"Reading"

16X20

oil

Yesterday my son posted his ten most influential books on Facebook, then invited me (among others) to share mine. First of all, here is his list:

1. Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives, Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica
2. The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine, 5 volumes, Jaroslav Pelikan
3. The Orthodox Way, Kallistos Ware
4. Comparative Indo-European Linguistics, Robert S. Beekes
5. Comparative Mythology, Jaan Puhvel
6. Marc-Antoine Charpentier, Catherine Cessac
7. Hamlet, William Shakespeare
8. Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, Molière
9. A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
10. Cyrano de Bergerac, Edmond Rostand
I nominate my lovely wife Jennifer Hortman, my mom Mary Hortman, my old friends Jonathan Waxman and Justin Pankow, and my own undergraduate mentor Dr. Ann Gebuhr.

Isn't he just the smarty pants? So I’ve been pondering all day which books I would select, and in doing so, I’ve come to the inevitable acceptance that my list will not be nearly as lofty as his. And, yes, I’m sure he read Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme in French. I've already admitted that my kids are smarter than me. As is my wont, if I’m going to have to spend time thinking about something, I’m certainly going to turn it into a post. Always killing too birds when I can. 

So the task, as I understand it, is not to name my ten most favorite books, but my ten most influential books. In all sincerity, here they are:

1. Childcraft Early Poems of Childhood

Every time someone asks me what motivated me to become an artist, I come back to this little collection of poems. It was the illustrations. I could just lose myself in them. At first, I was drawn in by them (no pun intended)…later I wanted to emulate them. The illustrations, that is. I can't even pretend to write poetry.

2. The Book of Acts – New Testament

Favorite verse:  (after having been beaten) The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.  I remind myself of this passage when I get whiny.

3. Lucy Gayheart, Willa Cather

This is the book that made me realize I like to read. And I have henceforth read with a vengeance.

4. Oh, Pioneers, Willa Cather (okay…I’m a big fan)

(On nearing his death, and after having contemplated his failure, despite all his back-breaking work, John Bergsen) “was quite willing to go deep under his fields and rest where the plow could not find him”.

On a lighter note:

5. The Jeeves and Wooster series, P. G. Wodehouse

I’m inspired by the pure wit and humor of Wodehouse

6. Team of Rivals, Doris Kearns Goodwin

7. Empire of the Summer Moon, S. C. Gwynn

Both Team of Rivals and Empire tap into my love of history. And my kids are related to Quanah Parker, so that made it even more appealing.

8. The Book of Job, Old Testament

Okay…I don’t really enjoy Job. But it is seriously thought-provoking. Really…what is the true meaning of life and on what is our relationship to God based? Faith when things are going our way is easy.

9. The Lonesome Dove series, Larry McMurtry

Just because it’s awesome

10. The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald

Just because it’s awesome

Now you may have noticed that my comments on each book became shorter and shorter. There's a reason for this. I recently read that it's very healthful to stand for 3 hours each day. I started this post sitting, then later decided to finish it while standing. You can probably decipher the rest on your own.

Seriously...I'm tired of standing. But before I stop...I want to invite my friends Carol McNatt, Nell Velvin, Mamie Downing, and Ellen Key to submit a list of the ten most influential books in your lives. 

Now I'm going to go sit down for a bit.