Personal Book Survey

1. What author do you own the most books by? Fiction: Jeffrey Archer. Non-Fiction: Elisabeth Elliot. I was surprised to find I owned so many titles by Watchman Nee and Amy Carmichael.

2. What book do you own the most copies of? The Bible. I also collect hymnals and just counted 37 sitting on my bookshelf. 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? 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 now been a couple of years since I last failed to finish a book that I have started reading.

8. What is one of the best books you’ve ever read? I don't know if it was the best but definitely one of the most helpful to me personally was “Walking With God” by John Eldredge. I highly recommend this book.

9. If you could force everyone you know to read one book, what would that book 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. 

OK...here are some I'd like to "force" on certain people I know: “Love Does” by Bob Goff, “Mere Christianity” by C.S. Lewis, "Velvet Elvis" by Rob Bell, "The Sacred Romance" by Eldredge and Curtis, "Blue Like Jazz" by Don Miller. All of these express for me the essence of what Christianity is all about without all the religion that distracts from Jesus’ teachings.

10. What book would you most like to see made into a movie? I understand 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. Other possibilities would be “Bruchko” by Bruce Olson, or maybe 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.

17. What is your desert island book? The Message.

18. What are you reading right now? “Biblical Foundations of Freedom” by Art Mathias, “Psychology” by David Myers and Nathan DeWall, “The Book of Mysteries” by Jonathan Cahn, and “The Gospels” by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

19. The “Top Ten” books that personally impacted your life? (You don’t have to necessarily agree with everything they write.)

1.     “Love Does” – Bob Goff

2.     “Walking With God” – John Eldredge

3.     “Shadow Of The Almighty” – Elisabeth Elliot

4.     “Houses That Change The World” – Wolfgang Simson

5.     “Blue Like Jazz” – Donald Miller

6.     “Hind’s Feet On High Places” – Hannah Hurnard

7.     “Organic Church” – Neil Cole

8.     “Velvet Elvis” – Rob Bell

9.     “The Sacred Romance” – Brent Curtis and John Eldredge

10. “The Shack” – William Paul Young

[Honorable mentions: “Prayer” by O. Hallesby, “Heaven on Earth” by R. Alan Streett, “Heaven” by Randy Alcorn, “Pagan Christianity” and “Reimagining Church” by Frank Viola, “The Present Future” by Reggie McNeal, “Love Wins” by Rob Bell, “The Shaping Of Things To Come” by Michael Frost & Alan Hirsch—all of these are books that have greatly impacted my thinking.]

20. Five authors who have most influenced your thinking (again, one does not have to agree with everything they write.)

1.     John Eldredge

2.     Philip Yancey

3.     Elisabeth Elliot

4.     Neil Cole

5.     Rob Bell

Honorable mentions: Watchman Nee, Frank Viola, Wolfgang Simson, Tony & Felicity Dale, A.W. Tozer, and Henri Nouwen.

Feel free to copy the questions and fill in your own answers. If you do so, please leave a comment below so we can check out some of your favorite books.