As John Cusack says in High Fidelity, "Books, Movies, Music...these things matter". For me, personally, I would say that knowing what a person reads and listens to is a significant step towards knowing that person. Books are incredibly important to me, and have had a huge impact on who I am, what I think and believe, and how I live.
Below are some of my favourites - books, music, and movies that have certainly been worth my time, that have even made me feel like a better person for having engaged in them and making them a part of my life and allowing them to influence me (or at least sharpen my thinking and perception)... If I were to try and find a common thread in most of what I read or listen to or enjoy watching, it would probably be a search for Truth, a striving for significance, a (usually predominant or significant) element of spiritual awareness or struggle (a wrestling with faith and the spiritual as reality), some sort of musical transcendence. I enjoy those works that lead me toward a fuller engagement with life, rather than those that serve primarily as an escape or mere entertainment. There are, of course, exceptions. Like Stephen King. or my love of 80's metal and pop. and some of it...I just think is cool.
This list is active and will be updated regularly...
Books
The Four Loves – C.S. Lewis
High Fidelity – Nick Hornby
The Brothers Karamazov – Fyodor Dostoevsky
Love and Living – Thomas Merton
The Alphabet of Grace – Frederick Buechner
Mere Christianity – C.S. Lewis
A Prayer for Owen Meany – John Irving
The Writing Life – Annie Dillard
Franny and Zooey – J.D. Salinger
Thoughts in Solitude – Thomas Merton
Mystery and Manners - Flannery O'Conner
Confessions – St. Augustine
1984 - George Orwell
The Unbearable Lightness of Being – Milan Kundera
Letters to a Young Poet – R.M. Rilke
The Complete Stories of Flannery O'Conner
Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Man in the High Castle – Philip K. Dick
Orthodoxy – G.K. Chesterton
‘Till We Have Faces – C.S. Lewis
The Long Loneliness – Dorothy Day
A Circle of Quiet – Madeleine L’Engle
The Cloister Walk – Kathleen Norris
Confessions of a Guilty Bystander – Thomas Merton
The Sacred Journey – Frederick Buechner
An American Childhood – Annie Dillard
The World According to Garp – John Irving
Dead Man Walking – Sr. Helen Prejean
The Screwtape Letters – C.S. Lewis
Reaching Out – Henri Nouwen
Walking on Water – Madeleine L’Engle
The Man Who Was Thursday – G.K. Chesterton
Reflections on the Psalms – C.S. Lewis
The Outsiders – S.E. Hinton
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Robert Perzig
Ellen Foster – Kaye Gibbons
The Moviegoer – Walker Percy
Ironweed – William Kennedy
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek – Annie Dillard
The Art of Loving – Erich Fromm
Life of the Beloved – Henri Nouwen
The Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger
Jude the Obscure – Thomas Hardy
The Day Boy and the Night Girl – George Macdonald
Godric – Frederick Buechner
The Chronicles of Narnia – C.S. Lewis
New Seeds of Contemplation – Thomas Merton
Tickets for a Prayer Wheel - Annie Dillard
Walden – Henry David Thoreau
Teachings on Love - Thich Nhat Hanh
The Meaning of Jesus – N.T. Wright / Marcus Borg
Everyday Apocalypse – David Dark
The Gospel According to America - David Dark
The Sacredness of Questioning Everything - David Dark
Creed or Chaos? – Dorothy Sayers
The Vampire Chronicles – Anne Rice
If on a Winter's Night a Traveler – Italo Calvino
The Hobbit / Lord of the Rings Trilogy – J.R.R. Tolkien
Living Buddha, Living Christ – Thich Nhat Hanh
The Great Divorce – C.S. Lewis
The Rock that is Higher – Madeleine L'Engle
On the Road with the Archangel – Frederick Buechner
Travelling Mercies – Anne Lamott
Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer – C.S. Lewis
To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
Disputed Questions – Thomas Merton
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer – Mark Twain
Out of the Silent Planet – C.S. Lewis
Perelandra - C.S. Lewis
That Hideous Strength - C.S. Lewis
Man’s Search for Meaning – Viktor Frankl
The Inner Voice of Love – Henri Nouwen
Fahrenheit 451 – Ray Bradbury
Ubik – Philip K. Dick
The Sirens of Titan – Kurt Vonnegut
Slowness – Milan Kundera
The Problem of Pain – C.S. Lewis
A Simple Path – Mother Teresa
The Hungering Dark – Frederick Buechner
Wise Blood – Flannery O’Conner
Nine Stories – J.D. Salinger
The Stand - Stephen King
It - Stephen King
The Dark Half - Stephen King
Watership Down - Richard Adams
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings – Maya Angelou
The Hidden Wound – Wendell Berry
Jesus: The Man Who Lives – Malcolm Muggeridge
The Summer of the Great Grandmother – Madeleine L’Engle
Surprised by Joy – C.S. Lewis
Questions About Angels - Billy Collins
Tuesdays with Morrie – Mitch Albom
Our Greatest Gift – Henri Nouwen
Aging - Henri Nouwen
The Ragamuffin Gospel – Brennan Manning
Wouldn’t Take Nothin For My Journey Now – Maya Angelou
At the Back of the North Wind – George Macdonald
The Root of the Righteous – A.W. Tozer
Watch with Me – Wendell Berry
The Tempest – Shakespeare
Opening the Bible – Thomas Merton
The Politics of Jesus – John Howard Yoder
Amusing Ourselves to Death – Niel Postman
Peace is Every Step – Thich Nhat Hanh
Gandhi: An Autobiography (My Experiments with the Truth)
The Prophet – Kahlil Gibran
Henri Nouwen: A Restless Seeking for God – Jurjen Beumer
Let Justice Roll Down – John Perkins
The Manger is Empty – Walter Wangarine, Jr.
