Desert Island Books

Categories: uncategorized

Date: 05 March 2006 06:24:17

[Thank you Telstra! My internet was connected on Friday: hoorah!]

With thanks to Eric, writer of a fine blog and keeper of much interesting information and wonderful prayers at his site Orthodox Tidings.

A Bible is assumed: Jerusalem or a nice Douay-Rheims for me please.

On to the ten:

  1. Divine Prayers and Services: Byzantine Orthodox daily prayers as well as prayers for the various Feasts of the Church
  2. The Roman Breviary: for those times I'd long for a bit of Western Rite
  3. New English Hymnal: more Western Rite-fix material
  4. The Cloud of Unknowing: a wondrous book (though it took me a second read to profit from it) written by an anonymous monk on knowing God through love rather than knowledge
  5. The Arena: An Offering to Contemporary Monasticism: a book that challenges me and always reveals new depths to a life where one may combat passions and live for Christ
  6. The Desert Fathers: Sayings of the Early Christian Monks: wisdom unbounded
  7. The Screwtape Letters: funny, enjoyable and very, very useful for challenging apathy
  8. The Complete Poetry and Selected Prose of John Donne: my favourite poet: and you get some of his sermons as well.
  9. Grimms Märchen: escapism -- I love fairy tales. And I'd like to keep my German knowledge also!
  10. The Great Exotic Fruit Book: never read it, but given I'm on an island I better get some new recipes!