OK, I got tagged on Facebook to list 10 books that have stayed with me in some way. The instructions also say, “Don’t take more than a few minutes and do not think too hard. They do not have to be the “right” books or great works of literature, just ones that have affected you in some way.” I thought I’d try and do that here:

• The Happy Hollisters – Why would I list this book? Because it was a jump into “real” literature, or so it seemed at the time. My sisters had this book (two of them, though I’m not sure which titles). These were hard-backed chapter books, the first I ever read.
• The Tales of Edgar Allen Poe – Too young to pick up on Poe’s emotional issues, I enjoyed the twists that he put into his stories (Borges would later delight me in the same way). When I’ve had to write short stories, I’ve liked to have a surprise or two along the way.
• More Strange But True Football Stories – I read voraciously as a youngster, but by far, my favorite books were books about sports. I list this as representative of the dozens and dozens of such books I read.
• The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings (Tolkien)
• How To Talk To God (Winward) – A simple book on prayer that came along at a good time in my life.
• The Friendship Factor (McGinnis) – Reading this while in college was a great help to an introvert like me.
• My Utmost For His Highest (Chambers) – This book was given to me at a special time in my life and still moves me with its short, simple messages.
• Celebration of Discipline (Foster) – My introduction to the spiritual disciplines.
• How To Read The Bible For All Its Worth (Fee & Stuart) – Coming at a time when I was rethinking how I approach the Bible, this book was an important part of that process.
• Mere Christianity – My introduction to C.S. Lewis
• Mere Discipleship (Camp) – I had already begun questioning much of what I’d learned about citizenship and patriotism. This book drove home the point that following Jesus and following a country are not compatible.

What would your list look like?