How We Review Books at Tables of the Heart

We don’t know about you, but have you realized that more and more, books, movies, shows, schoolwork…seem to have an agenda?

Our society crams thoughts and ideas down our throats, without much thought to the outcome of their actions.

Obviously, everyone is going to have different ideas on what is ok for them to consume, but with lackadaisical standards becoming more commonplace, how can you be sure the content is what it claims to be?

How can you trust that the books your children are reading are trustworthy sources of information?

Not everyone has the time or the ability to spend screening every single book their children read! And what about books parents want to read? How can you be sure they're ok? The table of your heart is important too.

Our blog was born of the need to fill that void.

Here at Tables of the Heart, we read… a lot!

We read for a living, and for fun. All because we want to help people, who struggle to find the time to screen books like we can.

We want to provide thorough reviews to make it easy for you to choose what to read, and what not to read.

Here is an example of our Table’s of the Heart Book Reviewing System

We split our book reviews into six major categories.

- Christian/Religious/Positive Message

- Role Models/Ideal Protagonist/Morally Grey Characters/Evil Characters

- Violence/Fear/Gore/Horror

- Romance/Sex/Nudity/Adult Content

- Language

- Drugs/Alcohol/Substance Abuse

These are the major pitfalls of most novels, that concern parents and single young adults alike. These are the areas we watch for, when reviewing books, that we want to recommend to our readers.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again. We are not going to tell you what to read and what not to read. We are reviewing books so you can formulate your own opinion about them.

If certain themes bother you more than others, we have you covered!

And here is our disclaimer - just because we try our hardest, doesn’t mean we don’t miss things! Although we like to claim we’re perfect, we really aren’t.

So let's cover each of these categories in detail shall we?

1. Christian/Religious Themes

What is the main message of the book?

Is the theme considered Christian or Religious? And if not, is it at least Morally Positive?

Not every book we review is considered “Christian Fiction.” And plenty of books that are labelled as "Christian Fiction" have ideas that are geared towards the larger audience, versus those who seek out Christian writing in the first place.

What message is the book trying to get across? Is it a theme we want imprinted on the Tables of our Hearts, or does the book seem to glorify sin and wicked lifestyles?

We delve deep into the theme and message of each of the books we review. And we review everything we read, from a Christian worldview.

2. Role Models/Ideal Protagonist/Morally Grey Characters/Evil Characters

We call into question the character of the Protagonist and other characters in a book.

That doesn’t mean morally grey or evil characters do not have their place in fiction! It's important to realize that a well written book can probe into the struggles of real people.

Not everyone is good or bad. It’s not always that simple. People struggle, they falter, they sin. Characters in books do this as well. And we want our reviews to reflect their struggles, where they rise and where they fall.

Of course, without spoilers!!

But, we prefer not to read or recommend novels where there are no morally upright goals or godly desires, in at least one of the characters, or an arch of change in a character that leads that way.

3. Violence/Fear/Gore/Horror

We wouldn’t want our five-year-old reading a book with scary themes, and even we shy away from books that delve too deep into violence and fear.

Anyone who knows us knows we love Fantasy, but there are certain themes which are becoming more and more prevalent in this genre.

Themes of glorified witchcraft and sorcery. We handle this one like a hot potato.

Therefore, we review each book on its individual merits, knowing that while some readers disallow magic entirely, others are alright with it, if the themes aren’t celebrating the dark or demonic side of things.

Once again, we read our books through the lens of a Christian worldview. If a fantasy story with an evil, dark side is written, we are looking for the clear definition between good and evil to be presented throughout the course of the story.

As with all books, you can read our reviews and use your own discretion if this is a book you would want your child, or yourself consuming.

4. Romance

We love a clean romance as much as the next guy! But, just because it's “Christian Fiction” does not mean it's clean!!

Unnecessary details, sexual focus, and other added spice are becoming all too frequent in a genre that claims to be written for the Christian.

Again, like our other sections we delve into the details, and base our review on a sliding scale.

If you aren’t ok with tough subjects such as rape, premarital sex, and other adult themes, don’t you worry! We conduct thorough reviews and list all references to touchy subjects like this.

Again, we know that there are readers who accept and are ok with more details, and others who are not.

Some missionary biographies will contain some sobering, sensative topics due to the non-fiction nature of the story. The content may be appropriate for some, and then not for others due to age, or just preference. Our job is not to tell you whether or not to read a book, but to let you know (spoiler free) what the book contains, so you can make your own judgement call.          

5. Language

Cussing is not ok. Not to us anyhow.

Books with foul language probably won't make it to the review stage with us.

But if it does in the rare case, any strong language, off the wall references to the name of our Lord, or otherwise hurtful/vile conversations will be mentioned under this section of our book reviews.

6. Drugs/Alcohol/Substance Abuse

We record light mentions and heavier content, so you can again decide if the book is worth your time and effort. 

Above is the general idea of how we review our books and why it’s so important to us to share and recommend good literature, which is becoming harder to find!

If you feel you have a book you would like us to review, or if you have any recommendations for us to review, feel free to comment below or go to our contact page and reach out! We do beta reading, new book reviews, reviews on books that have been around forever, new authors spotlights, and even recommend new books that haven’t hit the market yet!

If you’re an author and would like a platform to publicize your book, you’re welcome to send your book to us. Check out the details in our post, and head on over to the application page on our website! We’d be happy to help!

If you’re a Christian, a parent, or just a reader who prefers to avoid all the programming in modern literature, welcome to our page! We hope you enjoy our blog and find the reviews helpful! If you want, feel free to sign up to our email list and get our reviews sent straight to your inbox. For any parent, it's an invaluable resource!

And we always welcome input from our readers! We even feature guest bloggers and guest writers who have similar ideas and morals.

So, welcome to Tables of the Heart, we’re happy to have you!!