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.
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)
-This book, published in 2021, is excellent: Tolkien's Modern Reading: Middle-earth Beyond the Middle Ages, by Holly Ordway, published by Word on Fire Ministries
Henry Rider Haggard: I am a huge fan of H. Rider Haggard, a 19th century English adventure writer. (And his books were a huge influence on J.R.R. Tolkien who named him as one of his two favorite authors. I was not surprised to discover this in the book mentioned above by Holly Ordway.) All of Haggard's books are adventures, and some are romance adventures so there is something for everyone. The first two listed are his most famous; 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 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
Russian Literature
-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
The poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins, SJ is also wonderful.
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)
-This book, published in 2021, is excellent: Tolkien's Modern Reading: Middle-earth Beyond the Middle Ages, by Holly Ordway, published by Word on Fire Ministries
Henry Rider Haggard: I am a huge fan of H. Rider Haggard, a 19th century English adventure writer. (And his books were a huge influence on J.R.R. Tolkien who named him as one of his two favorite authors. I was not surprised to discover this in the book mentioned above by Holly Ordway.) All of Haggard's books are adventures, and some are romance adventures so there is something for everyone. The first two listed are his most famous; 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 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
Russian Literature
-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
The poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins, SJ is also wonderful.