Top Books Read in 2018

George MacDonald
1.  Sir Gibbie (David Jack)
2.  Castle Warlock (David Jack)
3.  Robert Falconer (David Jack)
4.  Phantastes
5.  The Golden Key
6.  The Light Princess
7.  The Shepherd's Castle (Michael Phillips)
8.  The Minister's Restoration (Michael Phillips)

Charles Williams
1.  War in Heaven
2.  Many Dimensions
3.  The Greater Trumps
4.  Taliessin through Logres
5.  The Region of the Summer Stars
6.  He Came Down from Heaven
7.  The Forgiveness of Sins
8.  Collected Plays
9.  Three Plays
10.  Witchcraft
11.  The Silver Stair
12.  The Chapel of the Thorn
13.  The Celian Moment and Other Essays
14.  Outlines of Romantic Theology
15.  Letters to Lalage

Others in Alphabetical Order by Author
1.  The Divine Comedy - Dante Alighieri
2.  Sherlock Holmes and The Needle's Eye - Len Bailey
3.  The Consolation of Philosophy - Boethius
4.  Hobbit Lessons - Devin Brown
5.  The Man Who Knew Too Much - G. K. Chesterton
6.  Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories - Agatha Christie
7.  Reflecting the Eternal - Marsha Daigle-Williamson
8.  Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
9.  Lenten Lands - Douglas H. Gresham
10.  King Solomon's Mines - H. Rider Haggard
11.  The Sun Also Rises - Ernest Hemingway
12.  Beowulf and Other Old English Poems - Constance B. Hieatt
13.  A Wrinkle in Time - Madeleine L'Engle
14.  Out of the Silent Planet - C. S. Lewis
15.  Surprised by Joy - C. S. Lewis
16.  The Magician's Nephew - C. S. Lewis
17.  The Screwtape Letters - C. S. Lewis
18.  Charles Williams: The Third Inkling - Grevel Lindop
19.  Paradise Lost - John Milton
20.  Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus - Nabeel Qureshi
21.  A Comedian's Guide to Theology - Thor Ramsey
22.  The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club - Dorothy L. Sayers
23.  The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
24.  The Narnia Code - Michael Ward
25.  Surprised by Agape - Justin Wiggins
26.  Stars Through the Clouds - Donald T. Williams
27.  A Bounty of Blandings - P. G. Wodehouse
28.  Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves - P. G. Wodehouse
29.  God The Trinity - Malcolm B. Yarnell III
30.  The Fellowship: The Literary Lives of the Inklings - Philip Zaleski & Carol Zaleski

January/February Reading

1. Hobbit Lessons: A Map for Life's Unexpected Journeys - Devin Brown

2. The New York Times Parent's Guide to the Best Books for Children - Eden Ross Lipson

3. The Children of Húrin - J. R. R. Tolkien

4. Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves - P. G. Wodehouse

5. Out of the Silent Planet - C. S. Lewis

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6. A Light in the Attic - Shel Silverstein

7. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark - Alvin Schwartz

8. More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark - Alvin Schwartz

9. The Iliad: Retold from the Homer Original - Kathleen Olmstead

10. Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones - Alvin Schwartz

11. C. S. Lewis: Mere Christian - Kathryn Ann Lindskoog

12. The Light Princess - George MacDonald

October Reading

1. The Latin Letters of C. S. Lewis - C. S. Lewis & Don Giovanni Calabria
2. Murder on the Orient Express - Agatha Christie
3. All Hallows' Eve - Charles Williams
4. The Road Not Taken and Other Early Poems - Robert Frost
5. The Hound of the Baskervilles - Arthur Conan Doyle
6. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd - Agatha Christie
7. The Lair of the White Worm - Bram Stoker
8. The Golden Key - George MacDonald

We Don't Have to Go to Hell

Wonder of wonders!
Jesus loves us
Despite our blunders

That Christ should choose us
And use us, after all
We deserve the blunderbuss

The mystery!  So profound!
The captain-pastor spoke well
Once lost, yes, but found
We don't have to go to hell

