This is a Sampling of those books, that, over the course of my life, I have learned to love as some of my dearest friends. The very sound of their names bring sweet memories to mind - of lazy summer afternoons spent up in a tree with Anne and Diana, of cozy, damp autumn evenings with a cup of tea and James Herriot, of reading into the wee sma's in the delightful agony of being incapable of setting down the Scarlet Pimpernel. . .
I think the reason, though, that these works are so special to me, is that I have learned something, be it about the world, myself, or my fellow-men, in each one of them.
It is imperative to read good, sound books (Preferably written before the 20th century!), early in life, so as to build a solid foundation on which to build the learning of an entire lifetime.
It is important to read all books through the lens of His Story, and interpret them through the eyes of a worldview that gives glory to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Nearly all of these volumes are a wonderful way to learn history. One of my oldest favorites is The Story of Liberty, which I must have read dozens of times through since I was little. The works of G.A. Henty, Sir Walter Scott, Laura Ingalls Wilder, C.M. Younge, and Jane Austen, are all superb ways to learn what the world was like long ago, to realize what has changed, and what things are very much as they always were.
I have been inspired over and over again by reading the stories of great men and women of God - Eric Liddell, Admiral Coligny, Amy Carmichael, Elizabeth Elliot, Foxe's book, John Bunyan.
The very sound of a ''weighty tome'' is a delight to my ears, and the thicker, longer, and bigger the book, the better!
I am - a hopeless bibliophile.
Let us endeavor to read all books with the desire to glorify God and learn more about His wonderful creation, this earth we call home for a season.
On this shelf I have included a taste of the many genres of books I enjoy reading. Volumes of instruction and how-to, biographies, theology, history and culture, and the perennial favorite, historical fiction, can be found. I hope you will enjoy them as much as I do!
"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you."
