I had a page on my previous blog that claimed to include all the books I was reading. Proper real-time interaction and all that.
I didn’t and it wasn’t.
I updated it every few months with the books I wanted my readers to know about. I rarely told anyone if I re-read the Narnia stories again or made yet another attempt at Bill Clinton’s surprisingly boring autobiography.
This is more of a bibliography of my life – it gives me the opportunity to:
- Be more honest about what I really read and care about.
- Make it look like I’m well-read and studious. Maybe.
So I’m going to add books that I like, that have effected me, that have taught me something new or that have played a part in the process of my blog. There will be no order. That’s how I roll.
E H Gombrich – A Little History of the World
This book incorporates so many brilliant things! Gombrich provides a proper narrative flow for world history; he sees patterns in the behaviour of nations and people groups that are hard to see in more localised histories. He’s like the Granddad in the Werther’s Original advert who clearly knows everything and is intent on sharing it with his grandchild; this book invites you to sit upon his knee and listen as he remembers his time spent with the Pharaohs and crossing the Atlantic with Columbus.
OK, it’s dated; it’s Euro-centric rather than truly global in nature; it lacks precision and complexity. But it’s a great, joyous introduction to history you never knew in a simple, foundational style.
I’m reading it to my six year old and he loves it too.
Alister McGrath – Christian Theology: An Introduction
This book is the easiest way in to the study of Christian theology. McGrath is one of the greatest theologians of our time, as well as a great scholar in general. This work gives a superb overview of an intricate, nuanced subject in an approachable style. Christian theology has too much back story and complexity to ever be covered in one volume (even the Bible is actually a whole library!), but this is an objective, likeable, well designed book that draws the reader into further study.
