11.
The Bible- this should come as no surprise to
most of you who know me, but this is the book I genuinely try to live my life
by. I struggle at it, and by no means do I claim to understand it all, but as I
read and reread this book, it daily has new things to apply to my walk, giving
meaning and life in the words it contains.
22.
The Middle Earth books by J.R.R. Tolkein, namely
The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings/the Silmarillion-this series has spoken to
my imagination more than any other. There’s something about the world it
creates that echoes. When I feel tired and worn out, reading these books is
just about one of most refreshing experiences I could ask for from a work of
fiction.
33.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy- I
cannot read these books and not smile. This was my first real exposure to “British”
humor, and I shudder to think of what effect this had on my mental development from
the point I started reading the books in the sixth grade.
44.
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert
Heinlein – This book is what science fiction is supposed to be. It uses the different
world it creates as a way of examining our own. Puts you in a place where
artificial intelligence and mining ice on the moon distract you from the fact that
it’s asking questions about the way we see our own government and how we
interact with it. I have tried in recent years to restrict myself more on what
I say politically, to give greater voice to those things that truly do matter
to me, but I will freely admit that much of my own political viewpoints have
been influenced by this book.
55.
The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan
Manning- I have been truly privileged to
have grown up in a loving Christian family, and to grow up deeply invested in
the church as a child. As an adult, however, I struggled with finding my
identity in the faith on my own terms. This book came in the midst of that
struggle, and played a pivotal part in how I view the Lord and the purpose of
Christianity as a Faith, a worldview, and a way of life.
66.
Bake and Be Blessed by Father Dominic
Garramone- this book was my first real introduction to the practice of the
Spiritual Disciplines, and also played a huge part in how I learned to see
other points of view as valuable to my faith, not just those from my own
familiar traditions. In a wonderful way, Father Dom speaks life into practices
that are centuries, and even millennia, making them fresh and new for today. The
fact that he explains these through the lense of baking makes it all the more
personally applicable to me. I should also mention, he has regular blog updates
that are fascinating reads, and is someone who I certainly hope to someday meet
and share time with.
77.
The Collected Short Stories of H.P. Lovecraft-
Ok, you might consider this cheating, but I couldn’t pick just one of his short
stories, and I do indeed have a book that is a collection of his short stories,
so I say it counts. Much like the Middle Earth books of Tolkein, Lovecraft’s
work has long opened new doors of my imagination, and has the unique ability to
transport me to a world that is uncertain, dangerous, and can leave you in awe
of just how small you are in the grand scope of existence. In other words, our
own.
88.
I Just Came Here for the Food by Alton
Brown- My favorite cookbook of all time. I have a signed copy. After growing up
cooking around the house with my family, and then spending a few years working
in professional kitchen’s, it has been the following years of watching Alton
Brown’s shows and reading his books that has allowed me to fine tune the craft.
He does not just give you recipes, he explains how those recipes work, how the
ingredients interact with each other to provide the desired result, allowing
you to create new recipes of your own.
99.
Asimov’s Guide to Shakespeare by Isaac
Asimov- I picked this book up in the high school library when I was in a phase
of my life when all I read was science fiction. I decided to give this a read,
written by one of the great Grandmasters of science fiction and quite frankly
one of the most intelligent writers of the last 100 years. In this book, I had
the world of Shakespeare opened up to me in a way that I hadn’t been able to
discover sitting in a classroom. Asimov explained both the language and the
world it was set in in a way that allowed the beauty of the prose to come fully
into being in my mind. Looking back, I now realize that it could be said that
this was the first “Bible commentary” I’d ever read, because the same manner
that Asimov took to approaching Shakespeare, I’ve since learned is to be
appreciated when studying the Word of God, respecting the original document and
the world it is written in, deriving meaning from the context, not a pre given
bias.
110.
The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov- this
was the first “hard core” science fiction story I ever read, and as a
consequence, will always remain my favorite. Again, Asimov is a master of his
craft, using a truly alien world to examine topics ranging from gender roles to
the environment, all while telling a story that in anyone else’s hands would
have come across as an absolute mess. Thrilling and yet deeply intelligent, a
fantastic read.
111.
Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams- I
discovered this book after having finished the Hitchhiker’s series and looking
for something else to read. This book awakened me to the concept of the environment,
and my place in its stewardship. I learned a new appreciation for nature and
the world around me. I will read this book to my children, and I’m saddened at
the thought that many of the species described in this book will now be
extinct. I can only hope this will underscore the lesson for them.
112.
The Star Trek Encyclopedia by Michael and
Denise Okuda – Honestly, I couldn’t figure out the best book to put in this
slot, but I needed a title to represent my early and enduring love for pulp sci
fi, and especially for Star Trek as a whole. Star Trek was what got me
interested in science as a child, Star Trek novels were my first “real” books I
ever read. I’ll never forget the reaction I got in the sixth grade when I told
my teacher I was ordering Unification through the scholastic booksale (It
was a full length novelization of the Star Trek the Next Generation episode
featuring Spock.) I could list any of those novelizations here, but the hours I
spent combing through and reading the various entries of the encyclopedia more
perfectly define my interactions with the Star Trek universe. While the stories
were great, I was far more interested in letting my imagination create whole
new ones as I got to know the various worlds and people that made up the fabric
behind the episodes and movies.
Again, I’m sure I could go on and
on with this list, but I’m trying to restrict myself to the first ones to come
to mind. There are certainly many more authors that have touched my life over
the years, and stories that have comforted me in the hardest times, but
hopefully this has given you at least a few titles that you can look at.(that’s
really the whole point, anyways.)
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