Books That Changed My Life

Sorry if your reader picks this up twice.  I only now realized that the Amazon links don't show up in readers, so I'm putting titles in - it might show a second time in your reader.
 
Lifehacker ran a post called "The Books That Changed Your Lives".  I didn't vote, but I'll post some of the ones that changed my life.

The Bible. Not sure there's a whole lot left to say. What book could possibly have more impact on a person's life than inerrant truth, inspired by the God of all the Universe? Most of it is simple enough that a child can comprehend it, but there's such a wealth of knowledge that you can spend your entire lifetime swimming in it and always learning something new. The Bible is God's primary means by which He makes Himself known to us. If you're waiting around for God to speak to you, open up your Bible.

Lately, I'm reading the ESV translation.

Knowing God by JI Packer. This book was what finally motivated me to read the Bible from front to back for the very first time. And this is one of those books that I've bought many copies of. It's such an amazing read by a great theologian who's still alive today. I've bought it many times because every time I buy it, I get to read through it once, and then give a copy away. Which really says a lot about a book - if I really value a book, I keep it for myself. But this is one of those books I value so much I give it away every chance I get.


Let the Nations Be Glad by John Piper. This was my first introduction to John Piper. And with a title like Let the Nations Be Glad, I was certain it was going to be stuffy reading. While John Piper does know his theology, and he does work to make that clear to others, this is a very important read to anybody who is considering life as a missionary, particularly in frontier missions. However, even if you're going for one week, the principles in this book still apply - missions are a means to another end - that God would be glorified. There will be no missions in Heaven because there will only be worship - the end for which the means exist today.

Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell. I didn't want to make all the books on the list theology. But I did want the bar to be high - books that have truly changed my life. This book hasn't really shaped my worldview or my way of thinking, but it was the very first book I read that showed me some real value to reading. As an adult, you would call it a "real page turner". The story is riveting, and I don't recall ever getting bored with it. The few characters are extremely well-developed, which is requisite for any story to really get my attention. By the end of the book, your thoughts are wrapped up in her life - you want so badly for her to see her family again. Sorry - I don't have any great life-lessons to extract from it.

I'm not much of a reader, which is unfortunate. I've read many other books (I don't use "many" as relative to other people, but I've read more than 10 books in my life, some without pictures), but there are surprisingly few that truly changed my life. I hope you take some time and look into the ones I've listed here, and let me know if your life is changed as well.