1. What author do you own the most books by? Three way tie between Elisabeth Elliot, Frank Viola, Watchman Nee. I was surprised to find I owned so many titles by Nee.
2. What book do you own the most copies of? The Bible, of course. I also collect hymnals and just counted 40. My favorite is a facsimile of the original 1779 "Olney Hymns" by John Newton and William Cowper.
3. Did it bother you that both those questions ended with prepositions? No--I end sentences all the time with prepositions and don't even realize when I do it.
4. What fictional character are you secretly in love with? I have read hundreds of books in my life time but can't recall any characters that I am secretly in love with.
5. What book have you read the most times in your life? The Bible.
6. Favorite book as a ten year old? I loved any book I could get my hands on about the Civil War. If there were pictures, that was even better!
7. What is the worst book you’ve read in the past year? I don't read bad books. My rule of thumb is if a book doesn't capture my interest in the first 100 pages I will simply stop reading and usually never pick it up again. However, it has been a couple of years now since I last failed to finish a book once started.
8. What is the best book you’ve read in the past year? I don't know if it was the best but definitely the most helpful to me personally was "Walking With God" by John Eldredge. I give it my highest recommendation.
9. If you could force everyone you know to read one book, what would it be? Of all the questions, this is the hardest for me to answer. There are just too many good books out there that I would like everyone to read, and too many categories from which to choose! OK...one might be Rob Bell's "Velvet Elvis" and another J. Eldredge's "The Sacred Romance" or maybe Don Miller's "Blue Like Jazz."
10. What book would you most like to see made into a movie? I've heard that William P. Young's "The Shack" is being made into a movie. If done well, I think it could have a profound impact on its viewing audience. Close follow-ups would be "The Heavenly Man" by Brother Yun, and Barbara Kingsolver's "The Poisonwood Bible."
11. What is the most difficult book you’ve ever read? Miguel de Cervantes "Don Quijote de la Mancha" in the original 1615 version for an advanced Spanish class I took in Costa Rica (I understood only about 20% and guessed at the rest!)
12. What is your favorite devotional book? A tie between Oswald Chambers "My Utmost for His Highest" and "Dare to Journey with Henri Nouwen" by Charles Ringma.
13. What is your favorite play? "The Mouse Trap" by Agatha Christie, the longest run of any play in the world. My wife and I saw this classic in London and count the evening as one of our most memorable.
14. Poem? "The World Is Too Much With Us" by William Wordsworth
15. Essay? "On Church Music" by C.S. Lewis.
16. Who is the most overrated writer alive today? The lady who writes all the Harry Potter books. I just hope my wife and son don't see this, because they are both huge HP fans.
17. What is your desert island book? The Message.
18. And...what are you reading right now? I just finished "The Rabbit and the Elephant" by Tony & Felicity Dale and George Barna (hope to blog on it soon--great book!), and have started "Animal Farm" by George Orwell.
Feel free to "tag yourself" and answer the questions. If you do so, leave a comment below so we can go over and check out some of your favorite books.
4 comments:
Hi Guy,
I noticed that your wife commented on her blog about a book she read called "The Final Quest" by Rick Joyner. Have you had a chance to read it? That book is an amazing read, one of my personal faves together with "The Spiritual Man" by W. Nee
I was actually going to pick up a copy of "Velvet Elvis" myself, but I noticed that some of R. Bell's Theology seems to be a little off-kilter lately. Haven't checked out Velvet Elvis though.
Blessings my friend. BTW great story on the Salazar family.
Gabryel
Gabryel,
Yes I have read the "Final Quest" and was greatly impacted by its message. That's the problem, there are just too many good books out there! Another "must read" that wasn't included would have to Reggie McNeal's "The Present Future".
Rob Bell is always an interesting read, whether you agree with everything he says or not. A couple of months back, I read his eye-opening "Jesus wants to save Christians". We get a bit smug in our thinking we have things figured out. Books like these are a wake-up call. I guess that's why Bell appeals to me.
I read John Eldridge's latest last year and agree that it was invaluable.
Whenever I get out of focus I pick up Rick Joyner's 'the Vision' which is the 'Final Quest' plus 'The Call' (which was a follow up). He puts my head back in the Kingdom perspective and refocuses me on Jesus every time.
Strider,
My wife read "The Final Quest" in one sitting and was the one who convinced me to do the same! It was sent to us by another M serving in S. America. I think Joyner is spot on with his analysis of the current state of Christendom. I agree that it is a book which quickly refocuses us on the King and the Kingdom.
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