Books; Summer Treat (Breakpoint Summer Book List)

BreakPoint Commentaries
Books

Summer Treat

By Chuck Colson
7/3/2007

BreakPoint Book Recommendations
Here at BreakPoint, summer usually means one thing. No, I don’t
mean it’s time to go to the beach. I mean it’s time for us to
start talking about books for summer reading and sharing our
recommendations. After all, what better companion could you
have at the beach than a good book?

Joking aside, we know that this is the time of year when kids, and we
adults as well, often have a little extra free time and are in
the market for something good to read. That’s why you can
find a selection of some of our favorite books now up on our
website, complete with links that you can use to order them.
No matter what you prefer, from light reading to heavy, from
devotionals to poetry to social science to mysteries,
we’ve got something for you and your family.

A couple of my own selections will give you some idea of what we’re
recommending. One book I’ve recommended many times is Rodney
Stark’s The Victory of Reason. In this important book,
Stark shows conclusively how Western ideas on democracy, equality,
and freedom are based on Christian ideals. Stark turns everything
you hear today about the roots of Western culture on its head.
Next time someone tells you that Christianity is all about imposing
restraints on other people, or that Christianity and science don’t
mix, you can use what you learn from The Victory of Reason to
demonstrate that the very freedoms we enjoy today and modern
science as we know it would have been impossible without Christianity.

And then, for you literature lovers, there’s my absolute favorite
novel, Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov. Don’t be deterred by
its length or its depth. Just think of it as the perfect antidote
to all the media’s attempts to shorten your attention span
and keep your thinking as shallow as possible. Because this
book won’t allow you to do that. It asks the hard questions about
life and faith, and it won’t let you get away with easy answers.
It’s a great example of how wrestling with great literature can
strengthen your faith and your thinking.

A new book I have read and loved is Time Peace, by my long time
friend and colleague, Ellen Vaughn. Don’t miss it.

But my selections aren’t all we have. Our team of bloggers at
The Point, BreakPoint’s weblog, have been posting about their
favorite books for a couple of weeks now, and from those conversations
we’ve compiled a list of books that really has something
for everyone.

Eleven different bloggers contributed more than sixty books
to this list. Some are centuries old; others were just published
in the past couple of years. There’s even a book or two in
there by yours truly. And we’re not even finished yet:
Our bloggers will be reading and discussing books from this
list all summer long, so keep stopping by The Point to learn more.
Reading together is one of the healthiest things for a family
and these suggestions are designed to make it easier for
you to do just that. So make sure to take a look at our website
as well as our blog to get some great reading ideas.

It’s a summer treat you and your family will always remember.

As promised, the reading list from Breakpoint/The Point:

http://www.breakpoint.org/generic.asp?ID=6615

print version:
http://www.breakpoint.org/generic.asp?ID=6615&print=1

GINA DALFONZO
(See also: Got any summer reading recommendations?,
Lewis on Dickens, In a Chesterton mood)
Violent Prayer: Engaging Your Emotions Against Evil
by Chris Tiegreen

Won’t Let You Go until You Bless Me
by Andrée Seu

Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters: 10 Secrets Every Father Should Know
by Meg Meeker, M.D.

Unhooked: How Young Women Pursue Sex, Delay Love, and Lose at Both
by Laura Sessions Stepp

Unprotected: A Campus Psychiatrist Reveals How Political Correctness
in her Profession Endangers Every Student
by Miram Grossman, M.D.

Now and Not Yet: Making Sense of Single Life in the Twentieth Century
by Jennifer A. Marshall

Cyrano de Bergerac
by Edmond Rostand

Watching the Tree Limbs
by Mary E. DeMuth

Wishing on Dandelions
by Mary E. DeMuth

William Henry is a Fine Name
by Cathy Gohlke

Where Mercy Flows
by Karen Harter

Jeeves in the Offing
by P. G. Wodehouse

Little Dorrit
by Charles Dickens

A Tale of Two Cities
by Charles Dickens

The Complete Father Brown
by G. K. Chesterton

The Man Who Was Thursday
by G. K. Chesterton

Chesterton on Dickens
by G. K. Chesterton
________________________________________

ZOE SANDVIG
(See also: Did Jesus Play Tag?)

Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt
by Anne Rice
________________________________________

ROBERTO RIVERA
(See also: Call Me 'Your Lordship', Re: Got Any Summer
Reading Recommendations?)

Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution
by Simon Schama

Africa: A Biography of the Continent
by John Reader

Bleak House
by Charles Dickens
________________________________________

CATHERINE CLAIRE
(See also: RE: Got Any Summer Reading Recommendations?,
Ahhhh Fellow Poetry-Lovers!)

