Top Ten Favorite Non-Fiction Books

This week's top ten Tuesday theme is a freebie so I decided to go with my top ten favorite non-fiction books. I read a lot of fiction and that tends be what I talk about the most here on my blog so I think it would be fun to look at my favorite non-fiction books. :) We'll take the Bible as a granted. :)
Because I couldn't narrow down my list I'm going to make two top ten lists.... ten that are theological and ten that are not. With some of these the lines between theological and non-theological are blurred so I just threw the book where I thought it fit best. :(
Also there are a lot of great non-fiction books I have yet to read so just because it didn't make it on the list doesn't mean I hate it... I might just have not read it yet.

Top Ten Theological Books 

1. Chosen by God by R.C. Sproul- I know I've mentioned this one before here. It made a big difference in my life when I read and really helped me to understand a subject that had always confused me. 
2. The Westminster Confession of Faith- Another book that hugely influenced me when I read it. It was somewhat tedious to read but once again it helped me to understand theology that I hadn't quite grasped yet. 
3. Trusting God: Even When Life Hurts by Jerry Bridges- I just read this for the first time this year but I absolutely loved it! My advice.... read it before life hurts. I read it after the hurt of life (many deaths in the family) and it was so helpful but I also know that it will help me to handle future life hurts so much better than I handled the previous. 
4. Christianity and Liberalism by J. Gresham Machem- A thought provoking and insightful book. Read it! 
5. The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers- I got this for my birthday this year and read through it slowly, reading a couple prayers every night. This books, as I said in my review, was almost like scripture. I know the Puritans get a bad rap nowadays but I think it is so unfairly bestowed. Read this book and you'll know what I mean. It's beautiful! 
6. The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer- I read this a couple years ago. I loved it for just speaking the truth even though sometimes it wasn't what you as a Christian weren't used to saying. Tozer had a very unapologetic way of writing. It encouraged me in my walk with God. Highly recommend this book! 
7. Pushing the Antithesis by Greg Bahnsen- A great look at presuppositional apologetics and far more readable than Van Til's (considered the "father" of presuppositional apologetics) books. 
8. Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper- About not wasting your life.... duh. ;) A great read and a good poke in the side. :)
9. Christian Love by Hugh Binning- A recommendation from my brother and I'm glad I took it. It makes you re-think love. Another Puritan author.... take a chance! 
10. The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis- An often funny little book with a guest appearance by G.K. Chesterton.... read it! I'm not sure if this is theology or not so.... theology! It makes the lists even anyways. ;) 

Top Ten Non-Fiction Books (non-theological) 

1. Miniatures and Morals: The Christian Novels of Jane Austen by Peter Leithart- I've read this book so many times! It's an incredible analysis of Jane Austen's novels and points that you never would have even considered are brought to light. Very insightful! 
2. Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washington- I found this highly inspirational when I read it back in high school. Washington didn't spend time complaining about his plight in life.... he worked.... and he worked hard. A little lesson people need to take to heart. 
3. Exploring J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit by Corey Olsen- I read this a little bit before the Hobbit movies started coming out. I picked it up randomly but I'm so glad I read it. It was an interesting analysis of The Hobbit. I think people focus on analysis of LOTR and others of Tolkien's works more so than The Hobbit but The Hobbit actually has a lot to look at as well. Corey Olsen is also known as The Tolkien Professor. My brother is a big fan of his stuff. 
4. The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang- Wow! This book is scary and amazing! If Foxe's Book of Martyrs shocked you than this one will too. 
5. Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther by Roland Bainton- Very well written and researched. I learned so much about Luther from this. 
6. Foxes Book of Martyrs by John Foxe- I read this in high school and it shocked me! It was sad and inspiring at the same time. 
7. The Best Things in Life by Peter Kreeft- I read this in high school and it is so funny by so thought provoking! The catchphrase for it is "A contemporary Socrates looks at power, pleasure, truth and the good life." Pretty much that's the book. :) Kreeft also wrote another book that's great called The Unaborted Socrates. 
8. A Child's History of England by Charles Dickens- I know I just read it a couple weeks ago but it deserves a place on this list. I wish all history was as fun to read as this book and as funny! 
9. Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazzlit- The best book about economics I've read. Simple enough even I could understand it. ;)
10. I Kissed Dating Goodbye and Boy Meets Girl by Joshua Harris- Now I don't agree 100% with these books. I know sometimes they can be controversial. However I do think they have some great points. And when it comes to courtship or dating... honestly I don't think it's about the terms.... it's about what you're actual doing. You can label something anything you like but that  doesn't mean it is that. For me, the most important thing in a relationship is not whether you are following the "Ten steps for a perfect courtship" but whether you and your S.O. are following God. 

As you can see I love non-fiction almost as much as I love fiction and non-fiction has also had a huge impact on my life... probably more so than fiction... which is saying a lot.
Any great non-fiction books you'd recommend? You can kind of tell from lists what I like when it comes to non-fiction: theology, history and satire. However I'm always ready to try something new. :)

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