I've been reading quite a bit lately, which has caused me to contemplate the transformative power of the written word even more than I usually do. Which has made me think about which particular books have been most influential in the development of my worldview. Which made me decide to post a blog on the subject. Here they are in no particular order:
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. Simply the best novel I've ever read. Profound and moving on many levels.
An American Requiem by James Carroll. James and I aren't all that different. Except that I didn't become a young and idealistic Catholic priest active in the peace movement in the 60's. And I'm not Irish. And I don't write columns for the Boston Globe. On second thought, strike that: James and I aren't very similar.
Hegemony or Survival by Noam Chomsky. Noam Chomsky is smart. More people should listen to him.
1491 by Charles Mann. An apt subtitle might be, "Chances are, anything anyone ever told you about early American history is wrong." That can be a little disorienting for a history major.
Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut. My first introduction to the humanistic, Jesus-loving agnosticism of Vonnegut - a force that continues to be a bit persuasive to me still.
A General Theory of Love, by Lewis, Amini, and Lannon. 3 Psychiatrists get together to write a book about the physiology of emotion. Sounds like the setup of a really lame joke or a really boring book. But it's not the case at all. I didn't think that anything could make me interested in neuropsychology. I was wrong.
Engaging the Powers by Walter Wink. Walter Wink's another guy that people should listen to. I doubt he's as smart as Noam Chomsky, though.
God and Empire by John Dominic Crossan. Engaging and powerful. Highly recommended. Unless you're a closed-minded fundamentalist. You're not a closed-minded fundamentalist, are you?
The Heart of Christianity by Marcus Borg. This, along with the previous two have done a lot to shape my faith into its present form.
Love's Executioner by Irvin Yalom. This made me start wondering if I, too, could do that psychology thing. Let's hope that I can.
Honorable mentions go to Night by Elie Wiesel and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
Until next time...
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4 comments:
Some good books! I would list mine but I don't think "Horton Hears a Who" would get much respect. Gotta admit that it is a life changing book.
AK
For the record, I'll always gladly give "The Doc" his duly deserved props.
I think you're too smart for us to be friends.
I don't believe that for a second...
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