Some friends tagged me on facebook with their best reads/must reads. I'm following their lead here - with a little more by way of explanation.
If this is supposed to be a "Top 10 list" - I failed. I had to start with the first three, though I haven't read them in years. They shaped my teenage identity and set a path and trajectory for my life.
The next, Top 10 (4. to 13. on my list) are presented more or less in sequential order for "when I met them" in my life and how they shaped a trajectory or identity or rame to my sense of self today. [Ironically, I don't remember a single textbook from my undergraduate college experience. This has caused me to realize that as a professor, I would do better (and I try already!) to introduce students to good authors, more than just having them read certain books. Good authors will shape my student's lives for a lifetime, where they may forget a particular textbook or title. I think I do this already - but I'll be more intentional about it now.]
In many ways - these authors have been "conversation partners" and "mentors" to the ideas that frame my existence. It's quite a powerful thought, really - and the reason I thank Walter Brueggemann every year when I see him - truly!
Then, a few that don't make the "top" list and yet they have been influential in my life. Some day my kids might read this, and want them to "know how I became me," so I'll share here.
"Top" list . . . ordered both by sequence in my life's experience and influence.
Notables for many reasons & interests:
If this is supposed to be a "Top 10 list" - I failed. I had to start with the first three, though I haven't read them in years. They shaped my teenage identity and set a path and trajectory for my life.
The next, Top 10 (4. to 13. on my list) are presented more or less in sequential order for "when I met them" in my life and how they shaped a trajectory or identity or rame to my sense of self today. [Ironically, I don't remember a single textbook from my undergraduate college experience. This has caused me to realize that as a professor, I would do better (and I try already!) to introduce students to good authors, more than just having them read certain books. Good authors will shape my student's lives for a lifetime, where they may forget a particular textbook or title. I think I do this already - but I'll be more intentional about it now.]In many ways - these authors have been "conversation partners" and "mentors" to the ideas that frame my existence. It's quite a powerful thought, really - and the reason I thank Walter Brueggemann every year when I see him - truly!
Then, a few that don't make the "top" list and yet they have been influential in my life. Some day my kids might read this, and want them to "know how I became me," so I'll share here.
"Top" list . . . ordered both by sequence in my life's experience and influence.
1. Knowing God by J.I. Packer
2. Holy Sweat by Tim Hansel
3. Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
4. Walter Brueggemann (everything) - Old Testament Theology: Testimony, Dispute, Advocacy
5. Paul Hanson (many) - The People Called: The Growth of Community in the Bible
6. God: A Biography by Jack Miles
7. Rene Girard (many) - his ideas framed the basis of my dissertation.
8. Walter Wink (many )- Naming(Unmasking)[Engaging] the Powers
9. Unveiling Empire: Reading Revelation Then & Now by Wes Howard Brook
10. Wendell Berry (everything)- Jayber Crow
11. Ched Myers (many) - Binding the Strong Man
12. Willard Swartley (many) - Covenant of Peace
13. N.T. Wright (everything) - The Resurrection of the Son of God
Notables for many reasons & interests:
- Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
- John Maxwell's Writings (Audio lectures from the 1980s and 1990's) shaped my life in important ways.
- The simple teaching of this book, I quote to my children every week, if not daily: Rich Dad Poor Dad: What The Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! by Robert T. Kiyosaki
- Stanley Hauerwas - The Hauerwas Reader
- Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed: The Story of the Village of Le Chambon and How Goodness Happened There by Philip P. Hallie
- Neither Poverty nor Riches: A Biblical Theology of Possessions (New Studies in Biblical Theology) by Craig L. Blomberg
- Green Witness: Ecology, Ethics, and the Kingdom of God by Laura Ruth Yordy
- Saving Paradise: How Christianity Traded Love of This World for Crucifixion and Empire Rebecca Ann Parker & Rita Brock
- Two Books that changed the way I think about food: Four Fish. by Paul Greenberg. And Food Rules by Michael Pollan
- Books which beckon me home: The Wild Trees: A Story of Passion & Daring
- Book which "inspired" me to be a missionary. (Not yet realized - but in due time!) Don't eat the Loquat Tree by Thomas Hale
- I learned more about cathedrals and the history of England in this voluminous tome than I ever expected and enjoyed it thoroughly - I can still picture the scenes in my imagination. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
- This author's blog posts have become important in my journey, though I've not read his books, yet! Ted Grimsrud. I read his blog at ThinkingPacifism.net
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