Are there any titles that help you to continually convert?
The best for this purpose has to be St. Theophan the Recluse. Of his many writings, I prefer the extremely short and concise work, "The Path of Prayer," since it always encourages me to continue and deepen my prayer life.
What titles have fired your love for God and neighbor SINCE becoming Orthodox? My own favorite has been St. Dorotheus of Gaza, "Discourses and Sayings", especially the chapter on not judging others..............
Ah. If you like St. Dorotheos, you should really also read St. Isaac the Syrian. A great beginning point (also for reasons of concision and deep insightfulness) is Sebastian Brock's translation of some of St. Isaac's sayings. See:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0728301458/qid=1060437292/sr=11-1/ref=sr_11_1/103-3267059-6579009?n=283155 This review describes the book's accessibility, usefulness and contents:
http://www.monachos.net/books/patristic_sources/wisd_isaac.shtmlOther than St. Isaac, if you are looking to fire up your love for God and neighbor, there is hardly an author more to-the-point and indefatigable than St. Symeon the New Theologian. Lots of his work has been translated into English and there are some very accessible monographs on his life and spirituality, but my personal favorite English edition remains the one put out by Cistercian Studies, for its price, variety and selection:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/087907941X/sr=8-6/qid=1149612389/ref=sr_1_6/103-3267059-6579009?%5Fencoding=UTF8More than any of these, however, I find myself consistently returning to two books. Some authors are good for this or that issue and some lead one on too much of a rabbit-trail or to the difficulties of extremity. These two books, however, are always refreshing, trenchant and valuable. The first is that absolute quintessential Christian spiritual classic, the
Apophthegmata Patrum, which one can find in fine English prose in Benedicta Ward's translation:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0879079592/103-3267059-6579009?v=glance&n=283155 The second book -- and perhaps the best single option -- is called
The Art of Prayer: An Orthodox Anthology. It is a compilation of sayings, pieces of advice and quotes -- all gleaned by a monk from his life's readings of Orthodox spiritual fathers (Greek and Slavic). It is thus an excellent summary, which represents a rather broad consensus of practices, opinions and spiritual insights. Here's the link:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0571191657/qid=1149612915/sr=2-2/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_2/103-3267059-6579009?s=books&v=glance&n=283155
