Monday, September 22, 2014

List Ten Books That...



My brother recently challenged me and my sisters to 'list 10 books that have stayed with you or affected you in some way.'

Turns out my real challenge was not to find 10 books for the list, but to keep the list to 10. That was nigh impossible for this girl. In truth I probably have more like 100 books that I could list as having stayed or affected me in some way. But to follow the rules: 
  • List 10 books that have stayed with you or affected you in some way.
  • Don't take more than a few minutes and don't think too hard.
  • They don't have to be "right" books or great works of literature.
  • Challenge friends to do the same.



  Except for my bible, this list is in no particular order ...

1. My Bible. Heavily-underlined and starred, it’s my ‘go-to’. The Book of Psalms is a top favourite.

2. Rose in Bloom by Lousia May Alcott, Sequel in Little Women series. The loving, trusting relationship between young Rose and her guardian uncle gave me a beautiful picture of how love gives one the ability to trust… and then obey. My relationship with Jesus started to be became a love affair as a result.

3. First I loved the red-headed snippet Anne of Green Gables and later I fell in love with her creator, L.M. Montgomery.

4. His Gentle Voice, author’s name long forgotten. The true story of a young woman who, in her desire to meet her life partner and be a missionary, learned to listen for His gentle voice. It was the first time I’d ever felt God nudging me to a specific book to read.

5. Living a Beautiful Life by Alexandra Stoddard. She became my mentor for living life more beautifully in every way.

6. From the Father’s Heart by Charles Slagle. Written as short notes and letters from Father God to the author. The Father became a real Person to me, someone with whom I could share real conversation and my daily stuff. It changed my concept of God.

7. Heaven, The Heart’s Deepest Longing by Peter Kreeft. Years ago I didn’t know why I had this ever-present homesickness down deep inside. When I saw Kreeft’s book sitting on a library cart it was as if it was there waiting for me. It confirmed what my heart began to know -- I was homesick for Eden, for what we lost in the beginning... and for heaven, what we look forward to in the end. Interesting, once I recognized that was what I was pining for, the homesick feeling resolved, I think because I knew one day it would resolve for real. And so it was okay to feel this way.

8. Martin Luther – Reflections from His Writings. Especially the essay The Freedom of a Christian -- the divine exchange of the Bride’s brokenness for the Bridegroom’s glory. I fell more in love with Jesus, the Bridegroom.

9. Ordering Your Private World by Gordon MacDonald. I was happy to learn that I wasn’t the only one who struggled with feeling disorganized and over-busy on the wrong things. MacDonald shared some helpful things for me.

10. If You Want to Write by Brenda Ueland. I turn to it whenever I need inspiration or encouragement in my writing life. Love that my last name and hers are similar.

Adding List Two:
  1. At Home From Mitford by Jan Karon
  2. The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister
  3. The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning
  4. Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
  5. Love the Way to Victory by Kenneth E. Hagin
  6. The Winged Life by Hannah Hurnard
  7. A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vaunaken
  8. Heidi by Johanna Spry
  9. Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
  10. Bobbsey Twins at the Seashore by Laura Lee Hope
Adding List Thee:
  1. Life of the Beloved by Henri J.M. Nouwen
  2. The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence
  3. Walden and Other Writings by Henry David Thoreau
  4. My Dream of Heaven by Rebecca Ruter Springer
  5. The Shack by William Young
  6. One Hundred Names for Love by Diane Ackerman
  7. Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
  8. Walking on Water by Madeleine L'Engle
  9. The Right to Write by Julia Cameron
  10. Keeping the Feast (memoir) by Paula Butterini
Adding List Four:
  1. Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher
  2. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
  3. The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery
  4. Man's Search for Meaning by Victor F. Frankl
  5. Surprised by Oxford by Carolyn Weber 
  6. Delighting God by Victoria Brooks
  7. Mr. Popper's Penguins (children's) by Richard and Florence Atwater
  8. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
  9. Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
  10. Not My Will (teen novel) by Francena H. Arnold   ...


What are the first ten books that come to your mind?
Wanna share here or on your blog?


