I just read Time’s article called “The Top 10 Books of All Time” on their website. I’m always wondering what to read next, so I resort to articles like this to help me decide what’s best. But really my tastes are probably different than some suit journalist in a high-rise office in New York City, right?
That’s why we’re going to make a “Colbyintheraw’s Top 10 Books of All Time.” If you’re reading this, you’re invited to submit your top 10 list, either by leaving a comment or emailing it to colbywilliams1@gmail.com. Please do not include the Bible or the Koran or the Torah or any other equivalent. I know these are very important to you and your religion, and you can write about it on Facebook all you want, but it’s not fair to humans if God is in the competition. Anything else goes – novels, biographies, histories, poetry, plays, etc.
I’ll compile the results, and we’ll see who stands tall among normal people. I’m even going to laminate the list and keep it on my fridge. The deadline is August 9th!
Posted by deanjbaker on July 25, 2008 at 10:27 am
good to see this
Posted by Cliff Burns on July 25, 2008 at 10:30 am
Ooooo. I love top ten lists, they always get people debating and talking. I’ve posted about my favorite books and movies and gotten lots of feedback, people can’t help countering your lists with their own. My problem is do I select FAVORITE books or BEST books (because there’s a difference)? Perhaps a combination of both: a few titles leap immediately to mind:
EARTHLY POWERS by Anthony Burgess
GOSPEL by Wilton Barnhardt
TOWING JEHOVAH by James Morrow
OUTERBRIDGE REACH by Robert Stone
THE ILIAD by Homer (Robert Fagles translation)
UNDERWORLD by Don DeLillo
DAYS BETWEEN STATIONS by Steve Erickson
THE INTUITIONIST by Colson Whitehead
PROJECT X by Jim Shepard
HOLY THE FIRM by Annie Dillard
Howzat? Good luck with the poll…
Posted by Carter on July 25, 2008 at 12:13 pm
How to Win Friends & Influence People – Dale Carnegie
Power of Positive Thinking – Norman Vincent Peale
Success Through Positive Mental Attitude – Napoleon Hill & W. Clement Stone
Wooden on Leadership – John Wooden
The Law – Bastiat
Now, Discover Your Strengths – Marcus Buckingham
Mere Christianity – C.S. Lewis
The Servant – James C. Hunter
An Honest President (Grover Cleveland) – H. Paul Jeffers
With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa – E. B. Sledge (Gripping & not for the faint of heart)
Posted by Becca on July 25, 2008 at 1:17 pm
This was tough to compile. I suppose I’m giving you my favorite ten books.
Bird By Bird- Anne Lamott
Mere Christianity- C.S. Lewis
Love Thy Neighbor: A story of War- Peter Maas
The Poisonwood Bible-Barbara Kingsolver
To Kill A Mockingbird- Harper Lee
Next Generation Leader- Andy Stanely
Night-Elie Wiesel
1984- George Orwell
My Utmost for His Highest- Oswald Chambers
Dispatches From The Edge- Anderson Cooper
Posted by zach allen on July 25, 2008 at 2:57 pm
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
The Thief of Always by Clive Barker
A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor
You Shall Know Our Velocity! by Dave Eggers
The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
Posted by alex on July 27, 2008 at 3:00 pm
Alright, I struggle with this, because “Fiction? Nonfiction?” What exactly are we talking about? I’d much rather come up with “500 Books You Ought/Must Read.” However, I understand the nature of the question, so sticking to fiction:
THE LORD OF THE RINGS, J. R. R. Tolkien
A TALE OF TWO CITIES, Charles Dickens
CATCHER IN THE RYE, J. D. Salinger
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, Harper Lee
BEOWULF, Anonymous
OF MICE AND MEN, John Steinbeck
WATERSHIP DOWN, Richard Adams
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, Jane Austen
EYES OF THE DRAGON, Stephen King
The last one might be a joke. I don’t know, list subject to change, yadayadayada. Some on the above lists that NEED a shout out (that I’ve read, that is) – Moby Dick and The Iliad. RAR!
Posted by ryan on July 28, 2008 at 12:35 am
ok i have been thinking about this for quite awhile. this is books i recommend not in numerical order.
the faith once and for all – jack cottrell
harry potter (series im not going to list them all seperately) – jk rowling
velvet elvis – rob bell
life together, the classic exploration of faith in community – dietrich bonhoeffer
watchmen – alan moore
james and the giant peach – roald dahl
lord of the rings (series again) – j.r.r. tolkien
fahrenheit 451 – ray bradbury
well i didn’t make 10 but im trying to expand my horizons. occ left me jaded with reading so im trying to find stuff to get back into it. if i read any good ones i let you know.
-ryan
Posted by zach allen on August 9, 2008 at 11:52 pm
colby – i need to edit my top ten. replace “the crossing” with the entire “border trilogy” by mccarthy, and put it ahead of eggers. i finished the trilogy yesterday. he goes for the heart.
Posted by krystal on August 10, 2008 at 2:31 pm
okay.this is late. i am sorry. these are not necessarily in order. i’ll do my best.
1. The Fountainhead, by Ayn Rand
2. Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling
3. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
4. Til We Have Faces, C.S. Lewis
5. Traveling Mercies, by Anne Lamott
6. The Giver, by Lois Lowry
7. Flowers in the Attic, by V.C. Andrews
8. The Giving Tree, by Shel Silverstein
9. Grimm’s Fairy Tales, The Brothers Grimm
10. The Hobbit, Tolkien
Honorable mentions go to: The Great Divorce, Sex God, Blue Like Jazz, Little Women, Anything by Anne Lamott. and LOTR. oh, and Life Together, and Passion and Purity.
Posted by Dayne on August 14, 2008 at 3:02 pm
1. The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis
2. Atlas, Shrugged by Ayn Rand
3. The Lion,the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
4. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
5. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
6. The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
7. The God Who is There by Francis Schaeffer
8. In the Name of Jesus by Henri J.M. Nouwen
9. The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
10. Humility by Andrew Murray
And although I may be banned from doing this…I would include Psalms for it’s incredible literary value…