I think the books on your shelf say something substantial about you. The authors I've read were not chosen at random. Typically I latch onto something
in an author; something about their message, their style, the challenge they
pose, or the imaginative way they pose it speaks to me and hooks me.
As a lot of what I read is non-fiction, I find myself becoming a
student of these people I've never met, opening myself to their ideas. And the
various works of different authors tend to have some similarities, I find. Maybe
a common way of seeing the world or a common agenda in their writing.
I think if you looked at my shelves, you could make some at
least tentative conclusions about me. Not just about my present interests, but about my journey. Some of my books I read a long time ago and don’t feel they are really reflective
of my thought and life now. Other books I'd very closely identify with as being good representations of where I'm at today.
I was curious about this, so I counted. Listed below are the fifteen authors most represented on my shelves, and the number of books I own by
each. And, to clarify if it’s not clear: this is NOT a ranking of my favorite authors,
but of who is on my shelf. In my case at least, there's a difference.
- CS Lewis (18)
- Bill Watterson (12)
- Henri Nouwen (9)
- JRR Tolkien (8)
- Lesslie Newbigin (7)
- Frederick Buechner (7)
- Stanley Hauerwas (7)
- Thomas Merton (7)
- Brian McLaren (7)
- John Eldridge (5)
- Donald Miller (5)
- Miroslav Volf (5)
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer (4)
- NT Wright (4)
- Jurgen Moltmann (3)
Now, I could definitely
draw some conclusions about the presence and number of some of these books, but
I’ll leave it up to your imaginative speculation as to 1) why each of these authors are so
well-represented in my library, 2) what seasons of life I was in that led me to
their material, 3) what particular topics/ideas/goals are characteristic of
each 4) who I’d say today is most
like a mentor to me or who I’d most closely identify with, and 5) who I’d most distance
myself from now.
But more importantly, how about you? Look at the books you own…is there one author
more represented on your shelves than others? Would you call this author (or authors) a “mentor”
to you because of how his or her writing has shaped you?
And, how do you choose the
authors you read? Do they challenge you to think differently and creatively or
simply reaffirm you in what you already think? Are you embarrassed by your possession of certain authors/books? Do you feel deficient in some areas (e.g., too much non-fiction, too many male authors, too much about one particular topic and not enough about others)?
One thing I've learned today: I'm long overdue to dive into some of my 19th century Russian fiction.
2 comments:
Interesting exercise. I agree that it can be illuminating for oneself - and fun, too, for others, like myself, who don't know you that well to peek into your library. I would say I probably have more Merton than you but you have more Lewis than me. Interesting. I'd say do the exercise with fiction (& poetry?), too - which Russian novelists are you overdue on? I'm curious! (Rachel Wheeler)
Oh no, Rachel, my fiction (and poetry) collection is embarrassingly sparse (especially as a Lit major!), though I've read much more than I actually own.
As for the Russians, I've started Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov (Dos) in the past and got distracted by other things and so never finished them. Though I'd much rather get back to them then be reading three books by St. Augustine in one month. :) Also eager to explore Tolstoy. So, the "obvious" ones. :)
And, my Lewis count is beefed up by the Narnia books. A lot of Merton I read when I was younger and before I think I could really appreciate his interfaith themes, so I'm thinking about doing some work with him this year, maybe for our Seminar paper. May come to your "library" for help. :)
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