Bonnie Gray
  • Blog
  • Soul Care Quiz
  • Podcast
  • Books
    • See All Bonnie Gray Books and Resources
    • Breathe: 21 Ways to Stress Less
    • Sweet Like Jasmine
    • Whispers of Rest Book
    • Finding Spiritual Whitespace
  • About
  • Speaking
  • Contact

Are You a Book Lover? 14 Books That Changed My Life

By Bonnie Gray • February 8, 2010 • 47 Comments

“Only in books has mankind known perfect truth, love and beauty.”
~ George Bernard Shaw

It’s black. Smudgy.  If you’re unlucky enough to have it riding in your pocket, you’ll find that it’s also staining.  It can steal your heart and leave you wanting more.

Despite eyes drooping with sleepy sand, it’s words keep you up into the ungodly hours.  They will call out to you like a lover, pulling you miles away as you stand there putting gas in your car or in between bites of a sandwich.

Ink love.

Have you been captured under it’s spell?

Noun1.book lover – someone who loves (and usually collects) books.

Chances are, Cupid’s sent his arrows into your heart, through the pages of a book.   And you’re unashamedly a self-professing BOOK LOVER.

We’ve been walking through irresistible thoughts about our loves. As I shared in Falling Divinely in Love, my closest companions since childhood came to me between paper and print. Now, as an adult, this love affair hasn’t since stopped.

In celebration of love, I jotted down 14 Books That Changed My Life.

These are books that have personally spoke to my relationship with God.  They changed the way I viewed God, myself, and this spiritual journey I’m on.  These are the books I go back and re-read, when I need to be reminded of the greatest love affair I have with God.

Today’s book list is Non-Fiction.  I’ll be sharing Fiction Love List in a later post.

INK LOVE – TOP 14 BOOKS THAT CHANGED MY LIFE (Non-Fiction)

RyrieStudyBible1.  The NASB Ryrie Study Bible

WayOfTheHeart2.  The Way Of The Heart – Henri Nouwen

ChangesHeal3.  Changes That Heal – Henry Cloud

CostOfDiscipleship4.  The Cost of Discipleship – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

5.  Life and HLifeAndHolinessoliness – Thomas Merton

FindingWillOfGod6.  Finding The Will of God – Bruce Waltke

7.  LifegivingLifegiving – Tammy Maltby

RevolutionWithin8.  Revolution Within: Supernatural Living – Dwight Edwards

CelebrationDiscipline9.  Celebration of Discipline – Richard Foster

10.  A Million Miles In A Thousand Years –MillionMiles Don Miller

TomorrowCanBeDifferent11.  Tomorrow Can Be Different – Norman Wright

TravelingLight12.  Traveling Light – Max Lucado

13.  Living By The Book – LivingByTheBookHoward Hendricks

LearningToTellMyselfTruth14.  Learning To Tell Yourself The Truth – William Backus

There’s a story behind every reading.  Perhaps they’ll find their way in some Faith Barista blog posts soon.

Now, for my FAVE part, friends — !

Are you a book lover, too?

Comment and share Your Top 5, 10, or 14 Non-Fiction Books!

I would LOVE, love, love to hear what books have changed your life.

“Seek ye out of the book of the Lord, and read.” Isaiah 34:16

 

[ A hat tip goes to my friend, Holley Gerth of Heart to Heart, who shared some fave books in What If Your History Hurts? ]

I'm irresistibly walking through 14 Days Of Love!
To start at the beginning, click here:
Day 1:  14 Days of Irresistible -- An Intro
Day 2:  Falling Divinely In Love
Day 3:  Friendship Is Like Dating
Day 4:  Lemonade Dreams:  Taking A Sip of Patience
Day 5:  What Does Your Name Mean?  A Name Between Two Lovers -- Enter To Win a Lisa Leonard Designs Necklace!
SUBSCRIBE NOW to get updates from FaithBarista hot and fresh directly in your
mailbox via email (click here) or RSS (click here) news reader.
Photo courtesy of FreeStockImages.org
bookslove

Share With Others

Share Your Voice

Pull up a Chair

This is a quiet space for you and me. I'd love to hear your thoughts. Click to comment »

47 Comments

Get Faith Shots

Get each post served up hot and fresh in your mailbox.

