1 Question Fridays - Best Book I Ever Read

What is the best book you've ever read? 


I have a three that immediately come to mind.  Two because of the affect they've had on my life and one because of the literary content.

• Boundaries: When to Say Yes, When to Say No-To Take Control of Your Life (Inspirio/Zondervan Miniature Editions) I have mentioned this book so many times on here.  Seriously though, it helped me grow from a wacky college kid immediately into a working professional.  It helped me change my relationship with my parents into a more adult one.  It help establish lines between work and home; work and family; family and home, etc  If you struggle with any type of relationship or time management, this is a must read.  The best part is that the author know that Christian women in particular have a hard time saying "no" so this book using scripture and Christian thought to help you say "yes" and mean it and say "no" when you need to or should.

• Blessed Are the Bored in Spirit: A Young Catholic's Search for Meaning This is another one of my go - to books.  Mark Hart hilariously unpacks the cradle Catholic's life and approach to faith, but challenges young adults to make more of it by giving fresh perspective on basic Church teaching. I've used excerpts from it dozens of times to give talks to high school and college kids.  A quick, refreshing read for any twenty-something needing a little comic relief and faith boost.

• Emma by Jane Austen.  I LOVED the movie Clueless and by love I mean 14 years later I still have it memorized.  What I discovered in college during my Jane Austen seminar class is that the book Emma is basis for this movie.  Reading the book, which I'll get to in a second, made the movie so much better. The adaptations are genius and brilliant.  Anyway, so Emma, why is it on my top three lists?  Well, despite my never finishing it, I feel as though it's a challenging read because of how complex of a writer that Jane Austen is.  And to think she wrote such complicated novels without a computer!  I keep an index card in that book. I list all the characters in order that they appear and write little notes or keywords next to their name.  All the characters are so detailed and are related in a tangled web, that it's difficult to keep track of who does what and who is related to whom.  This pretty much sums up why I love reading Emma; it's how I feel about Emma and Mr. Knightley... 

I get lost in the language. Words like ‘thither’, ‘mischance’, ‘felicity’. I’m always in agony whether Elizabeth and Mr Darcy are really going to get together. Ah! Read it! I KNOW you’ll love it. ~ Kathleen from You've Got Mail in regards to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice)

Unfortunately I caught Eric when he was brushing his teeth and getting ready to walk out the door, so his answer is far from complete.  He said:

• Lord of the Rings - because he couldn't put the book down....

To be continued?

In the mean time, what are YOUR favorite books?