Official Review: First Fruits by Susan Butler

[L_Therese]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "First Fruits" by Susan Butler.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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For many people, taking a few minutes out of the day for quiet thought and reflection is a healthy and helpful routine. Some people do yoga; some meditate. Many Christians use this time to reflect on Scripture and pray. First Fruits by Susan Butler is a devotional book and a tool for Christians with the desire to begin or continue this routine. A devotional in this context usually takes the form of a short passage from the Bible accompanied by a brief text written by the author. There are many types of devotionals to correspond with types of people, their interests, or their goals. The idea is that the devotional will be uplifting and inspirational to the reader. In Christian devotionals, many authors prompt readers to pray for one of a variety of reasons, persons, or causes as inspired by the day’s text. In short, this type of book represents a quiet, God-focused break in each day to renew one’s energy and inspire one to good attitudes and actions throughout the day.

In this devotional, Ms. Butler has identified 51 precepts that she wants to encourage readers to contemplate. For every day of the year, she includes a Bible verse or two and then simply rewrites the verse in more accessible language. She sometimes concludes with a brief challenge to the reader or incorporates such into the language she uses to rephrase the verse. As I read through the book, there were a few of these daily pages that seemed a little out of place. Although not really a distraction to the reader, it did momentarily break the focus away from the topic designated for the week.

Interspersed into these daily readings are longer passages (one each week). These are designed to focus the readings for the next seven days and challenge the reader to deeper reflection. They explore topics like faith, the Holy Spirit, temptation, and healing. While still only about two pages long, these texts are intended to provoke thought or discussion and bear evidence of the work the author put into the creation of the devotional book. The author expresses her views on the various topics with frankness and conviction and occasionally includes quotations and citations that indicate the level of research she performed to prepare her writing. Her questions and challenges to the reader are often probing and insightful, demanding equal depth of thought in response.

Obviously, the religious nature of this book will limit its readership. One can really only recommend First Fruits to a practicing Christian. Within this demographic, I would recommend this to non-reader adults. The extreme brevity of each day’s passage might leave a regular reader feeling underwhelmed, but someone who does not read often would probably find the text workable. This book is perfect for someone who only has five minutes in a busy day to stop, think, and pray.

My rating for First Fruits is 3 out of 4 stars. I would have liked to see the content go a little bit deeper and challenge the reader more in the daily readings. There is a lot of growing a person can do in the course of the year, and the best devotionals I have ever read build over the course of time to encourage that kind of spiritual growth. This one remains extremely brief and fairly basic, which may limit its appeal.

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First Fruits
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Like L_Therese's review? Post a comment saying so!

[Rachaelamb1]

I was interested in reading this book but didn't know if I had the patience to read a whole year's worth of devotions in the span of a few days. Great job on the review! With 2 little kiddos running around I only have time for reading in short bursts. This book sounds like it might be a good one for this season of my life.

[Shelle]

Great review! I am a practicing Christian and do a morning devotional, so something like this certainly is right in my wheelhouse. I appreciate you sharing how the readings don't go very deep and are better for those readers who are dealing with a time crunch.

[That Writer Guy]

I appreciate the reviewer giving us a slight introduction as to exactly what a devotional is, but I would have like more. It seems to me that a reviewer should bring in as much cogent material from outside the book as is necessary to explain and to properly review the book. For example, why the word devotional? Seems odd to me, a non-religious person. How about comparing this book to others of a similar kind?

Nevertheless, I agree with one of the other commenters here that it was wise of the reviewer to mark exactly what kind of person would enjoy using (rather than reading) this tome.

[L_Therese]

I appreciate the reviewer giving us a slight introduction as to exactly what a devotional is, but I would have like more. It seems to me that a reviewer should bring in as much cogent material from outside the book as is necessary to explain and to properly review the book. For example, why the word devotional? Seems odd to me, a non-religious person. How about comparing this book to others of a similar kind?

Nevertheless, I agree with one of the other commenters here that it was wise of the reviewer to mark exactly what kind of person would enjoy using (rather than reading) this tome.

It's interesting that you would want more explanation about what a devotional is. The editors slammed me for explaining too much.

[That Writer Guy]

What editors slammed you? Are you speaking of a copy editor whom you employed, or some other group of editors? I would have suggested a brief explanation of the purpose of a devotional and as to whether or not the book achieved that purpose. If so, the book was successful; if not then it was unsuccessful.

But here I am getting mired hip deep because, as I said, I am not religious, so perhaps I should not delve so deep. Anyway, it was a solid review.

[MotherTheresa]

I thought the first paragraph explained very clearly what a devotional is, but I can understand how the term would be confusing.
Personally love the sound of this book. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on it L_Therese.

[Rachaelamb1]

What editors slammed you? Are you speaking of a copy editor whom you employed, or some other group of editors?

She's referring to the editors at Onlinebookclub. They review each official review at OBC and give the reviewer advice on how to improve. Hope that clears things up

[kimmyschemy06]

Sounds like a helpful guide for Christians. I read the Bible every day but have not yet found a devotional guide that appeals to my heart. Great job on the review.

[Waragu Samuel]

In this devotional, Ms. Butler has identified 51 precepts that she wants to encourage readers to contemplate. For every day of the year, she includes a Bible verse or two and then simply rewrites the verse in more accessible language. She sometimes concludes with a brief challenge to the reader or incorporates such into the language she uses to rephrase the verse.

For sure, these 51 precepts are great. As someone who started practising christiantity in s seerious manner recently, this is my book. Thanks.

[Rosebella]

While this book is a good tool for a practising Christian who doesn't have a daily devotion in place. For a matured Christian seeking more depth and already has daily devotion, this book becomes unnecessary. This is my position for now, so I wouldn't read this book. Thank you for a great review.

[smc19]

The reviewer did an excellent job in the first three paragraphs providing a clear and concise synopsis that any reader at the middle-school level can understand and apply. I do, however, disagree with two of the reviewer's conclusions. First, the target audience should not be limited to actively participating Christians. How often as an instructor, a father, a mentor or a friend have I placed a book of unknown or opposing subject matter into the hands of a person and watched the mind expand with new learning and knowledge. Second, the target audience should not be limited to non-reader adults. For reasons similar to that of the earlier discussion this book, if it's worth the text that it labor to deliver, can be favorably consumed and knowledge expanded regardless of the reader's skill or comprehension level. Ever watched a child devour one book after another on new subjects? The world awaits the eyes of the hungry.