What book(s) are you reading now?

[Kathryn]

I picked up Mere Chrisitanity (C.S. Lewis) and The Language of God (Francis Collins) a few weeks ago and put them down for a while.....but I'm committed to finishing them eventually.

I hate to sound closed-minded, but honestly, I didn't expect to be overly impressed, and so far I'm not. But I feel like, out of fairness, I should read what Christians believe to be strong arguments for faith.

I know what you mean - I felt that way slugging through a James Carville book recently.


If you really want to read a great book about Christianity, I would recommend "Orthodoxy" by GK Chesterton rather than "Mere Christianity" by CS Lewis, though Lewis is a great Christian writer. If you want to read a good Lewis book, maybe read the Narnia series instead, starting with The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.

I applaud you in your efforts to understand another POV honestly.

 

[gnomon]

i find it funny that so many people here read so many brainy books. I myself am quite intelligent, but the only books i read are science fiction, fantasy, and manga. Makes me feel like the dumb kid in the class, which i've never been, lol.

Science Fiction is brainy!

Most modern fantasy not so much but I prefer a good fantasy to most contemporary authors.

 

[Quagmire]

Science Fiction is brainy!

Absolutely. In fact as far as I'm concerned Jules Verne and H.G. Wells were techno-prophets.

Most modern fantasy not so much but I prefer a good fantasy to most contemporary authors.

Still say nobody can touch Tolkien or R.E. Howard. :yes:

 

[linwood]

I picked up Mere Chrisitanity (C.S. Lewis) and The Language of God (Francis Collins) a few weeks ago and put them down for a while.....but I'm committed to finishing them eventually.

Be prepared for 400 pages of special pleading and appeals to emotion reading Mere Christianity.

Language of God is a book I couldn`t get through the excerpts at amazon.

You have a much stronger constitution than I Spinkles.

 

[Kathryn]

Othodoxy is a much better book - and GK Chesterton is a better thinker "sociologically" than Lewis, I believe.

Besides that, GK Chesterton is much more sarcastic and funny than Lewis ever thought about being!

 

[linwood]

Othodoxy is a much better book - and GK Chesterton is a better thinker "sociologically" than Lewis, I believe.

Besides that, GK Chesterton is much more sarcastic and funny than Lewis ever thought about being!

I`ve read the first 11 pages at Amazon...

Amazon.com: ORTHODOXY: Gilbert K. Chesterson: Books

He is indeed humorous and seems far more philosophically sound than Lewis does.

"I did try to found a heresy of my own; and when I put the finishing touches to it, I discovered that it was orthodoxy."
GK Chesterson

 

[rageoftyrael]

Honestly, i prefer fantasy over science fiction, but i do enjoy plenty of science fiction. I'm reading the sam gunn omnibus, for one, which is decent.

My favorite fantasy writer though is hands down Mercedes Lackey. She has something for everyone.

I've never like looked her up or anything, but i have an inkling she's gay, or has gay friends or family, cause in one of my favorite trilogies the main character(a guy) is gay. And in just about every other book, a character is gay. Which i personally have no problem with, hence my favorite trilogy being about a gay guy! The world's she builds tend to be tolerant of gays, but not overly so. You know, a touch of reality to it.

Other than that, she is just an awesome writer. If you haven't read any of her books, i suggest looking her up and reading any of her valdamer(dont think i spelled that right, but it's close) books, i think they are the best.

 

[Storm]

She's ok. I prefer stories with more layers, though. Gaiman and Jacqueline Carey.

 

[Kathryn]

I love Ray Bradbury - old school science fiction.

And CS Lewis has a FANTASTIC sci fi trilogy - Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and This Hideous Strength - amazing books actually.

CS Lewis is a fine writer - one of the best, I believe - but his non fiction books on Christianity seem a little ponderous to me. I much prefer his fiction and allegory.

His sci fi trilogy is very, very deep philosophically but also so imaginative and descriptive that I was fascinated through all three. They're small books but they pack a lot of punch.

 

[Kay]

I picked up Mere Chrisitanity (C.S. Lewis) and The Language of God (Francis Collins) a few weeks ago and put them down for a while.....but I'm committed to finishing them eventually.

I hate to sound closed-minded, but honestly, I didn't expect to be overly impressed, and so far I'm not. But I feel like, out of fairness, I should read what Christians believe to be strong arguments for faith.

