You can judge a cover by the book.

You can find out a lot about people by the books they recommend, not necessarily the books on their shelves.

I admit that there is a limit to the knowledge you can gain about someone this way, but in general it is a fair method. A 30-something year old lady who recommends "Love You Forever" must be a mother of small children (or a sentimentalist at the very least). A man who recommends the "Gunowner's Bible" must be a gun owner (and maybe someone you should never insult). A pastor who has copies of Spurgeon and the Church Fathers may have read neither; instead ask him what he recommends if you really want to know where he is coming from.

I finally updated and repaired the links to my book recommendations on the IOI website Resources and Links. My wife observed that I am definitely "all over the map." It was not the subjects that seemed disconnected as I recommended books about discipleship, missions, ministry, travel (particularly Ethiopia) and theology. It was the variety of authors that seems a bit, how shall I say it -- ecumenical. Baptist, Lutheran, Catholic, Presbyterian, Evangelical Free and Puritan books are among those recommended. Some might think it strange to recommend Barth, Chesterton and Edwards on the same page, but what I am looking for is the gold that each man mined rather than fitting into a particular camp. We are, after all, the Body of Christ and there are many members each with particular gifts and needs.

I love to tell people that I go to Christ Community Church, and then have them ask me what denomination we are. What they want is a label so they can understand where I am coming from. So, instead of saying we are "non-denominational" (which is a label with its own definition), I say, "We are a missions-minded community of people that are trying hard to love God and each other that grew from a former Methodist Bible church that is elder led and similar to Anglican Catholicism in liturgy with a reformed Baptist theology (that depends more on the Church Fathers than the reformers), charismatic worship and an Irish pub band that sings ancient hymns along with modern praise songs." But I guess you could have figured that out by looking at my book recommendations.