Books. Books? Books!

(One caveat: the answer to many of these is of course “the Bible”)

1. One book that changed your life:
“Thoughts In Solitude” – Thomas Merton
Not because it was the best book of his that I read but because it was the first of his that I read.

2. One book that you’ve read more than once:
I read books thoroughly once. I underline, highlight, dogear, and review… so I rarely read them in their entirety twice. I believe the only book I have read twice is John Grisham’s “The Partner”

3. One book you’d want on a desert island:
The Bible

4. One book that made you laugh:
“Parliament of Whores: A Lone Humorist Attempts to Explain the Entire U.S. Government” – P. J. O’Rourke followed closely by
“Blue Like Jazz” – Donald Miller
In the “One book that made you laugh, even though it wasn’t trying to be funny” category:
“The Great Emergence” – Phyllis Tickle.

5. One book that made you cry:
“Two-Part Invention: The Story of a Marriage” – Madeleine l’Engle
Autobiography of the saddest kind: the loss of a life-long partner in marriage. l’Engle’s writing always gets to the heart very quickly, but never more quickly than in this book.

6. One book that you wish had been written:
The one I’m working on.

7. One book that you wish had never been written:
I generally like books… they are my friends… and even the bad ones are usually good for a laugh.

I wish Douglas Coupland hadn’t written “Microserfs“… because he’s capable of so much better and Serfs only had a few good sections…

I wish Phyllis Tickle hadn’t written “Great Emergence, The: How Christianity Is Changing and Why“… because it was too short for its topic and laughable for its historical synopsis  and prophecies for the future.

I wish Donald Miller hadn’t written “Searching For God Knows What“… because Don writes memoir very well and theology very badly

8. One book you’re currently reading:
“The Jesus You Can’t Ignore: What You Must Learn from the Bold Confrontations of Christ” – John MacArthur
I’ve never read an entire book by JMac before. It is exactly what I expected; great section bookended by unnecessarily confrontational hyperbole.

9. One book you’ve been meaning to read:
“Cross of Christ” – John R. W. Stott

10. One book you own that you’re pretty sure you’ll never read:
I have a huge biography of Adolph Hitler that I doubt I’ll ever read.

Copy these into the comment section and leave your answers:

1. One book that changed your life:

2. One book that you’ve read more than once:

3. One book you’d want on a desert island:

4. One book that made you laugh:

5. One book that made you cry:

6. One book that you wish had been written:

7. One book that you wish had never been written:

8. One book you’re currently reading:

9. One book you’ve been meaning to read:

10. One book you own that you’re pretty sure you’ll never read:

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