Books
“Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.”
— C.S. Lewis
I love reading. And libraries. And bookshelves filled with books. The picture above was taken at The Cuypers Library in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Just look at all the possibilities of things to be learned! These days I’m reading more non-fiction and theology for school and work, than I am reading fiction for pleasure. But, that’s okay because I like it all! Below is space to collect some favorites. Check out my Goodreads list for links to these and more.
Peter Jackson’s version of Hobbiton in Matamata, New Zealand is on the bucket list
Fiction.
My favorite of all time? I’d have to say J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of The Rings trilogy. I like a lot of the classics too; top of mind: The Count of Monte Cristo, Catch-22, Pride and Prejudice, and To Kill A Mockingbird.
I think I like historical fiction best. Learning real information about people, places and history through story?! Yes, please! Favorites in this category include: The Kite Runner, The Poisonwood Bible, The Help, The Secret Life of Bees.
I can also get completely absorbed in the Y.A. dystopian worlds of The Hunger Games and the Divergent series, as well as just about any John Grisham novel!
Bertrand bookshop in Lisbon is the oldest operating bookshop in the world (1732)
Nonfiction.
Personally, I think memoirs make the best nonfiction reads. I love reading people’s stories in narrative form. Some of my favorites have been: The Glass Castle, The House at Sugar Beach, Born a Crime, Hillbilly Elegy, and Unbroken (okay, it’s actually a biography). I have no idea where to put Erik Larson’s books, but I love every one of his I’ve read.
I’ve benefited a great deal from books on leadership. I love reading just about anything by Patrick Lencioni.
Some of the most influential nonfiction books for me are those that have opened up history, particularly recent history. Books like Divided by Faith, The Color of Compromise, The Many Altars of Modernity, and The Coddling of the American Mind have been difficult to read in terms of what their content reveals, but so important and helpful in giving context to where we find ourselves now.
Just a handful of the books we read in our Burnham Fellowship Program
Theology.
If theology simply means thinking about God, or studying the sources of belief, then everything else listed on this page could fit in this category. But, for my purposes I’m including books that have been written with the intention of helping me know God and learn more about the Christian faith. Clearly this means the number one book, by far, is The Bible. But, in other (arbitrary) categories I love:
Apologetics: Miracles, Cultural Apologetics, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society
Liturgy and Practice: The Common Rule, Liturgy of the Ordinary, You Are What You Love, Life Together
Faith & Work: Every Good Endeavor, Kingdom Calling, Work and Worship
Other books that have shaped me in the last decade include: The Crucified King, Surprised by Hope, Creation Regained, and various works by Abraham Kuyper, Lesslie Newbigin, James K.A. Smith, N.T. Wright, and Tim Keller.
I was going to link to all of these books, but since I track my reading on Goodreads, I think it’s just simpler to direct you there if you’re interested in checking out any of the above. If you use the site, be sure to friend request me. I love seeing what others are reading!
