My friend and writer Tamara Murphy recently posted a very comprehensive list of books she’s read, and also indicated which ones she felt were formational as part of her journey. So this blog post is dedicated to her.
This got me thinking about books that I would consider formational in my own journey. And by formational, I mean they stand out in my memory as having a significant impact on developing the person I am today, including my interests, my beliefs, and my passions.
Have you ever thought about this? What are your formational books? If you don’t have any books that you would consider formational, what about movies? Trips? Other experiences? What memories stand out that have formed you into the person you are today?
These are my Top 9 Formational Books, with some honorable mentions at the bottom.
Jane Erye by Charlotte Bronte. This is the first book I remember reading all through the night and having an extreme emotional reaction. I cried and cried all the way through it and felt like my heart was going to explode. This is before I knew much about the kind of person I am but looking back now, I realize this book spoke right to my heart. (Enneagram 4 anyone?).
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. To be honest I don’t even remember this book very much. What I remember is sobbing on a plane as I finished the end (and being very embarrassed) as I realized that “someone had to die”, but the person that died was not the person who deserved it. It was a beautiful, tragic, poignant picture of the Cross. (Someday I want to re-read this and see if I have the same reaction.)
The Sacred Romance by Brent Curtis and John Eldredge. This is the first book I read that introduced me to the idea of “beauty” and something awoke inside of me as I discovered my passion.
The Jesus I Never Knew by Phillip Yancey. Again, I don’t remember much of this book. All I remember was at the end of one chapter, it hit me hard, in a way that it never had before: Jesus is GOD. I can’t explain it, but it made me fall in love with Jesus in a deeper way than ever.
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. My love of fantasy began with The Hobbit. Before reading this book, I didn’t know anything about fantasy literature. This book changed the entire course of my reading journey.
The Lineage of Grace series (by Francine Rivers). These books opened my eyes to the fact that God has loved and looked out for women through all of time.
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. An all-time favorite. This is one that feels very “mainstream” to me (I mean, come on, it was the focus of an episode of Friends!), and I keep wanting to not like it as much as I do. But then I read it and fall in love with it again and again.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. See Jane Eyre above.
One-Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. I credit this book with moving me out of a life of fear and into a life of gratitude. There are still many, many moments of fear. But somehow the change in perspective was completely life-altering for me.
Honorable Mentions
The entire James Herriot series
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Some Favorite Fiction
(just a few books that will always stand-out in my memory, not formational just fun/engaging/excellent in their own way):
The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton
The entire Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
A Cry in the Night by Mary Higgins Clark