September Reading

1. The Four Loves - C. S. Lewis
2. The Great Divorce - C. S. Lewis
3. The Ocean at the End of the Lane - Neil Gaiman
4. Miles of Smiles - Bruce Lansky
5. Revise Us Again - Frank Viola
6. Go Set a Watchman - Harper Lee
7. The Ultimate Fender Book - Paul Day & Dave Hunter
8. The Wizard of Oz - L. Frank Baum
9. The Dark Tower and Other Stories - C. S. Lewis
10. The Diary of Samuel Pepys: 1662
11. Descent into Hell - Charles Williams
12. Guitar World Presents Stevie Ray Vaughan

May Reading

1. George MacDonald: An Anthology - C. S. Lewis
2. God in the Dock - C. S. Lewis
3. Living the Braveheart Life - Randall Wallace
4. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner - Samuel Taylor Coleridge
5. The Sacred Journey - Frederick Buechner
6. Church Elders - Jeramie Rinne
7. Song of the Sun - St. Francis of Assisi
8. Defiant Joy: The Remarkable Life of G. K. Chesterton - Kevin Belmonte
9. The Magician's Nephew - C. S. Lewis
10. The Return of the King - J. R. R. Tolkien
11. Clouds of Witness - Dorothy L. Sayers
12. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
13. One for the Books - Joe Queenan
14. The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam - Edward Fitzgerald
15. Right Ho, Jeeves - P. G. Wodehouse
16. Unidentified Flying Oddball - Vic Crume

April Reading

1. 1 Peter: Message of Encouragement - John H. McClanahan
2. The NIV Application Commentary: 1 Peter - Scot McKnight
3. Freakonomics - Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
4. The Most Reluctant Convert - David C. Downing
5. C. S. Lewis: Images of His World - Douglas Gilbert & Clyde S. Kilby
6. Letters of C. S. Lewis - W. H. Lewis & Walter Hooper (editors)
7. Reading Spenser: An Introduction to The Faerie Queene - Roger Sale
8. Mere Christianity - C. S. Lewis
9. Jane Austen - Peter Leithart
10. Preparing for Easter: Fifty Devotional Readings - C. S. Lewis
11. Lilith - George MacDonald
12. Spirits in Bondage - C. S. Lewis
13. Spenser's Images of Life - C. S. Lewis with Alastair Fowler

Good Friday

Soon after ribbons of flesh hung from His back

The regal color purple quickly fades to black

The Son of Man bearing our sin on the cross

The Son of God awfully redeeming our loss

God, forgive us for what we put You through

God, we praise You for making all things new

In Christ, our hope, our joy, our all-in-all

Because of the Resurrection, reverséd is the Fall

Once in a garden Father Adam sealed our fate

An empty garden tomb now provides a new slate

Up from the grave, He arose, He arose

When He'll be back? Truly, God only knows

Dear sinner, repent, cease your struggle and fight

Surrender yourself to Heaven, you may be there tonight

February Reading

1. C. S. Lewis: An Apologist For Education - Louis Markos
2. Dancing on the Head of a Pen - Robert Benson
3. Striding Folly - Dorothy L. Sayers
4. C. S. Lewis At The Breakfast Table - James T. Como
5. The Silver Chair - C. S. Lewis
6. The Song of Songs - Marcia Falk
7. The Laws of Marie de France - Robert Hanning & Joan Ferrante
8. Four Quartets - T. S. Eliot
9. The Pilgrim's Guide: C. S. Lewis and the Art of Witness - David Mills
10. The Ghost and the Dead Man's Library - Alice Kimberly (Cleo Coyle)
11. Letters to Heaven: Reaching Beyond the Great Divide - Calvin Miller
12. William Shakespeare's The Empire Striketh Back - Ian Doescher
13. Cupside Down - Terry Cliett

Top 20 Books Read for 2016

I should make two clarifications.  First, this is not a list of books written in 2016.  This will be obvious to most.  Second, the title of this post is greatly misleading because I have excluded all books written by C. S. Lewis and all books about C. S. Lewis that I read this year.  Just click on the links to see those posts.  OK, I should also admit that my number one book for this year is connected with C. S. Lewis.
Also, there is one particular and unique book that I do not include in a list such as this, and that is because it belongs on a plane of its own--the Bible.  If you read nothing else, read the Bible.  Read the Bible before you read anything else.  This year (as is my habit of some years now) I read through the Bible.  I chose the English Standard Version.  I try to select a different English translation to read through each year.
One other thing of note.  The final count of books read this year is 143.  This is the most I've read in a single year, and this list comes from those 143 books.
Without further ado, here is my list.

