"There are so many great books out there, why waste your time reading the good ones?" Paul Collins
Packer's book on evangelism is one of the best I have read. I tried reading it years ago and it just wasn't time. After being on the street for so many years doing open-air evangelism, I began to question our part and God's part in this great work of winning souls. Packer's book is a classic on the topic. He writes from the Calvinistic perspective, but is very respectful of the Arminian view.
"The Bible never says that sinners miss heaven because they are not elect, but because they "neglect the great salvation", and because they will not repent and believe. The last judgment will abundantly prove that it is not the lack of God's election, so much as laziness, the love of sin, unbelief, and unwillingness to come to Christ, which ruins the souls that are lost. God give men what they choose, not the opposite of what they choose. Those who choose death, therefore, have only themselves to thank that God does not give them life." I will read it again.
Yancey is not afraid to tackle the big questions. I have read many books on prayer. Most Christians do. We want to learn how to pray better. Perhaps find a secret. Of course, the best way to learn to pray is to pray. Many books on prayer make you feel quite guilty by the time you finish reading them. Yancey has put our shoes on and asks questions that everyone else is afraid to ask. "Why pray? Does it matter?" and so on. There are no pat answers. One approach I like when it comes to praying, Yancey says, "Just show up". Also, "Keep it honest, keep it simple and keep it up."
Kempis was a German Monk back in the 1400's. This is not a book you sit down and read in one sitting. Take a paragraph or a page at the most. A small meal to meditate on as part of your time with God. The man new Jesus. If the book has been around for 500 years it tell you something. It tells you that it should be in your library.