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My Current Favorites
Five books, movies, or songs influencing me now
Watership Down: A Novel
WHY I LIKE IT
Although this book came out when I was a boy, I avoided reading it until this year. A story about rabbits in England? No thanks, too twee for me.
But it turned out to be nothing like what I expected. It's a thrilling tale about community and commitment—and rabbits as brave and clever warriors!
Gospel: Recovering the Power that Made Christianity Revolutionary
WHY I LIKE IT
Yet another book by a pastor about the gospel? Yeah, I know what you're thinking—and it's the reason this book sat on my shelf unread for the past few years. But I recently started reading it and am glad I did. Greear is an excellent communicator. He brings a fresh approach to the topic that will reenergize you and get you excited about the gospel.
Stories of Your Life and Others
WHY I LIKE IT
Did you see the movie 'Arrival'? It was based on a wonderful short story written by Chiang and included in this book. And it's not even the best of the bunch. This is a great collection for fans of science fiction. But even if your don't care for the sci-fi genre get a copy and read the first story, "Tower of Babylon," an amazing and creative expansion on the story of the Tower of Babel.
The Reapers Are the Angels: A Novel
WHY I LIKE IT
Imagine if Flannery O'Connor had written a post-apocalyptic zombie novel and you'll get a sense of this fascinating story. One of my favorite lines: "It’s a wonder how he’s trackin me, but you can’t put nothing past these southern boys. They just sit around waiting for somebody to kill their brother so they can get started on some vengeance. It’s like a dang vocation with them."
How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World
WHY I LIKE IT
If you consider yourself a generalist (https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/how-to-glorify-god-by-being-a-generalist) you'll want to read this one. Johnson has an amazing ability to find connections between things they we would have never considered. Example: "Gutenberg made printed books relatively cheap and portable, which triggered a rise in literacy, which exposed a flaw in the visual acuity of a sizable part of the population, which then created a new market for the manufacture of spectacles."
My Essentials
My all-time favorite books, movies and music
Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America (America: a cultural history)
WHY I LIKE IT
A 900 page history on pre-revolutionary American "folkways" (the way of life of a particular community) may not sound like thrilling Summer reading. But after reading this review (http://slatestarcodex.com/2016/04/27/book-review-albions-seed/) I gave it a chance and found it completely enthralling. If you have any interest at all in early American history, you won't want to miss this book. (The chapters are subdivided and well-organized around recurring themes, making it much easier to read in small portion.)
Sample: 90% of Puritan names were taken from the Bible. Some Puritans took pride in their learning by giving their children obscure Biblical names they would expect nobody else to have heard of, like Mahershalalhasbaz. Others chose random Biblical terms that might not have technically been intended as names; “the son of Bostonian Samuel Pond was named Mene Mene Tekel Upharsin Pond”. Still others chose Biblical words completely at random and named their children things like Maybe or Notwithstanding.
Harry Potter: The Complete Collection
WHY I LIKE IT
In January I decided to read the Harry Potter series, and figured I'd complete one novel a year. Instead I devoured them all in 6 months. As a fan of Narnia-style fantasy, I'm not sure why I waited to long to read them. They really do live up to the hype.
The Complete Works of Francis A. Schaeffer: A Christian Worldview (5 Volume Set)
WHY I LIKE IT
Read everything you can by Schaeffer.
Discipleship of the Mind
Love Your God with All Your Mind: The Role of Reason in the Life of the Soul
Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview
The Hole in Our Holiness (Paperback Edition): Filling the Gap between Gospel Passion and the Pursuit of Godliness
The Holiness of God
Plowing in Hope: Towards a Biblical Theology of Culture
WHY I LIKE IT
A superb introduction to the Reformed view of culture and culture-making.
Creation Regained: Biblical Basics for a Reformational Worldview
The Painted Word
WHY I LIKE IT
The best book on modern art by the best essayist in the modern world.
Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology
WHY I LIKE IT
Postman was not only our most astute media critic but one of the most prophetic voices of the last thirty years. Essential reading for understanding how our culture is shaped by media and technology.
Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business
How the News Makes Us Dumb: The Death of Wisdom in an Information Society
WHY I LIKE IT
As Christians, we're expected to take an eternal perspective, viewing events not only in their historical but also in their eschatological context. But as Sommerville explains in this indispensable work of media criticism, we can't do that while focusing on the churning events of the last 24 hours news cycle.
Warranted Christian Belief
A Technique for Producing Ideas: The simple, five-step formula anyone can use to be more creative in business and in life!
The Abolition of Man
In, But Not Of: A Guide to Christian Ambition
Modern Times Revised Edition: The World from the Twenties to the Nineties (Perennial Classics)
WHY I LIKE IT
The essential work of history for understanding the modern age.
The Passion of the Western Mind: Understanding the Ideas that Have Shaped Our World View
Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions (Dover Thrift Editions)
Ender's Game (The Ender Quintet)
The Bluest Eye (Vintage International)
The Road
My Bookshelf Archive
my archived books, movies, music, and more
World Made by Hand: A Novel
Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War
400 Things Cops Know: Street-Smart Lessons from a Veteran Patrolman
Live Like A Narnian: Christian Discipleship in Lewis's Chronicles
Flames of Rome: A Novel
Money, Greed, and God: Why Capitalism Is the Solution and Not the Problem
