Thu
Oct
12
2006

50 books you should and shouldn't read

I’ve mentioned Purtigorio before. The site describes itself as “a panoply of evangelical eccentricities, un-orthodox oddities & christian cultural curiosities” and is endlessly entertaining.

Two recent posts have been very thought provoking too:

50 books you should read
and
50 books you should leave on the shelf

With any of these kind of lists, LOTS of fascinating discussion is generated – well worth reading and thinking what you would add to either list.
I loved one comment on the ‘50 books you should leave on the shelf’ article, comparing that list with a list published by Christianity Today and how a number of title on the ‘avoid’ list make on the ‘must read’ list at CT. :)

Posted by Neil, 12 October 06
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Comment

  1. A purpose driven life is a bit harsh isnt it? What do you think? Plenty of sane people i know have read that book and are still sane (relatively speaking). I personally havent though but maybe good for someone? to many question marks

    — LukeS · Oct 12, 08:53 AM · #

  2. I agree with you luke – its not the greatest book in the world, but its simple and is a good kick in the pants at times – perhaps those at Purgatorio don’t like being told to do something useful…

    — David Corless · Oct 12, 08:57 AM · #

  3. I assume you both read the disclaimer at the top of the Purgatorio page: “These are books that have influenced evangelicalism that one should generally steer clear of due to errant theology, outright heresy, just plain lousy writing, being extremely dated or trendy, your own time stewardship or a combination thereof. I’m not saying these shouldn’t be read at all, some cover issues that need to be addressed, but don’t go here for soul food.”

    On that basis, I’m personally happy for ‘purpose driven life’ to be there. It needs a fair amount of qualifying before I would choose to use it widely.

    — Neil · Oct 12, 09:51 AM · #

  4. I haven’t read any of the 100 books mentioned. Is that good or bad?:)
    Anything by John Dickson is a must read for me.

    — Tim Haynes · Oct 15, 05:49 AM · #

  5. Well, there’s a good argument for reading some of the books there – even some on the ‘don’t read’ list (so you know what they’re about).
    Don’t forget these lists are US focussed. They won’t have even heard of John Dickson!

    — Neil · Oct 15, 06:12 AM · #

  6. Their loss then if they haven’t heard of John Dickson.

    — Tim Haynes · Oct 15, 07:16 AM · #

  7. Bit hard if his books aren’t sold there! ;)

    — Neil · Oct 15, 01:44 PM · #

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