Literature

These are simply books I like and that I recommend. There are literally thousands of other books out there, so this is not at all exhaustive of
what is good. Remember, taste is subjective.

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My number one, all time favorite book of all:
Les Misérables, by Victor Hugo

All the writings of J.R.R.Tolkien, especially:
- The Hobbit

- The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

- The Silmarillion

- Tales from the Perilous Realm

- The Children of Hurin

- Tree and Leaf

- The Tolkien Reader

- Smith of Wooton Major and Farmer Giles of Ham

- Roverandom

Books about J.R.R. Tolkien:
Tolkien Man and Myth, by Joseph Pearce

Tolkien: A Celebration, edited by Joseph Pearce

J.R.R. Tolkien: Myth, Morality and Religion, by Richard L. Purtill

J.R.R. Tolkien's Sanctifying Myth, by Bradley J. Birzer

The Power of the Ring, by Stratford Caldecott

The Letters of J.R.R.Tolkien (excellent read if you want to understand Tolkien, a devout Catholic)

Henry Rider Haggard: I am a huge fan of H. Rider Haggard, a 19th century English adventure writer. All of his books are adventures, and some are romance adventures so there is something for everyone. He wrote many more books
than I can record, but here are some:

- King Solomon's Mines (This book captured my imagination and my heart when I was very young. It is my all-time favorite adventure book.)

- She

- Allan Quatermain and The Zulu Trilogy (Marie, Child of Storm, Finished)

- Benita: An African Romance

- She and Allan

- Wisdom's Daughter

- Diary of an African Journey (non-fiction)

If you want to know about Henry Rider Haggard:
H. Rider Haggard: His Life and Works by Morton Cohen

War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy

Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy

Resurrection, by Leo Tolstoy (an interesting read, thought provoking to say the least)

Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

The Divine Comedy, by Dante Alighieri

C.S.Lewis: Everything he wrote is recommended. Here are my favorites:

- The Chronicles of Narnia

- The Screwtape Letters

- Perelandra

- Till We Have Faces

- The Great Divorce

The Once and Future King, by T.H. White

A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving

One of the most beautiful books I have ever read: The Art of Hearing Heartbeats, by Jan-Philipp Sendker

Sequel to 'The Art of Hearing Heartbeats': A Well-Tempered Heart, by Jan-Philipp Sendker

Poetry:
My personal favorite: The Selected Poetry of Jessica Powers, edited by Regina Siegfried and Robert Morneau. Sheed & Ward, 1989

T. S. Eliot Collected Poems (1909-1962). Faber and Faber

Nativity Poems, by Joseph Brodsky, (translated). Farrar, Straus and Giroux