A while back we asked you, “What are the most tattered titles on your nightstand?” You answered with vigor and the responses were so numerous that we thought it might be helpful to summarize what our readers recommended. One of our amazing volunteers compiled every response and then put them into a spreadsheet. I was fascinated, surprised, and delighted to see how the top ten list emerged. The top three were 1) the Bible, 2) the Liturgy of the Hours, and 3) the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Here’s the top five after the top three:
- The Imitation of Christ – Thomas A Kempis
- The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila – St. Teresa of Avila
- Abandonment to Divine Providence – Fr. Jean-Pierre de Caussade
- The Better Part – Fr. John Bartunek
- Divine Intimacy – Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen
So, there you have it. The next list reflects those books that had more than one mention. From the standpoint of the sheer number of votes to any one author (across multiple titles), St. Teresa of Avila gets the top prize.
- Story of a Soul – St. Therese of Lisieux
- Introduction to the Devout Life – St. Francis de Sales
- Diary of St. Faustina – St. Faustina
- Complete works of St. John of the Cross – St. John of the Cross
- Consoling the Heart of Jesus – Michael Gaitley
- Interior Castle – St. Teresa of Avila
- Return of the Prodigal Son – Henri Nouwen
- My Daily Bread (devotional)
- I Believe in Love Jean – C.J. d’Elbee
- The Fire Within – Fr. Thomas Dubay
- The Fulfillment of All Desire – Ralph Martin
- True Devotion/Total Consecration to Mary – St. Louis Grignion de Monfort
- Life of Christ – Fulton J. Sheen
- Jesus of Nazareth Book 1 – Pope Benedict
- Daily Roman Missal
- Revelation of Divine Love – Julian of Norwich
- The Secret of the Rosary – St. Louis Grignion de Monfort
- Drinking from a Dry Well – Thomas Green
- When the Well Runs Dry – Thomas Green
- Man’s Search for Meaning – Frankl
- The Way of Perfection – St. Teresa of Avila
- The Great Divorce – C.S. Lewis
- Life of the Beloved – Henri Nouwen
- He and I – Gabrielle Bossi
- In Conversation with God – Francis Fernandez Carvajal
- Theology of the Body – John Paul II
The remainder of the recommendations all had one vote each. If you would like to see all the other book recommendations you can check out the combox of the original post and a few other posts we have done to provide recommendations for you.
