December 12, 2005
Favorite Books
What are some of your favorite books? Or just the one book you think everyone ought to read? Or the book you absolutely love, but you know you can't recommend it because it's in bad taste/silly/too embarrassing to admit you love it? (That last question is SO about my own fantasy addiction.) If you want to share some of your favorite books ever, or just see what other people love to read, this is the post for you!
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3 comments:
My all time favorite book is The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King. It isn't like his usual horror stories. I can't give to much detail, you just should read the book. Also, I love Rapture of Canaan by Sherrie Reynolds. The book is about a girl who lives in a religious society founded by her Grandfather.
My guilty pleasure lately is Victorian gothic tales. The language in a Victorian novel can become a bit exasperating simply because there is so much of it. But my brother gave me this anthology of Victorian gothic ghost stories, and short doses of the prose are palatable. And they're so much fun! I think I have some sort of secret longing for a time when morality and nobility were acknowledged. The English major in me has to immediately qualify that statement, recognizing that women were frequently pressed into virtuous stereotypes and that men were as sexually piggy as ever, they were just hypocritical about it.
But to read about Victorian times with modern sensibilities applied to it, I recommend Anne Perry. Her characters are socially aware and advanced and they strive to function in their society anyway while doing good for those around them. And she shows remarkable insight into human fears and hopes about redemption.
I could go on forever about the books I have loved, and that I think everyone else should love. Maybe I will...after all, it's not like anyone else is likely to read this, I took so long to post...
First, thanks to you other ladies who posted. Jen, I'm a little afraid of Stephen King--yeah, he wrote The Body, which I loved, but everything else I've tried I HATED--but if this one is different, maybe it's time to expand my Stephen King...er, horizons?
And I have heard so many wonderful things about the Little Friend, I'll have to try it. (And The Secret History WAS good--just a dark and icky topic. Made me feel like washing my brain.) And there are so many other books that Sharon has told me about, off of this site (thank you Sharon!) that I still have to browse through...
And ghost stories are great, aren't they? Just wonderful. I haven't read much Victorian gothic ghost stories, mind--except the ones you've already given me--and is Poe included in this category? (I am SO bad with knowing my categories...) I mean, of course I've read Poe--who hasn't?--but if there's more out there like that, I'll have to check it out. (Is Anne Perry gothic Vic, or just Vic? I'll google her and find out...)
And now, I should put my own book in...if I can choose just one, that is. How about:
Catch-22, Joseph Heller. A classic. If you haven't read this one, you really, really need to. It's a very black comedy about war--um, WWI? (Heaven help me, I can't keep dates straight enough to tell the difference between the World Wars). A very funny book, and a very dark book by the time you get to the end.
As long as I have my World Wars mixed up: The Hiding Place, Corrie Ten Boom. True story, life in a concentration camp, so so very inspirational. This one will increase your faith in God, I promise.
Animal Dreams, Barbara Kingsolver. I know that everyone has heard of The Poisonwood Bible. And it is an excellent book, just beuatiful. This one is an earlier work of hers, a simpler book, and so, so good. The Bean Trees is just as good.
And, of course, the inevitable fantasy book I HAVE to recommend: The Once and Future King, T. H. White. This is a retelling of the story of King Arthur, and it is done SO well. It doesn't get bogged down in silly frippery stuff like chivalry, magic, or other elements of fantasy like so many fantasy books do. It's all about character, and the characters are done SO well. It doesn't take itself too seriously, either, so reading this is such a delight. Oh, makes me want to go pull it off the shelf right now. This is a book you have to read. Have to!
I guess that will do it for tonight. Maybe I'll do this again, really soon.
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