Here are some of the books that I’ve enjoyed over the years, from the sublime to the ridiculous. Click on the title for a link to the book at Amazon.com.

You can also find books by authors whom I’ve interviewed for The Wittenburg Door linked here.

Amazon list: Christianity and Satire co-exist

Mere Christianity

by C.S. Lewis

Lewis explains what the Christian faith is all about in a clear and readable way. Will you agree with every word? No. But it’s a great book to help you think about what you believe.

The Thurber Carnival

by James Thurber

A wonderful collection of a wonderful writer’s best work, from autobiography to parody. Don’t miss often-overlooked gems like “The Breaking Up of the Winships.”

Handling Sin

by Michael Malone

Stuffy small-town insurance agent Raleigh Hayes chases his father, a defrocked and possibly-senile Episcopal priest, across the South. At the end of the journey is a fortune in Confederate gold — or something even more valuable. A wonderfully funny and entertaining novel.

Soul Survivor: How My Faith Survived the Church

by Phillip Yancey

Not a traditional autobiography, but a series of chapters on people whose faith influenced Yancey’s, from Everett Koop to Annie Dillard to G.K. Chesterton. A moving and honest portrait of faith.

A Prayer For Owen Meany

by John Irving

Forget the half-baked “inspired by” movie adaptation, Simon Birch. This is the real thing — the funny and heartbreaking story of a boy who believes he was born to save the world, not to mention his best friend.

Dave Barry Slept Here: A Sort of History Of The United States

by Dave Barry

A skewed view of our nation’s past and a parody of self-important history textbooks. All of the dates are October 8 to make them easier to remember. My favorite Dave Barry book, and that’s saying something.

My Utmost for His Highest

by Oswald Chambers

There are bland daily devotional books clogging the shelves of every Christian bookstore (or the religious shelf of every secular bookstore) in America. This is the one that will rock your world, a gutsy and unflinching 365-day walk through what God expects of you and what you can expect of God.

Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!: Adventures of a Curious Character

by Richard P. Feynman

From Los Alamos to the blue ribbon panel that investigated the Challenger disaster, the late Nobel laureate let nothing stand in the way of his curiosity — not even locked safes, and certainly not other people’s opinion of him.

The Ragamuffin Gospel

by Brennan Manning

An incredible antidote to legalism — whether that means boasting or beating yourself up — Manning’s book will bring God’s grace alive for you in a very special way. It may be a betrayal of my Wesleyan heritage for me to love this book as much as I do.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy

by Douglas Adams

This is the first of a series of books. You can now buy the entire series in one massive volume, but this one is still the best — thumbing its nose at every convention of science fiction while delivering Monty Python-style laughs on every single page. (Unlike some fans of the books, I enjoyed the movie adaptation as well.)

Non Campus Mentis: World History According to College Students

edited by Anders Henriksson

This is a gem of a book, with “history” culled from actual college papers and blue book exams. You’ll laugh long and hard.

Lake Wobegon Days

by Garrison Keillor

It works best if you’re familiar with Keillor’s “News from Lake Wobegon” monologues on his radio show, but this bemused look at the history and culture of a small Minnesota town — and how it shapes the narrator’s consciousness — can be enjoyed by anyone.

Beautiful Jim Key: The Lost History of a Horse and a Man who Changed the World

by Mim Eichler Rivas

A big chunk of this book takes place in the town where I live, Shelbyville, Tenn. It’s the story of an amazing horse whose seemingly-cognitive abilities are still being debated; of the former slave turned entrepreneur who loved and gently trained him; and of the promoter who made them famous and used them to promote humane treatment of animals. Beautifully written; a real page-turner. My copy is autographed by Mim herself.

Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality

by Donald Miller

I’m currently teaching a Sunday School class using this book, which is Miller’s frank, funny and sometimes gut-wrenching account of what Christian faith is all about and how to separate it from the human trappings of religion, set against the backdrop of one of America’s most secular college campuses.