Ok, Neil tagged me to play a little blog game about my favorite books. You will notice that the questions ask for one book, which I will often ignore if I can’t come up with just one. Hey, my blog, I get to make the rules!! Here are my answers:
- One book that changed your life: Probably "Feathers from my Nest" by Beth Moore. This was my first introduction to Beth and I fell in love with her passion for God. Since then, I have done 9 of her intensive bible studies. Those studies led me to a deeper, richer love for God’s Word as evidenced in the Bible (truly the book that changed my life!) More recently, Brian McLaren’s "A New Kind of Christian" trilogy has also REALLY impacted my thinking and my faith. How is that for an interesting mix….Beth Moore and Brian McLaren!!! Oh wait, and one more, "God’s Politics: Why the Rights Gets it Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It" by Jim Wallis also gave me a tremendous amount of hope and a sense that I wasn’t alone. Ok, that’s it…
- One book that you’ve read more than once: "The Chronicles of Narnia" by C.S. Lewis…actually a series of seven books. Also "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis. When I was a kid, I read "Little Women" over and over again.
- One book you would want on a desert island: (besides the Bible, of course.) Hmmm…this is a tough one…I could never be happy with only one!! Maybe "The Chronicles of Narnia" again…maybe Anne Lamott’s books.
- One book that made you laugh: "Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith" and "Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith" by Anne Lamott. Anything by Anne Lamott makes me laugh really hard (and often cry as well!!) Recently, Donald Miller’s books have been cracking me up as well.
- One book that made you cry: Not really a fair question for me…practically every book I read makes me cry at some point…a beautifully written phrase can make me cry. Here are a few that I have read recently that I remember making me cry more than usual. "A Song I Knew by Heart" by Bret Lott and "Night" by Elie Wiesel.
- One book you wish had been written: "How I Came to Follow Jesus" by Osama Bin Laden (ok, maybe that is a pretty simplistic solution!)
- One book you wish had never been written: All books are a reflection of the journey of the human race, both bad and good. If it’s not written down, we have no record of those thoughts…both the good and the evil. In my opinion, all books have some value for that reason…even as a warning of the evil that exists in the world (such as Mein Kampf)
- One book you’re currently reading: "Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense" by N.T. Wright…some people are saying this may be the "Mere Christianity" of this generation. I am just about to finish it and it has been wonderful!
- One book you’ve been meaning to read: Ok, here is the stack from which I am currently working and which I will be taking to the beach next week: "March" by Geraldine Brooks, "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho, "Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected Life" by Queen Noor, "Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance" by Barack Obama, "Practicing Resurrection" by Nora Gallagher and "Velvet Elvis" by Rob Bell.
- Tag 5 others: I am supposed to list 5 of my blogging friends here, but I don’t know anyone that hasn’t already been tagged. So, to you my reader, please respond in the comment section by telling me the one book that changed your life!
“Gift from the Sea” by Anne Morrow Lindbergh and Keith Miller’s “Taste of New Wine” and “Habitations of Dragons.”
Many books have made a huge impact on my life, but the one that I think would fall into the category of “changing my life” would be “A Severe Mercy,” by Sheldon Vanauken. Van was a professor of history and English at Lynchburg (Virginia) College, went to the same church I did, and was a friend of C.S. Lewis for many years. The book is a very powerful story of how he went from being an atheist to a Christian; of how he met his wife, fell in love, experienced a few brief years of joy, and then lost her; and of the impact Lewis made on his life.
I would highly recommend it to everyone — it’s one of the most powerful things you’ll ever read.
– Matt