{"id":223,"date":"2005-08-20T11:23:00","date_gmt":"2005-08-20T11:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/jesuscreed\/2005\/08\/guest-blog-top-ten-novels-from.html"},"modified":"2005-08-20T11:23:00","modified_gmt":"2005-08-20T11:23:00","slug":"guest-blog-top-ten-novels-from","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/jesuscreed\/2005\/08\/guest-blog-top-ten-novels-from.html","title":{"rendered":"Guest Blog: Top Ten Novels (from my son Lukas)"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

My son is a fiction reader, and here are his Top Ten Books: Novels. Thanks Luke. Did he miss some good ones?<\/p>\n

Top Ten (Semi)-Recent Novels<\/p>\n

1. A Farewell to Arms<\/span>, Ernest Hemingway- saddest book
I can ever imagine, and classic Hemingway dealing with
wounds and scars and wars and failed love.<\/p>\n

2. Native Son<\/span>, Richard Wright- moving book about the
struggles of African-Americans.<\/p>\n

3. Cien Anos de Soledad<\/span> (One Hundred Years of
Solitude), Gabriel Garcia Marquez- a sad and hilarious
book all at the same time; master of magical realism.<\/p>\n

4. A Prayer for Owen Meany<\/span>, John Irving- God’s hand is
in everything, and it doesn’t always make sense.<\/p>\n

5. The Power of One<\/span>, Bryce Courtenay- the classic
novel of South Africa.<\/p>\n

6. The Da Vinci Code<\/span>, Dan Brown -no, I’m just kidding,
thought I’d check and see if you were really reading.<\/p>\n

7. Of Mice and Men<\/span>, John Steinbeck- just a classic.<\/p>\n

8. Hey Nostradamus<\/span>, Douglas Coupland- a fictional
depiction of violence in schools with interesting
commentary on modern Christianity through the eyes of
various narrators.<\/p>\n

9. The Screwtape Letters<\/span>, CS Lewis- insightful.<\/p>\n

10. Old Man and the Sea<\/span>, Ernest Hemingway- Papa said
he intended no symbolism in the book at all; it was
just a story about one of his fellow marlin fishermen,
Gregorio Fuentes.<\/p>\n

11. The Chronicles of Narnia<\/span>, CS Lewis- great series,
better (and a tad less wordy) than Lord of the Rings.<\/p>\n

Here are my (Scot McKnight) comments. I read The Old Man and the Sea<\/span> ever year, along with A Christmas Carol<\/span> and, if I can find the time, Tom Sawyer<\/span> or Huckleberry Finn<\/span>. I’ve been to Hemingway’s homes in Oak Park, IL, and in Key West, FL, and to his site in Ketchum, ID. I’ve touched Lewis’ wardrobe door at the Wade Center.<\/p>\n

I’ve read Lewis’ novels. I read The DaVinci Code<\/span> because I had to. I started Owen Meany<\/span> but didn’t finish it; I did see the movie. I’ve not read the others.<\/p>\n

On the Russian novelists…. I get lost in their endless train treks across Siberia, and can never keep their names straight, so I’ve never finished one of the Russians. But, I like them as thinkers and read their essays and biographies.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My son is a fiction reader, and here are his Top Ten Books: Novels. Thanks Luke. Did he miss some good ones? Top Ten (Semi)-Recent Novels 1. A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway- saddest bookI can ever imagine, and classic Hemingway dealing withwounds and scars and wars and failed love. 2. Native Son, Richard Wright-…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":298,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-top-ten-lists"],"yoast_head":"\nGuest Blog: Top Ten Novels (from my son Lukas) - Jesus Creed<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/jesuscreed\/2005\/08\/guest-blog-top-ten-novels-from.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Guest Blog: Top Ten Novels (from my son Lukas) - Jesus Creed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"My son is a fiction reader, and here are his Top Ten Books: Novels. 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