* Southerners read more romance novels than those from other regions.
* Popular fiction, histories, biographies and mysteries are the most popular book categories.
* Churchgoers read half as much as non-churchgoers did.
* Democrats read slightly more books than Republicans.
* The average number of books read is the last year is seven.
* People 50 and older read more than younger readers.
* Those who have college degrees read the most. Beth Bakkum

"A personal library is not a collection of odd volumes: It is the outward representation of one's inner life, a mirror of the soul, the past spread out before your eyes. To pass from book to book to book is to abolish time, to connect the child rapt before the wonders of Tom Swift in the Caves of Nuclear Fire with the middle-aged man puzzled about the cosmology of Plato's Timaeus. They are one. A line of poetry can lead you through half a library and most of a life. A random note may generate an entire symphony. For a real reader to do without a personal library would be like throwing away a time machine, like waking up an amnesiac, like ceasing to dream." Michael Dirda

Theology and Inspirational

1. Kindness and Joy: Expressing the Gentle Love, Harold Koenig, M.D., 2006
2. How To Make the Rest of Your Life the Best of Your Life, Mark Victor Hansen & Art Linkletter, 2006. An excellent book on aging.
3. The Christ of Christmas: Readings for Advent. 31 Days of Devotions. Calvin Miller.
4. The Adversity Advantage: Turning Everyday Struggles into Everyday Greatness, Paul G. Stolz & Erik Weihenmayer, 2006
5. Grace in Practice: A Theology of Everyday Life, Paul F.M. Zahl, 2007 6. The End of Memory: Remembering Rightly in a Violent World, Miroslav Volf, 2007.
7. Power and Christian Theology, Stephen Sykes, 2006.
8. 90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death and Life, Don Piper with Cecil Murphy, 2004.
9. Practical Christianity, William Wilberforce, 1797. A classic & still relevant.
10. Wealth Conundrum: A Money Manager Wrestles With the Puzzles of Wealth, Ralph Doudera, 2006
11. Hidden in Plain Sight: The Secret of More, Mark Buchanan, 2007. The 7 virtues of St. Peter.
12. God's Rivals: Why Has God Allowed Different Religions? Insights from the Bible and the Early Church, Gerald R. McDermott, 2007. Excellent
13. Understanding the Koran. A Quick Christian Guide to the Muslim Holy Book, Mateen Elias, 2004. Excellent
14. Kissing Cousins. Christian and Muslims Face to Face, Bill Musk, 2005. Extraordinarily comprehensive and helpful in showing how both faiths developed together and diverged in emphasis.
15. Simple Church. Returning to God's Process for Making Disciples, Thom S. Rainer & Eric Geiger, 2006.
16. Woman: New Century Theology, Tina Beattie. A Catholic Feminist exploration.
17. Jesus Mean and Wild. The Unexpected Love of an Untameable God, Mark Galli, 2006. Right on the mark for today.
18. Joyful Exiles. Life in Christ on the Dangerous Edge of Things, James M. Houston, 2006. Illuminating insights from a long life of leadership. 19. Pilgrimage: A Handbook on Christian Growth, Richard Peace, 1976. Rewarding to re-read this classic after a number of years. Still compelling.
20. Naming the Silences. God, Medicine & the Problem of Suffering, Stanley Hauerwas, 1990. Excellent on the suffering of children.
21. Can Evangelicals Learn From Wo9rdl Religions? Jesus, Revelation & Religious Traditions. Gerald R. McDermott, 2000. Excellent, highly recommended.
22. The Last Teachings of Christ: John 13-17, Harald K. "Whitey" Haugan, 2007. Theological reflections of a mature preacher and pastor. 23. How to Read a Christian Book. A guide to selecting and reading Christian books as a Christian discipline. David L. McKenna, 2001
24. The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions, Marcus J. Borg & N.T. Wright, 1999. Two liberal and conservative scholars present their points of view.
25. Worship, Community & the Triune God of Grace, James B. Torrance, 1996. Significant explanations of current controversies, e.g. name of God as Father.
26. Lament for a Son, Nicholas Wolterstorff, 1987. Wonderful reflections on son's tragic death by Yale Christian philosopher. Processes grief. 27. The Little Red Book of Wisdom, Mark De Moss, 2007
28. Four Views on Hell, Zachary Hayes, Clark Pinnock, John Walvoord, William Crockett, 1996. Excellent.
29. The Miracle Detective, Randall Sullivan, 2004. Remarkable investigation of Holy Visions in the RC Church by a Rolling Stones journalist.
30. Watch For the Light: Readings for Advent and Christmas, 2001. Inspiring & challenging reflections by famous Christian writers.
31. The Complete Duty of Man, Henry Venn, 1763. Classic Anglican Evangelical theology.

"Wilberforce drew great strength from his private moments and passions. Mentally, he seemed to be sustained and fortified by his voracious reading. Books of hug variety, according to James Stephen, 'were all in turn either lightly skimmed, or diligently studied...He searched them to detect the various springs of human action, and their influence on the welfare of the great brotherhood he loved so well.' He read sermons, speeches, theology, the Greek New Testament, missionary accounts, legal commentaries, biographies and collections of letters, carrying a large number of books with him wherever he went so that he could skip from one to the other and enjoy favorite passages once more.

As Harford observed: 'His mental energy never flagged. We were often amused at the capacity of his pockets, which carried a greater number of books than would seem... credible: and his local memory was such that, drawing out any author, he seemed instantaneously to light on the passage which he wanted. In addition to the stores of his pockets, a large green bag full of books filled a corner of his carriage, and when we stopped at our inn in the evening it was his delight to have this bag into the parlour, and to spread part of its stores over the table. He kindled at the very sight of books.'" (William Wilberforce: The Life of the Great Anti-Slave Trade Campaigner by William Hague)

Philosophy, Psychology, Cultural Studies and Poetry

32. The Meaning of Persons, Paul Tournier, M.D., 1957
33. Selected Poems, Jack Clemo, 1988
34. Liquid Love, Zygmunt Bauman, 2003
35. Poetry of the Great War, ed. Dominic Hibberd & John Onions.
36. God and the Philosophers: The Reconciliation of Faith and Reason, ed. Thomas V. Morris.
37. International Kierkegaard Commentary, Vol 16, Works of Love, ed. Robert Perkins, 1999
38. Fear of Knowledge: against relativism and constructivism, Paul Boghossian, 2006.
39. God's Continent: Christianity, Islam, and Europe's Religious Crisis, Philip Jenkins, 2007. Comprehensive survey of trends in Europe. Hopeful.
40. Miracles, C.S. Lewis, 1947. More helpful at every reading. A classic. 41. Liquid Times: Living in an Age of Uncertainty, Zygmunt Bauman, 2007. Managing fears in modern society by a secular sociologist.
42. The Price of Peace: Just War in the Twenty-First Century. Edited by Charles Reed & David Ryall, 2007. Timely, thought-provoking. Excellent analysis of the war on terror, genocide & Iraq.
43. Is Religion Dangerous? Keith Ward, 2006. Effective response to atheistic criticism of religion from a talented philosopher and theologian. 44. Paradise Mislaid: How We Lost Heaven and How We Can Reclaim It, Jeffrey Burton Russell, 2006. A tour de force expose of skepticism and its contradictions with subsequent rehabilitation of belief in God and Heaven. Brilliant.
45. Pascal's Fire: Scientific Faith and Religious Understanding, Keith War, 2006. Theistic idealism and evolutionary theory.
46. Black Mass: Apocalyptic Religion and the Death of Utopia, John Gray, 2007. Historical review of the violent results of utopianism and a plea for realism, tolerance and the acceptance of diversity in world government and religion. Searing criticism of the Enlightenment, atheistic ideologies, and neo-conservatism, including the Iraq War.
47. A Secular Age, Charles Taylor. Brilliant and intellectually challenging survey of how secularism developed and its impact on Christianity. Analyses its weakness and the viability of the Christian alternative. Profound and persuasive.

Fiction

"I have found that great literature can enlarge our horizons concerning the human condition....with the familiarity of biblical authority there can grow a narrowness and moral complacency that needs to be challenged by the cultural complexities of human life. Poetry, literature, drama and art can help us explore these complexities, just as Jesus spoke in parables to challenge the moral complacency and conventional values of his times. Kafka wrote to his friend Oskar Plook in 1904, 'I think we ought to read only books that bite and sting us. If the book we are reading doesn't shake us awake like a blow on the skull, why bother reading it in the first place?' If it is only to make us happy, then we could find happiness more readily in other diversions. No, he concluded, 'a book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us.'

Identification with literary characters can reveal more comprehensively the full moral consequences of our own choices and actions. They are often spelled out in narrative and biographical form in a way that fits into our own personal situations. We may see the need to exorcise our own demons by seeing them depicted in the characters of the story. At the same time, literary escape into the plot helps us see how hard it is to face ourselves directly; the indirect approach - like the parable - can challenge us from behind our defenses.

Narration helps us reflect on the mistakes of others and warns us not to repeat them.. As Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk writes in The White Castle, 'You cannot embark on life, that one-off coach ride, once again when it is over. But if you have a book in your hand, no matter how complex or difficult to understand that book may be, when you have finished it, you can, if you wish, go back to the beginning, read it again, and thus understand that which is difficult and, with it, understand life as well.'

If God could use an ass to speak to Balaam, perhaps he can use a novel to teach us to accept life-changing events." James M. Houston, Joyful Exiles.

48. The Eye of God: A Medieval Mystery, C.L. Grace, 1994
49. My Name was Judas, C.K. Stead, 2006
50. The Scarlet Pimpernel, Baroness Orczy
51. Beau Brocade, Baroness Orczy
52. The Gate of Angels, Penelope Fitzgerald, 1990
53. Don't Call It Night, Amos Oz, 1994
54. Suite Francaise, Irene Nemirovsky, 2006. Superb
55. The Silent Angel, Heinrich Boll
56. The Velvet Cushion, John William Cunningham, 1814. A brief history of the Church of England told as a sort of fairy tale. A classic.
57. Black Box, Amos Oz, 1988 Eloquent novel of relationships by the eminent Israeli
58. Paul: A Novel, Walter Wangerin, 2000
59. The Great Captain, Honore Morrow, 1930. Trilogy, historical romance of the Lincoln White House.
60. The Rock. A Tale of Seventh-Century Jerusalem, Kanan Makiya, 2001. Scholarly description of how Islam developed & the Dome of the Rock was built.
61. Free Range Lanning, Max Brand (F.S. Faust), 1921. Western.
62. The Range Finder, Max Brand, 1925. Western
63. Blue Kingdom, Max Brand, 1929. Western
64. All Hallows' Eve, Charles Williams, Fantasy novel of the supernatural.
65. Dynamite Road, Andrew Klavan, 2003. Gritty, crime suspense mystery.
66. Shotgun Alley, Andrew Klavan, 2004. The Patty Hearst story.
67. Damnation Street, Andrew Klavan. Gritty mystery.
68. Halfhyde's Island, Philip McCutcheon, 1974, 2004. Nautical Victorian adventure.
69. Halfhyde and the Guns of Arrest, McCutcheon, 1977, 2004. Sequel. 70. Halfhyde to the Narrows, McCutcheon, 1978, 2004. Sequel.
71. Halfhyde for the Queen, McCutcheon, 1978, 2004. Sequel.
72. The Dying Trade, David Donachie, 1993, 2001. The Privateersman Mysteries: Nautical adventure in 1794.
73. A Hanging Matter, David Donachie, 1991, 2002. Sequel.
74. An Element of Chance, David Donachie, 1991,2002. Sequel.
75. The Scent of Betrayal, David Donachie, 1996,2003. Sequel
76. A Game of Bones, David Donachie, 1997, 2003. Sequel.
77. Love and Infamy: A novel of Pearl Harbor, Frank Deford, 1993
78. Swedish Folktales & Legends, ed. Lone Thygesen Blecher & George Blecher, 1993
79. The Story of Hereward: The Champion of England. Douglas C. Stedman, 1919
80. The Keeper's Son, Homer Hickam, 2003. Outer Banks of NC in WWII. Highyl recommended.
81. The Ambassador's Son, Homer Hickam, 2005. Solomon Islands in WWII.
82. The Romeo Flag, Carolyn Hougan, 1989, 2005. Cold War spy mystery.
83. The Damscene Blade, Barbara Cleverly, 2003. Mystery set in Indian NW Frontier in 1920

History, Biography and Memoirs

"Perhaps the current literary renaissance of biography - and there are excellent biographies being written - reflects a cultural need for continuity and a cohesive environment that is no longer evident." James M. Houston

84. The Invading Gospel, Jack Clemo, 1958 & 1970. The Christian manifesto of a distinguished British poet.
85. Thunderstruck, Erik Larson, 2006. Fascinating account of Marconi's development of wireless & Dr. Crippen's murder case.
86. Andrew Jackson: His Life and Times, H.W. Brands.
87. My Losing Season, Pat Conroy
88. Lincoln's Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fuelled his Greatness, Joshua Wolf Shenk, 2005
89. Voices From The Great War, Peter Vansittart, 1981
90. Lazarus, Andre Malraux, 1974
91. A History of the English Speaking Peoples Since 1900, Andrew Roberts, 2007
92. Power, Faith and Fantasy: America in the Middle East 1776 to the Present, Michael B. Oren, 2007. Essential survey of our involvement in the Middle East
93. The Eloquent President: A Portrait of Lincoln Through His Words, Ronald C. White, 2005. Illuminating and moving analysis.
94. One Bullet Away: The Making of a Marine Officer, Nathaniel Fick, 2005. A challenging odyssey of the making of a man in post 9/11 world.
95. I Dared to Call him Father: The Miraculous Story of a Muslim Woman's Encounter With God, Bilquis Sheikh with Richard H. Schneider, 1978 & 2003. Enthralling.
96. The Dance of the Dissident Daughter. A Woman's Journey from Christian Tradition to the Sacred Feminine, Sue Monk Kidd, 1996.
97. The Minister and the Choir-Singer: the Hall-Mills Murder Case, William M. Kunstler, 1964
98. Bright Star: Beatrice Hill Tinsley, Astronomer, Christine Cole Catley, 2006
99. William Wilberforce: The Life of the Great Anti-Slave Trade Campaigner, William Hague, 2007. First class treatment of an exemplary Christian statesman.
100. William Pitt the Younger, William Hague, 2004. Britain's youngest & second-longest Prime Minister during 23 years of war with France.
101. The Prince of Darkness. 50 years of Reporting in Washington, Robert D. Novak, 2007. Fascinating career & illuminating about politicians & journalists. Includes his account of his conversion from secular Jew to Roman Catholic.
102. Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith, Barbara Brown Taylor, 2006. The journey of do-goodist liberal preacher to panentheism. Beautifully written but void of any objective truth of Christ.
103. A Passionate Prodigality, Guy Chapman, 1933, 1966. One of the best memoirs of WWI.
104. The View of the Ocean, Jan de Hartog, 2007. The life and death of his mother.

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