Devin Brown

NOT EXACTLY LOVE tells the funny and moving story of a precocious, word-happy girl named Leda Johnson who suffers from a secret and severe case of semi-requited love - meaning she has a friend who is a boy but not her boyfriend, but she wishes he was. With "Rolling and Rocking," St. Luke's first annual Valentine's Day roller skating party, rapidly approaching, she wonders what will come of her unspoken dream.Through the diary Leda resolves to keep, we see the world from her delightfully unique perspective. Along the way to resolving the discrepancy between what she has and what she wishes she had, Leda befriends a mysterious gray cat, becomes a semi-expert on love songs from the 60s, 70s, and 80s, faces many ups and downs, and learns valuable lessons about what real love is.

While visiting with Mr. Tumnus in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Lucy Pevensie notices a bookshelf filled with such titles as Nymphs and Their Ways and Is Man a Myth? Beginning with these imaginary texts, Charlie W. Starr offers a comprehensive study of C. S. Lewis’s theory of myth, including his views on Greek and Norse mythology, the origins of myth, and the implications of myth on thought, art, gender, theology, and literary and linguistic theory. For Lewis, myth represents an ancient mode of thought focused in the imagination—a mode that became the key that ultimately brought Lewis to his belief in Jesus Christ as the myth become fact.Beginning with a foreword by Lewis scholar Devin Brown, The Faun’s Bookshelf goes on to discuss the many books Lewis imagined throughout his writings—books whose titles he made up but never wrote. It also presents the sylvan myths central to the first two book titles in Mr. Tumnus’s library, including explorations of the relationshipbetween myth and reality, the spiritual significance of natural conservation, and the spiritual and incarnational qualities of gender.Starr then turns to the definition of myth, the literaryqualities of myth, the mythic nature inherent in divine glory, humanity’s destiny to embrace (or reject) that glory, and a deeper exploration of the epistemological ramifications of myth in relation to meaning, imagination, reason, and truth.

The wisdom of C. S. Lewis comes in a form that is deeply moving as well as great fun and high adventure. Noted Lewis scholar and popular speaker Devin Brown reveals the lessons woven throughout this endearing text. Bringing Narnia Home presents Lewis's timeless message for the Narnian in each of us. Imagine opening a book and finding chapters like these: Of Mice and Minotaurs: Actions We See as Small and Insignificant Can Be More Important than We Realize Despite What White Witches, Tisrocs, and Other Tyrants Think Narnia Would Not Be Narnia if It Was All Badgers: It Takes a Village (One with Giants, Dwarfs, and Everyone in Between) to Make a Community Adventures Can Begin in the Most Unlikely Places (Something to Keep in Mind the Next Time You Find Yourself in an Unlikely Place) A wise, winsome, and whimsical look at the important values and lessons the Narnia series teaches that actually provide the groundwork for a profound and meaningful life.

J.R.R. Tolkien transformed his love for arcane linguistic studies into a fantastic world of Middle Earth, a world of filled with characters that readers the world over have loved and learned from for generations. Devin Brown focuses on the story behind how Tolkien became one of the best-known writers in the history of literature, a tale as fascinating and as inspiring as any of the fictional ones he would go on to write. Weaving in the major aspects of the author's life, career, and faith, Brown shares how Tolkien's beloved works came to be written. With a third follow-up film and the book's release the same month, there's a large interest in the faith values for these works. This book addresses that deep hunger to know what fuels the world and worldview of The Hobbit's celebrated author, Tolkien.

Millions of fans worldwide have been attracted to the Hobbit for its unique combination of high adventure and profound truths. Tapping the excitement around the highly-anticipated second installment of the Hobbit movie trilogy (in theaters December 2013), Tolkien-scholar, Devin Brown, now presents a fast-paced and easy-to-follow presentation of timeless spiritual messages to help navigate your journey. Peppered with illustrations throughout, Hobbit Lessons offers troll-sized portions of relevance and regular nuggets of good Hobbit sense. The result is a collection of tangible bites of wisdom that are not only deeply moving but also great fun. These lessons on joy, friendship, dedication, sacrifice, and more will appeal to Hobbit fans, parents, teachers, librarians, graduates and anyone looking for a creative way to explore timeless life lessons and important values of faith.

C. S. Lewis is one of the most influential Christian writers of our time. The Chronicles of Narnia has sold more than 100 million copies worldwide and all Lewis's works are estimated to sell 6 million copies annually. At the fiftieth anniversary of his death, Lewis expert Devin Brown brings the beloved author's story to life in a fresh, accessible, and moving biography through focusing on Lewis's spiritual journey.Although it was clear from the start that Lewis would be a writer, it was not always clear he would become a Christian. Drawing on Lewis's autobiographical works, books by those who knew him personally, and his apologetic and fictional writing, this book tells the inspiring story of Lewis's journey from cynical atheist to joyous Christian and challenges readers to follow their own calling. The book allows Lewis to tell his own life story in a uniquely powerful manner while shedding light on his best-known works.

In his beloved story The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien takes readers into a world unlike any other, yet so much seems familiar. As Bilbo journeys there and back again, glimpses of the spiritual are seen. The Christian World of The Hobbit does what no book has done: it brings Tolkien fans new delight by introducing a side of Tolkien that is rarely explored but vitally important to his writings--especially The Hobbit. Written by internationally regarded Tolkien-scholar Devin Brown, this approachable, witty, and highly entertaining book offers up fresh perspectives to fans of The Hobbit, both the book and the film adaptation.