[newsletter_signup_form id=0]

Friendship Is Like Dating
Lemonade Dreams: Taking a Sip of Patience

Connect with Me

Bonnie Gray

Welcome to Faith Barista – a blog that serves up shots of faith for everyday life. Posts brewed hot & fresh. Hang out. Swap some stories.

You Might Also Like

  • Never Been Kissed: When You Wonder If You’ll Ever Find “The One”

  • How to Choose Joy When Joy Seems Easy for Others But Hard for You

  • What A Vet Taught Me About My Personal Battles (10 Lessons From Vietnam)

  • If You’re Stressed About The Election: God’s 5 Powerful Promises To Encourage You

47 Comments

  • Reply Melissa Brotherton February 8, 2010 at 11:54 am

    My son’s waking up from his nap so I think this is going to have to be a Top 5…

    1. I too love my NASB Ryrie Study Bible.
    2. What’s So Amazing About Grace – Philip Yancy
    3. Respectable Sins – Jerry Bridges
    4. Anything by C.S. Lewis
    5. Gifted to Lead – Nancy Beach
    .-= Melissa Brotherton´s last blog ..Whisper =-.

  • Reply katdish February 8, 2010 at 12:16 pm

    1. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John
    2. The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning
    3. I became a Christian & all I got was this lousy t-shirt by Vince Antonucci
    4. The War of Art by Stephen Pressfield
    5. The Reason for God by Tim Keller
    6. The Prodigal God by Tim Keller
    7. On Writing by Stephen King
    8. The Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
    9. Snow Day by Billy Coffey (which technically is a novel, but I like to call it a “faction”)

    Too many to name. I’ve read a whole lotta books…
    .-= katdish´s last blog ..Fishing for Answers (by Billy Coffey) =-.

  • Reply Cassandra Frear February 8, 2010 at 12:21 pm

    I have read so many books which have profoundly affected me, that I would have a hard time listing them in order. I tend to read deep, thought-provoking nonfiction and classics. How do you compare, for instance, the luminous War and Peace to The Cost of Discipleship or The Problem of Pain or Hamlet or Paradise Lost?

    I cannot do it. Each one is a rare and precious gift. The life of another, spilled out on the pages and offered to me. Treasures, all.

    But I will tell you that books have changed me. Forever.
    .-= Cassandra Frear´s last blog ..Writing: The Story I Never Meant to live =-.

  • Reply Tweets that mention Are You a Book Lover? 14 Books That Changed My Life | Faith Barista -- Topsy.com February 8, 2010 at 12:29 pm

    […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by FaithBarista and FaithBarista, FaithBarista. FaithBarista said: New Post– Are You A Book Lover? http://bit.ly/djnvLY 14 Books That Changed My Life — What Are Yours? […]

  • Reply Maureen (Mo) February 8, 2010 at 12:40 pm

    A list with many greats: Nouwen, Merton, Bonhoeffer.

    We have run out of shelf space for all of our books. I have shelves of poetry, biography/autobiography, Holocaust lit, plays. . . . Books are in every room of our house.

    I would have to add to any list: One Hundred Years of Solitude, Neruda’s poetry, Night, Shakespeare, Mahmoud Darwish’s poetry, the great Russian literature (and that’s just to get started).
    .-= Maureen (Mo)´s last blog ..Thomas Moore on Liberating Education =-.

    • Reply Bonnie Gray February 9, 2010 at 2:09 am

      I haven’t read 100 yrs, but it’s on my list to read. Happy to know it’s made your list.

