I’ve been tagged by Alaina. (By the way, I do know what "one" means – I just overlooked it most of the time :) So here are my answers! Also please note: As did Catherine, I am presuming that the questions mean "other than the Bible," which for most of them would be my first answer.
1. One book that changed your life: Christianity and Culture (actually an address by J. Gresham Machen, which you can read here); Messiah the Prince, by William Symington; Carry On, Mr. Bowditch, by Jean Lee Latham; Don’t Waste Your Life, by John Piper (link is to online version of book).
2. One book that you’ve read more than once: I love to reread good books. As a child, I read one of my favorites, Star Eye, easily a dozen times (the story of a pioneer boy taken captive by and raised by Indians) and God is My Copilot (an early account of the Flying Tigers) a half-dozen. More recently, I’ve read The Bourne Identity (my favorite of the series; I don’t think the sequels have the depth or originality) at least twice and portions of it more than that (yes, I also rereread favorite parts); ditto for John Grisham’s The Testament, The Runaway Jury, and The Firm. I’ve also read Don’t Waste Your Life multiple times.
3. One book you’d want on a desert island: I like the ideas of Alaina’s Escape 101, Catherine’s The Idiot's Guide To Getting The Heck Off A Desert Island, and Jeremiah’s How to Build A Boat Out of One Tree in Ten Days, because to be honest, while sometimes I think I would love to be marooned on a desert isle (provided I have the other life essentials) with a good stock of books, eventually I’m going to run out and want more to read. And because I’m not as fond of boating as flying, I’d want to have: The Complete Illustrated History of Aviation, Aircraft and Their Applications, Both Civil and Military, From The First Attempts of Man to Fly Using Feathers to the Wright Brothers to Today, Including Complete and Detailed Instructions for Building Human Powered Aircraft From Basically Nothing (you see, I’d want something interesting to read at night after a hard day’s work building my aircraft, and it’s a subject that has always fascinated me) (sorry – no link; Amazon.com doesn’t seem to have it).
4. One book that made you laugh: Catch Me if You Can and Calvin and Hobbes (this is one of my favorite books to read on outings to Barnes & Noble, but one which is nearly banned by my wife, embarrassed by my frequent and occasionally loud laughter).
5. One book that made you cry: The Rescue, by Nicholas Sparks (both with joy and grief).
6. One book that you wish HAD been written: How to Read and Drive Safely at the Same Time (not on Amazon.com either, obviously).
7. One book that you wish had NEVER been written: Many books that have greatly deluded people with false and destructive world views.
8. One book you’re currently reading: The Revolt, by Susan Wise Bauer (you can buy it for a penny, plus shipping, at the link!); Classical Education, by Gene Edward Veith, and The New Glass House.
9. One book you’ve been meaning to read: parenting books, John Adams (actually started a while back), Three Weeks With My Brother, The Afghan Campaign, The Legend of Bagger Vance, and The Teeth of the Tiger (actually, this is my tentative reading list for our trip overseas).
10. Now tag 5 people: I tag Kevin, Tom, Josh, Peter, and Michael, as well as anyone else who wants to respond (if you don’t have a blog, you can do it in the comments below)!
11. One book do you wish YOU had written (or, more applicably, would like to write):
· Can’t We All Just Get Along? The Dangers and High Cost of an Increasingly Lawsuit-Happy People, and What to Do About It
· Stolen v. Squatted: The History and Future of Adverse Possession
· Natural Law: A Layman’s Guide to What It Is and What It’s Good For
· Out of the Christian Ghetto: Toward Excellence in Television, Film, Literature and Law (the title, not to mention the contents, is still a work in progress)
· The Idiot’s Guide to Designing and Building Your Own Home: Everything You Need to Know to Design the House of Your Dreams and Have It Built (with an architect and a general contractor who I have in mind but with whom I have not yet discussed the book)
Note: All my original titles above are or soon will be copywrited!
7 comments:
What do you think of the Susan Wise Bauer book? The reviews on Amazon were mixed at best. She wrote a great book on Classical Education (co-authored with her mom, Jessie Wise) called "The Well Trained Mind.".
If y'all are reading up on classical education, we have several good books on the subject that you are welcome to borrow. I say borrow, because they are by Doug Wilson, and Josh would not want me to encourage you to give him any money. The books are older though, and are pretty much about classical education (he's in favor of that happening in schools more than in homes though), so they don't touch on the heresy issues, I think.
The jury is still out on The Revolt, as I'm only half way through, but so far I have enjoyed it. As one who has been exposed to theonomy to a significant amount, I find it very interesting to see how SWB "puts it into practice." And the writing is creative and mostly believable.
