Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden
A vivid account of the first sustained firefight involving U.S. troops since Vietnam. I’m almost finished with this one, and I think I can safely say it’s going to be a favorite. Certainly one of best war books I’ve ever read: beautiful in it’s portrayal of camaraderie, sacrifice, and raw courage; and ugly in it’s accurate, blood-soaked depiction of modern warfare.
Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
My first sampling of Crichton (Terminal Man) left a bad taste in my mouth. Now I’m giving him a chance to “redeem” himself with his most famous novel, Jurassic Park – and so far, he’s doing just that. The story is smart, suspenseful, and disturbingly plausible.
Christian Love by Hugh Binning
I haven’t actually started this Puritan Paperback yet, but it’s my next intended read. A reviewer on Amazon said it was “reminiscent of Jonathan Edwards in its balance of rationalism, attention to scripture, and harmonious structure.” Sounds plenty good to me.
The Deadliest Monster by Jeff Baldwin
A terrific examination of Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Can you guess which one has the more scriptural view of man’s nature? If you’ve read either of the aforementioned classics, this book is a must. The humanism I mentioned in my Frankenstein review gets a full and detailed treatment by Baldwin, who then contrasts it with the Christian worldview of Stevenson’s book.
Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein
“Join the army and see the universe.” I’ve been wanting to get my hands on this one for some time, and yesterday, I finally succeeded. It’s considered a classic of science fiction. Being a fan of the genre, how could I pass it up? Now I’m itching to get started.
What’s on your bookshelf?
THE INK SLINGER 
Nice! Black Hawk Down is amazing. As is Jurassic Park. Crichton’s best, IMHO.
Black Hawk Down is officially a favorite now. When I finish it, I’ll try to watch the movie again, since I’ll have an even better appreciation for it. As for Jurassic Park, I’m actually enjoying it better than the Spielberg’s film adaption: it’s still a great movie, but it lacks the depth of the book.
I got “Christian Love” for Xmass this year, but haven’t read it yet. I guess it’s time. :D I have about three books (heavy books) that I am trying to decide which to read first. I think I’ll start with “Bringing in the Sheaves” by George Grant, he is one of my favorite speakers anyway. Then I’ll plunge myself into Binning. Geronimooooooo!
Hurrah for George Grant! He’s awesome. I’m studying through his “Modernity” lectures and they’re awesome, too! :)
On my bookshelf???
Volume 3 of EJ Young’s “The Book of Isaiah”
Volume 2 of John Oswalt’s “The Book of Isaiah”
Alec Motyer’s “The Prophecy of Isaiah”
Calvin’s Commentaries “Isaiah” (I think we’re in the second volume)
Thomas Manton, “James” in the Banner of Truth Geneva Series (This has been great from a devotional standpoint, as well as for a teaching resource)
Alec Motyer “The Message of James” in the IVP BST series
Augustine “City of God” (I’m getting through this haltingly)
Clowney “Preaching Christ in All of Scripture” (gathering dust on the nightstand)
City of God is on my list. I’d love to hear your thoughts on it. :)
Have you read “City” yet, Corey? I have read the first few chapters of it, but I was having a hard time making myself cut out time to go through it and take notes. It never got finished. Dr. Grant calls it the second best book in the world, and I’ve heard it picks up as you get further into it…..I just have to get there……
(if that turned out blue, then I succeeded. Just practicing. :D )
…….I failed.
No, I haven’t read City yet. One of these days… :)
I loved reading Starship Troopers and seeing how Heinlein’s worldview played out, really interesting. I’ll be curious to hear what you think of it.
My bookshelf just acquired Dante’s Divine Comedy and Owen’s Death of Death.
I’ll probably do a review of Heinlein’s book when I finish it. Glad to know you enjoyed it. :) I’ve been eyeing The Divine Comedy for awhile; I’ll have to try and find myself a copy.
Christian Behavior – John Bunyan & Jon Cardwell
Romans: The St. Andrew’s Expository Commentary Series – R. C. Sproul
Foundations of Grace – Steven J. Lawson
Plot Versus Character – Jeff Gerke
Those are some I’m actively reading. :D
Nice! Christian Behavior is one I plan on reading soon. I’d love to hear what you think of it. :)
Ooh, I didn’t know there was a Black Hawk Down book… I wanna read it! :)
And as for my bookshelf:
•Bridge to Terabithia (I’ve read it before, but I wanted to re-read it.)
•The Last Olympian (The final Percy Jackson book form the first series. Again, re-reading…)
•lots of manga…. forget listing all of that…
•Entwined by Heather Dixon, I think. A friend told me to read it, and I’m going to start it soon.
•The Man Who Was Thursday (I just bought it the other day… G. K. Chesterton)
•Ender’s Game, of course. Fourth re-read, coming up…
I just realized how severely I abuse ellipses….. *cough*
The Man Who Is Thursday is a great – if remarkably complex – book. I think you’ll enjoy it. And I just acquired an audiobook version of Ender’s Game. I’m only on chapter four, and I’m loving it.
Look for a review of Black Hawk Down soon. Tomorrow, hopefully. :)
So glad you like Ender so far! I’m not an auditory learner by any means, so I would never listen to an audiobook, but I hope it was well done :) And yes, I’m looking forward to starting The Man Who Is Thursday :D