Above all other material things, I revere books. My personal library alone overflows my bookshelf space. My idea of a perfect evening would be reading a good book by a warm crackling fire, some Elgar playing in the background while I am seated in an oversized, overstuffed chair with my dog sleeping at my feet and a large pot of tea steeping nearby. Maybe throw in a little snow or rain for that added sense of coziness.
What am I reading right now? Germania by Simon Winder.
One way I love sizing up the mind of a person is taking a good look at their bookshelf. What books have they read or intend to read? Which ones look most beat up and lovingly read over-and-over again? What material have they invested their personal resources and time in? How did they organize it? By author, genre or decimal system? Not only does it reveal something about that person's thought process, but it makes a great conversation starter at parties. Some of my best experiences at college came from serious bookshelf conversations amid the smoky haze of cigarettes and loud music.
Here are some of my favorites & why they've made the list. I know there's many out there that should probably be on this list, but let's face it, there's just too many books to go through in some 13 odd years of adult reading, so this list is bound to grow over time.
A Severe Mercy, Sheldon Vanauken
This book strikes so many chords with me. The prose is beautifully written and the love story of Sheldon and Jean "Davy" is incredibly refreshing. Their story is unique from their "shining barrier" pact, to sailing on the
Grey Goose for months on end, or finding Christ through friendship with C. S. Lewis while studying at Oxford University. Vanauken's memoirs also hit a more personal note for me in his vivid descriptions of Oxford. Their friendship and spiritual relationship with Lewis is inspiring and exhibits the intellectual hunger that I desire to cultivate in myself. Call me heartless, but I have never before cried over a book until death intruded on this symbiont. I hope you too can find the time to read this book; it completely changed my perspective on life and love.
A Man for All Seasons, Robert Bolt
Bolt's play made my list because of how much I admire and seek to emulate the strength of character found in Sir Thomas More. If I were Catholic, More would be my patron Saint. The leadership and spiritual commitment he exhibits is most admirable. Furthermore, Bolt wrote an excellent morality piece. Simple, yet emotionally profound in the message More sends in his faithfulness. Its politics versus principles. Its conscious versus expedience. For someone who likes to read books with great moral substance, this is the play for you.
The Horatio Hornblower Series, C. S. Forester
I read all eleven of the series when I was 10 and have the fondest childhood memories from evenings spent chasing down French frigates in the Mediterranean, dualing with Midshipman Hornblower to preserve his honor, or capturing slave ships in the Caribbean. What I find most admirable about Horatio Hornblower is not his courage or skills at seamanship, but how humanly Forester portrays him. Hornblower gets seasick, he struggles with self-doubt and an intense reserve, but he has a good heart which allows him to overcome these weaknesses, perform his courageous acts yet remain humble and ignorant of his fame. These books most likely were the catalyst for my lifelong admiration of the British Navy and its noble reputation.
John Adams, David McCullough
John Adams used to bore me. McCullough humbled me and showed he is a fascinating man, grounded in principle, well educated, well written and a loving husband and father. The story of John Adams taught me what it means to dedicate one's life to a cause. I am dumbfounded at the intensity in which Adams donated his time, his energy, his intellect and family to the founding of our country. I now find biographies one of the most intriguing genres in literature. In looking at a person's life both macro and microscopically, it has the capability of renewing one's perspective and respect for that historical figure. It brings an element of humanity to a subject that can be dry and uninspiring. This book is well deserving of its Pulitzer Prize award.
With the Old Breed, E. B. Sledge
I read this book while taking Victor Davis Hanson's course on World War II as a global war. Sledge's memoir as a Marine at Peleliu and Okinawa is gripping and emotionally draining. I had read in textbooks that the fighting was bad in the Pacific Theater, but never had I imagined the inhumanity and devestation that soldiers like Sledge encountered. In my modern history studies of the second World War, I've always been more partial to studying events of the European Theater. Yet after reading Sledge's book, I realize that the warfare encountered in the PTO was far different than in the ETO. This book gave me a sense of respect and renewed gratefulness to those who served in the Pacific. Their story deserves to be told too.
To Rule the Waves: How the British Navy Shaped the Modern World, Arthur Herman
Herman's book is a fascinating account of the history of the British Navy. Herman depicts the role of the Navy from its early foundings in colonialization, to its highest glory during the Napoleonic Wars, the Falklands War and eventual decline to its minor role in today's world affairs. I like this book mostly because Herman writes in a captivating, almost narrative style different from most other history books on the Royal Navy. He presents the thesis that the British Navy was the foundation for the Empire, and the British Empire shaped the modern world. He laces this historical theme with its most prominent leaders and stars such as Francis Drake, Sir Walter Raleigh, Lord Horatio Nelson, James Cook, Sir John Fischer and Winston Churchill. For such a broad and intensive subject, Herman did well condensing the history to a reader-friendly one volume piece.
Vanity Fair, William Makepeace Thackeray
This is one of the most intriguing pieces of classic literature I have read. Thackeray presents a fascinating commentary on many and varied social circles at play in mid 19th century London. What also makes this book so unique to me is his unabashed honesty. The title alone declares it is a book without a hero. His characters too, are incredibly vivid and memorable, with an almost Dickensian quality to them. Thackeray concludes, in short, that human individuals are selfish, indulgent and incapable of love. Thackeray believed this because of the decay of values he saw resulting from increased selfishness in society. This came about as a new world of capitalism and imperialism began to emphasize wealth, material goods and power over the age old traditional values of family, love and decorum. Though Thackeray himself was no exemplar in these lost values, he still presents a compelling commentary on the social effects of modernity.
