I am a book lover, but this hasn’t always been true. For most of my life, I absolutely hated the idea of reading. Any time I picked up something to read, I’d fall asleep within 10 minutes of opening the first page. Needless to say, I didn’t complete many books. And those that I did, it took months to do so.
Nine years ago when I entered grad school, I had to basically learn to read. Not that I was illiterate, but reading became a necessity for survival over the next six years.
Through this journey however, I developed a love for reading. Now, I’m not one who likes to spend an entire day just reading, but I do enjoy the times when I can get lost in the pages of a good novel, or the times when I am stretched by a different thought or idea.
What follows is a list of books that have shaped my life over the past several years. I can’t say that I have one absolute favorite, and choosing just a few books that have influenced my life is difficult, but here are some that come to mind. I’ve decided to share some of the books that have helped shape the way I think, and that I would highly recommend. These are in no particular order.
- Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller. I picked this book up by chance while walking through a bookstore, and I’m so very glad I did. I grew up in a traditional church and family – in this book, Donald Miller presents a few nontraditional thoughts on Christian spirituality. This is a great read for everyone. He has a new book due out anytime now (A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
), I’ve read the first three chapters and it looks to be as good as Blue Like Jazz.
- The Art of Loving
by Erich Fromm. A classic work looking at an aspect of our life that shapes every area of our life – love. Worth the read.
- The Ragamuffin Gospel
by Brennan Manning. A refreshing look at the idea of God’s grace and how we all are basically ragamuffins in need of the freely given and unmerited favor and love of God. Excellent.
- The Boy Who Cried Abba
by Brennan Manning. A short little parable about an orphaned, physically disabled, and friendless boy meeting Jesus. You can read this in one sitting, and it’s worth the read.
- Under the Overpass
by Mike Yankoski. A story about two friends and their journey as homeless men in six American cities. This will change the way you look at others.
- Same Kind of Different As Me
by Ron Hall and Denver Moore. I came across this book and Under the Overpass in the past two months, read them both in a couple of days. Great reads.
- Wild at Heart
and Waking the Dead
by John Eldredge. Reading about living from your heart and desire makes these books worth the read alone. In fact, John and his wife, Staci, have a book on marriage coming out toward the end of the year. I’m interested to read their take.
- Sex God
by Rob Bell. A great look at how spirituality and sexuality are intertwined, in fact you can’t have one without the other.
- The Art of Happiness
by the Dalai Lama. Taught me more about compassion and love, for that reason alone it’s worth the read.
- The Answer to How Is Yes
by Peter Block. Asking how is the wrong question if you want to live according to what matters in life.
- The 4-Hour Workweek
by Tim Ferriss. A popular book in the productivity world. Worth the read if you’re interested in a new look at how life, work, career, and basically everything else can be approached.
Other books I love: The Lord of The Rings Trilogy, anything by C.S. Lewis, The Power of Less by Leo, Career Renegade by Jonathan Fields, Passionate Marriage by David Schnarch, Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamott, there are more but I’ll end the list here.
As a side note: I struggled a great deal with leaving the Bible off this list. While many of my favorites are considered religious, sadly, I don’t spend enough time in the Scriptures – which is a sad statement, at least to me. My relationship with Christ shapes my life but too often I’ve found I read other people’s take on Scriptures more than the source. A fact I aim to change this fall.
What are your favorites, or those that have helped shape your life? Please share them in the comments.
Photo courtesy Terwilliger911
I also love to read. When I was younger I used to love reading thriller/mystery. Now that I am a mother, and have experienced a little more of life, I’m trying to weed any exta drama out of my life, so I mostly read non-fiction and spiritual books. We are beginning a homeschooling journey in our family, so I read a whole lot of that genre right now, but I have been looking for some other good reads. I’m excited to check out some of the titles on your list!
As for reading Scripture, we just moved from out of state, and when we got to our new church, our pastor gave us a Bible entitled “Today’s Light Bible”. (NIV) It’s published by Concordia. The Bible is divided up into 15 minute readings, so that you read through the entire Bible in 2 years. I really like it because it has a little devotional/explanation at the end of each reading. You can follow along with the suggested readings, or you can start wherever you want. Some days I do the one reading, some days I read for an hour, and some days I don’t read at all. It’s a nice one for reading the Bible independently!
I have been reading as long as I can remember. I’ve read classics like “The Three Musketeers” to more contemporary things by Stephen King, Anne Rice, or Christopher Poalini. Some books I revisit like old friends, some I don’t. I really like reading books that flood into a series for some reason. I just read Donita K. Paul’s “Dragon” series of books that I think was written more for little girls than dads but turned out to be pretty good none the less, and of course the Left Behind Series that I just devoured in no time at all. After those I really got into christian fiction. As a father and a husband, I take my role very seriously. So reading is important, not only to keep the mind fresh, but as an example of on-going education. I love to read, and I hope my children will too.
The Buddha Book by Lillian Too
The Mantra Book by Lillian Too
The Importance of Living by Lin Yutang
Enjoy!
The book that most profoundly impacted our marriage to date is Love & Respect by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs. Such a simple concept, but my eyes were really opened when he discussed the “crazy cycle”: without love, she reacts, without respect, he reacts, and on it goes. He discusses in depth the flip side of how to love, how to respect, and how to deal with the conflict that arises when those needs aren’t being met. Get Out of That Pit by Beth Moore gives hope to people who have felt they are victims to break free from the past and live a fulfilled life (based on Psalm 40). Powerful!
Love to read and will certainly look into a few of the books on your list. Just finished reading “The Shack” by Wm. Paul Young. If you haven’t had the opportunity to read this – it is a great read. Would like to hear your comments on it.
I really enjoyed this book as well, just didn’t include it on the list. As long as you keep in mind it’s fiction, it’s a great “what if” and “I wonder” type of reading. Thanks for adding it here.
Scandalous Freedom by Steve Brown. The radical nature of the gospel and God’s radical grace.
Absolute favorite author is Paulo Coelho. Every novel he writes has some sort of life lesson in it. Beautifully written, I always come away from his books with the want to do more with my life. A must read of his, would be The Alchemist. Start there, and you’ll find yourself on a journey through his novels.
I’m not much of a reader. Honestly, I’d rather watch the movie version of most things.
That being said, there are some books that just grab me. And I’m trying to become more of a reader and less of a TV watcher.
As far as marriage books go, “Recipes for a Perfect Marriage” by Kate Kerrigan/Morag Prunty (same person) is one I’ve read 2 times since getting married. I had horrible engagement anxiety and this book really spoke to my fears, unrealistic expectations, and gave me a realistic, true view of what love is all about.
The only other one that stands out to me is “The DaVinci Code.” Raised Catholic, this book really, for lack of better terms, messed with my head some. Although I don’t necessarily practice Catholocism anymore, I still consider myself Christian, maybe even more spiritual than anything. This book made me think differently about things… even if it’s fictional (but who really knows anyway, right?).
A recent favorite…The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life (Paperback) by Twyla Tharp. I’m not sure how I found this book since I have no interest in dance or choreography. However, it’s an amazing story about how to be creative in your life and work.
learner bride said…
hi – I’m Morag Prunty – author of Recipes for a Perfect Marriage. So thrilled to read your comments from my seaside home here in Ireland. If you’re interested, I write under the name Kate Kerrigan in Europe (and my native Ireland), and have several other books and a blog at http://www.katekerriganauthor@blogspot.com. Also on Facebook as Morag Prunty/Kate Kerrigan. All comers welcome.
Thanks for the review, I so love getting feedback so do get in touch!
Warm wishes – Morag (aka Kate)