  • Reply jasonS February 8, 2010 at 1:07 pm

    Wow- I’ve only read one from your list and I agree it’s great (Changes That Heal).

    Some of my favorites: The Knowledge of the Holy by AW Tozer, No Perfect People Allowed by John Burke, and there are so many more that I can’t think of all of them since I’m not in my office. 🙂
    .-= jasonS´s last blog ..The Exciting World of Budgets =-.

  • Reply Bonnie Gray February 8, 2010 at 1:13 pm

    AAAAHH… I’m getting giddy! — So many good books y’all are recommending that I haven’t read! THANK YOU. Fellow book lovers, keep ’em coming…

  • Reply Christine February 8, 2010 at 1:14 pm

    I love books! 🙂 I especially appreciate a beautiful Love story.
    Okay…these are some of my favorites regarding relationships.

    1. Authentic Beauty by Leslie Ludy
    2. Lady in Waiting by Jackie Kendall and Debbie Jones
    3. When God Writes Your Love Story by Eric and Leslie Ludy
    4. A Time to Dance by Karen Kingsbury (fiction)
    5. Christy Miller series by Robin Jones Gunn (fiction)
    6. When Dreams Come True by Eric and Leslie Ludy
    7. Passion and Purity by Elizabeth Elliott
    .-= Christine´s last blog ..Acts 20:24 =-.

  • Reply Kelly Langner Sauer February 8, 2010 at 1:42 pm

    L’Engle’s four-book Crosswicks Journal series
    L’Engle’s Bright Evening Star
    John Eldredge’s Wild At Heart
    Elisabeth Elliot’s Passion and Purity
    Randy Alcorn’s Safely Home (I know, this one is fiction!)
    Philip Yancey’s Disappointment With God

    I don’t know how many that is – pretty good for typing and coding one-handed, though… 😉
    .-= Kelly Langner Sauer´s last blog ..Patience to wait, when there is nothing clear =-.

  • Reply Chrystie February 8, 2010 at 2:49 pm

    Oh, now you’ve gone and done it!! I haven’t read any of those you listed. And my husband is going to kill me for adding a gagillion more books to my amazon wish list. Yikes!
    .-= Chrystie´s last blog ..When Darkness Gives Way To Light =-.

    • Reply Bonnie Gray February 8, 2010 at 3:27 pm

      Me, too. I’m in BIG trouble now!

  • Reply Kevin M. February 8, 2010 at 3:03 pm

    The book that has most impacted me recently is Peter Scazzero’s book “Emotionally Healthy Spirituality.” Another great book that I have recently read is “The Tangible Kingdom” by Hugh Salter and Matt Smay.
    .-= Kevin M.´s last blog ..Sermon Synopsis 2/7 – A disciple loves every other disciple =-.

  • Reply Helen Tsang February 8, 2010 at 3:31 pm

    I’m enjoying reading the lists that people come up with. I just want to add one tiny little book which changed my life in a dramatic way: The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence.

    • Reply Bonnie Gray February 8, 2010 at 3:56 pm

      That is a good one. I wish I could experience it like Bro Lawrence. Esp. since I’m in the kitchen all the time! LOL.

  • Reply Kissie February 8, 2010 at 3:51 pm

    Write It Down, Make It Happen by Ph.D. Henriette Anne Klauser

    The Ten-Second Prayer Principle: Praying Powerfully as You Go by Mark Littleton

    Small Changes, Big Results by Jerry Foster and Ed Stewart

    Just Enough Light for the Step I’m On: Trusting God in the Tough Times by Stormie Omartian

    Too Busy Not To Pray by Bill Hybels
    .-= Kissie´s last blog ..Classic Conversation with an Honest Kid II =-.

  • Reply Bonnie Gray February 8, 2010 at 3:57 pm

    Wow. This is exciting. The Best of List — by Faith Barista Peeps. Now, that’s worth something.