I didn't care for either of them, even when I was Christian.

 

[Smoke]

Othodoxy is a much better book - and GK Chesterton is a better thinker "sociologically" than Lewis, I believe.

Besides that, GK Chesterton is much more sarcastic and funny than Lewis ever thought about being!

I have to agree, though Chesterton's Christianity wasn't exactly my cup of tea even when I was a Christian.

 

[Smoke]

She's ok. I prefer stories with more layers, though. Gaiman and Jacqueline Carey.

I read American Gods on vacation, after Brendan and others recommended it. That's what led me into Anansi Boys.

 

[Smoke]

CS Lewis is a fine writer - one of the best, I believe

I don't agree at all, though Till We Have Faces, which I consider to be by far his best book, is pretty good.

 

[Kathryn]

I don't agree at all, though Till We Have Faces, which I consider to be by far his best book, is pretty good.

Obviously taste is subjective, so there's no point in arguing "whether or not CS Lewis is a great author."

Though he must have SOME appeal, considering the pace that his books still sell at, and the successful recent movies on both his life and on his Narnia series.

I cut my teeth on Narnia and then passed those same books on to my children, who are now reading them to their children. The allegories are beautiful, and the values that these books teach children are equally applicable to adults (and the books are so layered that many adults will understand them and enjoy them as well). As a child, CS Lewis taught me deeper meanings of honor, integrity, grace, and charity - and I'm pretty sentimental about him. He feels like an integral part of my childhood to me.

I also think it's cool that he, Tolkein, and GK Chesterton all hung out together for so many years. Their mutual influence is very obvious in their writings.

 

[ChristineES]

I am reading one those "cotton candy" type books right now. It is called Mirror Image about a woman who is mistaken for someone else after a plane accident, and is taking her place after plastic surgery made them look alike. Far fetched but...
I needed that kind of book because BoneMan (Ted Dekker) was just so intense.
I agree, fantasy and science fiction can be really good. They sometimes have the same issues but the are written with an unusual place, time or whatever. Ray Bradbury is probably the best- Fahrenheit 451 is one great story. I also liked his short stories- The Illustrated Man, etc.

 

[Smoke]

Obviously taste is subjective, so there's no point in arguing "whether or not CS Lewis is a great author."

Taste is subjective, but sound thinking and good writing are not entirely so. Lewis' thinking tends to be sloppy and his fiction tends to be heavy-handed and didactic. I think that's exactly what some people like about him, but it turns me off.

I'm really not a literary snob, though. I can freely admit that some of the stuff I like is crap. The Last Catholic in America, for instance. I love that book, but it''s not exactly literature. It's just that Lewis' crap is not the sort of crap I like.

Though he must have SOME appeal, considering the pace that his books still sell at, and the successful recent movies on both his life and on his Narnia series.

At this moment, Nora Roberts and Dan Brown are both on the New York Times best seller list. I'm just sayin'.

 

[Kathryn]

Taste is subjective, but sound thinking and good writing are not entirely so. Lewis' thinking tends to be sloppy and his fiction tends to be heavy-handed and didactic. I think that's exactly what some people like about him, but it turns me off.

I'm really not a literary snob, though. I can freely admit that some of the stuff I like is crap. The Last Catholic in America, for instance. I love that book, but it''s not exactly literature. It's just that Lewis' crap is not the sort of crap I like.

At this moment, Nora Roberts and Dan Brown are both on the New York Times best seller list. I'm just sayin'.

Smoke, I am not going to argue with you about whether or not CS Lewis is a great author and thinker. You don't like him, I do. So what.

Hey, have you read any of Bruce Feiler's books, by the way? I got on a rampage and bought everything he had written a few months ago. I mean, it's not HEAVY stuff but it's INTERESTING stuff.

Bruce Feiler is a basically non practicing Jewish guy whose job in life is to immerse himself in subcultures for a couple of years and then write a book about his experiences. So far he has worked for a traveling circus for a year, worked in Nashville in the recording industry for a couple of years, taught English in a tiny Japanese village, attended Cambridge for two years, and traveled extensively throughout the Middle East. He's funny, smart, introspective and apparently doesn't have any hidden agendas - which is very refreshing.

i also LOVE me some Thomas Freidmann. I think his best book is, "From Beirut To Jerusalem." Have you read any of his stuff?

