Books of Truth

One of the most fundamental aspects of our lives as humans is the way we spend our leisure time.  Most people today associate leisure with laziness.  Our leisure should be time spend pursuing things that better ourselves, not just basking in the comfy confines of the television.  As such, reading is one of, if not the, most important leisurely activity.  What we read actively defines our pursuits as humans.  We should be more than reading for pleasure.  We should take pleasure in reading and learning about the truth of God's universe.  I will be honest - I don't read near as much as I should.  Life is busy and distractions are high.  Never the less, I have read some books.  As many as I should have if I was an ideal person at this point in my life?  Not even close.  To say anything to the contrary would be to flaunt my lack of wisdom.  Nonetheless, with my limited knowledge, here is my own top 10 list of books every Christian should read (in addition to the Bible, obviously).


1.  Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton


To sum up this book in a couple of sentences would be like trying to describe love to a frog by only ribbitting.  Instead, here is the American Chesterton Society's description.  (Fun fact, I'm officially a proud member of that society!!)

"If you only read one book by Chesterton – well then shame on you – but if you only read one book by Chesterton, it has to be Orthodoxy. But don’t compound your shame by thinking you can get away with reading it only once. Or only twice.... When you read the book a second time, completely different sentences will jump off the page at you, leading you to conclude that Chesterton has somehow managed to re-write the book since the first time you read it."


Essentially it is Chesterton's own defense of Christendom.  It is beautifully written, starkly true, and profound on a level that I have yet to find its rival.  It is not an easy read but it is more than worth the effort!


2.  The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis


Lewis accurately sums up his own time and ours.  Its truths are startling and it is something every human being ought read.  It is also written in Lewis's typically fantastic prose.  It is short so do not hesitate to read it multiple times.


3.    The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien


While I am a sucker for an awesome fantasy epic, that is not the only reason this is on here.  Tolkien builds a world that is immense and beautiful. Attempting to summarize the scope of the trilogy (along with The Hobbit and The Silmarillion) would be silly.  Just read them.  Many times.


4.  On The Unseriousness of Human Affairs by James V. Schall


A delightful book that talks about how useless human beings are made to be and how much  more glorious life is because of it.  Great read by a great man (who is still alive)!  After you finish that check out Another Sort of Learning and The Life of the Mind, also great Schall books.


5.  Perelandra by C.S. Lewis


This is Book 2 of Lewis's Space Trilogy.  The other two are excellent as well, but this is the best one in my opinion.  You can read it independently, but I strongly recommend reading the first book (Out of the Silent Planet) before hand.  After reading this book you will never view the human condition, the fall, the Garden of Eden, temptation, or God's love the same way again.  This book is beautifully written.  If you don't weep while reading this book then you need to read Abolition of Man a few more times.


6.  Wild at Heart and Captivating by John/Stacie Eldredge


These are the most recently written books on this list.  Wild at Heart describes men and how men ought to behave as men while Captivating does the same for women.  This does not mean you should only read one (though I'm currently guilty of having done so).  It is encouraged to check them both out.  Both are great reads.  Eldredge does not have the deep complexity of some other authors on this list, such as Chesterton or Schall, but he does speak truth.  He also quotes some of the great authors present here.  These are books greatly needed in an era where gender confusion has caused so much of the problems we have in our society.


7.  Dumbing us Down and A Different Kind of Teacher by John Taylor Gatto

Gatto is an award winning New York City school teacher who wrote these two books in order to teach people about how awful schools are.  Not just our schools, but schools in general.  Schooling is a terrible idea founded on terrible principles.  Read these books and enlighten your life.  In the words of Dr. Jason Edwards, "You may want back into the Marix after you read this."


8.  Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman

Television is ruining society.  It is ruining your life, my life, your friends lives.  It is stealing people's entire existence.  Learn the truth and read this book.  

9.  What's Wrong With the World by G.K. Chesterton


What's wrong with the world in Chesterton's time is doubly wrong now.  Fantastic read from one of the best authors in the history of authoring.  One of the things I look forward to most is sharing a beer with this man in heaven. 


10.  "The Lost Tools of Learning" by Dorothy Sayers


This is not a book, it is an essay, but nonetheless it is on this list.  This is an excellent resource for learning how we should learn.  But what if I'm not a teacher, why should I read this?  Teacher or not, we should all still be learning.  School isn't wear learning should take place.  If anything, school is where we should learn to learn.  Teach a man a fact and he'll know a fact.  Teach a man to learn and he can know anything.  This will teach you the groundwork for learning.  The link takes you to a legal version of this essay posted for your enjoyment.






Thus ends the list.  It is not perfect and I'm sure given one year it will look radically different.  At this juncture in my life these are the most important books I've read.  These authors speak the truth and speak it beautifully.  God didn't make the truth to be dull and mundane.  He made it so that we could constantly rejoice in knowing it.  


So read them!  Now!  What are you waiting for?!?