Favorite Reads of 2005

I'm sorry but I love lists, they help me to reflect on the year somehow so I promise that this is the last list I'm going to have about 2005. I'm ready to move on, I'm serious. Obviously these are not all books from 2005, some are very old but I don't really enjoy modern fiction much, I don't find the depth that I'm looking for there and am not all that excited by the stories. I find classic literature rich with meaning and story that is unparalleled so here goes.

1. The Divine Comedy - Dante Alighieri
While reading this book I had the realization several times, "this is an inspired work that only could come from God."

"Ye who the things of God, which ought to be The brides of holiness, rapaciously For silver and for gold do prostitute."

I could read this book every year. This could be the best imaginative work I've ever read.


2. The Town and the City - Jack Kerouac

There is something that is appealing to me about Jack Kerouac that is hard to explain. Maybe it's his honest search for something significant in life or his nostalgia about a forgotten past. Whatever it is, it struck me hard in this story of the Martin family. I'm not sure I've ever felt closer to the characters in a story than I have these individuals. You can truly feel the pain, confusion, and joy of the characters. Beatifully written. I would say this is a masterpiece over the famous "On The Road" in a heartbeat. Kerouac describes everything worth describing and more in words you could never write yourself.

"The town is Galloway. The Merrimac River, broad and placid, flows down to it from the New Hampshire hills, broken at the falls to make frothy havoc on the rocks, foaming on over ancient stone towards a place where the rocks suddenly swings about in a wide and peaceful basin, moving on now around the flank of the town..."


3. The Last Word and the Word After That - Brian Mclaren
Mclaren's works have been groundbreaking for me in the past. I can literally say that "A New Kind of Christian" changed how I think about a lot of subjects for the better. His third book in the trilogy is no different, challenging our traditional view of hell as well as the context Jesus talks about hell in was once again mind bending and challenging as ever! Plus any book that inspired me to read "The Divine Comedy" can't be bad!



4. O Pioneers - Willa Cather

I love a good story of early America (especially Steinbeck). Cather hits in the same vein and this story has everything, murder, failure, struggle, and victory. Great story and sometimes as I read a book I just think, "women can write so much better then men most of the time." This makes me want to be a rugged pioneer on the brink of a new America! But then again, crap that would be hard. I'm not sure I'm man enough. Actually, I'm not sure I'm woman enough to make it either.

"All we ever managed to do is to pay our rent, the exorbitant rent that one has to pay for a few square feet of space near the heart of things. We have no house, no place, no people of our own. We live in the streets, in the parks, in the theatres. We sit in restaurants and concert halls and look about at the hundreds of our own kind and shudder."

5. A.K.A. Lost - Jim Henderson

This helped me to rethink the definition of "evangelism" as well as what "counts" as sharing and being good news to people that we come in contact with everyday. The point is not so much the information as it is the action. Also helped me to realize that people aren't as lost as they are missed.








6. Frankenstein - Mary Shelley

Can you believe I've never read this? Isn't everyone obligated to read this book in their lives? I feel cheated by public education! I never had to read anything and it pisses me off! Anyway, this is obviously a classic. If you haven't read it, it's well worth it. A gripping, sad story of an experiment gone wrong and the nature of true evil.






7. The Man Who was Thursday - G.K. Chesterton

Everyone and their mother quotes Chesterton so I figured it was time to read something from him on my own. This nightmarish spy novel surprised me in every chapter. An easy read and a rich imaginative tale in the vein of C.S. Lewis. Brilliant storytelling and the twists the plot takes are shocking and I'm still not sure i understand the full implications but I'm thinking about it as we speak.




8. The Pilgrims Progress - John Bunyan

This year seriously had to be the year I caught up on everything I probably should have read by now but never had to. Another classic and deservingly so. One man's journey of faith in a very obvious metaphorical way. It's not meant to be hard to understand but some people get frustrated by the obviousness of the whole story. But regardless I was able to appreciate it as a great spiritual journey.




9. Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson

ARGHHH! Best pirate story ever. Screw Pirates of the Caribbean. Seriously mom, why didn't you make me read this?










10. Journey to the Center of the Earth - Jules Verne

Great Science Fiction from the king of the genre. Who wouldn't want to read about a trip to the center of the earth? Although I heard the movie wasn't that good. Go figure. I think it's time for a remake.

So anyway, after the 40 or so books I read this year these are really the only ones worth mentioning. I really only read a few books that were blatantly bad but they're not really even worth ripping on. Feel free to add the good books you've read this year. And since it's 3:30am please disregard any spelling or grammatical errors because I don't really care.