Tagged

It seems Arielle has tagged me for a response to a meme--which hurt, by the way--so I guess I'll give it Ye Olde Collyge Trye:

Five favorite fiction authors:

1. Hillary Clinton
2. Robert E. Howard
3. J.R.R. Tolkien
4. Louis L'Amour
5. Robert A. Heinlein

Five Favorite Non-Fiction Authors:

1. Paul Johnson
2. C.S. Lewis
3. Thomas Sowell
4. Will Durant
5. Paul Fregosi

Five Favorite Children's Authors:

1. C.S. Lewis
2. Lloyd Alexander
3. Scott O'Dell
4. Robert Louis Stevenson
5. Theodore Taylor

Favorite Book Read in 2005:

Under the Influence: How Christianity Transformed Civilization, by Alvin J. Schmidt

Books You're Looking Most Forward to Reading in 2006:

1. The Holy Bible
2. Sinister Barrier, by Eric Frank Russell

Five Books on Faith That You Would Recommend:

1. The Holy Bible (obviously)
2. Mere Christianity, by C.S. Lewis
3. The Case for Christ, by Lee Strobel
4. Who Moved the Stone?, by Frank Morison
5. More Than a Carpenter, by Josh McDowell

Five Books That Made You Laugh Out-Loud:

1. Slander, by Ann Coulter
2. You Can't Put No Boogie-Woogie on the King of Rock-and-Roll, by Lewis Grizzard
3. Dave Barry Slept Here, by Dave Barry
4. The Screwtape Letters, by C.S. Lewis
5. You Don't Say: Sometimes Liberals Show Their True Colors, by Fred Gielow

A Fictional Character You Would Like to Emulate:

Aragorn, from The Lord of the Rings (I've always wanted to kill me a few orcs)

Have You Ever Had a Crush on a Fictional Character? If Yes, Which One?:

Yes. Seven-of-Nine on Star Trek Voyager (Those who have seen the show need no explanation)

The Best Biography You've Ever Read:

The Four Gospels

A Book You Love with a Short Review:

The Silmarilion, by J.R.R. Tolkien. This is perhaps the most complex book of fiction I've ever read--and the most rewarding. It covers the first great Ages of Middle-Earth, before the Third Age and The Lord of the Rings. Beginning with the world's creation, Tolkien takes us on an epic adventure spanning thousands of years, using some of the most evocative language imaginable. Here, many of the questions left unanswered in his more famous books--or persons and places merely mentioned in passing-- are covered in intimate detail. For example: Where did the elves and dwarves come from? How did Sauron become an evil, corrupt power-monger? Who were some of the great human and elvish heroes of Middle-Earth's past, and how did they live and die? This book fills in many of the gaps, illustrates Tolkien's Christian worldview more fully, and presents itself as a history book written by a master storyteller. In my opinion, it is his best book, though many would argue with this assertion. It is both a challenge and a treat for the imagination, and I cannot recommend it highly enough.