Wishing you a*´¨)
> ¸.·´¸.·*´¨) ¸.·*¨)
> (¸.·´ (¸.·´ * bookish kind of day! *

Hugs,
Brenda
xox

7 comments:

  1. The Bible
    Hidden Art by Edith Schaeffer
    Anne of Green Gables
    Little Women
    Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry
    Life in Jesus by Octavius Winslow
    The Brothers Karamazov
    The Wind in the Willows
    The Lord of the Rings trilogy
    Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskill

    This is too hard! I have so many favorites not listed here; I also love A. Stoddard's early books, and An Old Fashioned Girl is my favorited other L.M. Alcott book. Also like Brenda Ueland. Love Elizabeth Goudge, Dorothy Sayers, Miss Reed, Rosamunde Pilcher, Wendell Berry. Maybe I'll do a post. I'm going to be checking out some of your books here.
    Thanks brenda, have a good week. xo, Deborah

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Brenda!
    I love the books you have chosen that have touched your life and how beautifully you've described
    how they have moved you! Thank you.
    I would love to do this as well and will post in on my blog.
    Have a wonderful day!
    http://purehunnybee.blogspot.ca

    With all my heart...Deborah

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh my GOODNESS, Brenda. That was a fabulous list of books. I'm going to have to copy that for future reading reference.

    I love Alexandra Stoddard and have numerous books of hers. Also love Susan Branch! The Anne of Green Gables books have always been among my faves.

    I think the Number One most influential book in my entire life, besides the Bible, is Norman Vincent Peale's The Power of Positive Thinking.

    Soooo many wonderful books, so little time in which to enjoy them. Susan

    ReplyDelete
  4. Well... if you think the lists are done... I've been remembering more lovely books I read as a young girl that stayed with me in some way.

    1. Any and all Nancy Drew mysteries
    2. Same with the Hardy Boys
    3. Anything by Victoria Holt (gothic romance)
    4. my very first beautifully illustrated Germeier's Bible Story Book -- well loved, well thumbed
    5. The story of Booker T. Washington and his peanut story
    6. all the Agatha Christie mysteries
    7. Black Beauty -- I read it as a young girl and have never read it since -- for it haunted me that this beautiful creature was so cruelly treated in the middle of the story. It stayed with me a very long time.
    8. I loved the Grade1 and Grade 2 readers (with Tom and Susan, Betty, Flip and Pony).
    9. Fairy Tales like Rapunzel, Cinderella, Snow White, Pinocchio (B.D. = before Disney movies)
    10. Little Women

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great lists, Brenda. My challenge didn't come with all of the other rules, so I did take my time with my list, but yes there are many, many more books I could have listed, as well.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh Brenda - such a great list that you have made. Some of course I have read but you have lots I have never had the chance to read...I will be checking these out. Naturally the Bible is my top one and after that Max Lucado's books, Joyce Meyer, love Jan Karon's Mitford series, and the list goes on. May just have to use this for a blog topic. Have a great day. P.S. Thanks for sharing - I know I will be looking for some of those titles the next time I am at the library or bookstore!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm catching up on blog posts. Writing down all the books that have influenced me or I've enjoyed would take many lists - just like you. Off the top of my head:
    1. The Bible
    2. Room at the Top (a children's book, can't remember the author's name, but it began with O and had a hard yellow cover so I knew where to find it in the school library) (I read it many times)
    3. The Blue Castle (L M Montgomery)
    4. The Light Between Oceans (M. L. Stedman) (read in the past couple of years)
    5. Eight Cousins (Louisa May Alcott)
    6. Still Life (Louise Penny) along with the other 9 Inspector Gamache books
    7. Frenchman's Creek (Daphne DuMaurier)
    8. Anne of Green Gables series (L. M. Montgomery)
    9. On Writing (Stephen King)
    10. Living a Beautiful Life (Alexandra Stoddard)

    I wrote them as they came to mind - but now many more are flowing into my brain. Fun exercise.

    ReplyDelete

To My Beautiful Readers,

Some people come into our lives, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never the same. ~ Franz Peter Schubert

Thank you so much for leaving your 'footprint' here in my comment box. I do appreciate you taking a moment to share your thoughts today.

Brenda xo