One aspect of college life that is pretty central to the experience is reading. There’s a lot of reading that is (supposed) to go on during the university years. Recently, it seems, reading has taken a hit. According to some studies, fewer and fewer people, especially young people, are reading. This is sad. Books can be transformative.One of the best books I read last year was Finding Calcutta: What Mother Teresa Taught Me About Meaningful Work and Service by professor Mary Poplin. I had a chance to interview her about the book and when the interview was finished this thought occurred to me: Finding Calcutta should be required reading for all college students. Poplin tells the story of spending a sabbatical with Mother Teresa, learning what it means to serve the poorest of the poor. Poplin then explains how she integrated that experience with her work as a university professor at Claremont Graduate University.
Finding Calcutta is a powerful story with this central theme: All work should be done in service to Jesus and others. That would include academic work as well as future occupations. This book has transformative power. It’s the kind of book that I wish I read in college. Here’s the good news: I have one to give away for FREE!
Here’s how it works: First, “comment” to answer the question below. Second, if there are more than 10 comments, I will select a winner randomly (I typically put all of the names in a hat or ask someone to pick a number between 1 and however many people commented). Third, I will announce the winner in the near future and explain how to receive the free book. Here’s the question:
What do think was the most important book(s) you read in college?
Please, only one comment per person.
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3 comments:
As I'm still in college (two years in), I would say that the most significant ones that I have read so far have been:
"Pilgrim at Tinker Creek" by Annie Dillard
"Gilead" by Marilynne Robinson
"The Gospel for Real Life" by Jerry Bridges
I feel like that is an inaccurate list... which is frustrating me. Oh well...
One of the most important books I have ever read was Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The book is focused on community living, which is one of my passions, and I have never read a book like this one. College students should be required to read this book as a Christian. It probably wouldn't fly in other institutions other than Christian. But for Christian college students, this will transform their engagement with every community they find themselves in.
The most important book I read in college was "A Long Obedience In The Same Direction" by Eugene Peterson. It was very insightful to discipleship in the 'immediate' age we live in.
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