And while I'm at it...

Speaking of reading (see my last post), a few months ago my pastor's network was exchanging their lists of "books that left their mark on us."  In lieu of a post on "Faramir and the Weight of Glory" that I'm working on, but not quite ready to publish, I thought I'd share the list I came up with here.  These kinds of lists are always so subjective (which is why they're fun... they show how dynamic our interactions with the literature are).  Only 3 months after witing it, I'd probably produce a quite different list-- I re-read Mrs. Dalloway last week, for instance, and can't for the life of me figure out why I would include it on a list like this, but, that's the mystery of reading, I suppose.  Anyways, for a bit of Saturday morning procrastination fodder, here goes:

Dale's List of Books that Left Their Mark on Me:

1. Jesus and the Victory of God, N. T. Wright.

A masterful, stunning and compelling portrait of the historical Jesus; scholarly, playful, generous and rich, it introduced me to the Messiah in a way few books before or since have. Read N.T. Wright. Start here.

2. The Resurrection of the Son of God, N.T. Wright

This one’s tough slugging but, oh, so worth the effort. Does for the resurrection what “Jesus and the Victory of God” does for the historical Jesus. You will never celebrate Easter the same...

3. Worship, Community and the Triune God of Grace, James Torrance

A short but sweet study of how Christian worship is really a participation by the Spirit in the Son’s worship of the Father. Deeply ministered to me, on so many levels.

4. The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, Howard Pyle

Read this book dozens of times as a child. The first book I remember weeping genuine, grown up tears over. A classic.

5. A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula LeGuinn

Re-read this childhood classic last spring, and was stunned all over again by how rich, profound and satisfying it is. If you love fantasy novels and haven’t read this one, drop everything and run (don’t walk) to your local library. You will not be disappointed.

6. Mrs. Dalloway, Virginia Wolfe

I have no idea why *Mrs. Dalloway* is embedded so deep in my heart. I read it for a novel course in University, and even though in almost every way it is the “anti-Dale,” it captivated me and has haunted me ever since.

7. Consolation of Philosophy, Boethius

No, I didn’t just include this one to sound smart. I read it for a course on Geoffry Chaucer in my under-grad and, man, it leaves you thinking.

8. That Hideous Strength, C.S. Lewis

This list could have been C.S. Lewis alone, and for sure the Narnia books belong here, but since I’ve already got one candidate from my childhood, *That Hideous Strength* will have to stand in for the C.S. Lewis corpus. This one’s well worth a read in its own right—I read it about every 4 years, and each time it’s a brand new book.

9. A Soldier of the Great War, Mark Helprin

This one’s a relatively recent read, so time will tell if it deserves to sit in such auspicious company as Lewis and Wright, but Helprin’s a genius story teller and a masterful artist; truly great fiction.

10. How Shall We Then Live, Francis Schaeffer

I used to be quite awed by Francis Schaeffer; over the years I’ve downgraded awe to deep appreciation, but I still find much of his work compelling in over-all vision, if not always in actual content. This Evangelical “Rise and Fall of Western Civilization” seized my imagination when I first read it.