I saved this one for a rainy day....

A few people have commented that I haven't posted too much over the past few months. Incidentally, a few people have recently asked me what books I enjoy reading and am currently reading. Fortunately for all you lucky people, this post should help rectify both these situations:

So I’ve been meaning to this book survey for a while… not that any of you care what books I read, but I did this more for myself… I’d like a bird’s-eye survey of what books have influenced me. Maybe it might help explain why I’m the whacked-out weirdo I am. Enjoy. (By the way, I know it says “one book…”, but come on, who can answer with just one book?)


1. One book that changed your life: Ooo… there's a few: The Cross-Centered Life by C.J. Mahaney (it helped me identify my sinful tendencies of subjectivism), The Minister as Shepherd by Charles Jefferson (it helped me realize that I am not meant to be a pastor by any means), The Book on Leadership by John MacArthur (it showed me I’ve got a lot to learn about being a leader), and Don’t Waste Your Life by John Piper (it helped me put what I’m doing in the perspective of Eternity—I’m going to stand before God and give an account for what I’ve done with my life).

2. One book that you’ve read more than once: I’ve read many books more than once, because I’ve found that I get much more out of them the second time around, but a couple I’ve re-read recently would be Til We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis, Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan, Dracula by Bram Stoker, and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.

3. One book you’d want on a desert island: Umm… the nature of this question implies that I can only have one book on said island, and that being the case, the answer would of course be the Bible (and if I had to narrow it down to one specific book, I would say the Gospel of John… and Ecclesiastes). If you’re not satisfied with that bland, predictably Christian answer, I’d also say The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis… and then maybe Humility: True Greatness by C.J. Mahaney. And I definitely would want Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad and Lord of the Flies by William Golding with me to remind me to maintain my human dignity.

4. One book that made you laugh: Bleachers by John Grisham, The Princess Bride by William Goldman (the movie’s great, but the book’s better by far), My Life as an Afterthought Astronaut by Bill Meyers, and every single Calvin and Hobbes book.

5. One book that made you cry: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls, When I don’t Desire God by John Piper, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, and I will admit that I cried just a little at the end of Harry Potter book 6, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling (who expected that ending… I mean really expected it?!? Wow!).

6. One book you wish had been written: An ESV Translation of The MacArthur Study Bible and My Personal Statement of Faith and Beliefs by Bob Dylan.

7. One book you wish had never been written: Great Expectations by Charles Dickens and Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. Both of these make me gag. Also, Animal Farm by George Orwell annoys me more and more every time I re-read it.

8. One book you’re currently reading: I’m kinda reading a bunch right now… a few I’m reading for school would include American Constitutional Law: The Structure of Government, Volume 1 by Ralph A. Rossum, The Republic by Plato, and Yesterday, Today, and Forever: the Continuing Relevance of the Old Testament by Larry R. Helyer; for devotions I’m reading the books of Isaiah and Romans; and for my own personal enrichment, I’m reading Sex, Romance, and the Glory of God by C.J. Mahaney and Macbeth by William Shakespeare.

9. One book you’ve been meaning to read: The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis, God is the Gospel by John Piper, King Lear by William Shakespeare, and The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger.




Ok, your turn. You do the book survey.