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This is a fun one. Click here for more info on the challenge. First, we list 10 books that we love. I have a hard time making book lists. I always want to qualify them. My Top 10 Books For When I'm Sick, Top 10 Books To Make Me Cry, Top 10 Books I Could Read Over and Over, etc. However, here are Top 10 Books That I Really Enjoyed That Pop Into My Mind Right Now.My List of 10 Books That I Heart (in no particular order):
- Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell: This book was perfect for January snuggly winter reading... shadowy, amusing, thoughtful and meandering. I loved, loved, loved it.
- Little Women: My favorite from childhood. I learned so much from reading this over and over and over! I recently re-read and discovered how much of my own moral compass stems from this classic.
- Middlesex: A classic case of misassigned gender... but so much more than that. Family secrets, a young person discovering their true self, an adventure, a tragedy. Fantastic writing and poignant yet entertaining story.
- Poisonwood Bible: I read this in 7 hours straight sitting at the Denver airport when my flight got cancelled. I could not have chosen a better book to be stuck with. Elegantly written, completely fascinating and utterly absorbing. One of the best books I've ever read.
- The Secret History: Mysterious, dark, edgy and troubling novel of college kids run amok with Dionysian excess.
- The Lord of the Rings Trilogy: This is on my list of Could Read Over And Over. I love the meandering tale and the heartwrenching sacrifice, plus the characters get into your heart and stay there (while not at all being heartwarming, thank goodness).
- The Fountainhead: I read this while sitting awake during the long white nights in Finland, unable to sleep. This spurred a short-lived Ayn Rand obsession. I also really enjoyed We The Living. Harsh and difficult to understand at times, but completely worth reading.
- Mists of Avalon: Ugh, does everyone have this on their list? Still, being an Arthurian Legend geek, it had to be read, and re-read, and finally purchased to stay with me forever. I hate to admit that I love this book. It gets hard to read about half-way through as the tragedies start to stack up, but is such a good story.
- Twilight Series: Young Adult lit (one of my favorite genres)... a new twist on forbidden love. Captivating and deeply romantic without being sappy. If you're looking for a dark (but not too dark) romance to fall in love with, I highly recommend this series, even if you think you don't like YA lit. It is so. good.
- The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay: Another one of my favorites of all time. I just loved this book so much. Quirky characters and unexpected turns, and fantastic writing.
OK, that was hard. The person who created this challenge is compiling a master list of everyone's Top 10 Books. I am only just now grasping how awesome that is. What a great resource!!
Now for the next step: Choose three books from other people's lists to read by November. Can do. Here's my list:
- The Time Traveller's Wife
- The Book Thief
- The Alchemist (I'm iffy on this one but I've seen it on a few people's lists, so I'll give it a try)
I notice as I went through people's lists I kept finding more of my favorites and wanting to revise my list. Should I add Rebecca? What about Jane Eyre? Possession? Alias Grace? The Stand? The Little Country? Snow Flower And The Secret Fan? Little, Big? Lonesome Dove? I wish I hadn't read Lonesome Dove already, that was a good first read; I'd like to experience reading that for the first time again!
Now I want to go through all those lists and make a master reading list -- all the books I've read (now THAT'S a challenge) and a big wish-list of books to read. Right. When I have, oh, six months of free time and the world's largest library. Still, would be fun.
Anyway. Stay tuned, if you're a reader, do the challenge!
6 comments:
Do they have to be novels? I have a few non-fiction books that I would put on my list. I'm going over to the site to check it out! I love book lists.
I think they can be anything, even graphic novels (I've seen a few lists of graphic novels). Yay!
you are sooo inspiring! you make me want to go to the library NOW! thank you for always reminding me about the joy of Reading. seriously. i hustle and bustle about and forget about it, though it was my First True Love. you just keep that torch on a blazin....
I'm so with you on Middlesex. And you know, so far everything I'd heard about Ayn Rand had put me off, but what you said left me intrigued.
Sasha: This year I just decided to read the way I love: obsessively. It's been such a great source of stress relief and is really making me so happy. Can a person be identified as a Reader as surely as they can be gay, straight, black, white, etc? Because it is Who I Am!!
Nymeth: I loved Ayn Rand's books because they were so unusual, so difficult but such an interesting point of view. A good case of totally appreciating someone's point of view that I did not really agree with -- although it was fascinating. The relationships between the characters was fascinating, and it was really interesting to see women portrayed so strongly (if a little ice-queenly). I kind of loved them all.
I once started The Time Traveller's Wife, a few years ago at a job where I had plenty of time to read (which sounds like a dream until you hear that it was about at minimum wage.) I liked it (the book, that is) and never got around to finishing it; have meant to borrow it for years now but it's sort of dropped off my list. You'll have to let me know what you think.
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