All Hallow’s Eve – Charles Williams
The Sparrow - Mary Doria Russell
Children of God - Mary Doria Russell
The Futurological Congress - Stanislaw Lem
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone – J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling
Whistling in the Dark – Frederick Buechner
Art & The Bible – Francis A. Schaeffer
Soul Survivor – Philip Yancey
The Pilgrim’s Progress – John Bunyan
No Compromise: The Life Story of Kieth Green
The Courage to Be – Paul Tillich
Bread for the Journey – Henri Nouwen
Ragman - Walter Wangerin, Jr.
Fight Club – Chuck Palahniuk
We – Yevgeny Zamyatin
Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said – Philip K. Dick
Jazz - Toni Morrison
Waiting for Godot - Samuel Beckett
The Body Artist - Don Delillo
Charming Billy - Alice McDermott
Gilead - Marilynn Robinson
Through Painted Deserts - Donald Miller
Girl Meets God - Lauren F. Winner
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee - Dee Brown
Lord of the Flies - William Golding
Chronicles - Bob Dylan
Slouching Toward Nirvana - Charles Bukowski
Sex, Economy, Freedom and Community - Wendell Berry
Tropic of Cancer - Henry Miller
The Year of Magical Thinking - Joan Didion
Slaughterhouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut
Woody Allen and Philosophy
Miz Lil and the Chronicles of Grace - Walter Wangerine, Jr.
The Sound and The Fury - William Faulkner
And It Was Good - Madeleine L'Engle
The Death of Ivan Ilych - Leo Tolstoy
Writings in the Dust - Rowan Williams
Exclusion and Embrace - Miroslav Volf
Something Beautiful for God - Malcolm Muggeridge
The End of Christendom - Malcolm Muggeridge
Siddhartha - Hermann Hesse
The Seven Storey Mountain - Thomas Merton
Tao Teh Ching - Lao Tzu (John C.H. Wu translation)
The Captive Mind - Czeslaw Milosz
Lion Country - Frederick Buechner
The Stranger - Albert Camus
No Country for Old Men - Cormac McCarthy
The Road - Cormac McCarthy
Music
Over the Rhine – Good Dog, Bad Dog
Sixpence None the Richer – This Beautiful Mess
The Innocence Mission – The Innocence Mission
Vigilantes of Love – Blister Soul
Sarah Masen – The Dreamlife of Angels
Itzhak Perlman – Cinema Serenade
Radiohead – OK Computer
Radiohead – The Bends
U2 – The Unforgettable Fire
Bob Dylan – Oh Mercy
The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds
Mindy Smith - One Moment More
Mindy Smith - Long Island Shores
Over the Rhine – Ohio
The Innocence Mission – Befriended
Sigur Ros – ( )
Broken Social Scene - You Forgot It in People
Jan Krist – Curious
R.E.M. – New Adventures in Hi Fi
Damien Rice - O
The Violet Burning – Strength
Midnight Oil – Diesel and Dust
The Call – Reconciled
Bob Dylan – Blood on the Tracks
Ani Difranco – Not a Pretty Girl
LifeSavers Underground – Shaded Pain
The Smiths – The Queen is Dead
Over the Rhine – Patience
Tori Amos – Little Earthquakes
Undercover – Branded
Undercover – Balance of Power
Eels – Electro-Shock Blues
The Sundays – Blind
Aimee Mann – Lost in Space
DJ Shadow – Endtroducing
Mercury Rev – All is Dream
The Innocence Mission – Umbrella
Sparklehorse – It's a Wonderful Life
R.E.M. – Automatic for the People
The Flaming Lips – Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
Wilco – Summer Teeth
Radiohead – Kid A
Modest Mouse – The Moon and Antarctica
Patty Griffin - Impossible Dream
U2 – Pop
Indigo Girls – Rites of Passage
The Beatles – Revolver
Vigilantes of Love - Welcome to Struggleville
David Gray – Lost Songs 95-98
Bruce Cockburn – The Charity of Night
The Innocence Mission – Birds of My Neighborhood
