Books I want to read and to own!

Books William Bortins Wants. Bold = wants most. The numbering is not significant.

1.The Republic by Plato

2. 1984 by George Orwel

3. The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli

4. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

5. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

6. The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith

7. For Whom The Bells Tolls by Ernest Hemingway

8.  The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde

9. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

10. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

11. Call of the Wilde by Jack London

12. Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Davis Wyss

13. The Iliad

14. The Odyssey

15. The Aeneid

16. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

17. Walden by Henry David Thoreau

18. Lord of the Flies by William Golding                              

19. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

20. Ulysses by James Joyce

21. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

22. The Book of Deeds of Arms and of Chivalry by Christine De Pizan

23. The Art of War by Sun Tzu

24. Don Quixote by Miguel De Cervantes Saavedra

25. The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri

26. The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien

27. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien

28. Narnia Series by C.S. Lewis

29. Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes

30. Adventure of Huckleberry Fin by Mark Twain

31. The Politics by Aristotle

32. Cyrano De Bergerac by Edmond Rostand

33. Animal Farm by George Orwell

34. Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs

35. Moby Dick by Herman Melville

36. Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelly

37. Hamlet/Much Ado/Henry 5/ Macbeth/ any Shakespeare

38. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

39. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Dafoe

40. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

41. Paradise Lost by John Milton

42. The American boys Handy Book

43. King Solomon’s Mines by H. Rider Haggard

44. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

45. All Quite on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarq

46. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

47. The Dangerous Book for Boys by Conn and Hal Iggulden

48. The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara

49. The Histories by Herodotus

50. Self Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson

51. Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling

52. The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle   

53. The Man Who Would Be King by Rudyard Kipling

54. Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

55. The Silmarillion by J.R.R Tolkien

56. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne

57. Around the World in 80 days by Jules Verne

58. The Three Musketeers by Alexander Dumas

59. True at First Light by Ernest Hemingway

60. The Sea Wolf by Jack London

61. Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini

62. Le Morte D’Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory

63. Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne

64. The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling

65. The Man Eaters of Tsavo by Colonel Henry Patterson

66. The Travels of Marco Polo by Marco Polo

67. The Persian Expedition by Xenophon

68. Greek Tragedy by Aeschylus, Euripides and Sophocles

69. History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides

70. Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae by Steven Pressfield

71. The Western Way of War: Infantry Battle in Classical Greece by Victor Davis Hanson

72. The Campaigns of Alexander by Arrian

73. Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford.

74. The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi

75. The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World: From Marathon to Waterloo by Sir Edward Shepherd Creasy

76. The Liberator by Alex Kershaw

77. Charlie Wilson’s War by George Crile

78. The 33 Strategies of War by Robert Greene

79. The Savior Generals: How Five Great Commanders Saved Wars That Were Lost by Victor Davis Hanson.

80. Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

81. How Should We Then Live? The Rise and Decline of Western Thought and Culture

by Francis August Schaeffer

82. The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis

83. Total Truth by Nancy Pearcey

84. Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton

85. Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

86. God in the Docks by C.S. Lewis

87. The Well-Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer

88. The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

89. Invitation to the Classics by Louise Cowan

90. Recovering the Lost tools of learning by Douglas Wilson

91. The Case for Christ by Lee Stroble

92. The Pilgrims Progress by John Bunyan

93. The Everlasting Man by G.K. Chesterton

94. Night of the Living Dead Christian by Matt Mikalatos

95. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

96. The Complete Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Anderson

97. The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer

98. Oedipus Rex by James Joyce

99. The Collected Tales of Edgar Allen Poe

100.  The Arabian Nights: Tales from a Thousand and One Nights

101.  The Epic of Gilgamesh

102. The Brothers of Karamazov 

Jonah and the Big Fish and Me

Blog: Jonah and the Big Fish.

            Jonah 1: 1-3, “Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.”

            At the moment, I am in a 90 day Bible study in order to read the word of God in 90 days. This study plan has inspired me to start some other reading plans within the Bible. Today I started the Jonah reading plan. The plan is to read a chapter a day and to study it. Yes, Jonah is only four chapters long. It will be a good boost is confidence, helping me to finish the 90 day study, knowing that I have finished a plan (even a short plan as it is.) The very first three verses in this chapter grabbed me. God tells Jonah to go and rebuke Nineveh. It would seem that Jonah, without a second thought, ignored God and fled from him. When I read this I had to stop and pause. It hit me like a ton of steel bricks. I had to stop and ask, “WHY in the world would Jonah just up and ignore GOD!” at this same moment it hit me. This is what I do on a daily basis. I know that I am about to sin and the Holy Spirit say, “STOP IT!” yet I don’t.  I am a sinner like every other man in the world but I am without excuse. As a Christian who has been saved by the blood of Christ I have no excuse to do or to continue the evils that I commit. As I write this I am reminded of a funny skit buy Bob Newhart, I will post a video at the end. I also just finished Deuteronomy, which is about laws and its consciences, which has put more fear of the Lord in my heart. All I know is that for the rest of my life I will do the best to be perfect as my father is in Heaven. If God could say one thing to me about my sin it would be, “Stop it before I bury you alive in a box!”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow0lr63y4Mw  

