Significant Books: My Top Ten List

Earlier this month Zach Nielsen asked the question whether it is better for mental and spiritual health and progress to read broadly and widely, or to have a few books (10 or so) that you read over and over to totally digest. For his thoughts see Take Your Vitamin Z: A Radical Change in Reading Habits?

I've been reading Christian books for about 39 years, since I was 13 years old. As an avid reader, my first reaction to his question was "why not both?" However, he did start me thinking about what books have have the greatest influence on my thought and Christian experience. Then I decided the perhaps better question is "what books would have the greater future positive impact on my life and ministry if I read them over and over and deeply absorbed their spirit and content?"

The list below is my first attempt at answering that second question. It is, of course, limited to books that I have either read or know enough about to think they should be in this list. Ten years ago I would have made a different list; ten years from now I will probably also make a different list. I also realize my list contains only works published in the 20th and 21st centuries, and is sorely deficient in classics form the early church, the Reformation, the Puritans, etc. The list is in alphabetical order by title - not sure how I would rank them by other criteria such as importance, difficulty, etc. And finally, reading all of these would be meaningless and useless if one did not first and continuously read, meditate on and absorb the Bible.

1. Francis Schaeffer Trilogy: Three Essential Books in One Volume by Francis Schaeffer (I know I cheated by using this one volume collection to get these three books on a list of only 10 - so sue me)
2. Bible Doctrine by Wayne Grudem
3. Breakthrough: Discovering the Kingdom by Derek Morphew
4. God's Empowering Presence: The Holy Spirit in the Letters of Paul by Gordon Fee
5. Knowing God by J.I. Packer
6. Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
7. The Cross of Christ by John R. W. Stott
8. The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard
9. The Gospel of the Kingdom by George E. Ladd
10. The Holiness of God by R. C. Sproul

The one book on the list I am not sure about is Fee's work on the Holy Spirit- although it is a great book. I wanted something on the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts that is written with some scholarship and not just experientially based, and that was the only book I could think of right now. And of course I could have used Grudem's Systematic Theology, but I have not read it yet and I own and have read Bible Doctrines

Anybody else got a list?