he also sees their humanity.
 
Consider Bob Miles, the newspaper editor, who appears a few times in this novel. In one chapter, he is excited to realize that he's writing his 1,000 column ("The Bobservation Post") for the newspaper, and hopes to find someone to share that happiness with; soon thereafter, however, he is depressed by the fact that he seems to have written the same column 1,000 times.
 
As usual, Gulley, himself a pastor, has a keen understanding of small-town church people. He offers glimpses of their stubbornness to change, sometimes funny and sometimes poignant, but he also shows the essential love for others that they demonstrate in other ways. These are the people in many churches (I know -- like Gulley, I am a pastor too).
 
In his humorous and touching, never condescending, way, Gulley shows us the best of ourselves. He shows a good man struggling to regain his faith, and the loving and impractical support he receives from others who don't understand quite what he's talking about. He shows people coping with illness and family problems with courage and decency. He shows a church where the members sometimes miss the big picture, but just as often surpass anyone's expectations in how they reach out to others. ( )

Too simplistic to be worth finishing. ( )

Similar to Mitford books but a different flavor.

Pleasant, easy read. ( )