In response to the question, “What should I read?” I begin by recommending that most important collection – The Bible. In particular, two fairly recent renditions may bless you: The Archeological Study Bible and The Chronological Daily Bible.
I also highly recommend two seminal books that have helped me get the most out of all the others I have read:
· How to Read a Book, by Mortimer Adler (one of the greatest American educators) & Mark Van Doren (the poet and subject of the excellent movie Quiz Show)
· What every Christian Should Know (likely out of print now, but no doubt available at alibris.com) by Lewis & Palmer.
After that, I could list literally hundreds of books, yet that would prove counterproductive. However, there are a few that I think stand out and are worthy of particular consideration.
History
A History of Rome (Cary; also T. Roberts children’s book Ancient Rome is excellent)
A Short History of the Far East (LaTourette)
The Ancient Mariners (Casson)
Admiral of the Ocean Sea (S.E. Morison; I have read & loved all of his books and think each should be studied.)
Dawn to Decadence (Barzun)
God’s Bestseller (Moynihan)
Forgotten Founding Father (Kendall)
Washington’s Crossing (Fischer)
The Journals of Lewis & Clark (ed. Devoto; Ambrose’s Undaunted Courage is also good)
Nothing Less Than Victory (Lewis)
Unbroken (Hillenbrand)
Thought
The Nichomachean Ethics (Aristotle)
How Should We Then Live (Schaffer - again, his entire output is wonderful)
The City of God (Augustine; Boice’s summary: Two Cities, Two Loves, is very accessible)
Culture (Anthropological – understanding humanity)
Shakespeare the Thinker (Nuttall)
Invitation to the Classics (Cowan & Guiness)
Spirit of the Rainforest (Ritchie)
Civilization (Scott & Foresman textbook)
Culture (Modern – understanding the modern world)
The Death of Common Sense (Howard)
Civilization (Armstrong – a beautiful book worth reading despite serious flaws)
The Road Trip That Changed The World (Sayers)
Foxtrot Cartoon Collections (Amend)
I also highly recommend regular perusal of the Wall Street Journal op ed pages. It’s often good writing and exposes me to resources I would have missed otherwise. Each week I also skim read the British magazine The Economist.
Theology
Christian Theology (Erickson; actually all of his work, especially God, The Father Almighty)
Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free (Bruce)
Romans Verse-by-Verse (Newell)
Grasping God’s Word (Hays & Duvall)
Complete Book of Bible Answers (Rhodes)
Church/Christian Leadership
The Unity Factor(Osborne)
Leadership Transitions for Growth (Fletcher)
Upside-Down Church (Laurie)
Simple Church (Rainer & Geiger; all their works are useful)
Love
The Four Loves (Lewis)
Passion and Purity (Eliot)
A Severe Mercy (Vanauken)
Rocking the Roles (Lewis & Hendricks)
When Crickets Cry (Martin)
Spiritual Life & Growth
The Pressure's Off (Crabb)
New Testament Words (Barclay)
Transforming Grace (Bridges; like Morison, his entire works are excellent)
The Normal Christian Life (Nee)
Men
The Prydain Chronicles (Alexander’s coming-of-age rendering of the Welsh Mabinogion)
Tender Warrior (Weber)
The Rest of Your Life (Morley)
The Measure of a Man (Getz)
Whatever Happened to Manhood (Braudrick)
Parenting
How & When to Tell your Kids about Sex (Jones)
Those Not-So-Still, Small Voices (Hunter)
Parenting by Heart (Tripp)
Frindle (Clements)
Organization & Leadership
The 5th Discipline (Senge)
Good to Great (Collins)
Small Decencies (Cowan)
Knowledge for Action (Argyris)
The Fall of the Roman Empire (Grant)
The Pulpit Team (Braudrick, this is my dissertation)
Innovation’s Dirty Little Secret (Osborn)
Service & Work
Do Hard Things (Harris & Harris)
Discovery (Braudrick)
Improving Your Serve (Swindoll)
Endurance (Lansing)
The Boys in the Boat (Brown)
Fun: Everything by P.G. Woodehouse, Gordon Macquarrie, Megan Whalen Turner, & Rex Stout. Much by D. Barry, D. Bunn, B. P. Carman, T. Clancy, E. Colfer, T. Downs, E. Eager, D. Eddings, K. Grahame, M.P. Haddix, J. Herriot, M. Hoeye, J. Jenkins, G. Keillor, A. Klavan, S. Lawhead, J. London, C. Miller, S. Pastis, A. Peterson, R.W. Service, R.L. Stevenson, J.R.R. Tolkien, J. Verne, B. Watterson.