My Most Important Books, rev.
BOOKS THAT SIGNIFICANTLY INFLUENCED MY LIFE
(whether they should have or not)
TOM JOHNSON – September 2010
FICTION
Berry Wendell, the novels, esp. Jayber Crow
Bunyan, John, Pilgrim’s Progress
Camus, Albert, The Stranger
Carroll, Lewis, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Endo, Shusako, Silence
The Golden Books (children’s books)
Homer, The Iliad and The Odyssey
Howatch, Susan (the Starbridge Novels)
Huxley, Aldous, Brave New World
Irving, John (the novels)
Lewis, C.S., The Narnia Chronicles, The Space Trilogy, et al.
MacDonald, George, Lilith
Maugham, W. Somerset, Of Human Bondage
Mother Goose Stories
Orwell, George, 1984 and Animal Farm
Pirsig, Robert, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Potok, Chaim (all the novels)
Russell, Mary Doria, The Sparrow
Shakespeare, William (all the plays, esp. the tragedies)
Tolkien, J.R.R., The Hobbitt, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Twain, Mark, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer
Updike, John (all the novels)
Williams, Charles (all the novels)
Young, William P., The Shack
RELIGIOUS or ABOUT RELIGION
Abhishiktananda, Prayer
Apostolic Fathers, The
Baillie, John, A Diary of Private Prayer
Bainton, Roland, Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther
Barclay, William (all, esp. the commentaries)
Beckwith, Paul, ed., Hymns (Intervarsity Press)
Berger, Peter, The Heretical Imperative and The Sacred Canopy
Bhagavad Gita, The
Bible, The (KJV, RSV with Apocrypha)
Bonhoeffer, Dietrich (all the theological writings)
Book of Common Prayer, The
Book of Order, The (PCUSA)
Brown, Raymond E. (all the biblical studies)
Bruce, F. F. (all the biblical studies)
Brunner, Emil (all the theological works)
Bultmann, Rudolf, Existence and Faith and The Theology of the New Testament
Calvin, John, The Institute of the Christian Religion (2 vols.)
Carnell, Edward John, A Philosophy of the Christian Religion, and An Introduction to Christian
Apologetics
Cloud of Unknowing, The (ed., William Johnston)
Cullmann, Oscar, Christ and Time and Salvation in History
Davies, W.D., Paul and Rabbinic Judaism
Dead Sea Scrolls, The
De Caussade, Jean-Pierre, Abandonment to Divine Providence
De Mello, Anthony, Awareness
Dunn, James D. G., Unity and Diversity in the New Testament
Foster, Richard, A Celebration of Discipline and Prayer
Fowler, James W., Stages of Faith
Frykholm, Amy, Julian of Norwich: A Contemplative Biography and Rapture Culture
Girzone, Joseph, A Portrait of Jesus
Grenz, Stanley J., Theology for the Community of God
Gutierrez, Gustavo, A Theology of Liberation
Hammond, T.C., In Understanding Be Men
Hick, John, Evil and the God of Love, The Existence of God, and Philosophy of Religion
Holmes, Arthur, All Truth Is God’s Truth, The Idea of a Christian College, and Faith Seeks
Understanding
Hordern, William, A Layman’s Guide to Protestant Theology
Hunter, A. M. (biblical and theological studies)
Johnson, Thomas F., The Antitheses of the Elder, and 1,2,3 John (NIBC commentary)
Julian of Norwich, Showings, or Revelations of Divine Love
Keating, Thomas, Invitation to Love and Open Heart, Open Mind
Kelly, Thomas R., A Testament of Devotion
Kempis, Thomas à, The Imitation of Christ
Ladd, George E., A Theology of the New Testament
Larson, Bruce (Faith at Work writings)
LaSor, Wm. S., Hubbard, D., and Bush, F. W., Old Testament Survey
Lawrence, Brother, The Practice of the Presence of God
Lewis, C. S. (all the theology)
Luther, Martin, The Three Treatises
Malina, Bruce, The New Testament World: Insights from Cultural Anthropology
Manning, Brennan, The Ragamuffin Gospel, Ruthless Trust, and Abba’s Child
Marsden, George, Reforming Fundamentalism
McDonald, George, Unspoken Sermons
McLaren, Brian, A New Kind of Christian
Merton, Thomas, New Seeds of contemplation
Miller, Keith (Faith at Work writings)
Mulholland, M. Robert Jr., Invitation to a Journey
Munger, Robert Boyd, My Heart, Christ’s Home
Murphy, Roland E. (all the biblical studies)
Nee Watchman, The Normal Christian Life
Niebuhr, H. Richard, Christ and Culture
Nouwen, Henri (everything)
Packer, J. I., Knowing God
Pennington, Basil, Centering Prayer
Phillips, J. B., Your God Is Too Small
Pinnock, Clark, The Openness of God and Unbounded Love
Ramm, Bernard (all the theological writings)
Ramsey, Paul, Basic Christian Ethics
Rinker, Ros, Prayer: Conversing with God
Sider, Ron, Christ and Violence and Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger
Sire, James W., The Universe Next Door: A Basic Worldview Catalog
Smith, D. Moody (all the biblical studies)
Stott, John R. W., Basic Christianity, The Cross of Christ, all the commentaries
Talbott, Thomas, The Inescapable Love of God
Tillich, Paul (all)
Tozer, A. W. (all the spiritual-theological writings)
Tugwell, Simon, Ways of Imperfection
Whale, J. S., Christian Doctrine and The Protestant Tradition
Whiston, Charles, Pray and When Ye Pray, Say Our Father
Whitely, D. E. H., The Theology of St. Paul
NOT PRIMARILY RELIGIOUS
Adams, Henry, Mont St. Michel and Chartres
Adler, Mortimer, How to Read a Book
Bennis, Warren, On Becoming a Leader
Berger, Peter, The Social Construction of Reality (with Thomas Luckman)
Buber, Martin, I and Thou
Carnegie, Dale, How to Win Friends and Influence People
Copleston, Frederick, A History of Philosophy (3 vols.)