1. A Severe Mercy - Sheldon Vanauken
2. The Two Towers - J. R. R. Tolkien
3. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
4. Tremendous Trifles - G. K. Chesterton
5. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
6. Reading Between the Lines - Gene Edward Veith, Jr.
7. The Power and the Glory - Graham Greene
8. The Princess and Curdie - George MacDonald
9. The Warden - Anthony Trollope
10. Dracula - Bram Stoker
11. The Quotable Chesterton - Kevin Belmonte
12. Tolkien's Ordinary Virtues - Mark Eddy Smith
13. At Home in Mitford - Jan Karon
14. Murder in the Cathedral - T. S. Eliot
15. Pymalion - George Bernard Shaw
16. Bunnicula - Deborah and James Howe
17. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
18. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight - Jessie L. Weston
19. The Book of the Duchess - Geoffrey Chaucer
20. Electra - Sophocles

Trains, Trains, Trains

Every day is a new day.
Every day is a venture.
One thing is for certain, I say,
Adventure will be the future.

On the way to dropping off the kids at school this morning, we were held up by a train at around 7:45 in Pinehurst, Georgia.  The train was moving.  This usually doesn't take long.  But I also noticed that it seemed to be slowing down.  Well, it was raining at this point.   Makes sense for the train to slow down.  But then it completely stopped, blocking the road.  I thought, no big deal, I'll just go down to the other road to get to the school.  Nope, that way was blocked, too.  I also noticed at this point that the van was nearly empty.  It was warning me that there was only 22 miles to empty.  So I go back to the gas station that's nearby, thinking that when I get back the train will surely be gone.  I get the gas, come back, and the train is still there.  By this time, cars were everywhere.  Finally, at around 8:20, the train started moving again, but very slowly.  This must have been the longest train in the world.  Finally it gets by us, and we can get on to the school.  I drop the girls off, get back on the road I came from, and guess what.  Another train!  Moving slowly!  No, not again!  By the way, I'm trying at this point to get my son to the babysitter.  That train finally clears.  We drive down the interstate, get off at the first Vienna exit, get in town, and what do I see?  Crossing bars and lights flashing at the track.  Ahh!  This is the second train again.  I beat it to Vienna, only to be held up again.  That train gets by, I get Malachi almost to the sitter's house, and like running into a wall of water, it begins pouring rain. It's been a fun day so far!  Is that a train whistle I hear in the distance?...

Top Twenty Books by C. S. Lewis Read This Year

A good portion of the 132 books I've read this year have been by C. S. Lewis, so I decided to do a list dedicated just to those.  Of course, who can really rank Lewis' books?  But everyone has his or her favorites.  Here is how I decided to do this one: I will rank each book according to how much I enjoyed reading it.  Certainly, I would recommend all of them.

1. Mere Christianity
2. The Great Divorce
3. Surprised by Joy
4. Out of the Silent Planet
5. Of Other Worlds: Essays & Stories
6. Miracles
7. Letters to an American Lady
8. An Experiment in Criticism
9. The Abolition of Man
10. Perelandra
11. Reflections on the Psalms
12. A Preface to Paradise Lost
13. That Hideous Strength
14. The Screwtape Letters
15. Till We Have Faces
16. Narrative Poems
17. The Problem of Pain
18. Christian Reflections
19. Letters to Children
20. A Grief Observed

November Reading

• The Preaching Event - John R. Claypool
• C. S. Lewis on Faith - Lesley Walmsley
• The Abolition of Man - C. S. Lewis
• Tremendous Trifles - G. K. Chesterton
• Thoroughly Married - Dennis Guernsey
• Christian Reflections - C. S. Lewis
• Past Watchful Dragons - Walter Hooper
• Sir Gawain and the Green Knight - Jessie L. Weston
• The Great Divorce - C. S. Lewis
• Sonnets from the Portuguese - Elizabeth Barrett Browning
• Reflections on the Psalms - C. S. Lewis
• Shakespeare on Leadership - Frederick Talbott
• Who Moved My Pulpit? - Thom S. Rainer

September Reading

• What Would You Like On Your Mashed Potatoes? - Tom Davis
• Growing Up in Vienna, Georgia - Tom Davis
• What America Is - Neil Joiner
• The Jewel of Seven Stars - Bram Stoker
• Yours, Jack - C. S. Lewis
• Jack's Life: The Life Story of C. S. Lewis - Douglas Gresham
• At Home in Mitford - Jan Karon
• A Grief Observed - C. S. Lewis
• The Book of the Duchess - Geoffrey Chaucer
• In the Days of the Comet - H. G. Wells