Simon and Garfunkel – Bookends
Joni Mitchel - Blue
P.J. Harvey – Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
Moby – Play
Sarah Mclachlan – Fumbling Towards Ecstacy
The 77's – Pray Naked
Aimee Mann – Bachelor #2
Sparklehorse – Good Morning Spider
Patty Griffin – 1,000 Kisses
The Beatles – Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
R.E.M – Up
Mogwai – Come On, Die Young
Suzanne Vega – Solitude Standing
Margaret Becker – Immigrant's Daughter
Adam Again – Dig
Pinback – Blue Screen Life
The Sundays – Reading, Writing and Arithmetic
Over the Rhine – Films for Radio
Tom Waits – Bone Machine
Sarah Mclachlan – Afterglow
Rosie Thomas – Only with Laughter Can You Win
Tori Amos – Scarlet's Walk
Sixpence None the Richer – Divine Discontent
Jennifer Knapp – The Way I Am
U2 – War
Rosie Thomas – When We Were Small
Belle and Sebastian – Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant
David Gray – White Ladder
The Church – Starfish
Depeche Mode – Violator
New Order – Substance
The Cure – Disintegration
Adam Again – Ten Songs
Pixies – Bossanova
Belle and Sebastian – Tigermilk
Indigo Girls
Massive Attack – Mezzanine
Killing Joke – Pandemonium
Toad the Wet Sprocket – Dulcinea
Mogwai – Rock Action
Eels – Beautiful Freak
Patty Griffin – Flaming Red
Miles Davis – Kind of Blue
The Smiths – Louder than Bombs
Dead Can Dance – Into the Labyrinth
Sparklehorse - Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot
Over the Rhine - 'Till We Have Faces
Over the Rhine - Patience
The Mission U.K. - Children
Live - Mental Jewelry
The Call - Modern Romans
The Call - Into the Woods
The Call - The Call
Copeland - Beneath Medicine Tree
Linford Detweiler - Unspoken Requests
Tom Waits - Mule Variations
Hem - Rabbit Songs
The Cure - The Head on The Door
Eels - Blinking Lights and Other Revelations
The Church - After Everything, Now This
Movies
Almost Famous
The Matrix (trilogy)
Life is Beautiful
Cinema Paradiso
Il Postino
The Notebook
Lost in Translation
Broken Flowers
The Shawshank Redemption
Hamlet (Mel Gibson)
Entertaining Angels: The Dorothy Day Story
Shadowlands
The Shipping News
Gandhi
Dead Man Walking
In The Name of The Father
Lord of the Rings (trilogy)
The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
The Princess Bride
Adaptation
The Cruise
No Direction Home: Bob Dylan
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
I (Heart) Huckabees
You Can Count on Me
The Apostle
Babette's Feast
Schindler's List
Cookie's Fortune
Annie Hall
Waiting for Guffman
Best in Show
A Mighty Wind
Looking for Richard
Hero
American Beauty
Stealing Beauty
The Hours
Magnolia
Girl, Interrupted
High Fidelity
The Hurricane
Dead Poet Society
The Outsiders
Mask
Back to the Future
Rumble Fish
Fight Club
Les Miserables
Henry and June
The Winter Guest
Signs
Manhattan
Crimes and Misdemeanors
Hannah and Her Sisters
The Station Agent
About a Boy
The Talanted Mr.Ripley
Kill Bill, Vol. 2
A Scanner Darkly
Smoke Signals
Thelma & Louise
Untamed Heart
A League of Their Own
Moulin Rouge
The Cider House Rules
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
The Big Lebowski
Scent of a Woman
The Ladykillers
Batman Begins
V for Vendetta
The Hudsucker Proxy
Bukowski: Born Into This
Good Night, And Good Luck
Shakespeare in Love
Rushmore
The Merchant of Venice (Al Pacino)
Pan's Labyrinth
Winter's Passing
Anything Else
September
Interiors
The Seventh Seal
My Life as a Dog
The Pursuit of Happyness
A Beautiful Mind
Girl with Green Eyes
No Country for Old Men
Sullivan's Travels
