Recommended Reading: Give Us Your Top 5

deacon blues · #1 02-09-2010, 08:26 AM

I am a reader. I love to read a good book. There's never enough time read as much as I want. Good books abound out there and there are many I have yet to read that I want to read. If someone were to ask you to recommend after the Bible your top five books, what would you say?

My list:

1. The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren
Probably known by most here. I think set a record for books in print next to the Bible in modern times? Very practical. A manual for life.

2. Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
Holocaust survivor shares how, after being stripped of all dignity, humanity and hope, he tapped into the human spirit to recess in his mind. The only thing the Nazis could not take away from him was imagination, creativity and faith.

3. Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
Fairy tale series of seven books written by one of the great minds of modern Christianity. Written for his niece, Lewis weaves seven tales that are metaphors for Christian and Biblical truths. Read them as a kid and have read them to my children.

4. Tale of Three Kings by Gene Edwards
The stories of Saul, David and Absalom, Edwards writes this easy read like a novel. The focus is the brokenness of David that prevented him from becoming a Saul or an Absalom. Read it as a young aspiring minister and it has helped me over the years deal with authority/submission issues.

5. The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck
Peck's basic premise is that life is hard, its not meant to be easy. Those that do well practice discipline defined in four ways by the author. Peck defines discipline as the basic set of tools we require to solve life’s problems. These tools are delaying gratification, assuming responsibility, dedication to the truth, and balancing.

Share your book recommendations!

Baron1710 · #2 02-09-2010, 08:59 AM

Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis (anything by Lewis is worth reading)

Love Your God With All Your Mind, J.P. Mooreland - The role of reason in the life of the soul.

A Transaction of Free Men, David Freeman Hawke - The Birth and Course of the Declaration of Independence.

Is Higher Law Common Law, Jeffrey Brauch - Readings on the Influence of Christian Thought in Anglo-American Law.

Nurturing the Leader Within Your Child, Dr. Tim Elmore.

Timmy · #3 02-09-2010, 09:19 AM

The Cat in the Hat

The Cat in the Hat Comes Back

Green Eggs and Ham

The Sneeches and Other Stories

Horton Hears a Who!

TheLegalist · #4 02-09-2010, 09:30 AM

Our Father Abraham by Marvin Wilson
The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Did Jesus Teach Salvation by Works?: The Role of Works in Salvation in the Synoptic Gospels by Alan P. Stanley
Jesus Words On Salvation by D. Del Tondo Esq.
Judgment & Justification In Early Judaism And The Apostle Paul by Chris VanLandingham
Paul, Judaism, and Judgment according to Deeds by Kent L. Yinger
Toward an Old Testament Theology by Walter C. Kaiser Jr

The other two are bonus material....

TroubleMaker · #5 02-09-2010, 09:36 AM

The Sacketts, by Louis L'amour

Utah Blaine, by Louis L'amour

Flint, by Louis L'amour

Kilkenny, by Louis L'amour

Bowdrie's Law, by Louis L'amour

missourimary · #6 02-09-2010, 09:40 AM

Books I have read again and again:
The Scarlet Letter

Jacob Have I Loved (for any young person, especially-a book about sibling rivalry and perspectives)

A Tale of Three Kings

Shepherd of the Hills

Any books by Scott O'Dell

The Dreamer (Joy Haney) and The Traveler's Gift: Seven Decisions that Determine Personal Success (Andy Andrews)... read them together, please. The two are each good reads, but read together may give some extraordinary insights. I won't spoil it for you.

The Crucible-about the Salem witch trials

The Miracle Worker-about Helen Keller

To Kill a Mockingbird

The Last Sin Eater-A fictional account with deep meaning, about an Appalachian tradition that when someone dies, a particular person, shunned by society must come and perform a ritual called "sin eating," in which the shunned person takes that person's sins and becomes the scapegoat. And about a Sin Eater who is haunted by his task, and his eventual understanding of the Cross.

All Together in One Place (Jane Kirkpatrick)-about a group that starts on the Oregon/Santa Fe trails, the husbands' deaths, and the women's decisions to continue on the Trail together, without assistance. Exceptional character development.

The Heretic's Daughter (Kathleen Kent)-about a young lady who's mother was declared a witch in Salem. Exceptional historical background and character development.

The Raging Quiet (Sherryl Jordan)-Set in old Europe or England, a story about a young lady, a young deaf man, and a village full of prejudices and superstitions.

The Rapture of Canaan (Sheri Reynolds)-about an uneducated religious group with some disturbing beliefs, an almost communal living arrangement, their superstitions, and a girl who begins to question and finally sees them for what they are. (This can be a very disturbing and/or challenging book. I wouldn't recommend it to everyone, but it is still highly thought provoking and can be challenging in a postive way.)

Nonfiction/biographies, Apostolic:

A Tale of Three Kings (Gene Edwards)

Christianity without the Cross (Thomas Fudge)

Shoutin' on the Hills (Nona Freeman)

Five, plus a few extra bonus reads... I love to read. How can I choose just five books?

RandyWayne · #7 02-09-2010, 10:07 AM

The Exorcism of Anne Maybell: A true story of what the witches know! by Clive Barker with a forward by Lee Stoneking.

The Capitalist Pig!, by Barack Obama

By their Hare, ye shall know them, by Bugs Bunny and Ruth Reider. Cartoon adaptation directed by Mel Blanc.

The Blue Lagoon, by Henry De Vere Stacpoole

Do it right the FIRST Time!, by Mike Holmes

Jeffrey · #8 02-09-2010, 10:09 AM

Some good books on these lists so far.

I have to pick off the lists here on a couple of the books:

Victor Frankl Man's Search for Meaning
Dietrich Boenhoffer's Cost of Discipleship
Tim Keller's Prodigal God (shorter read)
Michael L Brown's Go And Sin No More
Philip Yancey's What's So Amazing About Grace

Just a few and not in any rank order. When I'm 90, maybe I can do a list of the 5 most critical books to read (besides the Bible). They all serve different purposes. The first two are definitely timeless though.