A Literary Heritage

For those of you who don't know, Alisa and I are expecting. It's hard not to already feel emotionally attached to this child already even though we don't even know the gender yet. I mean, come on, the kid's due date is my birthday; how could I not? For a long time we've been going back and forth on what gender we're hoping for. At first Alisa wanted a boy, but now she wants a girl, and I wanted a girl at first, but now the idea of an oldest son to pass on all my lady skills is enticing ;) In all honestly, the gender doesn't matter; I already love our child more than I can express. 

It's a surreal experience to realize that your going to be a father for the first time. I'm sure some of you reading this know it better than I do. I know for a fact that Alisa is going to be the best mother any kid could ask for, but I often worry about whether I'll be a good enough father. There is so much I want for my child and really none of it is material. I want him or her to know they are loved unconditionally. I want him or her to know they can always talk to their daddy. I want him or her to be my best friend. To top it all off, I want him or her to know the difference between right and wrong. I want them to learn the little truths I have learned that make life so incredible and give it the most important kind of meaning.

I don't really care how they learn it, I just pray every night that they do. The best I can do is try to help them by starting them off the way that I learned a lot of what I know, through stories. If you haven't guessed it by now your about to get another top ten list. This time it's the top ten books I plan to read to my kids throughout their lives and the lessons that I hope they draw from them. One of the things I love about stories is that they make truths so easy to remember, that is, as long as we don't try and excuse the truth for fiction.

Harry Potter

The strongest magic is imagination:

You had better believe that my kids are going to be Potter versed from birth! I love these books. If I had the time, I'd go through all the reasons why, (expect a blog about it later) and there are a thousand other good lessons in here, but for now I'll just say that I hope my kids learn the importance of imagination from them. I hope that they learn that sometimes you have to think outside the box to make incredible things happen. I hope they learn that it's OK to pretend and play and be silly from time to time. I hope they get excited when they realize that there is still a lot of mystery in the world. Mostly, I hope that they learn that "magic" should always be used for good. Oh, and I really hope my kids make the Gryffindor Quidditch team ;)

Lord of the Rings

Never underestimate what you are capable of:

How better to teach a kid that he can do anything than by telling him a story of a tiny hobbit that is able to defeat the most evil bad guy of all time. Of course, they'll need to realize that sometimes they'll need help from a Samwise or a Gandalf to make it, and it's a good thing to ask for some. They'll need to learn that it will be hard, but that life is hard at times regardless. And of course they'll have to realized that sometimes they'll think about quitting or giving up or even giving in, but if a hairy-foot midget can make it, so can anyone. Seriously, hobbits are supposed to be the most worthless beings in Middle Earth, but they do more to save it than anyone. What an incredible testament that by small and simple means great things are brought to pass. I hope my kids realize that they can make miracles happen... and than set out to do it.

 Dracula

Love is the strongest force for good:

 I know what your thinking, this is no material for a toddler. And you would be right if you were making the assumption that I'm going to stop reading with my kids once they hit the teen years. I really hope that reading with my kids will be a lifelong tradition, not just a childhood one. Furthermore, this is a beautiful book that everyone needs to read at least once. I've already extolled the greatness of this book before (see for yourself The Greatest Book Your Never Going To Read). It's weird that so many people focus on the villain of this book and forget some of the great literary heroes ever written. Yeah, Van Helsing is there and he's the brains behind the operation, but several times he points out that whats saves the day is the love that exists between the heroes. Love conquers all, and it's not always the romantic kind. 

Sherlock Holmes

It's all about the details:

They say that the devil is in the details. (note to self: find out where the heck that term comes from!) Well, I don't know if that is true, but I assure you that the truth is in the details. My whole life I have loved learning; literally loved it! While most people are buying smart phones and new cars, I buy books (OK, you got me... I buy movies too) and half of them are non-fiction. Growing up I wanted to be as smart are Sherlock Holmes; I wanted to be able to see something and know everything about it. That is something I hope to pass on to my kids. I hope that they have a love of learning. I hope that they take the time to research the little details that may not make a world of difference to them when they learn it but could some day come in handy, even if it is just so we can crush other families at Trivial Pursuit. Let's go team Virgin!

