Recently, I decided to clean up my book shelves. They were overflowing and I needed to get rid of some books to make room for others. If you know me at all, you know I love my books. I would sooner buy a book than a meal-well, except for coffee! My book space is limited so as much as I hated to do it, I had to weed out some.
It was like some form of medieval torture.
I decided to get rid of books I knew I would never read again. As I picked up each book to decide whether it stays or goes, memories of my time with it flooded back. Each book is like a part of me and a very dear friend. Like weary travelers on a journey, my books have been with me through every valley and each high mountain. And that got me thinking, what are the books that I would never get rid of? What books would I keep simply because I knew I would read them over and over?
C.S. Lewis once said,”I can’t imagine a man really enjoying a book and reading it only once.” Tony Reinke in Lit! says, “a wisdom seeker will read a great book, savor it, and reread it in the future. Readers who cherish wisdom will reread great books five or ten or even twenty times.”
The books that I hold on to are too many to list here but I thought I’d share a few of those that I read, if not annually, then every few years (aside from the Bible). And by the way, this does not include my Nancy Drew collection-that’s just a given!
66 Love Letters: A Conversation with God That Invites You into His Story
Desiring God, Revised Edition: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist
C.S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity (Shepherd’s Notes)
(and quite honestly, everything I have read by C.S. Lewis I read over and over).
Because He Loves Me (Paperback Edition): How Christ Transforms Our Daily Life
Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters
Everyday Prayers: 365 Days to a Gospel-Centered Faith
What are those “must keep” books for you?
A few of my “Must-Keep” books… Gospel Primer for Christians, The Excellent Wife, Running Scared, Stepping Heavenward to name a few
I love Stepping Heavenward! In reality, I probably have at least 50 must keep books:)
Sister minds here…My “must keep” books include Stepping Heavenward, Gospel Primer, Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands, Desiring God, Because He Loves Me, Valley of Vision, Bridges’ Psalm 119, The Good News We Almost Forgot, Knowing God, Lloyd-Jones’ Sermon on the Mount.
Good ones! I haven’t read Lloyd-Jones’ Sermon on the Mount. I’ll have to check that one out. Thanks for sharing!
Would have to agree with “Because He Loves Me” …
Also “Forever” -Paul Tripp
Probably “Heaven” by Randy Alcorn
“Keep a Quiet Heart” — EE
For C.S. Lewis…it’d be “The Weight of Glory” (though we’re reading Mere Christianity right now)
“Calm My Anxious Heart”- Dillow
“Everyday Talk” — Younts
“Adopted for Life” — Moore
“Streams in the Desert”
I come back to all these over and over.
I’m about 3/4 of the way through “Follow Me” and I think it’s going to be one of those too.
Let’s not even start talking about fiction.
The Westing Game, A Wrinkle in Time…
I know I have issues when I save multiple copies just in case one gets lost or I loan it out
I have multiple copies of books too! I’m glad I’m not the only one:) Follow Me looks really good, I need to get a copy for myself. Thanks for sharing this great list!
Yes, definitely Stepping Heavenward! I’m reading Because He Loves Me now, and I would definitely keep Till We Have Faces, One thousand Gifts, The Hiding Place, The Giver, the Frances books by Russell Hoban…um, I could go on for a while.
One Thousand Gifts is another book I’ve read multiple times. When you think about it, there are so many good books out there! Thanks for sharing!
I’ll have to check out the C.S. Lewis book. Today we just started his last book in the Chronicles of Narnia series (bittersweet). I’d love to read something else by him. I’m a total bookworm too. I have some favorite home school books like those written by Karen Andreola and Mary Hood. And I love my devotionals. Today I just ordered 365 Days with Calvin.
Oooh, that devotional sounds great! Let me know how you like it. I love me a good devotional:)
These are some great reading ideas. I would say a few of mine are Anne of Green Gables, Experiencing God by Blackaby, a Shepard’s look at Psalm 23 Phillip Keller, mortification of sin by John Owen, and the life of George Muller by Basil miller