Four books I'm going to read in 2017


Below are four books I want to read in 2017. One is a new book and other three are classic books I haven’t gotten around to reading yet.
  
1. “The Confessions” by St. Augustine. This book is often called the first autobiography in Western civilization, but it seems more like a personal journal. St. Augustine traces his life from infancy to his famous conversion at age 33. It goes without saying that “Confessions” is foundational to western thought and Christianity. I just started studying this book with a group at my church. Why have I not read this book before? I vaguely recall having to read a couple of chapters of this book when I was in college; I feel like I’m long overdue to read the entire book. My group is reading the translation by Maria Boulding
   
2. “Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the creator of Nike” by Phil Knight. The co-founder of Nike, Knight traces the growth of Nike from its beginnings in 1964 (the company was initially called “Blue Ribbon Sports”) to the multi-billion dollar enterprise Nike is today. A very candid, vulnerable, and endearing book. 
  
3. “Orthodoxy” by G. K. Chesterton. Something of a “spiritual autobiography,” this indispensable Chesterton book explains how Chesterton came to embrace orthodox Christianity. I want to read a lot of Chesterton’s books, and “Orthodoxy” will be the first.
  
4. “Moby-Dick” by Herman Melville. This book, one of the great American novels, is another book I should have read by now but haven't. The plot of Moby-Dick – the epic struggle between a man and the whale he becomes obsessed with – is well known. The opening sentence - “Call me Ishmael” - is haunting.