Les Miserables

Life is a balance of justice and mercy:

Yes, I plan to read all 800 plus pages of this book to my kids, so they better batten down the hatches! I was told the basic story of Les Mis from the musical long before I read the book. If that's all you've experienced, you don't know jack! This book is beyond incredible and a billion times better than any musical There are a thousand life lessons to draw from it. The story of Jean Val-Jean is such an incredible metaphor for justice and mercy that you will never forget it. I fear that our world is starting to sacrifice justice in favor of mercy and after a light reading of this book you may assume that is desirable. But read it again. After Val-Jean is the recipient of pure mercy, he doesn't ignore the law; mercy is the reason he clings to the law with exactness for the rest of his life. There's just so much good stuff here! This is gonna need it's own blog too...

Uncle Tom's Cabin

Faith is the only answer to trials:

Again I've already extolled this book before, but a book like this can't get enough praise. It'll be hard for me to expose my kids to the idea that some people can treat one another with so much cruelty, but my hope is that they will be comforted by the more important lesson of this tale. Faith is more powerful than anything else you will experience in this world. Faith is something beyond mere belief. If Uncle Tom merely believed in God, he would have abandoned that belief in the first half of the book. Instead, Tom had faith and as a result there was nothing in this world that could make him lose hope or that could make him to something contrary to that faith. I hope that I can do better than just this book to teach my kids that lesson. I hope that I can be an example of that myself--a living legacy that faith is stronger than all trials.

Frankenstein

Sometimes all that matters is that you care: 

If you think this is a book for my kids when their older, you have clearly never read it. Somehow we have turned the story of Frankenstein's monster to a horror story when it's supposed to be a dramatic story that fills you with nothing but pity. Frankenstein ends up being hunted down by the consequences of his own actions. The story has also been twisted to make it sound like his mistake was creating the monster. It wasn't per se. The real mistake is that he abandons the monster without a word. The monster is than left to a world that reviles him because of his looks even though there is a truly beautiful spirit inside. Every time the monster helps or tries to love, people try to kill him. If just one person had showed him lasting compassion the story would have been completely different. I hope my kids know its important to care no matter how hard it is to like someone.

Chronicles of Narnia

Everything happens for a reason: 

I really love these books. Sadly, I never got around to reading them until I was in my twenties. I wish I could have grown up with the stories and lessons from one of the greatest philosophers of all time. I guess the lesson I learned most from these books is that everything has a reason, and sadly we usually have the completely wrong view of why something is happening in our life. I'll just site one example. In the Voyage of the Dawn Treader we meet the monopods who complain that they've been curse by an evil sorcerer that made them look ugly. Later you find out the sorcerer made them look less weird as punishment for not doing things that would sustain their own life! It's proof that curses are subjective and that we often don't know what's best for us. Everything in life has a reason and a lesson. I hope my kids read that in these books and love them as much as I do.

To Kill a Mockingbird

The world depends on those that fight for good: 

Talk about a good example: A girl that gets upset cause she can't read with her dad at home anymore. Daughters, take note! ;) This is another hard one for kids to grasp fully. How can there be so much hate in the world?  How can we care so little for our own brothers and sisters? Sadly the answer is because it's easy to do both. It's much harder to be an Atticus Finch in the world. Today we talk of love and tolerance while at the same time attacking and mocking each other for not being as "tolerant and loving." Atticus was incredible because he tried to do right by everyone! Unfortunately Atticus was attacked by the community because he lived by the motto of respecting everybody. I hope my kids remember is takes true courage to show everyone respect, even the person attacking you for your beliefs.

The Curious Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

You can't play in the dirt without getting filthy:

Say what you will about this story, it is above all about the battle of good and evil that exists in each of us. Dr. Jekyll's desire was to see if he could separate the one from the other in himself. The experiment was flawed from the beginning. Evil can exist in the same space as good but pure good can't exist in the same space with evil. Dr. Jekyll learned the hard way, if you allow evil to breath just a little it will choke out the good. Today we no longer fight against our dark impulses, we excuse them and ask others to love our actions the same way they love us. I hope my children know that I love them, but I won't love their impulses towards actions that cause them harm. We all make mistakes, but we should always fight them, not embrace them.

_ _ _ _ _

If my kids ever do come back and read this I hope first of all that they forgive their dad for being such a goof ball. Secondly I hope they know that I loved them before their were born and was already trying to be a good parent for them. It's such an incredible blessing and privilege to bring a child into the world that you and the person you love more than anything created together. The best I can do is teach them what I know.