Ten Books Everyone Should Read # 10

Years ago, when I was a lowly English major, I recall taking a survey literature course with a professor who made the statement: "No one who presumes to take up the mantle of historian, sociologist, psychologist, lawyer or student of English in the western world can do so without an intimate knowledge of the Bible." I've thought much of his words through the years and they ring as true today as they did thirty years ago.

In fact, I would go so far as to say that without a knowledge of the Bible, one cannot fully understand much of European or English literature. There are far too many allusions (as with Shakespeare as prime example) from the Bible to wander through the great works without a Biblical background. And the same could be said for any discipline where involvement in human thought and predicament play a role.

So, even thought the Bible is my spiritual bailiwick, I'm going to maintain that the Bible is still the #1 book everyone should read . . . in fact, study is required. Even if a person approaches the Bible from a purely literary vantage point, the Bible is without doubt the greatest book ever written. There can be found on more influential poetry, narratives, themes, or allusions than the Bible.

If you haven't read in it lately, better get crackin'. It's a big book, and worthy of your best efforts and concentration. And no matter how many times you've read "The Book" you are certain to find some new material.

(NOTE: According to my stats on this blog, few are reading it. Please let me know if you find this blog of interest. I'll keep going. If not, I'll give attention to other venues.)

Ten Books Everyone Should Read # 9

Among the more contemporary books suited for all audiences and tastes, one can't go wrong with Tuesdays With Morrie, by Mitch Albom. This wonderful story of friendship between a professor and student, younger and older, reads like a road map for life, and few there would be who wouldn't glean something of worth from its pages.

Friendship, Forgiveness, Joy, Sorrow, Life, Death . . . the book runs the gamut and is offered up in such frank presentation its a joy to read it, though the subject matter is anything but pleasant.

Book groups and changed lives have been born from its publication, and there is no doubt that Tuesdays will continue to be a book that people will be reading a hundred years from now. It has the status of classic already and seems to be only growing stronger.

One doesn't have to read the book on a Tuesday, either, to find something as a take-away. Any day will do.

Ten Books Everyone Should Read # 8

The problem with some literature is that we are forced to read it. This pressure to accept what others deem as noteworthy has a tendency to weaken the resolve, however, rather than strengthen it.

Somewhere in the hazy underworld of high school literature, each of us was assigned one or more of Shakespeare's plays. And because of this, most students have recoiled at the thought of trying to decipher the King James English or learn a new vocabulary for the human spirit. It's sad, but true.

But everyone should give Shakespeare a second chance. Perhaps, with the exception of the Bible, no other corpus of work has had a greater impact on the English-speaking world than Shakespeare's body of work. It is difficult to imagine Hollywood, network TV, or any outstanding novels void of his influence in one way or another. His themes are universal, and they have touched nearly every creative portion of the human psyche.

Reading Shakespeare is discovering a great poet, perhaps the greatest who ever lived. Some call him "the bard." Bards are worth listening to. Or take Othello. Who wouldn't respect a writer who had a board game named after one of his characters.

Enough said. Just read him.

Ten Books Everyone Should Read # 7

Some works are so old, so good, so universal, we categorize them as classics. Such is the case with anything written by Dante. Take The Divine Comedy. It's always worth reading. Even in patches. A sampling will do to create an entire pie, and from the reading of just a couple of lines one can imagine the whole.

Like most classics, The Divine Comedy delves deeply into they human psyche and, even with the passing of centuries, the work tells us much about contemporary life. These works do, in ways scarcely noted, have the ability to teach and inform.

It doesn't take long to read The Divine Comedy. It just goes up like a tinder blaze and one is consumed by it.

Perhaps that's what makes it so funny . . . and so true.

Ten Books Everyone Should Read # 6

Some books are effective in their voice or narrative or larger-than-life characters. Other books are effective in their impact. And then there are the books about effectiveness.

Such is the case with The Seven Habits of Highly-Effective People, by Steven Covey, a book that has indeed taken on larger-than-life status and sales and one that will impact anyone who reads it. Business, school, relationships, life . . . makes no difference. The Seven Habits are simple yet profound in their implications for creating a better life . . . not necessarily wealthier. The book is really about inner strength and resiliency, the source of much of our happiness and outlook.

Mr. Covey has turned this enterprise into a cottage industry all its own, and everyone from business leaders to school children have benefited from thinking about the seven habits.

Habits, of course, don't come without awareness and practice. It's tough, but one can improve in any area of life by reading this book.

Ten Books Everyone Should Read # 5

Some ideas, themes and plots have changed little through the centuries, and we get the feeling from reading the ancient that not all that much has changed with people over time. Consider, for example. Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. Take your pick. These ancient tales are ever fresh, and the struggles and insights we can glean from them are reminiscent of our modern day experiences.

One doesn't have to read far into the poems to discover that there is something universal about the journey of Odysseus and his friends. He's longing to get back home. Troubles abound. But it is love and hearth that push him onward through the ship wrecks and the tempests.

Substitute our contemporary struggles into the plot and you have a book of psychology, a book of morality lessons, a book of religion, or a novel. Depends on how we want to read it and analyze it.

From the ancient comes the new. And everyone should read Homer at least once.

Ten Books Everyone Should Read # 4

There are some books that, once having been written, are impossible for their authors to repeat. Such was the case with To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. Nearly sixty years after having written this classic, Ms. Lee is still living, but hasn't published a blessed thing since. The reason: such a work would be impossible to duplicate and all subsequent writing would pale by comparison. So she just stopped trying.

To Kill a Mockingbird is still assigned in classrooms across America, and few who have read it have come away from the work unaffected or impacted by its varied explorations of family, race, class, love, and justice. To top things off, the work also features moving courtroom drama, unforgettable dialogue, and insights that border on the Biblical.

Ms. Lee gave us a great offering. And the movie version of the work is arguably every bit as good as the book, and there are few movies based on classics that fit that category. Best to read To Kill a Mockingbird when we are young, and then to repeat same along the dusty avenues and alleys of life. There's that much depth to the book, and new insights are forthcoming at every juncture along the way.