My first experience with a Christian author suggesting a breakaway state setting up a more conservative country was Larry Burkett’s Thor Conspiracy, I believe, but this is a much better thought-out scenario (though also very improbable today, it seems).
As you probably guessed, I came across The Revolt while looking at SWB's books on classical education. I checked them out from the Library, too, and was intrigued by the little I read (mostly scanned) from The Well-Educated Mind (especially the parts about how and when to read a book). I would like to take you up on your offer to borrow some books - more likely when we get back :)
I thought the answer to 3 was awesome. Haha
Andrew... you don't like to read or anything do you? hehehe
1. One book that changed your life: Well, the first one that comes to mind is _Cheaper by the Dozen,_ which is the first book I can remember reading and feeling significantly impressed by. It taught me, as a child, to value the discipline of time management. A more significant title that comes to mind is Geerhardus Vos’ _Biblical Theology_: a book that helped anchor my interest in theology. (I take it from Andrew’s example that "one book" does not really mean just one book. =)
2. One book that you’ve read more than once: Bernard S. Jackson's, _Studies in the Semiotics of Biblical Law._ As you can tell from the title, you have to read it more than once to make sense of it! =) Seriously, Prof. Jackson's book is probably one of the most important titles in the bibliography of my dissertation. I suppose I'd also mention James Fenimore Cooper's _Last of the Mohicans._ Though I actually have not read it twice yet, I have often thought about picking it up to read it again (because I loved it so much: it is worth reading over). What a fabulous book!
3. One book you'd want on a desert island: The first thing that comes to mind is (if I can name a set rather than a single volume) the 24 volumes of the _Ante-Nicene, Nicene, and Post-Nicene Fathers._ It would be a good chance to bone up on the Church Fathers.
4. One book that made you laugh: Oh, I guess I got some good laughs out of Lynn Truss’s, _Eats, Shoots & Leaves;_ and, during our UK sojourn, Heather and I laughed our way through a funny little British piece: _Nice Cup of Tea and a Sit Down,_ by Nicey and Wifey. But I confess that, although I have tried to find some, I haven't uncovered many books I've found especially funny.
5. One book that made you cry: Well, to be honest, one book I read in the 6th grade that I absolutely loved at the time, and shed a few tears while reading, was Felix Salten's _Bambi._ Forget the Disney version: read the real thing. I can't think of any tear-jerkers I've read recently.
6. One book that you wish HAD been written: _The Le Febvre Family History: From the Days of the Gallic Resistence Against Caesar to the Underground Resistance against Hitler,_ by Jacques le Febvre. (I'd love to know more of my family heritage.)
7. One book that you wish had NEVER been written: That's really hard to answer. I'm not sure. I'd have to think on that one for awhile....
8. One book you're currently reading: My current reading list would probably bore most. A couple samples: Thorkild Jacobsen, _The Sumerian King List;_ Witte and Kingdon, _Courtship, Engagement, and Marriage [in Calvin's Geneva];_ John White, _Protestant Worship._ I do like lighter fare too, but you've caught me at a time when I don't have any easy-reading titles on my desk.
9. One book you've been meaning to read: Augustine, _City of God._
10. Now tag 5 people: I'm afraid I'm not a blogger so can't properly link-and-tag people.
11. One book you wish YOU had written (or, more applicably, would like to write): I would like to co-author Andrew's book on _Natural Law_ with him! I also want to write _A Psalmsinger's Introduction to the Psalmbook,_ someday. I have a whole list of books and articles I'd like to work on. Perhaps one of my crowing achievements would be to write a good poetry book -- perhaps when I'm old and gray and experienced enough with life to produce good poetry.
12. Bonus -- A book you couldn't put down: This question wasn't on the list, but it seems like it belongs. Three come (somewhat randomly) to mind. One I found so fascinating I could hardly put it down was Bevin Alexander's, _How Great Generals Win._ Another: an 1883 title I found on a used book store shelf some years ago and written by an old prof at IU, called, _History of American Politics ... from 1607 to 1882_ (by Walter Houghton. And one that I literally could not put down, but after picking it up at the library thinking I would read a few stories from it to my kids one Saturday morning, only to find that I myself had to finish it (and spent the better part of that Saturday doing so): Brian Patten, _The Story Giant._ Patten's book is a masterful (in my opinion) weaving together of an anthology of children's stories into one, integrated tale. Intriguing idea, well executed, with the perfect twist at the end.
Anyhow. There are my "off the top of my head" answers to your questions....
What? Michael hasn't read City of God? You mean I've read something the famous academic hasn't? I think I'm going to go write this down in my calendar as a day to remember. :)
Andrew, you should finish John Adams. It's well worth the 500 something pages.
Oh dear. I've just lost my prestige! I better go find the Cliffs Notes on Augustine's City quick so I can recover my image!!!
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