“That book that can give me an idea or a new slant on an old idea is my friend.”–Louis L’Amour
Which books are your friends? I know, you like this about one book, you learned something from another. But which ones are true friends? What books gave you new ideas or enlarged old ideas and became your friends? Which ones do you return to over and over because they are not just aquaintances, books you passed an hour or two with once, but friends?
Mr. L’Amour shares about both friends and acquaintances in Education of a Wandering Man. We can certainly learn from both. But let me introduce you to some of my best friends. Maybe you know them, too.
The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien. Hobbits make wonderful friends–loyal, brave, trustworthy and fun to know. They give out birthday presents on their own birthdays, and they’re fond of good cooking and frequent meals.
The Severed Wasp by Madeleine L’Engle. I keep on learning about community from Mrs. L’Engle, and about spiritual growth and about Christ.
The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown. It’s important to know what’s important, to distill the essential meaning in a leaf or an apple or even a person.
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. It’s probably time to re-read Screwtape. For a demon, he’s a pretty smart fellow.
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. It’s time to re-read this one, too. I love Dickens’ scenes and characters.
I could go on and on. Who are your book friends?
3 of my book friends:
Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss
Anne of Green Gables – LM Montgomery
Little Women – Louisa May Alcott (My daughter is reading this one for the first time, and I’m just a wee bit envious!)
The Chronicles of Narnia – I started reading these books when I was in the second grade and have reread them every year since then, They never grow old and I always see something new in them each time.
Winter in Thrush Green by Miss Read – Actually, all of Miss Read’s books are my friends. They’re my comfort reading. If life is stressful or hectic, I go to Thrush Green or Fairacre and spend a few peaceful hours.
The Complete Uncle Abner by Melville Davisson Post – Uncle Abner solves mysteries not because he has great powers of detection, but because he knows the Word and knows man’s propensity towards evil.
Understanding Poetry by Cleanth Brooks and Robert Penn Warren – This book never fails to delight me with the poetry selections and the way Brooks and Warren explain how the poems “work.”
The Sovereignty of God by A. W. Pink – This book blew me away when I first read it and I immediately shared it with my husband and read it to my (then-very-young) children. I still like rereading it and pondering the contents.
I could go on and on, too, but I won’t because the day ahead has too many tasks to be done!
I have a few books that I consider friends and would re-read over and over, given a chance. A Circle of Quiet by L’Engle deserves first place (I wonder why?), then Lord of the Rings (I just love Hobbits…love them!), The Hawk and the Dove, the first Insp. Monk by Anne Perry — is it Face of a Stranger? I love that. Cadfael is a favorite character, but if I had to choose only one of those it would be …. hmmm, probably Brother Cadfael’s Penance. In This House of Brede might join the list. It was a new one this year, and I loved it.
Great question.
~Diane
I’m really fond of The Hawk and the Dove, too.
Trinity by Leon Uris
The Mitford Chronicles by Jan Karon – have you ever listened to the unabridged audiobooks read by John McDonough? He is incredible.
Anne-with-an-e of Green Gables
Laury and Mary Ingalls
Little Women
I am enjoying being able to introduce some of these friends to my children.
In terms of new ideas, that make me think, I’m finding _Here Comes the Bride_ by Ken Hutcherson to be just that. It just keeps challenging me and my concept of the church, to the point where I am thinking “This is a book for the shelves when our kids are growing up” I want them to confront these ideas even sooner.
One in particular that is bothering me right now — the things we complain about at church, perhaps the fact that they are bothering us eans that we are the proper ones to be trying to fix it. If the problem of our church that new people get lost is something that really bothers me, perhaps the reason is that God is putting it on me to be part of the solution. Not just to complain about it.
My best book friend has to be the Bible, God’s Word.
I have found myself returning to “The Cat WHo …” series. Light reading with familiar characters. “Rise And Fight Again” by Charles Bracelen Flood, which spurred me to write my own Historical Novel, is a book I always return to. “Devil’s Brood” by Alfred Duggan, and “Ingathering” by Zenna Henderson, are both favorites.
I used to have many, many books but lack of funds meant lack of space and I lost almost every book I owned. So I have but a fraction of my former riches. 🙁