Mailbag

Children’s Books of the Year

Karen Woods/Muskegon, Mich.

Feb. 26: We are thrilled our grandchildren, albeit young, are already voracious readers. With WORLD’s help—through Janie B. Cheaney’s reviews—I can be confident of finding truly quality, appropriate literature for them. Thank you!

On the road again

Bill Richards/Geneva, Neb.

Feb. 26, p. 24: May God continue to bless Janie B. Cheaney and her husband on their “highways to Zion” in the days ahead. Please don’t consider retiring yet, you have much more to say!

Todd Swanson/Chaska, Minn.

I absolutely loved Janie B. Cheaney’s column. I wonder how many sublime events we will experience at our destination that we can now metaphorically and comparatively just barely enjoy?

John Rafferty/Denver, Colo

Janie B. Cheaney captured I-79 through West Virginia exactly right! In 2013, my wife and I drove the road southwest from Morgantown to Charleston. I have been all over the country, but I have never seen anything like it. Charleston was like an oasis!

Grave words

Karen Davis/Exton, Pa.

Feb. 26: Kim Henderson’s column on epitaph fascination was … well … fascinating. I recently added my own epitaph to my will. I want to provoke everyone who reads my tombstone to pause, scratch their heads, and then look to Scripture to decipher its meaning: “Karen Davis / 1958– / Buried alive (John 11:25-26).”

The last leaf

Brenda Oquist/Osceola, Neb.

Feb. 26: Andrée Seu Peterson writes real things about real people. Her column about her father made a deep impression on me and brought tears to my eyes as I remembered my own father, who also felt lonely and “deserted.” It touched my heart.

New series, familiar story

Becky Rubio/Oak Park, Ill.

Feb. 26: WORLD’s review of The Gilded Age states that so far “the first episodes have been pretty tame” regarding racy or mature content. My husband and I watched part of a later episode on HBO that your reviewer likely did not see. There was a scene with female nudity that lasted 30 seconds or so.

Fantasy fail

Casey Stark/Savannah, Ga.

Feb. 26: There was one critical ingredient missing from the disaster of Moonfall: Tom Hanks.

The world, the house, and the Devil

Carole Hutchings/Rathdrum, Idaho

Feb. 26: All four book reviews on the page ended with the warning, “Caution: obscenities.” Why would a Biblically based publication recommend four books in one issue that require such a notice?

Cultural consumption: we need light in the midst of darkness

Gil Soucy/Saint John Plantation, Maine

A hefty portion of your magazine is devoted to the culture of consuming ungodly media. How many years do you plan to have your reviewers dredge through fields of garbage looking for a diamond in the rough? The world needs light. We don’t need more windows into darkness.

Silas Dobson/Galien, Mich.

Thank you for your honest critiques of movies. As a 15-year-old, I enjoy movies, but it can be difficult to know which movies are worth my time because of all of the over-the-top language, sex, and violence. I also appreciate your commentaries regarding the worldly philosophies found within these films.

Correction

U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., in 1981 pushed for the Human Life Bill, not an amendment to the constitution (“Legacy marchers,” Feb. 12, p. 40).