Books that have taught me about life and people

A question asked by Mike Duran over on his blog deCompose  about books that have influenced me led me to search out a post I wrote ages ago. I'm reposting here and will probably post there as well.

I said at the end of this post that my answers might change in a year, but actually they have not changed at all. It is interesting to note that fact because I thought reading so many books that surely I'd run across some that would rise above these mentioned here, but these are still excellent examples even 5 years later.

I would like to note here that one book which has influenced me all my life has been The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. I read it when I was fifteen and it deeply impacted my understanding of how Satan works in Christians' lives. I think this book should be required reading for every Bible student.

There is One book that literally answers every one of these and that is my beloved Bible. I cannot go a day without reading it because I get so much from it that my soul overflows. But, in the spirit of this thing, I shall congitate on this and give you some books that I have truly enjoyed and that have taught me so much about life and people and character.

1. One book that changed your life -- My Bible

2. One book you've read more than once--The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Jane Aiken
It is a children's book and I read it about 7 or 8 times when I was 8 or 9 years old, then I read it a couple of more times when I was 10 then I read it again when I was an adult. I enjoyed it as much when I was an adult as when I was a kid. This book taught me lots of wonderful words and that I could do anything that I set my mind to do. It is about two children who were badly abused by a distant cousin who stole their inheritance after they learned their parents had died in an accident. They were sold, escaped, traversed many trials to finally return home. I think every child should read it.

3. One book you'd want on a desert island -- My Bible

4. One book that made you laugh -- All Creatures Great and Small and All Things Bright and Beautiful by James Herriott. This series is just about the best written books that I have read. Classic! Witty, full of life lessons and outstanding insight into human nature. Great books! I can hardly wait to dive into Every Living Thing -- But THE book that made my cheeks hurt and tears run down and my sides hurt from laughing is -- I'll Trade You An Elk by Charles Goodrum. This book is the true story of how the Wichita Zoo began, and is so good that it could be a TV series. Young Charles is faced with a father who is laid off during the depression but wrangles the job with the city as the "developer". He gets the brilliant idea to revamp the local zoo and it is one mishap and adventure after another. I do not think it is still in print, but you may find it on someone's old book list. It was printed back in 1959 or 60 I think.


5. One book that made you cry -- The Robe by Lloyd C. Douglas and Though None Go With Me by Jerry Jenkins. Taught me two things... you can't run from God and it is absolutely the best thing in the world to remain within God's will. Both were made into movies which badly mauled the stories, in my opinion. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee made me laugh and cry, and the movie was almost exactly like the book [insert shocked look].

6. One book you wish had been written -- Life After The Beast by Nebchadnezzer

7. One book you wish had never been written -- Anything by Jackie Collins or Elizabeth Lowell

8. One book you're currently reading-- the books by Georgette Heyer again in alphabetical order.

9. One book you've been meaning to read -- The Revelation Record by Dr. Henry Morris


10. The most interesting non-fiction book (besides the Bible) was Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed Ameria by John Barry. Please note the documentary shown on the History Channel did not follow this book although it did feature John Barry. I am becoming more and more chary of things published on the History Channel for I have found many false thing presented. (Although, I'll Trade You An Elk, and the books by James Harriot are both true and extremely interesting.)