 

[Kathryn]

Oh and I think Dan Brown is a freaking idiot - right up there with those other freaking idiots that wrote that pathetic "Left Behind" series.

GOD HAVE MERCY. If I had to read that drivel I would be tempted to stab myself in the eye with a knitting needle!

 

[rageoftyrael]

i thought the left behind series was dumb too, though honestly, i only got about a quarter of the way through the first book, then stopped reading it, cause it was boring, not cause im athiest

 

[idea]

Obviously taste is subjective, so there's no point in arguing "whether or not CS Lewis is a great author."

Though he must have SOME appeal, considering the pace that his books still sell at, and the successful recent movies on both his life and on his Narnia series.

I cut my teeth on Narnia and then passed those same books on to my children, who are now reading them to their children. The allegories are beautiful, and the values that these books teach children are equally applicable to adults (and the books are so layered that many adults will understand them and enjoy them as well). As a child, CS Lewis taught me deeper meanings of honor, integrity, grace, and charity - and I'm pretty sentimental about him. He feels like an integral part of my childhood to me.

I also think it's cool that he, Tolkein, and GK Chesterton all hung out together for so many years. Their mutual influence is very obvious in their writings.

I love Lewis. Hopefully everyone has read more than just Narnia. "A Grief Observed" is used by hospice workers.

Here is a list we use for our book club - some of my favs are on it:

Ulysses by James Joyce… And Now Miguel, Krumgold, Joseph1000 Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini1776 McCullough, David 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Verne, JulesA Day No Pigs Would Die, Peck, Robert Newton A Gathering of Days, Blos, Joan A Girl Named Zippy Kimmel, Haven A Lesson Before Dying Gaines, Ernest J. A Long Way from Chicago Peck, Richard A Separate Peace, Knowles, John A Tale of Two Cities Dickens, Charles A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Smith, Betty Abe Lincoln Grows Up, Sandburg, Carl Across Five Aprils, Hunt, IreneAdventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain, Mark Ahab's Wife, or, The Star-gazer Naslund, Sena Jeter Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll All Creatures Great and Small, Herriot, JamesAmong the Hidden Haddix, Margaret Peterson Amos Fortune, Free Man, Yates, Elizabeth And There Was Light: Autobiography of Jacques Lusseyran, Blind Hero of the French Resistance by Jacques LusseyranAngle of Repose Stegner, Wallace Animal Farm, Orwell, George Anne Frank - The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne FrankApproaching Zion (or any other book) by Hugh Nibley April Morning, Fast, Howard Around the World in 80 Days, Verne, JulesAs A Man Thinketh by James AllenBaker’s Hawk, Bickham, Jack Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamtress Dai, Sijie Banner in the Sky, Ullman, James Ramsey Bee Season Goldberg, Myla Bel Canto by Patchett, Ann Ben and Me, Lawson, Robert Big Red, Kjelgaard, JamesBlack Beauty, Sewell, Anna Black Stallion, Farley, Walter Blink Gladwell, Malcolm Bonds That Make Us Free: Healing Our Relationships, Coming to Ourselves by C. Terry Warner Bridge to Terabithia, Paterson, Katherine Calico Captive, Speare, Elizabeth George Call It Courage, Sperry, Armstrong Captains Courageous, Kipling, RudyardCharms for the Easy Life Gibbons, Kaye Cheaper by the Dozen Gilbreth, Frank B. Christy by Catherine Marshall Club Dumas Perez-Reverte, Arturo Cold Sassy Tree Burns, Olive Ann Confessions of a Shopaholic, by Sophie KinsellaCress Delahanty, West, Jessamyn Cry, the Beloved Country Paton, Alan BookClub F PatonDavid Copperfield, Dickens, CharlesDeathwatch, White, Robb Diary of a Young Girl, Frank, AnneDon Quixote by Miguel De Cervantes and Edith GrossmanDoomsday Book Willis, Connie Dragonsong, McCaffrey, AnnDrums Along the Mohawk, Edmunds, Walter Enchantress from the Stars, Engdahl, Sylvia Ender's Game Card, Orson Scott Escape to Witch Mountain, Key, AlexanderFablehaven by Brandon Mull and Brandon DormanFahrenheit 451 Bradbury, Ray Faith Among Shadows by Malcolm LealFever, 1793 Anderson, Laurie Halse Finding Fish Fisher, Antwone Q. Firestorm, White, Robb