Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Tuesday Top Ten Books


Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish
Today is: Top Ten Favorite Books You've Read During The Lifespan Of Your Blog 

That's a hard category for me since technically I've had this blog since 2006...

But since I've only been blogging more about books since the beginning of this year, so I'm going to choose the Top Ten Favorite Books I've Read in 2012 (thus far...)

1. The Great Divorce by C. S. Lewis (re-read)
This was probably the fourth or fifth time to read this book and I loved it even more than the previous times. I also got to dig deeper since I was leading a discussion on it in a Literary Club type setting with friends.

2. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
I really loved this book! I can't believe I hadn't read it prior to this year. It is a must read for lovers of fantasy literature/fairy tale genre. I think I finally got around to reading it because I had heard Charlie W. Starr's book, King Lesserlight's Crown: A Children's Story for Grownups, Too, compared to it, leading to a rather postmodern experience of reading the later material prior to reading that to which it may be compared...

3. Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis (re-read)
Obviously this book is not in the same genre as most on this list, but it's by C. S. Lewis and it remains an incredible apologetic and summary of what Lewis considered the essentials of Christianity. I love the part on transposition. If you like to think about levels of reality than you will too. Lewis was influenced in this by Flatland by Edwin Abbot Abbot. Here are some fun posts/articles I just discovered that talk about this connection:
Geometry of Faith


4. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
British humor and wit at its finest!

5. Enchantment by Orson Scott Card
Another fun fantasy read.

6. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
I love fiction/fantasy that plays with the boundaries of fiction/fantasy (like Inkheart!), so it is no wonder I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the others in the series.

7. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling (re-read)
I don't think I really have to explain myself here, do I?

8. A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken
This is a story of the author's marriage, the search for faith, a friendship that developed with C. S. Lewis, and dealing with the loss of his wife.

9. One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp
Have you ever thought much about the secret to joy or the sin of ingratitude? This book is poetic story, full of conviction and challenges.

10. Be Still my Soul edited by Nancie Guthrie
This collection of essays on "the problem of pain" - has helped me in not only developing a more helpful theology of suffering, but more importantly, it has been helping me hold onto Truth through the deaths of friends and loved ones... I guess you could say it's been helping me grasp these Truths at a deeper level - meeting me where I am.

3 comments:

Kristina said...

Oh I have been wanting to reread Enchantment really badly lately! I'm going to do it soon I hope!

http://kristina-worldofbooks.blogspot.com/2012/08/top-ten-tuesday-21.html

Loni said...

I loved The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I should re-read it.

J.L. Neyhart said...

Thanks for your comments!

I need to read the other 2 books in the Hitchhiker's series and I already want to read the first ones again!