Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire.—Gustav Mahler

Wednesday, June 08, 2005

The Blogger Reading Circle

Samford prof. and Southern Appeal blogger Michael Debow recently sent me his post encouraging various bloggers (including me as the TRC representative) to answer the questions below.

1) How many books do I own?

Probably about 500-700 well-culled volumes. I've shed at least that many in moves over the years.

2) What’s the last book I bought?

The Crisis of Church and State, 1050-1300 by Brian Tierney. Haven't read it, yet, but it's a new classic.

3) What’s the last book I read?

Jonathan Edwards, A Life by George Marsden. Extraordinarily informative about life in 18th century New England. Very thick, but very edifying.

4) What are the 5 books that mean the most to me? (I'm assuming we mean other than the Bible --HB)

I could just list Walker Percy titles here, but I'll try to be more open.

1. Lancelot by Walker Percy. Magnificent book. I went out and bought everything else by Percy right away and read all of it. A southern liberal discovers the existence of evil and draws some radical conclusions.

2. Witness by Whittaker Chambers. I can not think of a book that sums up the Cold War better.

3. In God's Underground by Richard Wurmbrand. Want to know what it was like to be an unsilent Christian behind the Iron Curtain? This is it.

4. The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene. Yes, I know Graham Greene was a bad Catholic. It's still true art.

5. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. This is the full flower of the materialist worldview.

Honorable Mention: Roland Bainton's Here I Stand, a life of Martin Luther. No anti-Catholic sentiment intended, by the way. Just a great story about an amazing individual.

Next Honorable Mention: Born Again by Charles Colson.

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