On the Day You Turned Eight

These words were penned late
On the day you turned eight
I hope you really like the Falcon
Thank the Maker, it's not a real one
Guard your Legos well when constructing you toy
Because sometimes your brother can be like Malfoy
You have some of my looks, that's true
What else?  We both really like Yoo-hoo
I'm so proud to be your daddy rooster
Call on me if you ever need a booster

April Reading

• Tolkien's Ordinary Virtues: Exploring the Spiritual Themes of the Lord of the Rings - Mark Eddy Smith
• The Island of Dr. Moreau - H. G. Wells
• The Problem of Pain - C. S. Lewis
• The Soul of the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe - Gene E. Veith, Jr.
• Pygmalion - George Bernard Shaw
• Narrative Poems - C. S. Lewis
• Letters to an American Lady - C. S. Lewis
• Wait Till Helen Comes - Mary Downing Hahn
• Surprised By Joy - C. S. Lewis
• Bunnicula - Deborah and James Howe
• The Life of Timon of Athens - William Shakespeare
• A Display of God's Glory - Mark E. Dever
• A Preface To Paradise Lost - C. S. Lewis

Zoom, Zoom

Zoom, zoom, around the room
Go, Malachi, go!
Only too late I saw my doom
As you zoomed right over my toe!

Ouch, ouch! I sit on the couch
Holding my throbbing toe.
Somebody, quick! Get the ice pouch!
Oh, how it hurts me so!

Dad, Dad, don't be so sad.
I thought that you should know...
Just take a look and be very glad
There's still nine. Here I go!

March Reading

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J. K. Rowling
2. Jesus Swagger: Break Free from Poser Christianity - Jarrid Wilson
3. Pastors in the Classics - Leland Ryken, Philip Ryken, & Todd Wilson
4. C. S. Lewis & Mere Christianity: The Crisis that Created a Classic - Paul McCusker
5. C. S. Lewis: Letters to Children - Lyle W. Dorsett & Marjorie Lamp Mead
6. Till We Have Faces - C. S. Lewis
7. The New American Commentary: Leviticus - Mark F. Rooker
8. Be Holy: Becoming "Set Apart" For God - Warren W. Wiersbe
9. Christ-Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in Leviticus - Allan Moseley
10. The Princess and Curdie - George MacDonald
11. Murder in the Cathedral - T. S. Eliot
12. Electra - Sophocles (translated by George Young)
13. Reading Between the Lines - Gene Edward Veith, Jr.
14. The Gospel According to Matthew - Leon Morris
15. Exploring the Gospel of Matthew - John Phillips
16. The New American Commentary: Matthew - Craig L. Blomberg
17. Layman's Bible Book Commentary: Matthew - Clair M. Crissey
18. Studies in Matthew: The King and the Kingdom - Roland Q. Leavell
19. Matthew (Vol. II) - J. Vernon McGee
20. Holman New Testament Commentary: Matthew - Stuart K. Weber
21. A Room with a View - E. M. Forster
22. The NIV Application Commentary: Matthew - Michael J. Wilkins
23. The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Matthew 24-28 - John MacArthur
24. Christ-Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in Matthew - David Platt
25. Mere Christianity - C. S. Lewis

Thirteen Cows

As I took my afternoon stroll
Pole to pole as I plodded with Poe
I looked up to the strangest sight
That caused me to smile with much delight

At the fence stood one and twelve
And into their confidence did I delve
Thirteen cows cheering me on
Even as each footfall fell like a ton

They didn't care that it's a windy day
Or that they paused too long from their hay
Hey! The seemed to say
With eyes expectant as if to play

Two were nodding, I kid you not
One grinned, One just blew snot
You can do it, we know you can
Keep on going! You're the man!

So if you're ever plodding along a country road
And you think you're about to give up or explode
Look for encouragement from the strangest of place
Keep one foot in front of the other, a smile on your face

Riddles, Jokes, and Fiddle Smoke

It's a riddle
It's a joke
Gets lots of laughs
From lots of folk

It's a fiddle
Lots of smoke
Gets lots of claps
From lots of folk