The End of Memory: Remembering Rightly in a Violent World
by Miroslav Volf

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
by Susanna Clarke

Jayber Crow
by Wendell Berry

A Timbered Choir
by Wendell Berry

The Book of Hours: Love Poems to God
by Rainier Maria Rilke

Real Christianity: Discerning True Faith from False Beliefs
by William Wilberforce

Evil and the Justice of God
N. T. Wright

Good News about Injustice: A Witness of Courage in a
Hurting World
by Gary Haugen

Chapters into Verse
edited by Robert Atwan and Laurance Wieder

A Cry Like a Bell
by Madeleine L’Engle
________________________________________

KRISTINE STEAKLEY
(See also: If I Can't See You, Will You Stop Existing?, RE: Got Any Summer Reading Recommendations)

The Bastard of Istanbul
by Elif Shafak

A Knock at the Door: A Journey through the Darkness of
the Armenian Genocide
by Margaret Ajemian Ahnert

Peace Like a River
by Leif Enger

Facing Justice
by Diane and David Munson

Confirming Justice
by Diane and David Munson

Jesus: An Intimate Portrait of the Man, His Land, and
His People
by Leith Anderson

Traveling Light: Releasing the Burdens You Were Never
Intended to Bear
by Max Lucado

It Takes a Church to Raise a Christian: How the
Community of God Transforms Lives
by Tod E. Bolsinger _
_______________________________________

KIM MORELAND
(See also: Is Altruism Really Hardwired or Is the Study

Just Another Form of Reductionism?, The Mystery of Being,
A Book of Uncommon Prayer, He Saved a Wretch like Me)

The Spiritual Brain: A Neuroscientist’s Case for the
Existence of the Soul
by Denyse O’Leary and Mario Beauregard

The Habit of Being: Letters of Flannery O’Connor
by Flannery O’Connor

The Book of Uncommon Prayer
edited by Constance and Daniel Pollock

John Newton: From Disgrace to Amazing Grace
by Jonathan Aitken ________________________________________

JEFF CLINTON
(See also: Saved Only By Sacrifice)

Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne
from Normandy to Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest
by Stephen E. Ambrose ________________________________________

DIANE SINGER
(See also: RE: Fun Summer Reading, RE: Serious Summer Reading)

The Eyre Affair
by Jasper Fforde

Lost in a Good Book
by Jasper Fforde

God in the Dark: The Assurance of Faith Beyond a Shadow of Doubt
by Os Guinness

A Little Primer on Humble Apologetics
by James Sire

The Pursuit of God
by A. W. Tozer _
_______________________________________

MARTHA ANDERSON
(See also: Summer at Tiffany, 'Time Peace' -- take the time to read it)

Summer at Tiffany
by Marjorie Hart

Time Peace: Living Here and Now with a Timeless God
by Ellen Vaughn

Receiving the Day: Christian Practices for Opening the Gift of Time
by Dorothy Bass

Same Kind of Different as Me: A Modern-Day Slave, an International
Art Dealer and the Unlikely Woman Who Bound Them Together
by Ron Hall and Denver Moore ________________________________________

LORI SMITH
(See also: Re: Got Any Summer Reading Recommendations?)

The Book of Jane
by Anne Dayton and May Vanderbilt

A Walk with Jane Austen: A Journey into Adventure, Love, and Faith
by Lori Smith

The Good Husband of Zebra Drive
by Alexander McCall

Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art
by Madeleine L’Engle

Selected Literary Essays
by C. S. Lewis

On Stories and Other Essays on Literature
by C. S. Lewis

The Opposite of Fate: Memories of a Writing Life
by Amy Tan

Mugglenet.com’s What Will Happen in Harry Potter 7: Who Lives,
Who Dies, Who Falls in Love, and How Will the Adventure Finally End
by Ben Schoen

The Selected Poems of Wendell Berry
by Wendell Berry ________________________________________

JASON BRUCE
(See also: Re: Got Any Summer Reading Recommendations?)

Invented Eden
by Robin Hemley

When People Are Big and God Is Small
by Edward Welch

God and Government
by Charles Colson

Arlington, L. C., In Search of Old Peking.

Blofeld, John, City of Lingering Splendor.

Blumenthal, Ralph,The Stork Club:America’s Most Famous Nightspot and the Lost World of Cafe Society

Capuzzo, Michael, Close to Shore.

Fraser, George, MacDonald, Flash for Freedom.

Fraser, George MacDonald, Flashman and the Redskins.

Junger, Sebastian, The Perfect Storm.

Krakauer, Jon, Into the Wild.

Krakauer, Jon, Into Thin Air.

Krakauer, Jon, Touching the Void.

Machlin, Milt, The Search for Michael Rockefeller.

O’Connor, D’Arcy, The Secret Treasure of Oak Island.

Porter, Bill, Road to Heaven: Encounters With Chinese Hermits.

Richie, Donald, The Inland Sea.

Root-Bernstein, Robert & Michelle, Honey, Mud, Maggots, and Other Medical Marvels.

Zhisui, Dr. Li, (Tai Hung-Chao, trans.), The Private Life of Chairman Mao: The Memoirs of Mao’s Personal Physician.

Sorry; yes, you’re right. Good eyes. My bad.

I would also recommend very highly:

Connell, Evan S., Son of the Morning Star.

Couch, Dick, Down Range: Navy SEALs in the War on Terrorism.

Couch, Dick, The Finishing School: Earning the Navy SEAL Trident.

Couch, Dick, The Warrior Elite: The Forging of SEAL Class 228.

Lavender, David, Bent’s Fort.

Both Son of the Morning Star and Bent’s Fort are excellent volumes for those interested in the Old West. In addition, Bent’s Fort is one of the titles in the publisher’s list of Bison Books, almost all of which are great reads in this area.

Personally, I also love the all the spy stories of Eric Ambler, any of which would make a good addition to a summer leisure reading list.

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