Book Reccomendations

I've been meaning to do this for a long time, then a good friend of mine finally updated her blog - with new year's resolutions. One resolution was "read more" (YES!! It's catching!). She asked generally for input on books, and instead of emailing her, I'll just post them here.

So here we go. There's a bunch!

"Godbooks" --

1. The Enemy Within, by Chris Lundgaard. An excellent anatomy of sin and how it works. A must-read for any Christian. Nothing (besides grace and scripture, of course) will aid you more in the fight against the flesh.
2. Knowing God, by J.I. Packer. A helpful read to understand God fundamentally. Packer hits on alot of topics in this book, all the while giving us a de-blurred look into God's character through the lens of scripture.
3. The Holiness of God, by R.C. Sproul. The other book I'd recommend if you're battling sin. When you understand this character trait of God, you're more amazed by Grace, and you want more than anything to please God.
4. The Gospel for Real Life, by Jerry Bridges. Buy it, read it, reread it (every year), and never move on from it. I've never read a more helpful book to understand what exactly happened when Jesus died on the cross.
5. The Cross Centered Life, by C.J. Mahaney. A practical book on how to make the Gospel your compass. It's only 60-ish pages long. It's worth the hour you'll spend reading it.
6. The Edge of Eternity, by Randy Alcorn. A big symbolic fictitous story, very helpful to get a good grasp on biblical principles. I'm definitely reading this one to my kids, as well as rereading it myself.
7. The Screwtape Letters, by C.S. Lewis. Another fictional work ment to call attention to how sin and temptation works in our lives. One of my favorites from Childhood.

Ok. Those are the Godbooks. What about just literature?

Well, I'd personally recommend staying away from pretty much anything written after 1940 or 50. Around the 60s and 70s is when writing started to become leud and crude. There may be a couple exceptions below. I'll try to warn you.

Number 1, hands down:

1. The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis. A must read. I've read them 7 or 8 times. They're full of christian imagery and lessons. Do not pass them up.
2. The Sherlock Holmes Mysteries, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. My absolute favorite short stories and novels. The father of modern forensic science. The plots are such fun and teh conclusions so off the wall you can't help but just chalk it all up to extravagance. The mentality of the time period sometimes makes me whince, but it's not an overriding theme in any of the stories.
3. Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen. Didn't think I'd like it, but ended up loving it. The plot is well woven, and hey - it's a modest love story. What more could a girl want? The language is a little thick, but it becomes easier as you read on.
4. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley. IT'S NOT LIKE THE MOVIES! I found it raised alot of questions about my own sins of judgments and pride as I read the account of what happens to Frankenstein's monster. You're really left asking yourself "what would I have done...?" Another one I'll read to my kids - when they're old enough, of course.
5. In the Heart of the Sea - The tragedy of the whaleship Essex, by Nathaniel Philbrick. Read Moby Dick? Now read the true story that inspired the tale. (CAUTION: it could be classifed as a little stomach-turning. Life on Whaleships was not easy, and being a castaway was even harder)
6. Why we Hurt - The Natural History of Pain, by Frank T. Vertosick Jr., M.D. A neurosurgeoun's musings on pain (not biblically informed, but very interesting none the less)

In closing I'd say anything by my all time favorite author, Robert Lewis Stevenson. Just get his collected works and a cup of tea and dig in. You'll be glad you did.

HAPPY READING!!!!