  • Reply Phil Gould February 8, 2010 at 4:14 pm

    Church Without Walls – Jim Petersen
    Out of the Saltshaker – Rebecca Manley Pippert
    Relational Christianity – Steve Meeks
    Worship, It’s Not Just Sunday Morning – Robert A. Morey
    The Company of the Committed – Elton Trueblook

    • Reply Bonnie Gray February 9, 2010 at 2:08 am

      Thanks, Phil!

  • Reply Brenna February 8, 2010 at 6:27 pm

    Great post! I have many that have changed/molded me. One of my favorites of all-time is The Shaping of a Christian Family by Elisabeth Elliot. Amazing.

    • Reply Bonnie Gray February 8, 2010 at 6:34 pm

      Oh, I love Elizabeth Elliot’s Passion & Purity. I didn’t known of this book.

  • Reply Katy February 8, 2010 at 9:20 pm

    Wow!! This is awesome–definitely adding lots of these to my “to-read” list! I absolutely love to read and have a hard time picking favorites, but here are a few that come to mind:
    Letters From a Skeptic by Greg Boyd
    Out of the Salt Shaker by Pippert
    Every Woman’s Battle
    Battlefield of the Mind by Joyce Meyer
    The Cross and the Switchblade
    Her Name is Woman
    Celebration of Discipline by Foster
    C.S. Lewis
    The Sunflower by Simon Wiesenthal
    There Are No Children Here by Alex Kotlowitz
    .-= Katy´s last blog ..Starting Out With Joy =-.

    • Reply Bonnie Gray February 9, 2010 at 2:08 am

      Yeah! We have a match here, Katy! Have you seen The Cross and The Switchblade movie? It’s old one. Very interesting list…

      • Reply Katy February 9, 2010 at 9:02 am

        I haven’t….I’ll have to check that out! Thanks for letting me know 🙂
        .-= Katy´s last blog ..Starting Out With Joy =-.

  • Reply Jennifer February 8, 2010 at 9:40 pm

    Lots on my list in 2009.

    My fave?

    The “Hole in Our Gospel” by Richard Stearns. Incredible.
    .-= Jennifer´s last blog ..A Heart That Beats for Haiti =-.

    • Reply Bonnie Gray February 9, 2010 at 2:06 am

      Oh, I have that one on order in the mail!

  • Reply Lemonade Dreams -- Patience For Dreams To Come True | Faith Barista February 9, 2010 at 2:38 am

    […] Days of Irresistible — An Intro Day 2: Falling Divinely In Love Day 3: Friendship Is Like Dating Day 4: Are You A Book Lover? 14 Books That Changed My Life SUBSCRIBE NOW to get updates from FaithBarista hot and fresh directly in your mailbox via email […]

  • Reply Gladwell Musau February 9, 2010 at 4:53 am

    Like you, I am a book lover. My favourite….THE IMITATION OF CHRIST by Thomas A Kempis. I have read it several times and every time, it shakes me to the very core of my heart.

    Blessings.

    Gladwell

    • Reply Bonnie Gray February 9, 2010 at 5:15 pm

      That’s a classic.

  • Reply Kristy February 9, 2010 at 7:21 am

    Thanks so much for the list! I read CONSTANTLY but have never read one of those books!
    .-= Kristy´s last blog ..19 Years Ago Today……. =-.

  • Reply Bonnie Gray February 9, 2010 at 10:56 am

    I love this post — because of these Greatest Hits List. L-O-V-E it!
    Like a warm cup of mocha — all these books. Ahhhh…

  • Reply Danielle February 9, 2010 at 2:45 pm

    Wow, hard to narrow down but here’s a few:

    Everything by Elisabeth Elliot (no one influenced my teenage years more)
    Terrify No More by Gary Haugen (my eyes were opened to sex slavery)
    The Pursuit of God by A. W. Tozer (I’ve read this multiple times, never ceases to spur me on)
    The Holiness of God by R. C. Sproul (Devoured it like a novel, amazed at God’s holiness)

    And, for a non-spiritual non-fiction title:
    The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (a riveting history about the Chicago World’s fair and murder)

    Happy reading!

