"Tagged"!

I fancy myself to be a writer. My only published works have been in self-published anthologies done y the local writers' group, The Writers' Guild of Greenville. One of the things all writers will tell you is that you must be a reader before you can write.

And so, Jessie at Who Are We has reached out and challenged me ("tagged" me) to consider the books I have read. And so, here goes:

1. One book that has changed my life. Though I am tempted to put "the Bible," that is perhaps a "cop-out" since it is actually a library of God's literature preserved for mankind. Therefore, I will go with a book by a theologian-philosopher who ably interpreted the Bible, applying it to the world in which we live. The author is Francis Schaffer and the book is Whatever Happened to the Human Race. He co-authored it with Reagan's Surgeon General C. Everett Koop. This book revealed how utterly wicked mankind can be when God is left out. It helped be to solidify my views on the sanctity of life.
2. One book you've read more than once. I suppose the only "book" that I have read through more than once would be the Bible. Of course, there are some books in that divive library that I have read numerous times. My favorite book, I think, would be the earliest of the New Testament books, the epistle of James.
3. One book you'd want on a desert island. If I could only have one book, I would probably bring Robinson Caruso by Daniel Defoe. I would hope that I would have read and studied the Bible enough for it to be a "part of me." I choose Robinson Caruso because it would give me practical incite into the predicament into which I had fallen!
4. One book that made you laugh. Well, one that comes to mind is Rush Limbaugh's first book, The Way Things Ought to Be. In this book, written just as his talk show was becoming an influence in America, reflected his irreverent humor well.
5. One book that made you cry. I think Gale Sayer's I Am Third, about his friendship with Brian Picollo, was a very touching book. It was made into a TV movie, Brian's Song way back in 1971. I read the book later. I don't think I watched the 2001 remake of the movie, though.
6. One Book you wish you had written. My choice here is one I have not read: The Silence Before the Dawn, by Henry Martin! The obvious reason is - this guy in New Hampshire has published in my name first! Uggh!
7. One Book you wish had never been written. Two books come to mind, one ancient and one recent. The ancient book I wish had not been written is the Koran. This chronicle of the prophet Mohammed has been used for unspeakable evil in the past 1,200 years or so. The recent book is The DaVinci Code, by Dan Brown, because it has popularized a very destructive line of thinking that dates back a thousand years or more itself. One book? The Koran.
8. One Book you are reading right now. Back to Francis Schaffer, for I am trying to go through my copies of The Complete Works of Francis A. Schaffer. I am presently in the second of five volumes, reading Genesis in Time and Space. His is a combination of exposition and philosophy and not a "light read."
9. One Book you have been meaning to read. Well, as a "committed Calvinist" I have been meaning to dive into Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin. I have a two volume version in my library but have rarely sought Calvin's insight on doctrine as I probably should.
10. Tag five others. Rock, Aaron (NC), Robert, Aaron (IN), and Steve.