This list is not a list of books required to start a lending library or books that must be in every library, but if you want to start collecting, these are 101 books that are good, true, beautiful, and in demand. Most of these books are not prohibitively expensive to purchase or hard to find, but they are good classic literature that others will appreciate being able to find and borrow in one place.
You also don’t have to start out with the best available edition of each of these books. Find an unabridged and well-written edition, paperback or hardcover, at a thrift store or online and add it to your library. Read it if you haven’t already, and decide if you want to be on the lookout for a better edition with more lovely illustrations or if the book you have will do. Don’t obsess over acquiring all of these books before you start lending or even acquiring all of them ever. Maybe all or most of these books are still available at your local public library, and you want to concentrate on collecting books that are not so readily available. This list is just for reference and help as you begin to build the library that God is leading you to build and share.
Various titles on this list are suitable for different ages and maturity levels, but all of them can be enjoyed by adults and by children or young adults and follow C.S. Lewis’s dictum: “No book is really worth reading at the age of ten which is not equally – and often far more – worth reading at the age of fifty and beyond.”
Reading and collecting each of these books will lead you to other living books by the same author or in the same series. Some of these books may not be your cup of tea. If not, give them away to someone who does want them. And enjoy building your own unique family or lending library, one book at a time.