The G. K. Chesterton Collection [50 Books]

First of all, my Kindle download was for 34 books rather than 50 so they must have added some since I downloaded it. It took me over a year to read them all, but I am glad that I did. Chesterton is a great writer, and his writings included poems, plays, fiction, non-fiction, biographies, Christian apologetics, and newspaper columns. You get an excellent view of England of 100 years ago in the time that he wrote, but at the same time, many of the problems and political controversies he wrote about are still happening today around the world. He uses lots of interesting words and phrases, and my Kindle Vocabulary app is full of words that I had to look up. Which is good in my opinion. His writing makes you think and work for it.

Everything G. K. Chesterton writes is worth reading. His is one of the voices that endures. He shows us how today's world is not so very different than his own time, and we see how the same attitudes, views and values he addresses have their descendents within our own culture.

This review is all about the formatting, I haven't read any of the content yet.

I prefer to read my books in LOGOS Bible software as their mark-up (highlighting and note taking) options are utterly amazing, plus it keeps my library consolidated and automatically links any Bible reference to the rest of my library, making all scripture references hyper-links and giving me tool tip pop up availability for referencing those while I read.
To do this w/ a Kindle book I convert it to .rtf using Calibre and a free plug in, then in Word I convert it to .docx (just Save As and choose .docx) which LOGOS brilliantly employs. But usually, while in Word I need to go through mark headings and titles, creating a working TOC in .docx, and I need to cream through the document removing this, that, and the other thing, such as the publisher's name at the bottom of ea page. It can take hours to prep a book for usability in .docx. (Until you see the markup capabilities of LOGOS you wouldn't understand why it's worth it to me to do this conversion process.)

Anyhow, this work, coming in at 2,532 pages in Word, had me quite concerned about the amount of work it would take to create the TOC and possibly have to remove this, that, and the other thing throughout... But the TOC looked perfect in Word... and there was no this, that, and the other thing to remove! Nope, just the text, perfectly formatted, w/ a real .docx compatible TOC. I loaded it into LOGOS and it's perfect, not one second of reformatting spent in Word. Kudos to this publisher for such a cleanly formatted work!

Now off to my reading :)

A huge collection from a very prolific writer. I read all the way through it, skipping the poetry. Chesterton is considered a Catholic writer and the Father Brown series is proof of that.

Keep in mind the time period, the beginning of the 20th century, and the idea that Britons felt they ruled the world. There are some remarks that are racists and xenophobic, but they were considered normal in England back then. They are jarring today.

The overwhelming majority of this work is very entertaining. Enjoy!

An absolutely brilliant intellect coupled with a gifted ability to understand people, and an ability to state it concisely and with precision. Chesterton clarifies one's perception of humanity, both as individuals and together.

Few authors are able to interest readers from the first paragraph to the end. The humour and ready wit are enchanting and hiarious. The content prompts reflection and introspection. You are subtly changed after reading Chesterton.

Great reading of a great philosopher whose ideas and statements even reach today's environment. If anyone is interested in in-depth thought about what is happening today from the past, this book is for them.

Great bargain for a collection of Chesteron's works that includes a number of his lesser known (and some of these are lesser known for good reason) works. Provides some keen insights as only Chesterton could express them.

This excellent compilation of the best of Chesterton's novels - in my view- link the intellectual currents of the Vitorian era with those of the modern age with the aim to highlight the fallacies of modernity and the wisdom of Christian faith. His prose is brimming with dreamy humour intended to awaken the reader from the nightmare of nihilism and individualism. A great read by a brilliant author way ahead of his time.

I am just getting into the collection. I am currently reading "What I Saw in America." I have finished "Orthodoxy" and "Heretics." Some of his observations on American life are quite funny. It is very enlightening, seeing us through British eyes. His Style in "Heretics" and "Orthodoxy" can be a little hard to follow because he is very literate and I find myself having to 'run' to keep up with him. I felt the same way the first time I read C.S. Lewis' "Miracles" and "The Abolition of Man", now two of my favorite books. That's probably a good thing, as it 'exercises' one's reading/comprehension faculties.