It’s been in print for two decades.
Year after year, it keeps selling.
Someone sees it or hears about it, and they buy a copy of their own. Then more people learn about it and they buy it too. And so on.
What is it about this book?
ABOUT
tough topics
Released by Harper-Collins/Zondervan back in 2003, Tough Topics has largely been marketed as a great discussion-starter book for adults wishing to engage with young people. And that it is!
However, Jim Aitkins, the book’s author, was initially surprised when he began receiving emails from a variety of people from different backgrounds from all over the English-speaking world who’d bought the book. There’s an 8-grade teacher in New Zealand who poses at least one question to the class every morning. But there was also the Mid-Western grandmother who wrote to say that she read Tough Topics cover-to-cover while sitting in the local hospital waiting room while her husband was in surgery.
She said that her son, a youth pastor, thought she would enjoy the book and left a copy on the kitchen counter. She wrote, “I don’t know why but I dropped the book in my purse as I was leaving the house to head to the hospital. I was glad I did! That book kept me company all day. I was distracted by the funny questions and enjoyed the deeper, more serious, thought-provoking ones as well. Before I knew it, I was done with the book, and only moments later my husband was out of a successful operation.”
"Let the engaging conversations begin!"
AUTHOR JIM AITKINS
Tough Topics is 142 pages of engaging questions aimed at creating interesting discussion and friendly debate. Appropriate for youth of all ages (generally ages 8 and up – an adult asking the questions can use discernment regarding the appropriateness or applicability of some questions and topics).
The book features four sections of questions:
* General
* Jobs and Careers
* 150 questions inspired by specific Psalms [the book of Psalms from the Bible]
* 75 questions inspired by specific Proverbs [the book of Proverbs from the Bible]
Every other question in the book begins with the phrase “Which would be better…?” Alternately, every other question begins with the phrase “Which would be worse…?”
What follows after the “better” or “worse” premise for each question are two unrelated and difficult options. Many of them are quite absurd, which makes explaining and debating for and against the options chosen a lot of fun.
Buy the book from Amazon for $10.99, plus shipping. Buy it here for $9.70 (shipping $1.00) and each copy is signed by the author. Purchase in other quantities for more savings, as explained below.
A SAMPLING OF QUESTIONS
FROM
tough topics
Page 16, Question 34
Which would be better?
Listening to a riveting story on the radio or watching a lame story on television
Page 37, Question 127
Which would be worse?
Getting a speeding ticket
or a really bad haircut
Page 85, Question 75
(section of questions about jobs and careers)
Which would be better?
To be a voice teacher
or a translator
Page 106, Question 67
(section of questions inspired by Psalms)
Which would be worse?
Having your words twisted all the time or knowing people are plotting against you
(from Psalm 56:5-6)
Page 132, Question 29
(section of questions inspired by Proverbs)
Which would be better?
Having integrity or humility
(from Proverbs 11:2-3)
One Reader Wrote
"I remembered your book from youth group a few years ago. Whenever one of the leaders brought it out, it always meant "Let the engaging conversations begin!" It was honestly a highlight. One day about a year ago I remembered the title and found your website. Now I am glad to say that I have a copy of Tough Topics in my car!"
From Another Reader
"The quirky, sometimes impossible, questions made me laugh, but also made me think."
This Reader Wrote
"Dear Jim:
My sister, Dee, told me about your book after hearing of it from a friend, Linda H.
Just thought you would like to know -- my husband came upon the book last night, and he and my 13-year-old son spent the entire evening asking one another questions from the book (with a short break for dinner, during which they shared their favorite questions with my 17-year-old son and me.) The casual one-on-one time with my husband meant a lot to my son. Thank you for being a catalyst for a memory-making evening for them!
~ Pam K."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jim Aitkins and his wife live in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, where he has been a long-time marketing consultant and non-stop wordsmith. Over the last two decades, he has ghostwritten several books for clients and authored four books of his own. Obstacle Blaster is the name of Jim’s personal development blog, where about a hundred articles he wrote and posted can be enjoyed. Speaking of personal development, he has also been a regular contributor to The Best You Magazine, a popular monthly personal development publication from the UK.
Tough Topics is the first of four book projects Jim has authored under his name. Thus far, he has published two ebooks under the Obstacle Blaster brand: Pull Your Head Out and Better Than Balance.
In 2016, the first edition of his allegory, The Town and the Mayor, was quietly introduced on Amazon exclusively for Kindle ($4.97 to purchase and FREE for Kindle Unlimited customers). To date, all the reviews for the book on Amazon are 5-Star.
Nonetheless, in the intervening time, the book has enjoyed some masterful edits and improvements. Feedback from a handful of volunteer readers has been an indispensable part of the long-term vision for the project. Even more elements of actual history and contemporary world events have been woven throughout, making the narrative even more compelling.
In 2023, the next exciting phases of The Town and the Mayor project unfold. First, the book will be released in paperback, followed by the launch of audio versions in English, German, Spanish, Russian, and Japanese. “My advice might sound strange,” says the author. “If you’re learning of The Town and the Mayor right now, don’t buy the 2016 edition. Instead, be patient. Wait for the awesome new products.”
Jim’s most significant project yet is a trilogy of novels titled Kendrick. The first installment will appear on bookstore shelves and wherever books are sold online in the late spring of 2024. Those who’ve read portions of the manuscript say it feels like a movie. If Kendrick did make it to the big screen, Jim says, “I would like to audition for the role of Darren. He’s somewhat of a hermit living in the desert outside Las Vegas. He has an impressive underground gun vault and shooting range. He knows stuff; he’s been places and done things.”
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