Covey, Stephen R., The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
Dana, H.E. and Mantey, J., A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament
Detroit Free Press, The (1950-61, 1971-76)
Dyer, Wayne (all)
Eisley, Loren, The Immense Journey
Frankl, Viktor, Man’s Search for Meaning
Goffmann, Erving, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life
Janson, H. W., History of Art
King, Martin Luther, The Strength to Love and Why We Can’t Wait
Knowles, Malcolm, Self-Directed Learning
Kuhn, Thomas, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
Long, Edward, War and Conscience in America
Malcom X and Alex Haley, The Autobiography of Malcolm X
May, Gerald, Addiction and Grace
Metzger, Bruce, Lexical Aids for Students of New Testament Greek
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
Mortenson, Greg, Three Cups of Tea
Norris, Kathleen, Dakota
Palmer, Parker, To Know As We Are Known and The Courage to Teach
Panofsky, Erwin, Gothic Architecture and Scholasticism
Peale, Norman Vincent, The Power of Positive Thinking
Peck, M. Scott, The Road Less Traveled and Further Along the Road Less Traveled
Plato, The Dialogues of Plato
Robert’s Rules of Order
Rogers, Carl, On Becoming a Person
Strunk, William and E. B. White, The Elements of Style
Wallbank, T.W. and Alastair Taylor, Civilization: Past and Present
There are many other books in the fiction and non-religious nonfiction that I cannot recall. Every once in a while, I see someone else’s list of the “best books” and think, “Oh yeah, that was important to me too.” So, I’ll keep reading and revising the list.
(whether they should have or not)
TOM JOHNSON – September 2010
FICTION
Berry Wendell, the novels, esp. Jayber Crow
Bunyan, John, Pilgrim’s Progress
Camus, Albert, The Stranger
Carroll, Lewis, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Endo, Shusako, Silence
The Golden Books (children’s books)
Homer, The Iliad and The Odyssey
Howatch, Susan (the Starbridge Novels)
Huxley, Aldous, Brave New World
Irving, John (the novels)
Lewis, C.S., The Narnia Chronicles, The Space Trilogy, et al.
MacDonald, George, Lilith
Maugham, W. Somerset, Of Human Bondage
Mother Goose Stories
Orwell, George, 1984 and Animal Farm
Pirsig, Robert, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Potok, Chaim (all the novels)
Russell, Mary Doria, The Sparrow
Shakespeare, William (all the plays, esp. the tragedies)
Tolkien, J.R.R., The Hobbitt, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Twain, Mark, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer
Updike, John (all the novels)
Williams, Charles (all the novels)
Young, William P., The Shack
RELIGIOUS or ABOUT RELIGION
Abhishiktananda, Prayer
Apostolic Fathers, The
Baillie, John, A Diary of Private Prayer
Bainton, Roland, Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther
Barclay, William (all, esp. the commentaries)
Beckwith, Paul, ed., Hymns (Intervarsity Press)
Berger, Peter, The Heretical Imperative and The Sacred Canopy
Bhagavad Gita, The
Bible, The (KJV, RSV with Apocrypha)
Bonhoeffer, Dietrich (all the theological writings)
Book of Common Prayer, The
Book of Order, The (PCUSA)
Brown, Raymond E. (all the biblical studies)
Bruce, F. F. (all the biblical studies)
Brunner, Emil (all the theological works)
Bultmann, Rudolf, Existence and Faith and The Theology of the New Testament
Calvin, John, The Institute of the Christian Religion (2 vols.)
