I haven't made a "Worldview in Four Books" note because I know I would keep editing and swapping out the four. Four authors? That sounds slightly more attainable: Jane Austen, C.S. Lewis, Tolstoy, and George Eliot. Now I don't have to distinguish between Mere Christianity or Perelandra or Narnia as being most formative. A biography of George Muller taught me to pray, and since this is worldview focused, I should fit in Chambers and Spurgeon. Gosh how can I leave off Tolkien or Shakespeare? John Donne or Malcolm Guite? I think about Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Sabina Wurmbrand weekly as a corrective to modern sensibilities of hardship. The color of my imagination was probably shaped by L.M. Montgomery and Louisa May Alcott more than anyone else. Do you ever graduate from the authors who taught you to notice and feel beauty? Nope, I am terrible at these sorts of arbitrations. Hats off to everyone who manages it.
I'm currently reading Jayber Crow (my first Berry book) and am loving it! I also love Death Comes for the Archbishop, so maybe there's some type of crossover that points to you possibly liking it, too ☺️
I'll take the question to mean the four books that have shaped my thinking from childhood:
1. The Bible (of course, I'm a pastor)
2. J.R.R. Tolkien's Legendarium (once upon a time, I knew it better than the Bible; but if I have to pick just one of his works, it would be "The Lord of the Rings")
3. Will Cuppy's "The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody" (underlying both my sense of humor and my view of history)
4. Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr's "Cheaper by the Dozen" (especially his description of his father, the efficiency expert. That stuck with me so that I'm always trying to figure out how to do things more efficiently.)
I'll probably want to emend this list tomorrow and every day thereafter, but they are definitely works that had a heavy early influence.
I love this list, especially Gilbreth. I’ve never read the book, but I always enjoyed the original movie when growing up. My mom recorded it off some cable station, and we probably wore out the VHF.
I find it near-impossible to select just four, so I’m sharing the best books I’ve read over time. They span genres and topics but each is worth its weight in gold: https://www.tomwhitenoise.com/bookshelf
Nothing Else Matters and Blood Feud would be considered youth novels, and I don't think either is in print anymore, but they taught me lessons that have remained into adulthood.
Like Abigail, I've seen those notes, have enjoyed looking at what folks came up with and been tempted by the idea, but didn't see how I could pull it off. I also stumble a bit over an ambiguity about the idea of books that "define" my worldview. Is that books that influenced and shaped it? Books that represent or reflect it? There's quite a difference between those two things--in theory, the latter wouldn't even need to be books that I've read. I also bump up against the issue that different kinds of books--theological, philosophical, literary--seem to "define" my worldview in different ways.
But to give it a try.... Theological candidates would include Augustine (either The City of God or The Confessions, Luther ("The Freedom of a Christian" or "Temporal Authority"), and C. S. Lewis (what to choose?). Philosophically, Aristotle (can the Ethics and Politics, which really belong together, count as a single choice?), Burke, and Tocqueville have been very important. Literature is tough, because the field is vast. If I were forced to pick only one book as my favorite, it might be the Aeneid, but I'm not sure if that "defines" my worldview like some other things. An author I discovered about 15 years ago or so, and on whom I've done quite a bit of work, is the 19th-century Swiss pastor Jeremias Gotthelf (not very well known in English), and he has resonated with me pretty deeply. So, let's go with these:
1. C. S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory (I could go with some other choices, but this includes at least three, maybe four, essays that are small masterpieces in their own right)
2. Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France
3. Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America
4. Jeremias Gotthelf, Die Käserei in der Vehfreude ("The Cheesery in Cattlejoy"--I should remember, but don't, if there is an English translation; I have a vague sense that there may have been one in the late 19th century, but I would have to do a bit of research back at the office)
This is a very hard one! (Also a new subscriber here, hello!)
I will admit recency bias for my picks, and this could change at any time, maybe even in an hour!
