C.S Lewis

[Oddish]

Have any of you read his books? Which ones did you read? What did you think of them?

 

[crishmael]

I've read The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, the Great Divorce, Screwtape Letters, and parts of Mere Christianity, The Problem of Pain, and A Grief Observed. Of those I read completely, I liked the Narnia book and The Great Divorce very much. Even though The Great Divorce is an allegory, its interesting ideas about heaven and hell made me think that many who champion Lewis as a defender of conservative Christianity haven't read that work very well, if at all. I found Mere Christianity to be incredibly boring and wasn't too fascinated with Screwtape Letters.

 

[HazelWings]

I've also read Mere Christianity. While it was pretty interesting, I did disagree with some of his points.

 

[Stravinsk]

Books I've read by Lewis:

Mere Christianity
Screwtape Letters
The Great Divorce
The problem of pain
The Abolition of Man
A Grief Observed
Miracles
The Four Loves

It's been a long time since I have read any of these books, but I can say that each one has added to how I think in the areas covered in some way, if now by mental habit only. I do not accept them generally, but do specifically. For instance - there are areas of "Mere Christianity" that I reject and others I accept.

 

[Inkachu]

Yup, I've read The Chronicles of Narnia, The Screwtape Letters, and probably some others that don't come to mind. I like his apologetics much better than his fiction. Unfortunately, I compare every fantasy author to Tolkien, and nobody can ever even enter the same galaxy as his.

 

[miss-a]

I did a semester on Lewis in college, read 23 book by and about him, time very well spent. Highly recommend him. The Great Divorce is probably my fav. Stravinsk gives a good list, great place to start. I would also highly recommend his Letters to Children, excellent book.

 

[MacFall]

Seriously though. His book in defense of the existence of the supernatural, Miracles, is my absolute favorite non-fiction book. And the Space Trilogy are among my favorite in fiction.

 

[Oddish]

Thanks for the responses. I have read Mere Christianity, parts of the Screwtape Letters (because it was freaking me out ), Problem of Pain and my friend lent me the Great Divorce which I have now read. I couldn't put Great Divorce down because it was an enjoyable read so that along with the persuasive arguments in Mere Christianity make those two my faves.

I am now reading a collection of his essays which I managed to get in a charity bookstore for £1 .

 

[MacFall]

If the Screwtape Letters freaked you out, you might not want to read That Hideous Strength (third book in the Space Trilogy). It gets pretty dark.

...But that's why I like it. All the better for appreciating the light by contrast.

 

[Oddish]

If the Screwtape Letters freaked you out, you might not want to read That Hideous Strength (third book in the Space Trilogy). It gets pretty dark.

...But that's why I like it. All the better for appreciating the light by contrast.

That is a good way to look at it.

The book made me very paranoid, but I know that it is best to be aware of the evil schemes underway to bring us away from the light so I will do my best to finish it someday soon.

 

[puffca]

I read the Screwtape Letters too. The book has the power to put a smile on my face. It's not scary to me.
However, as much a smart writer as C. S. Lewis is, he is, sometimes, too witty for me. Charles Dickens stays my favorite.

 

[Stravinsk]

Becks,

If you liked Screwtape - then I recommend "People of the Lie" by Scott Peck. The protagonist is more observer than actor - but it is an excellent read for those in pursuit of the understanding of psychological aspects of human evil.

 

[Lord Herdsetk]

I haven't read any of C.S. Lewis yet. What would be a good book to start out with?

 

[Nomarga]

It's been a long, long time since I've read any C.S. Lewis, but from what I remember I didn't mind his story telling, it was just his conclusions that bothered me. Example: the infamous "Lord, Liar, or Lunatic," as if there were only three options.

 

[Sketcher]

It's been a long, long time since I've read any C.S. Lewis, but from what I remember I didn't mind his story telling, it was just his conclusions that bothered me. Example: the infamous "Lord, Liar, or Lunatic," as if there were only three options.

Name a fourth.

 

[Rhamiel]

I like Screwtape Letters a lot
I have read it several times

I have read parts of Mere Christianity

I like a lot of what Lewis has to say
also a big fan of Chesterton

 

[MarkSB]

To date I've read:

The Screwtape Letters
The Pilgrim's Regress
Mere Christianity (the beginning of it)
Out of the Silent Planet
Perelandra
That Hideous Strength (most of it)

I love The Pilgrim's Regress, no other book has come so close to putting my world view into words. It's an allegory, so some of the representations are difficult to understand, but I love allegory and the manner in which it is written is very creative.

As MacFall has said, the space trilogy (Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength) is excellent, the books just draw you in. The only one I had trouble finishing was That Hideous Strength (the third and final book of the series), because I found parts of it to be boring. But a friend has encouraged me to finish it, and I'm interested to see how it ends.

The Screwtape Letters is also an interesting read. Mere Christianity, I agreed with parts of it, but I didn't read too much because I found it to be too philosophical. I would also like to read The Great Divorce, as I've heard many good things about it.

 

[Thunder Peel]

I've read several of his books, including some of Narnia (I'm currently going back and reading through the ones I've missed). The Screwtape Letters, Mere Christianity, and Surprised by Joy are my favorites. The Business of Heaven is a wonderful read to go with your daily Bible study too and I read a passage from it every day.

 

[Ukrainia]

I've read all the Narnia books, Mere Christianity and I just bought the first book of his Sci-Fi trilogy.

 

[MacFall]

Name a fourth.

"Never existed" is a popular one.