Carnell, Edward John, A Philosophy of the Christian Religion, and An Introduction to Christian
Apologetics
Cloud of Unknowing, The (ed., William Johnston)
Cullmann, Oscar, Christ and Time and Salvation in History
Davies, W.D., Paul and Rabbinic Judaism
Dead Sea Scrolls, The
De Caussade, Jean-Pierre, Abandonment to Divine Providence
De Mello, Anthony, Awareness
Dunn, James D. G., Unity and Diversity in the New Testament
Foster, Richard, A Celebration of Discipline and Prayer
Fowler, James W., Stages of Faith
Frykholm, Amy, Julian of Norwich: A Contemplative Biography and Rapture Culture
Girzone, Joseph, A Portrait of Jesus
Grenz, Stanley J., Theology for the Community of God
Gutierrez, Gustavo, A Theology of Liberation
Hammond, T.C., In Understanding Be Men
Hick, John, Evil and the God of Love, The Existence of God, and Philosophy of Religion
Holmes, Arthur, All Truth Is God’s Truth, The Idea of a Christian College, and Faith Seeks
Understanding
Hordern, William, A Layman’s Guide to Protestant Theology
Hunter, A. M. (biblical and theological studies)
Johnson, Thomas F., The Antitheses of the Elder, and 1,2,3 John (NIBC commentary)
Julian of Norwich, Showings, or Revelations of Divine Love
Keating, Thomas, Invitation to Love and Open Heart, Open Mind
Kelly, Thomas R., A Testament of Devotion
Kempis, Thomas à, The Imitation of Christ
Ladd, George E., A Theology of the New Testament
Larson, Bruce (Faith at Work writings)
LaSor, Wm. S., Hubbard, D., and Bush, F. W., Old Testament Survey
Lawrence, Brother, The Practice of the Presence of God
Lewis, C. S. (all the theology)
Luther, Martin, The Three Treatises
Malina, Bruce, The New Testament World: Insights from Cultural Anthropology
Manning, Brennan, The Ragamuffin Gospel, Ruthless Trust, and Abba’s Child
Marsden, George, Reforming Fundamentalism
McDonald, George, Unspoken Sermons
McLaren, Brian, A New Kind of Christian
Merton, Thomas, New Seeds of contemplation
Miller, Keith (Faith at Work writings)
Mulholland, M. Robert Jr., Invitation to a Journey
Munger, Robert Boyd, My Heart, Christ’s Home
Murphy, Roland E. (all the biblical studies)
Nee Watchman, The Normal Christian Life
Niebuhr, H. Richard, Christ and Culture
Nouwen, Henri (everything)
Packer, J. I., Knowing God
Pennington, Basil, Centering Prayer
Phillips, J. B., Your God Is Too Small
Pinnock, Clark, The Openness of God and Unbounded Love
Ramm, Bernard (all the theological writings)
Ramsey, Paul, Basic Christian Ethics
Rinker, Ros, Prayer: Conversing with God
Sider, Ron, Christ and Violence and Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger
Sire, James W., The Universe Next Door: A Basic Worldview Catalog
Smith, D. Moody (all the biblical studies)
Stott, John R. W., Basic Christianity, The Cross of Christ, all the commentaries
Talbott, Thomas, The Inescapable Love of God
Tillich, Paul (all)
Tozer, A. W. (all the spiritual-theological writings)
Tugwell, Simon, Ways of Imperfection
Whale, J. S., Christian Doctrine and The Protestant Tradition
Whiston, Charles, Pray and When Ye Pray, Say Our Father
Whitely, D. E. H., The Theology of St. Paul
NOT PRIMARILY RELIGIOUS
Adams, Henry, Mont St. Michel and Chartres
Adler, Mortimer, How to Read a Book
Bennis, Warren, On Becoming a Leader
Berger, Peter, The Social Construction of Reality (with Thomas Luckman)
Buber, Martin, I and Thou
Carnegie, Dale, How to Win Friends and Influence People
Copleston, Frederick, A History of Philosophy (3 vols.)
Covey, Stephen R., The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
Dana, H.E. and Mantey, J., A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament
Detroit Free Press, The (1950-61, 1971-76)
Dyer, Wayne (all)
Eisley, Loren, The Immense Journey
Frankl, Viktor, Man’s Search for Meaning
Goffmann, Erving, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life
Janson, H. W., History of Art
King, Martin Luther, The Strength to Love and Why We Can’t Wait
Knowles, Malcolm, Self-Directed Learning
Kuhn, Thomas, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
Long, Edward, War and Conscience in America
Malcom X and Alex Haley, The Autobiography of Malcolm X
May, Gerald, Addiction and Grace
Metzger, Bruce, Lexical Aids for Students of New Testament Greek
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
Mortenson, Greg, Three Cups of Tea
Norris, Kathleen, Dakota
Palmer, Parker, To Know As We Are Known and The Courage to Teach
Panofsky, Erwin, Gothic Architecture and Scholasticism
Peale, Norman Vincent, The Power of Positive Thinking
Peck, M. Scott, The Road Less Traveled and Further Along the Road Less Traveled
Plato, The Dialogues of Plato
Robert’s Rules of Order
Rogers, Carl, On Becoming a Person
Strunk, William and E. B. White, The Elements of Style
Wallbank, T.W. and Alastair Taylor, Civilization: Past and Present
There are many other books in the fiction and non-religious nonfiction that I cannot recall. Every once in a while, I see someone else’s list of the “best books” and think, “Oh yeah, that was important to me too.” So, I’ll keep reading and revising the list.
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