“A Canticle for Leibowitz” by Walter M Miller. There’s just so much in this book I resonate with, and it’s my favorite for a reason. The persistence of the Church (through grace) even after the world bombs itself to ashes, the dignity of human life, the humility of the religious vocation. It has beautiful reflections on the nature of religious belief throughout technological eras.
Abandonment to Divine Providence by Jean Pierre de Caussade- taught me the beauty and the necessity of giving myself, and all of my self expectations and desires to Him, who will care for me.
Interior Freedom by Jacques Philippe (or any book by him), he teaches the beautiful simplicity of an undivided heart and, again, to let go out of desire to control our lives and to give ourselves to Him in all things.
I have a hard time with the fourth one, but for now I will pick Emma by Jane Austen. To pick up on the running theme from my suggestions, watching Emma grow and her learning from her mistakes, and *learning that it is only in giving up her desires for the sake of another* is when she is completely fulfilled. I appreciate too that she learns how prideful she is, sees her mistakes and yet still makes them because of her human fallibility. Jane Austen really knew how to capture the true spirit of the human heart, in all it’s kaleidoscopic beauty and failings.
I hope this all makes sense, excellent blog topic!
Welcome, Victoria! So glad you’re here! There’s a great review of Canticle in the archives you might enjoy. And I love seeing Austen on your list. I’m woefully under-read when it comes to her work, but she’s astonishing.
The faithfulness unto death of the trumpeter and the tender love of the shepherd, in the first two books, made a lasting impression on me as a child. As an adult, Jayber's vision of faithful love and Eliot's clear-eyed, still-kind understanding of the weakness and strength in human beings and the belief in the immense importance of our small, unknown lives have added depth and richness to those impressions.
I haven't made a "Worldview in Four Books" note because I know I would keep editing and swapping out the four. Four authors? That sounds slightly more attainable: Jane Austen, C.S. Lewis, Tolstoy, and George Eliot. Now I don't have to distinguish between Mere Christianity or Perelandra or Narnia as being most formative. A biography of George Muller taught me to pray, and since this is worldview focused, I should fit in Chambers and Spurgeon. Gosh how can I leave off Tolkien or Shakespeare? John Donne or Malcolm Guite? I think about Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Sabina Wurmbrand weekly as a corrective to modern sensibilities of hardship. The color of my imagination was probably shaped by L.M. Montgomery and Louisa May Alcott more than anyone else. Do you ever graduate from the authors who taught you to notice and feel beauty? Nope, I am terrible at these sorts of arbitrations. Hats off to everyone who manages it.
I love that it’s a struggle! It just makes you appreciate how formative books have been in our lives.
Yes! It is a fun exercise, even though I fail utterly. So grateful worldview is shaped by the panoply and not only four! :)
A Prayer for Owen Meany
Jayber Crow
East of Eden
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
I have such a love-hate relationship with Wendell Berry. I’ve never read Jayber Crow; it’s been on my TBR for a while now!
I'm currently reading Jayber Crow (my first Berry book) and am loving it! I also love Death Comes for the Archbishop, so maybe there's some type of crossover that points to you possibly liking it, too ☺️
I remain open!
Oh, Jayber Crow! One of the best!!
I'll take the question to mean the four books that have shaped my thinking from childhood:
1. The Bible (of course, I'm a pastor)
2. J.R.R. Tolkien's Legendarium (once upon a time, I knew it better than the Bible; but if I have to pick just one of his works, it would be "The Lord of the Rings")
3. Will Cuppy's "The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody" (underlying both my sense of humor and my view of history)
4. Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr's "Cheaper by the Dozen" (especially his description of his father, the efficiency expert. That stuck with me so that I'm always trying to figure out how to do things more efficiently.)
I'll probably want to emend this list tomorrow and every day thereafter, but they are definitely works that had a heavy early influence.
I love this list, especially Gilbreth. I’ve never read the book, but I always enjoyed the original movie when growing up. My mom recorded it off some cable station, and we probably wore out the VHF.
