Below is a list of books that have moved me through the years. I will add to this as time goes on, as this list merely includes the books that immediately come to mind. I'd be interested to see your list. This lends itself well to a Facebook Note. Send me a link or tag me in it so I can see yours! If the book is not that well-known, write an annotation, as I have on some of the books on my list. You may also choose to mention a book or two in the comments, below.
It was my privilege to have been personally acquainted with the late Charlie "T" (Tremendous) Jones. One of his favorite sayings, and one of mine, is:
You are the same today as you'll be in five years except for two things, the people you meet and the books you read.
Biographies and first-hand "journeys":
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
Two Years Before the Mast, by Dana Written mid-1800's, just prior to the gold rush years of California, a young Dana went to sea in a trading vessel, sailing from the East coast to California and back. He was intellectually inclined, but sickly. He felt the sea duty would do his body some good, which it did. But what he saw in the treatment of sailors caused him to become a prominent attorney later in life, specializing in admiralty law and in particular, sailors' rights. A fascinating look into a sparsely populated California. No wonder it's a Harvard Classic.
Sailing Alone Around the World (Joshua Slocum)
The Voyage of the Beagle (Charles Darwin)
Travels with Charlie (John Steinbeck) In the late '60s, Steinbeck took an extended trip in a pickup truck with a camper on it, wandering the USA. Charlie was his dog. His commentary on how to make coffee and the great American breakfast are alone worth the price of admission.
The Log from the Sea of Cortez (John Steinbeck) Another Steinbeck journey, an ecological excursion.
Kon Tiki (Heyerdahl) Some of the theory is, I think, a bit wacky, but the adventure was real.
Non Fiction and Reference:
How to Read a Book (Mortimer J. Adler) I'd like to find a way to get this book into the hands and hearts of as many 12th-graders as possible. Parents, you can do your children a favor if you buy them this book, and use any means necessary to get them to read it and understand it before they enter college.
On Writing Well (Zinzer)
The Elements of Style (Strunk and White)
The Chicago Manual of Style
The Not So Big House (Susanka) Architectural principles for residential building for beauty and comfort based on how we live.
Literature:
Shakespeare Plays and Sonnets Possibly the only guy whose name I would put in italics on this page. In America and Great Britain, we are fortunate indeed to be able to read him in our native language!
Moby Dick and Billy Budd (Melville) Billy Budd is a Christ-type.
Sense and Sensibility (Jane Austin) (Austin fans will tell you Pride and Prejudice is even better!)
Uncle Tom's Cabin (Harriet Beecher Stowe) Remarkable Christian story. Quite literally, one of the single most powerful forces that brought this nation to its Civil War.
Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
Stranger in a Strange Land (Robert Heinlein)
The Old Man and the Sea (Hemingway)
Shogun (James Clavell) And his related books, such as Noble House.
The Sea Wolf (Jack London) Another existentialist favorite!
Philosophy and Theology:
I and Thou (Martin Buber)
The Pensées (Blaise Pascal)
Varieties of Religious Experience (William James)
The Cost of Discipleship and Ethics (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)
The Normal Christian Life and Christ: The Sum of All Spiritual Things (Watchman Nee)
The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life (Hanna Smith)
The God Delusion (Richard Dawkins) Much better for understanding the "other point of view" than Russell's Why I am not a Christian. For one thing, it's less stupid.
How to Read the Bible for all its Worth (Fee and Stuart) (Note: No apostrophe in "its.")
The Gospel and Epistles of John and Commentary on Acts and Paul: The Apostle of the Heart Set Free (F.F. Bruce)
Surprised by Hope (N.T. Wright) (Simply Christian, frankly, not-so-good!)
The Canon of the New Testament and The Text of the New Testament: It's Origin, Corruption, and Restoration (Bruce M. Metzger)
Koine Greek:
My early Christian life included participation in a ministry that emphasized Bible study, and introduced me to concordances, interlinear translations, etcetera, and a very limited vocabulary of New Testament Greek words (generally defined in ways that were ideologically derived). My (ongoing) path to actually learning to read the New Testament in its original language has included many books, but four of them are essential:
The United Bible Society's Greek text. This is the same text as the Nestle-Aland text, with a different critical apparatus.
Commentary on the Greek New Testament by Bruce M. Metzger Metzger was one of the four editors of the UBS text, and his commentary covers verse-by-verse discussion of the questions they wrestled with as to how to make the best decision regarding what the original text read. Each major variant is given a probability factor as to how certain the reading may be.
A Greek Grammar. There are many good ones. Modern ones make learning much easier.
and finally....
The New Greek-English Interlinear New Testament (Tyndale, publisher) This is my "main" Bible now, at least for the NT. The UBS Greek text lies above the Phillip Comfort interlinear translation, and in a separate column there is the NRSV. I generally use this when I do my Bible reading, especially at night just before retiring. It's slow going for me, still. I try to read the Greek "aloud" (actually, under my breath) and not look at the translation too much! Training wheels for students of Greek! Once I'm further along, I'll just read the first item in this sub-list!
Note: If you have a copy of the Phillips translation of the New Testament, read the introduction by the translator. "A figure emerged..."
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