This has been cross-posted from Bibliofreak.Now that I’ve launched the World Religion Challenge website, I thought that I ought to go ahead and make my list.
But this is pretty tough for me. I’m joining on the 3rd Path, the Universalist Path, which I also like to call the Above and Beyond Path, and I intend to go as high above and as far beyond as I have time for in 12 months. So, my list is a little bit crazy.
Basically, I’ve gone around my house looking at the books I have that I’ve not read (I’m not much of a re-reader) and figured out which ARCs will fit that I’m getting or have gotten but won’t get to until January, and which books are on my challenge lists (whether I’ve acquired them yet or not) and which books I’ve always meant to read that I don’t have.
And this list is totally subject to change as I come across more and more books that fit the theme (and remember, I tend to find themes of religion in most things I read).
I’ve broken my list down by religion and added Amazon links, which hopefully will help others joining in on the fun.
Hinduism:
Baksheesh and Brahman: Asian Journals – India by Joseph Campbell
The Namesake by Jumpa Lahiri
Buddhism:
The Art of Happiness in a Troubled World by the Dalai Lama
An Introduction to Zen Buddhism by by DT Suzuki
The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac
The Life of Milarepa: A New Translation from the Tibetan translated by Lobsang P. Lhalungpa
Buddha’s Wife by Gabriel Constans
Judaism:
Night by Elie Wiesel
Sarah: A Novel by Marek Halter
Samson’s Walls by Jud Nirenberg
Christianity:
Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan
The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio
Mariette in Ecstasy by Ron Hansen
James the Brother of Jesus: The Key to Unlocking the Secrets of Early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls by Robert H Eisenman
Pope Joan: A Novel by Donna Cross
The Bible: A Biography by Karen Armstrong
The Monastic Journey of Thomas Merton by Thomas Merton
Silence by Shusaku Endo
Baudolino by Umberto Eco
Islam:
Saffron Dreams by Shailah Abdullah
Leap of Faith : Memoirs of an Unexpected Life by Queen Noor
The Koran translated by A. J. Arberry
The Reluctant Fundamentalist Mohsin Hamid
God Dies by the Nile by Nawal El Saadawi
God Has Ninety-Nine Names by Judith Miller
Mythology:
Hrafnkel’s Saga and Other Icelandic Stories translated by Hermann Palsson
Gilgamesh translated by Stephen Mitchell
The Histories by Herodotus translated by John M. Marincola
Comparative Religion:
The Great Transformation: The Beginning of Our Religious Traditions by Karen Armstrong
A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam by Karen Armstrong
What Is God? by Jacob Needleman
The Harvard Psychedelic Club: How Timothy Leary, Ram Dass, Huston Smith, and Andrew Weil Killed the Fifties and Ushered in a New Age for America by Don Lattin
Holy Madness: The Shock Tactics and Radical Teachings of Crazy-Wise Adepts, Holy Fools and Rascal Gurus by George Feuerstein
Taoism:
The Wandering Taoist by Deng Ming-Dao
Tribal Religions/Animism/Shamanism:
The Bone People by Keri Hulme
The Valley of Horses by Jean Auel
Wicca/Occult/Paganism:
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe
Atheism/Agnosticism:
The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution by Richard Dawkins
And I’m sure there will be more.
Thanks so much for hosting this challenge
ReplyDeleteAs a Buddhist I read a lot of books on Buddhism, but also like to read about other world religions, so as to foster understanding.
This challenge will encourage me to expand my reading ;0)
http://lyndasbookblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/world-religion-challenge.html
I recommend this, even if I didn't read it yet:
ReplyDelete'The Blackwell Companion to Natural Theology'. Christian.
I love your list, J.T. Night and Saffron Dreams are both great books. I didn't care for A History of God, but I know a lot of people do like it. I am going to love reading all of the books I already have. Taoism, Buddhism, Catholicism, Atheism, and Tribal Religions (love that phrase, which beats what I was going to say, which is name them all, haha) are on my list. Do we have to stick with the list we make? You know I have such issues with that.
ReplyDeleteStick with the list you make? Never! hahahahaha....I've already bought two (used) audio books to add to my list, and the damn thing hasn't even begun. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a great and well rounded list!
ReplyDeletesee Leary's version of updating ones religion in his book, The Politics of Ecstasy's chapter, "The Seven Tongues of God". searchable at Amazon.
ReplyDeleteLeary spent 25+ years upgrading his religious ideas. His book , PsYchedelic Prayers is a nice Tao Te Ching version of his Tantric Tripping Theory.
Esalen America-the religion of no religion, book by Jeffrey Kripal gives an amazing story of the psychedelic, tantric, success story of recent decades...