You should add Cheaper by the Dozen to your read-aloud list with your daughter! So so funny, warm, wise.
I think about the Gilbreth's household all the time!
Frederica Mathewes-Green: The Illumined Heart
Neil Postman: Technopoly
G K Chesterton: The Everlasting Man
Ray Bradbury: Something Wicked This Way Comes
The Illumined Heart is such a great book! I almost included Something Wicked as well.
I've read Illumined Heart at least 5 times. I've shared her explanation of sin and how we're all heroes in our own movie with countless people.
I almost included That Hideous Strength, but Something Wicked has more heart.
I find it near-impossible to select just four, so I’m sharing the best books I’ve read over time. They span genres and topics but each is worth its weight in gold: https://www.tomwhitenoise.com/bookshelf
I love it!
This is hard...
- "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
- "Low Anthropology" by David Zahl
- "Orthodoxy" by GK Chesterton
- "Basic Christianity" by John Stott
Runners-up:
- "The Last Battle" by C.S. Lewis
- "The Air We Breathe" by Glenn Scrivener
- "Destiny and Power" by Jon Meacham
I need to read Confederacy again. I was just thinking about that book the other day!
Made me laugh out loud after 9/11 when I needed it!
Only four…?!
1.) Buber’s I and Thou
2.) Dante’s Comedia
3.) Lewis’ Till We Have Faces
4.) Crime & Punishment
Till We Have Faces is a foundational book for me. I return to it often.
Was running earlier and thought about this question. I need to add Merton’s Seeds of Contemplation even though that makes five books…
Cannot possibly limit it to four, as the Bible has some 66 books.
How about four non-fiction and four fiction?
Non-fiction:
- The Gift of Pain by Dr. Paul Brand and Philip Yancey
- Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton
- Fatal Misconception by Matthew Connelly
- Devotions upon emergent occasions by John Donne
Fiction:
- Nothing Else Matters by Patricia St. John
- Blood Feud by Rosemary Sutcliff
- Villette by Charlotte Bronte
- Island of the World by Michael D. O'Brien
I am delighted you chose Villette. And I want you to write a post about why!
I did! But not here.
I would love to read it if there is a link.
As long as Joel doesn't mind me sharing a link to my 'Stack on his, here it is: https://hollyaj.substack.com/p/literature-and-the-single-woman
I haven’t read any of those novels. I’ll need to check them out!
Nothing Else Matters and Blood Feud would be considered youth novels, and I don't think either is in print anymore, but they taught me lessons that have remained into adulthood.
Like Abigail, I've seen those notes, have enjoyed looking at what folks came up with and been tempted by the idea, but didn't see how I could pull it off. I also stumble a bit over an ambiguity about the idea of books that "define" my worldview. Is that books that influenced and shaped it? Books that represent or reflect it? There's quite a difference between those two things--in theory, the latter wouldn't even need to be books that I've read. I also bump up against the issue that different kinds of books--theological, philosophical, literary--seem to "define" my worldview in different ways.
But to give it a try.... Theological candidates would include Augustine (either The City of God or The Confessions, Luther ("The Freedom of a Christian" or "Temporal Authority"), and C. S. Lewis (what to choose?). Philosophically, Aristotle (can the Ethics and Politics, which really belong together, count as a single choice?), Burke, and Tocqueville have been very important. Literature is tough, because the field is vast. If I were forced to pick only one book as my favorite, it might be the Aeneid, but I'm not sure if that "defines" my worldview like some other things. An author I discovered about 15 years ago or so, and on whom I've done quite a bit of work, is the 19th-century Swiss pastor Jeremias Gotthelf (not very well known in English), and he has resonated with me pretty deeply. So, let's go with these:
1. C. S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory (I could go with some other choices, but this includes at least three, maybe four, essays that are small masterpieces in their own right)
2. Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France
3. Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America
4. Jeremias Gotthelf, Die Käserei in der Vehfreude ("The Cheesery in Cattlejoy"--I should remember, but don't, if there is an English translation; I have a vague sense that there may have been one in the late 19th century, but I would have to do a bit of research back at the office)
Great list. I’m with you on Weight of Glory; excellent collection. And de Tocqueville—that’s a deep well to draw on for a lifetime.
