100 Authors (You Ought to Read)
In no particular order. Also, the appearance of an author on this list doesn't mean I necessarily condone all their ideas. Some of these authors should be read with caution, and all of them read with a critical eye and a good dose of discernment.
1. Francis Schaeffer
2. O.S. Guinness
3. Mark Twain
4. John Bunyan
5. William Shakespeare
6. Leo Tolstoy
7. Ayn Rand
8. Kurt Vonnegut
9. Douglas Wilson
10. P.G. Wodhouse
11. G.K. Chesterton
12. Robert A. Heinlein
13. Fyodor Dostoevsky
14. Bill Bryson
15. Greg Bahnsen
16. Cornelius Van Til
17. Jane Austen
18. Henry David Thoreau
19. Richard Baxter
20. Augustine
21. John Calvin
22. Daniel Defoe
23. James White
24. Arthur Conan Doyle
25. Elisabeth Elliot
26. Joshua Harris
27. Milton Friedman
28. Murray Rothbard
29. Douglas Groothuis
30. Aldous Huxley
31. Donald Knuth
32. Jack Kerouac
33. John Macarthur
34. Alister McGrath
35. Ludwig Von Mises
36. Leon Morris
37. John Stott
38. William Mounce
39. Ian Murray
40. John Piper
41. William Mitchell Ramsey
42. Bertrant Russell
43. Edith Schaeffer
44. Rafael Sabatini
45, Dr. Seuss
46. I.F. Stone
47. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
48. R.C. Sproul
49. Geerhardus Vos
50. C.H. Spurgeon
51. Samuel Waldron
52. H.G. Wells
53. R.J. Rushdoony
54. Sigmund Freud
55. Harold Bloom
56. Albert Martin
57. Frederic Bastiat
58. Ayaan Hirsi Ali
59. Francis Bacon
60. Mikhail Bulgakov
61. Nathan Wilson
62. Jim Rogers
63. Bram Stoker
64. Rudyard Kipling
65. Alan Jacobs
66. Peter Leithart
67. Eric S. Raymond
68. Plato
69. Gordon Korman
70. Robert Lord
71. Jack Hodgins
72. Johnathan Edwards
73. Jerome Tuccille
74. John Murray
75. Stewart Tendler
76. Robert Stone
77. J Gresham Machen
78. Ishmael Beah
79. John Owen
80. Gordon H. Clark
81. Albert Camus
82. R. B. Kuiper
83. Herbert Zim
84. George Grossmith
85. J. I. Packer
86. Fritz Molden
87. Rene Descartes
88. Sun Tzu
89. John Blanchard
90. Jon Steinbeck
91. Ray Bradbury
92. Immanuel Kant
93. Ian Wilson
94. George Orwell
95. Jim West
96. Alan Watts
97. Adrian Conan Doyle
98. Gracia Burnham
99. Ravi Zacharias
100. Jerry Bridges
Now I will sit back and wait for people to point out the glaring ommisions!
1. Francis Schaeffer
2. O.S. Guinness
3. Mark Twain
4. John Bunyan
5. William Shakespeare
6. Leo Tolstoy
7. Ayn Rand
8. Kurt Vonnegut
9. Douglas Wilson
10. P.G. Wodhouse
11. G.K. Chesterton
12. Robert A. Heinlein
13. Fyodor Dostoevsky
14. Bill Bryson
15. Greg Bahnsen
16. Cornelius Van Til
17. Jane Austen
18. Henry David Thoreau
19. Richard Baxter
20. Augustine
21. John Calvin
22. Daniel Defoe
23. James White
24. Arthur Conan Doyle
25. Elisabeth Elliot
26. Joshua Harris
27. Milton Friedman
28. Murray Rothbard
29. Douglas Groothuis
30. Aldous Huxley
31. Donald Knuth
32. Jack Kerouac
33. John Macarthur
34. Alister McGrath
35. Ludwig Von Mises
36. Leon Morris
37. John Stott
38. William Mounce
39. Ian Murray
40. John Piper
41. William Mitchell Ramsey
42. Bertrant Russell
43. Edith Schaeffer
44. Rafael Sabatini
45, Dr. Seuss
46. I.F. Stone
47. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
48. R.C. Sproul
49. Geerhardus Vos
50. C.H. Spurgeon
51. Samuel Waldron
52. H.G. Wells
53. R.J. Rushdoony
54. Sigmund Freud
55. Harold Bloom
56. Albert Martin
57. Frederic Bastiat
58. Ayaan Hirsi Ali
59. Francis Bacon
60. Mikhail Bulgakov
61. Nathan Wilson
62. Jim Rogers
63. Bram Stoker
64. Rudyard Kipling
65. Alan Jacobs
66. Peter Leithart
67. Eric S. Raymond
68. Plato
69. Gordon Korman
70. Robert Lord
71. Jack Hodgins
72. Johnathan Edwards
73. Jerome Tuccille
74. John Murray
75. Stewart Tendler
76. Robert Stone
77. J Gresham Machen
78. Ishmael Beah
79. John Owen
80. Gordon H. Clark
81. Albert Camus
82. R. B. Kuiper
83. Herbert Zim
84. George Grossmith
85. J. I. Packer
86. Fritz Molden
87. Rene Descartes
88. Sun Tzu
89. John Blanchard
90. Jon Steinbeck
91. Ray Bradbury
92. Immanuel Kant
93. Ian Wilson
94. George Orwell
95. Jim West
96. Alan Watts
97. Adrian Conan Doyle
98. Gracia Burnham
99. Ravi Zacharias
100. Jerry Bridges
Now I will sit back and wait for people to point out the glaring ommisions!
Labels: books
posted by Mark Nenadov at 4:47 PM
8 Comments:
One obvious omission I just noticed: C.S. Lewis
Of course, omissions on these lists are inevitable and feel nearly silly to point out any others (even though I'd like to).
But when you look over your list, what commonalities, what motifs do you see? Why these authors? Why should I read these and not a completely different hundred?
The more I think about it, the more I can't provide much in the way of motifs or compelling reasons why to read these.
Now that I think about it, 100 "ought to read" authors may have been too much to aim for as a 20-something reader. I haven't read enough. Shooting for 100 spread the list to thin and there is little cohension. I'm sure the list would be better and easier to describe and defend if it were limited to 15 or 20.
Oh well, what can one expect for something random? I guess if I had to describe all these authors with a keyword, it would be "interesting" or "hmmm" or "thought-provoking".
Nice mixture of theological, fiction, and classical writers. I have appreciated reading the books of some of these authors, such as Zacharias, Sproul, and Piper. Have you ever read any Frederick Buechner or Philip Yancey? I have appreciated their books immensely.
I've never read either Frederick Buechner or Philip Yancey. I've heard of Yancy, but what does Buechner write about??
I don't think I've read even half of these authors. And about half of that half I'd never heard of.
And if I'm starting to sound like a hobbit, it's because of that "glaring omission": J.R.R. Tolkien. :)
This comment has been removed by the author.
Who is J.R.R. Tolkien?
I'm joking. One of my nieces would NOT like me asking that.
It's just that I really haven't gotten to reading anything by him.
Don't worry about not having read some of these authors. It just means you aren't yet very well-read. I'm joking again! Some of them are pretty esoteric and far out there, so the use of "ought" in the title is sort of an exaggeration. I like your explanation of halfs and halfs of halfs.
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