Books, Books, and Favorite Books
Rhett recently left a question that I’d like to both answer and pass on. One of the things I try to do here periodically is ask for reader participation (see the “Five Flawless Ones” and the “Year-End Review of 2005” lists).
Rhett’s question was this: “if you had to tell me five novels that I should read…what would they be…totally side note…but I was just curious what your top five novels were…not in any category..but the five you would take on a deserted island.”
I’d like to pass this question on to you as well. Tell me your top five novels. Please note, this does say novels, so we’ll all just take it for granted that the Bible would be one of the top five books, but that’s not the question! The question is novels, please share your top five. Please feel free to leave them in the comments here and I’ll add them to the post as they are collected.
My (current and subject to change) top five novels (in no particular order):
- The Stranger by Albert Camus
- The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
- A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
- Moby Dick by Herman Melville
- Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Looking back over this list, I realized that there is a common theme running throughout about the nature of man (and that most are fairly recent works). The Stranger and The Fountainhead both deal extensively with the doctrine and the depth of depravity though neither author would claim to be dealing in biblical doctrines. Moby Dick and Grapes of Wrath also deal with depravity and the human heart, but from different angles, examining the hearts of man in both everyday and extraordinary circumstances. A Prayer For Owen Meany is the only book here that explicitly mentions any biblical concepts (though Rand is clear that her book formulates her religious philosophy of “man worship”) and interestingly deals with the concept of God’s sovereignty/man’s responsibility.
I very much wanted to include the stories of Flannery O’Connor and Eudora Welty, but collections don’t technically count as novels. I encourage you to read fiction, especially if you regularly preach and deal with words. Fiction challenges us to apply our doctrine to life, it helps us to see things from different angles, but it also challenges us to use words well. Good fiction is a window into the soul, both of the writer, but also of the reader.
What about you?
Aaron Kellar of Phoenix, AZ lists:
- The Catcher in the Rye by Salinger
- The Pearl by Steinbeck
- Lord of the Flies by Golding
- The Giver by Lowry
- The Alchemist by Coelho
Rhett Smith of the great state of CA lists:
- Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
- My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok
- Glittering Images by Susan Howatch
- The Stranger by Albert Camus
- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
Shawn Brenning of Glen Rose, TX lists:
- Pilgrim’s Progress-John Bunyan
- The Chronicles of Narnia-C.S. Lewis
- 1984-George Orwell
- The Lord of the Rings-J.R.R. Tolkien
- Safely Home-Randy Alcorn
Amanda Ottaway from Denver lists:
- The Circle Trilogy by Ted Dekker (i’m counting this as a single novel)
- In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
- Bamboo and Lace by Lori Wick
- The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by Tolkien (again, I count this as a single novel)
- Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
Brent Jeffrey Thomas lists:
- Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz
- Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
- Dune by Frank Herbert
- Lord of the Rings by Tolkien
- How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn
Wade Myers of Peoria, AZ lists:
- A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
- The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
- The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
- Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
The Catcher in the Rye
Salinger
The Pearl
Steinbeck
Lord of the Flies
Golding
The Giver
Lowry
The Alchemist
Coelho
Brent,
I would say for me:
Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok
Glittering Images by Susan Howatch
The Stranger by Albert Camus
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
some of these might be more novellas, but hey…this is “safer” territory for me than talking about women in ministry :-)
Pilgrim’s Progress-John Bunyan
The Chronicles of Narnia-C.S. Lewis
1984-George Orwell
The Lord of the Rings-J.R.R. Tolkien
Safely Home-Randy Alcorn
What Five Novels Would You Take On A Deserted Island?…
My friend Brent Thomas is a really smart guy and I respect his opinion on many things. One of the areas that I wanted to get Brent’s opinion on is in the area of novels because I know Brent likes……
I would say…
The Circle Trilogy by Ted Dekker (i’m counting this as a single novel)
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Bamboo and Lace by Lori Wick
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by Tolkien (again, I count this as a single novel)
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
My favorite novels are (5 of many):
Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
Dune by Frank Herbert
Lord of the Rings by Tolkien
How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn
Brent,
Here are my five:
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley