Top Ten Favorite Books

Per a recent request of one of my readers, I would like to now list the top ten favorite books that I have already read. I have found this an infinitely harder exercise than the previous one because it necessitates picking and choosing between works of literature and theology, which ought to stand on their own merit and not be judged by such an unworthy and fickle reader as myself. I have found that this list has changed over the years due to the change of my interests, rereads, ruminating on the material, etc. As such, I offer this list with the following caveat: it is not written in stone, and there are many other works that I have read quite deserving of the list. However, thinking about it at this particular point in my life, here are my top ten favorite works in no particular order (though the first two are fairly cemented):

1. In Cold Blood - Truman Capote

(Launched a new genre - writing a true event as a story. Beautifully written and spellbounding. Of all the books on this list, I found this one the most difficult to put down.)

2. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

(Paints a beautiful picture of the South - and may have begun my love affair with it. Somehow weaves together the two seemingly unrelated stories of carefree childhood summers and racial injustice. It also gives us, in my opinion, one of the great characters of American literature, Atticus Finch. If my wife would let me, I would name my dog Boo Radley.)

(A side caveat, both writers hale from Monroeville, Alabama, the same town from which my great friend Matthew Glen Eubanks hails. I have told people that he will be the third famous writer from that town. A fine biography on Harper Lee, which includes her significant contribution to In Cold Blood is Mockingbird by Charles J. Shields. Though not making my top ten, it is a great read for anyone interested in those two figures.)

3. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald

(Paints a picture of 1920s America almost as effectively as Harper Lee does of the South. Though simple enough for a high schooler to appreciate, the layers in this book are thick. Worth a reread if you haven't read it since high school. We never abandon our first love.)

4. Against Heresies - St. Irenaeus

(Written at the end of the second century to combat the rising heresy of Gnosticism, it is rightfully hailed as the first work of systematic theology. Irenaeus shows how the resurrection is God's redemption of creation, instead of its overturning. This book is one of the reasons I fell in love with theology and the Fathers of the church.)

5. The Confessions - St. Augustine

(This is the first, and still the standard, spiritual autobiography. It shows us that even a giant of the church, as Augustine was, still struggles and still needs to find solace in the grace of God.)

6. The Name of the Rose - Umberto Eco

(A modern classic. Absolutely captivating piece of mystery and historical fiction. I recommend reading it with a group of friends in order to discuss it. This is how I read it and I think it made the read much more valuable.)

7. The Great Divorce - C.S. Lewis

(An allegory of heaven and hell; the symbolism is thick and rich. Paints a beautiful picture of God and his hope for humanity.)

8. The Jungle - Upton Sinclair

(Singlehandedly led to meat packing reforms of the early twentieth century. Weaves together historical fact and the struggles of a fictional immigrant family struggling to survive in early America beautifully.)

9. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil - John Berendt

(An unbelievably fascinating read. A must for anyone who is the lover of quaint characters and the South, particularly Savannah. The town itself is the main character. Solidified the mystique of the South for me.)

10. The Seven Storey Mountain - Thomas Merton

(The late Thomas Merton was a Trappist monk at a monastery about an hour and a half from where I lived in Kentucky. This is the story of his life to the point of his entering the monastery. While Augustine's might have been the first, Merton's in my opinion is the best sample of spiritual autobiography. You will fall in love with the man and, hopefully, his God.)

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As I recently wrote to an anonymous post, I would encourage my readers to post their favorite reads. Sharing our favorites with one another will encourage us to read and spark other ideas of what we have read that we have loved.