The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius. Focus on what matters and what you can control.
Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield. Courage under fire and loyalty to your team.
Wind, Sand and Stars by St. Exupery. Hope, Aspiration, and Adventure.
Neuromancer by William Gibson. "The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel." Sparked my love for technology...
Wind Sand and Stars.....
Neuromancer is on my TBR. Got to get to that!
Gotta read it before the Apple TV series comes out!
This is a very hard one! (Also a new subscriber here, hello!)
I will admit recency bias for my picks, and this could change at any time, maybe even in an hour!
“A Canticle for Leibowitz” by Walter M Miller. There’s just so much in this book I resonate with, and it’s my favorite for a reason. The persistence of the Church (through grace) even after the world bombs itself to ashes, the dignity of human life, the humility of the religious vocation. It has beautiful reflections on the nature of religious belief throughout technological eras.
Abandonment to Divine Providence by Jean Pierre de Caussade- taught me the beauty and the necessity of giving myself, and all of my self expectations and desires to Him, who will care for me.
Interior Freedom by Jacques Philippe (or any book by him), he teaches the beautiful simplicity of an undivided heart and, again, to let go out of desire to control our lives and to give ourselves to Him in all things.
I have a hard time with the fourth one, but for now I will pick Emma by Jane Austen. To pick up on the running theme from my suggestions, watching Emma grow and her learning from her mistakes, and *learning that it is only in giving up her desires for the sake of another* is when she is completely fulfilled. I appreciate too that she learns how prideful she is, sees her mistakes and yet still makes them because of her human fallibility. Jane Austen really knew how to capture the true spirit of the human heart, in all it’s kaleidoscopic beauty and failings.
I hope this all makes sense, excellent blog topic!
Welcome, Victoria! So glad you’re here! There’s a great review of Canticle in the archives you might enjoy. And I love seeing Austen on your list. I’m woefully under-read when it comes to her work, but she’s astonishing.
Mere Christianity by CS Lewis
Orthodoxy by GK Chesterton
Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard
1. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen.
2. Adam Bede by George Eliot.
3. Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte.
4. Middlemarch by George Eliot.
It was easier for me to choose books from one genre.
Hmmm. Today I might choose:
The Trumpeter of Krakow by Eric Kelly
The Tangelwoods Secret by Patricia St. John
Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry
Middlemarch by George Eliot
The faithfulness unto death of the trumpeter and the tender love of the shepherd, in the first two books, made a lasting impression on me as a child. As an adult, Jayber's vision of faithful love and Eliot's clear-eyed, still-kind understanding of the weakness and strength in human beings and the belief in the immense importance of our small, unknown lives have added depth and richness to those impressions.
Love this thought experiment. So many ways to slice “worldview”!
Top 4:
- “The Lord of the Rings” (obvi)
- “The Art of Power” by Jon Meacham (we all battle contradictions, yet can still achieve great things)
- “Pappyland” (legacy, demons, staying the course)
- “Capital in the 21st Century” (oddest choice. But fundamentally, if left unconstrained, power accrues)
Honorable Mentions: (4 is impossible)
- “How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life” (we’re all making ripples)
- “Fooled By Randomness” (success is often ephemeral, limit downsides)
Fooled by Randomness was a pivotal book for me. And I love seeing Russ Roberts on your list!
"Reading Lolita in Tehran" Azar Nafisi
~ For how I relate to books as a reader.
"U & I" Nicholson Baker
~ For how I relate to books as a writer.
The Gospels
~ For my relationship with religion.
"Collected Poems" R. S. Thomas
~ For my relationship with the Divine.
Excellent!