Five books that have shaped me as a reader.

[00:00:02][music] [music] [music] As a thought exercise, I wanted to take time to think about five books that define me [music] as a reader. um books that left a lasting impression, encouraged me in some way, or inspired me in one way or another. Um, and this list of books isn't necessarily what I would consider [music] to be the best written books or the greatest stories, but again, just books that left an impression. I want to lay down a couple ground rules first for this list. First off, it's not in any particular order.

[00:00:46]Um, and second, I limited myself to one Stephen King book. um given that he is my favorite author, um I didn't think it would be fair to have a list of five Stephen King books. And maybe that'll be for another video. We'll see. So, without further ado, let's get on to the list of five books. All right, for this first book, we'll lead off with a Stephen King book, um Misery. Uh this was my very first Stephen King book, the book that made me a fan of Stephen King.

[00:01:13]Um, if you haven't read Misery, it is about a writer named Paul Sheldon who is in uh an automobile accident and is rescued and then nursed back to good health by Annie Wilks. Um, who she describes herself as Paul's number one fan. Um, and then Annie just kind of as the story goes along, you realize, oh, maybe she's a bit more dangerous than what we initially thought. Um, this book is just so fun. Uh it's just a great thriller, a very grounded um a singular story. Um but I think what King does so well with this story is the slowly the slow unraveling of Paul's psychology.

[00:01:57]Just he's kind of like slowly losing it as he's uh here kind of trapped in Annie's house and things just go south way fast. Um, and I think King writes his Paul's inner monologue as well just so well. It's so funny. There's so many funny moments. And then Annie Wilks is just one of the great Stephen King antagonist. Um, she is so lovable and cuddly and soft and then next moment she's just completely unhinged and kind of crazy and it's just so fun. You never know what Annie you're going to get from scene to scene and it just kind of really keeps you on your toes. Um, just great story, great ending. Um, just all around a great book. And before I get into book number two, I need to provide a warning. I'm about to use the name Voldemort a lot. I'm going to say it a lot. So, you've been warned. That leads us into Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Um, I alluded to it briefly in the last video. Um, I love Harry Potter.

[00:02:58]I'm big Harry Potter fan. This was one of the series that really catapulted my uh love of reading. Um, and the Half-Blood Prince is on this day anyway, it's my favorite of the series. Um, I just think there's just so much fun in this. Um, the the Harry and his friends are getting older.

[00:03:16]Um, they're finding romance, so there's some of that and there's fun friendship elements in it as well as as you know, they move into their older teen years.

[00:03:24]And basically the plot is Harry finds a potions book that uh belonged to the mysterious half-blood prince. So who is this half-blood prince? He's struggling to figure this out while at the same time he's working a lot with Dumbledore trying to piece together the full history or or who is Voldemort? Who was Tom Riddle? Um, and that brings me to what I absolutely love about this book is the Tom Riddle backstory. Uh, who was he before he became Baltimore and what was that, you know, transformation point? Um, and we're introduced to Horcruxes, uh, which is just a super fun uh, story mechanic and element that kind of really sets the stage for the the endgame of this series uh, going into book seven. So, Half Blood Prince and Harry Potter as a whole, just really good stuff. All right, this third book is Gentle and Lowly by Dne Orland. Um, this book is about the heart of Christ and and his heart for sinners and weary people. Um, kind of really diving into the idea of like how does Jesus love me?

[00:04:37]How does he receive me even though I'm sinful and and flawed? and so really dives into a lot of these elements I think are just so well thought out um and and really impactful. This book was introduced to me uh at a really hard season of life um by a friend and I just it just came at the right time. You know those books that just they fall into your lap at the right exact moment that you need them uh that you need their encouragement or uh their inspiration or whatever it might be. And for me, Gentle and Lowly was that antidote uh during this really hard season. just bringing me back to some key truths and reminders about um how Jesus loves sinners and and wants to save sinners and and um just really really encouraged by this book.

[00:05:22]And the fourth book on this list is The Road by Cormick McCarthy. Um this is actually probably the most recent uh book on this list. Uh I just read this uh this past spring um and was blown away by it. Um, this isn't my first McCarthy, so I'm very familiar with his writing, his style, um, the tone that he goes for. Um, so I knew this was one that I wanted to read. And again, one of these books that I think I just read at the right time. Uh, my son was just born. So, um, this is a father and son story, so I think it that's probably why it really resonated with me. Um, but basically if you don't know the the plot of the road is basically there's a father and son and in the book named man and boy or the boy um and uh they're just they're traveling through a post-apocalyptic United States. Um it's it's a desolate landscape. Uh it's very cold and harsh and just full of of evil and and lawlessness and Yeah. So, they're trying to carry uh the fire or or goodness um uh as they get to where they're trying to go. And so, how do they interact and deal with all the evil and the atrocities that they are coming across and witnessing as they're journeying together um across America? So, there's just some really good tension uh between seeing all these uh evil acts and these atrocities that they're running into and how does the father then explain these things to his son or explain why these things are happening and why people act this way. And McCarthy's writing style, I know it's a bit of a turnoff for some.

[00:07:04]For me, I love it. Um I think it's very just matterof fact stream of consciousness kind of writing. Um, and it's just beautiful, very poetic. Um, and the way he writes and describes this story, these characters, um, the landscape, it's just so descriptive and, and although it's very bleak, it's just the way it's presented is very beautiful and thoughtful. Um, so it worked really well for me. Um, the road, I couldn't recommend it enough. And lastly, I have Peace Like a River by Leaf Anger. And I hope you can see that on the Kindle. I don't have the physical copy, so this will have to do. Um, Peace Like a River is about a small family's trek across America, I guess, as they uh try to go after um the oldest son who's become a fugitive and bring him home. Um, and it's told through the eyes of a young boy named Reuben. Um, I think he's like 11. Um, and so just that perspective alone, um, really makes this book compelling. um how he views his dad um who's on his own. There's no mom in the picture. Um the quiet demeanor of the dad um the larger than life faith of the dad. Um just when you put that scene through the eyes of an 11-year-old boy, it's just super compelling. Um so just a really good story. I wasn't expecting it to be um so introspective on with my own faith. Um so it was just a complete surprise. Um, how do you in this world that we're in where there's so much good and evil and fair and unfair, how do you wrestle with that? Um, and in light of the goodness of God and and the authority and sovereignty of God. So, just some really interesting thoughtprovoking questions uh came up while reading this book. So, left a lasting impact on me. I haven't read any more Leaf Anger since then, but um definitely one I'd like to check out more books of his. Those were five books that really shaped me as a reader. Um again, this list is not exhaustive. I'm sure I could add five more books to it.

[00:09:14]Um and it might even change within the next week. Um but if you're looking to get a sense of the stories that compel me, um that's a great place to start.

[00:09:23]Now, I'd love to know what your favorite book is. Is there a book that you feel like has shaped you as a person or as a reader? um or have you read any of the books that I've mentioned? [music] I'd love to talk about it down in the comments. Again, thank you for watching and I'll catch you in the next one.

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