This was originally posted on my other blog, Notes in the Key of Life, on 1/11/10.
If you're a dedicated bookworm, as I am, then books are more than just pages full of words for you. As corny as it may sound, they can be friends. There are books that you will turn to again and again, simply because reading those very familiar passages are a pleasure and a comfort.
This topic was actually one of those quizzes you occasionally get on Facebook, but it made me stop and think about the books I love the most...the books I re-read time and again.
I almost didn't include the Bible, because it's more than a book...it's a living thing. But it does take first place.
There may be a few I've left out, but these sprang immediately to mind. What are yours?
1. The Holy Bible
2. Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte
3. Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte
4. Through Gates of Splendor, by Elisabeth Elliot
5. The Chronicles of Narnia, by C. S. Lewis
6. Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott
7. Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
8. The Red Knights of Hy Brasil, by Christine Savery--This was a childhood favorite when I was a missionary kid in Beirut, Lebanon. I had lost it, but a few years ago I found a copy online, and yes, I do read it again occasionally. I also give this book at least partial credit for my lifelong obsession with Ireland, and desire to go there. I blogged here about finding the book after many years.
9. Not My Will, by Francena H. Arnold
10. Redeeming Love, by Francine Rivers
11. The Atonement Child, by Francine Rivers
13. Gone with the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell
14. The Hiding Place, by Corrie Ten Boom
15. Auntie Robbo, by Anne Scott Moncrieff--Another childhood favorite that I've found and bought again online. I blogged about it here.
Honorably mention goes to the books of Mary Stewart and Victoria Holt, which I read again when I find them at the library. I particularly love Stewart's The Moon-Spinners and Nine Coaches Waiting.
What books will always stick with you? Let me know in my comments section!
Photo credit
You have several of mine, including Jane Eyre (natch!) and The Hiding Place. Other books that will also stay with me: The Blue Castle by LM Montgomery; The Quiet American by Graham Greene; Bruchko by Bruce Olson; and most recently--but I will never be the same--"Too Small to Ignore" by Wess Stafford.
ReplyDeleteI am Steve Buttry, Francena Arnold’s grandson, and wanted to thank you for including "Not My Will" in this post. I cited it in Grandma’s Wikipedia entry as an example of the enduring impact of the author's work, four decades after her death: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francena_H._Arnold
ReplyDeleteI also told more about Grandma in a longer version that I used on my own blog: http://stevebuttry.wordpress.com/2013/04/06/my-original-draft-of-a-wikipedia-entry-for-grandma-francena-h-arnold/
She was a remarkable woman and an outstanding writer. I'm pleased that you have honored her by inclusion on this list.