    • Reply Bonnie Gray February 9, 2010 at 5:20 pm

      Hey Danielle, this is a mosaic of powerful reading flavors. Totally with you on Elizabeth Elliot. Thnx for the pointer to Terrify No More and Larson’s book.

  • Reply Cheryl Smith February 9, 2010 at 4:42 pm

    Great list of reads – some I’ve read; others I’ve not read. A few books that I have really loved and return to again and again include:

    The Unquenchable Worshipper by Matthew Redman
    The Bait of Satan by John Bevere
    Vital Friends by Tom Rath
    Work the Pond by Darcy Rezac
    Dig Your Well Before You’re Thirsty by Harvey Mackay
    The Servant by James Hunter

    Great to find your blog through High Calling Blogs. You seem like a great asset to the community!

    • Reply Bonnie Gray February 9, 2010 at 5:21 pm

      Hey Cheryl! Great to meet you via HCB! Your title list looks scrumptous. Aren’t book titles intoxicating? It’s the first step of book flirting, don’t you think?

  • Reply Southern Gal February 9, 2010 at 4:51 pm

    Thanks for your list. I can’t wait to read some of them.

    This is difficult. My mind is going in circles trying to pick which ones to list.

    The Pursuit of God – A.W. Tozer
    The Hiding Place – Corrie Ten Boom
    Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret – Frederick Howard Taylor
    Mere Christianity – C.S. Lewis
    No Compromise: The Life Story of Keith Green – Melody Green

    There are so many more, but these came to mind first.
    .-= Southern Gal´s last blog ..The Countdown =-.

  • Reply Southern Gal February 9, 2010 at 4:54 pm

    Oh, and then I thought about A Man Called Peter by Catherine Marshall and Beyond Yourself, and Through Gates of Splendor. I think Christian biographies have influenced me greatly!!
    .-= Southern Gal´s last blog ..The Countdown =-.

    • Reply Bonnie Gray February 9, 2010 at 5:21 pm

      Thanks for some great additions!

  • Reply Bonnie Gray February 9, 2010 at 5:22 pm

    This is a reader’s eye candy — I’m swooning…

  • Reply Catherine February 9, 2010 at 6:26 pm

    Wow! I have added a dozen books to my library “wish list” and even more to Amazon as the library doesn’t CARRY them 🙁 thank you so much, everyone, for your suggestions!

    My favorites, as everyone has mentioned, are too numerous to list. But, here are a few. I love “If You Want to Walk on Water, You Have to Get Out of the Boat.” I have read that 4 times, and highlight new pieces each time, with each new struggle. “Letters From a Skeptic” was pivotal in my accepting of Christ. “The Case for Christ” brought my logical mind to the “logic” of Christ. “Knowing God,” anything by C.S. Lewis, or Tozer, “Spirit of the Disciplines,” and my concordance lives beside my bed, next to my Bible.

    Thanks, again, for an amazing list!

  • Reply Falling Divinely In Love | Faith Barista February 11, 2010 at 3:15 pm

    […] 14 Days of Irresistible — An IntroDay 2: Falling Divinely In Love Day 3: Friendship Is Like Dating Day 4: Are You A Book Lover? 14 Books That Changed My Life Day 5: What Does Your Name Mean? A Name Between Two Lovers SUBSCRIBE NOW to get updates from […]

  • Reply Susan February 13, 2010 at 11:47 am

    I just read The Way of the Heart by Henri Nouwen, and this book is now one of my favorite books.

  • Reply brewster February 15, 2010 at 6:30 pm

    Wow, I have not read most of these books. I love to read, read a lot…I am going to have to check some of these out.

    • Reply Bonnie Gray February 17, 2010 at 10:19 am

      It’s a cool list. What’s your list?