Planetarium and Black Holes

                Today was a very productive day. After waking up early in the morning and switching cars with my father, my Mandala Classmates and I departed for the Morehead Planetarium in Chapel Hill, NC. It was an exciting adventure. The car I drove had three passengers. David my brother was in the front seat and Alec and Barnabas were in the back. We blasted tunes the whole drive there and stopped by McDonald for some breakfast. Once at the planetarium my class, with a few other different classes, entered into a giant dome room. This was the inner sanctum of the planetarium. The room was somewhere between 50 and 70 feet in diameter, with a giant dome ceiling. On this dome were projected stars and planets all within the Milky Way galaxy. Our planetary expert, Jack, took us through the Milky Way galaxy. He was kind enough to answer any questions that we had as well as to tell us corny jokes. After the program ended we braked for lunch. Lunch was uneventful. After the uneventful lunch we entered into the inner sanctum again. This time a nice lady, whose name is forever forgotten, explained to us, Black Holes. After a very interesting documentary about Black Holes we left.  I ended up listening to music by myself on the way back due to my passengers sleeping. Any how I am home after a long day and ready to pass out. It is only 5 pm. I feel like my old man. This world is very interesting to me. As a confessing Christian I am always skeptical of what scientists tell me about this world. It is also confusing to me when one scientist says this and the second scientist contradicts what scientist one said. So I took the opportunity to really learn about Black Holes on my own. What I found is not surprising. Every website I looked at talked like Black Holes were real but never said directly that they were real or even proved there existence. I stumbled upon this website, nature.com-Black-Holes, this website says that Black Holes do not exist and explains why. As of the moment, I do not believe in Black Holes but you, the reader, are welcome to believe in whatever you want. I want to end with this challenge. There are many truths out there and there are many lies and as a human being you need to seek these truths out. Take what you know and seek resources to answer your questions. Here is the challenge: Do not let society tell you what you should know, take the time and seek out these truths for yourself.

            “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.”

                                                            -Mark Twain.

New Times.

Today I start this blog again. I have been through many experiences and I am about to create some more. As a note to the things written before. I was in a time of emotions and hormones and the things written before do not relate to me today but the things that I wrote are still apart of me and so I leave them there. I am here to say something, that is why I have a blog but I dont know what to talk about at the moment. Look for future writings.

Lover's Eyes

Mumford and Sons and their song "Lover's Eyes" 

Love was kind for a time
But now just aches and it makes me blind
This mirror holds my eyes too bright
I can't see the others in my life
Were we too young
And heads too strong
To bear the weight of these lover's eyes

'Cause I feel numb beneath your tongue
Beneath the curse of these lover's eyes

But do not ask the price I pay
I must live with my quiet rage
Tame the ghosts in my head
That run wild and wish me dead
Should you shake my ash to the wind
Lord forget all of my sins
Well let me die where I lie
'Neath the curse of my lover's eyes

'Cause there's no drink
Or drug I've tried
To rid the curse of these lover's eyes
And I feel numb beneath your tongue
Your strength just makes me feel less strong

But do not ask the price I pay
I must live with my quiet rage
Tame the ghosts in my head
That run wild and wish me dead
Should you shake my ash to the wind
Lord forget all of my sins
Well let me die where I lie
'Neath the curse of my lover's eyes

I walk slow
I walk slow
Take my hand 
Help me on my way

I walk slow
I walk slow
Take my hand 
Help me on my way

I walk slow
I walk slow
Take my hand 
Help me on my way

I walk slow
I walk slow
Take my hand 
Help me on my way

He is haunted by the memory of the beautiful past. It makes him angry and at first he wants to run. Hope is gone and her eyes which once kindled his passion now stoke the fire of doubt and uncertainty. He thinks he is alone in these thoughts and feelings He does some deep self-reflection and prayer “Lord forget all of my sins. well let me die where I lie." He just wants to quit. However hope is rekindled. Calm down. Walk slow. Take my hand. Help me on my way. You have to accept and live with your quiet rage. Tame the ghost in your head that seem like they are going to kill you. The curse of your lover’s eyes is a calling to something even greater than the immature love he once felt.

never saw you coming

Look what you have done
You're my favourite song
Always on the tip of my tongue
The tip of my tongue

Beauty and the Beast

For the Beast loved Beauty so greatly, that he gave up the chance to be human again, and let Beauty leave. In this one selfless act he showed more love then any other act man or beast could perform.