amosralston.com

So I thought that I would try to keep track of the books that I have been working through, partly to keep track so I can work on getting better, and partly just to see how many I really am able to get through in a years time. So here they are, in no particular order but grouped by their authors.

 

Issac Asimov –

Foundation

Foundation and Empire

Second Foundation

This is the start of a series that spans a total of 7 books total, but the other four were written in response to his readers pressure to keep the story going. I found these three to be really interesting, and not just in a science fiction manner. They very definitely have some much deeper themes running through them, but at the same time are still fun to read and experience the world of the future as he saw it panning out in his universe.

 

Orson Scott Card –

Ender’s Game

Speaker for the Dead

Xenocide

Children of the Mind

Ender’s Shadow

Shadow of the Hegemon

Shadow Puppets

Shadow of the Giant

Orson Scott Card is a great writer as well. These works seem to be influenced by Asimov’s trilogy that I listed above, but in a good way. They are great at a simple reading level but at the same time if you have the time and ambition to dig into it, there are several great arguments and positions that he takes in these stories. I had a blast reading them, several times having to stay up and finish before I could go to sleep. I am pretty sure that everyone wouldn’t really appreciate them, after the first one they tend to get rather deep and almost boring, especially if you were looking for something action driven. But it is still a really good series in my opinion.

 

Richard Halliburton –

The Flying Carpet

This one was handed to me as being the more exciting of the books that Halliburton wrote. I had a good time reading it, although I think for a lot of readers it will be a little tough. He basically was a travel writer way ahead of his time, flying around the world and writing about the places and people he ran into. Very captivating if you have some interest in history, since he was right at the turn of the century and was in several places the first foreigner that the natives had seen, and almost everywhere the first airplane to have landed.

 

A.B. Bruce –

The Training of the Twelve

I have started this one, and then kinda left it sitting on the pile. Not for any other reason than the fact that it isn’t a narrative and thus is a little more difficult to read. I AM going to finish it, just haven’t made it yet.

 

Fred C. Koch –

The Volga Germans

This title I found in Barnes & Noble when I was looking for something else, and it captivated me. My mom’s mom was very adamant about being a German FROM Russia. And this book directly addresses that confusing distinction. This one too is sitting on the pile, started but only about 50 pages or so actually read.

 

C.J. Mahaney –

Worldliness

Humility

Living the Cross Centered Life

CJ Mahaney is just one of my favorite people in general. I heard him speak at Resolved 2005 and was very impressed with him. These three titles are the compilation of his thoughts on those topics. They are very good and thoroughly convicting. I love them!

 

Christopher Paolini – 

Eragon

Eldest

Brisingr

I know, I know, I know . . . what are these three doing here, right? Well, I’m not going to lie. I like dragons. And these are some pretty good dragon stories. In a more academic sense, it was fun to see how his writing matured as the author aged. Nothing to terribly drastic or anything like that, but just the way in which he sort of picked up some deeper meanings as he went along. This one too I feel was influenced by Asimov, or at the very least by Ender’s Game by Card. But that is just my opinion, and I cant prove it.

 

Donald Whitney –

Spiritual Disciplines of the Christian Life

I picked up this book as I was working through some tough stuff. It has been greatly impactful, but at the same time it is one of the very few books I feel like I can reread as I grow and change and that it will still be helpful. If you have a chance, take the time to read it and see how important the things are that we so often brush off as menial.

 

R. Albert Mohler –

Atheism Remix

Mohler is one of the greatest minds in the whole of the Christian world and maybe even in the whole world right now. He has some great view and insights on things in general, and in this book really tackles the whole atheism question and how it is changing. The book isn’t really anything more then an overview aimed at providing understanding to the reader, but it was very helpful for me to read. It opened up an understanding on some of the things going on that I have seen, and it was just great to have a few ideas of my own legitimized by his opinion.

 

William Golding –

Lord of the Flies

Having never read this before, I thought it was very interesting. There is of course the whole situation of lost boys on an island, but through this story Golding is really pointing out the very evil core of humanity and the terror that envelops us when authority is removed. There were also a few other things as I went through it, but nothing of great significance outside of the story.

 

Os Guinness – 

God in the Dark

I was loaned a copy of this book to read when things were getting really rough a month or so ago. I dont know that I would call this one life-changing, but it was really encouraging to read. I found several times thinking that this guy knew exactly what I was staring down, and he had some very comforting and challenging words to share.

 

Allan Hadidian –

Discipleship

I’ve started this book as well, it got set aside a few weeks ago as things were getting busy and my schedule started to jump around a lot more then it did over the semester. So far it has been a good explanation of just what exactly discipleship really is, and helpful with a few strategies on starting/continuing with it. I cant say that I really have any outlet for this at this point, but I have also been talking with some guys and getting some encouragement to step out there and see what happens. We shall see.

 

Stuart Scott –

The Exemplary Husband

Don’t have much to say on this one. I started it, and I think I got all the way to the end of the first chapter. It also got sidestepped for something else. I’ll get back to it as soon as I finish the others that are sitting there ready to go.

 

And that’s about it. It sure doesn’t seem like much. 26 books and not even all of them completely read. But its a start. I hope to be able to push on and increase the number for next year.

 

Later . . .