  • Reply Rachel February 18, 2010 at 6:40 am

    Wow. It seems I’m missing out. I love to read, but I don’t read much non-fiction. I have read only 2 books that have been mentioned so far – and one of them is fiction (100 Years of Solitude – one of my faves!).

    Many of these books I have heard of; I’ve just never read them. I guess I need to go spend some time at the library!

    And Bonnie, I love some of your comments: ‘This is a reader’s eye candy” and “Aren’t book titles intoxicating? It’s the first step of book flirting, don’t you think?” That’s exactly how I feel reading these book titles!
    .-= Rachel´s last blog ..bits and pieces =-.

  • Reply Sandra Heska King March 27, 2010 at 11:02 am

    I started to say Little Women because reading that and identifying with Jo was when I first knew I wanted to write. But that’s fiction–so my nonfiction choices (among a zillion) are:

    1. My RSV Harper Study Bible. It’s torn up and beaten up–the first study Bible I ever owned.
    2. Today it’s my NASB Inductive Study Bible.
    3. The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer (I wrote “In pursuit” in the flyleaf of my Harper on 10/04/1981.
    4. As Silver Refined by Kay Arthur.
    5. Open Windows by Philip Yancy.
    6. Karen! Karen! by Karen Burton Mains.
    7. Freedom of Simplicity by Richard Foster.
    8. Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster.
    9. God Calling by Two Listeners (ed. by A.J. Russell).
    10. The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis.
    11. Holy Discontent by Bill Hybels.
    12. A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller.
    13. The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence.
    14. Destined for the Throne by Paul E. Billheimer.
    .-= Sandra Heska King´s last blog ..I Will Sing =-.

  • Reply Mainstay Ministries March 12, 2011 at 12:15 am

    A long list indeed, but I must say you have a great collection. I’ve only read Lifegiving, I’ll check the rest from your list.

Leave a Reply Cancel Reply

Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. You can also subscribe without commenting.

SUBSCRIBE TO MY BLOG

Sign up to refresh your soul with God’s love and rest. I’ll send you encouragement to nurture your heart and wellbeing. I’ll cheer you on!

SUBSCRIBE NOW»

Pull up a chair. Refresh your soul. Be inspired with soul care, stories & encouragement here. Breathe. This is a quiet space to swap some stories. Share your journey. Be the beloved. Be you. Serving up shots of faith for everyday life.
Bonnie Gray

“Bonnie has often led the way to freedom and truth by going there first herself. Her ability to invite us in as readers into our own stories only makes this world a better, more healed place.” 

– Annie F. Downs, New York Times bestselling author of That Sounds Fun

“If you’ve ever been weary and needed room to breathe, then Bonnie Gray is the guide you’ve been looking for as you journey with Jesus to a new place of peace and freedom in your life.” 

Holley Gerth, Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Powerful Power of Introverts

Order Now »

LISTEN TO BONNIE’S BREATHE PODCAST

VOTED 2022 CHRISTIAN BOOK AWARD FINALIST BY ECPA

“In a world crying out for kindess and belonging, this is a book needed for our times. Sweet Like Jasmine is a gift, a beautiful remembrance, that God treasures each of our broken hearts in His sweeping story of redemption.” 

– Ann Voskamp, New York Times bestselling author of The Broken Way

Order Now »

BONNIE IS A TRUSTED VOICE TO SO MANY – FEATURED ON

Archives

Compassion International Blogger

Compassion International Blogger

Sometimes it takes more faith for us to enter into a child's story than simply praying that it changes. Experience these stories unscripted.

Read the stories»

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Instagram RSS Pinterest
Bonnie Gray

Contact

© 2018 Bonnie Gray. All rights reserved. Website by Contemplate Design | Privacy Policy
Bonnie Gray
  • Blog
  • Soul Care Quiz
  • Podcast
  • Books
  • About
  • Speaking
  • Contact