In honor of the development of my recent bookworms' page, I would like to ask my regular readers - and those just now visiting for the first time (hey there, hi there, how ya doin') - to give me some book input.
If you had to name your top 3-5 books, what would they be? Even just your top 3-5 books recently...not necessarily your top 3-5 EVER.
And then I am going to pick at least one, from every selection mentioned by each contributor, to read. Because I'm thirsty for books like that.
My personal selection would go like this... (although this is just due to recent inflluences). I like books that don't take me two weeks to read. I like books that stay with me forever. And I like books that use big words from time to time. That said, I also like cheesy books like The Poisonwood Bible. And sometimes I dig a good epic novel like Roots.
Right now I am looking for enjoyable reading. I am also starting The Name of the Rose right now, which doesn't look so enjoyable. But everybody kept on talking about it, I figured why not?
Still, here's my personal selection (although this could change depending on the day):
1. The Color Purple - Alice Walker (a classic - read it in a day and have read it at least five times since. Probably my favorite book.)
2. Any Human Heart - William Boyd (lighthearted and fun, interesting mix of history, art, literature. Very easy reading but not dumbed down or anything)
3. The Woman Who Walked Into Doors - Roddy Doyle ('cause I just read it last month and I am still thinking about it. It's been haunting me.)
4. A Brave New World - Aldous Huxley ('cause I read it in high school, thought it spoke to me, and think of it every time I sit down in a movie theater today - eight years later)
5. Roots - Alex Haley (it's a good one. It just is)
There you go. On my list for this month are William Borrough's Naked Lunch, Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five (can you believe I haven't read it yet?) and Paul Auster's (I'm on a Paul Auster kick) The Music of Change (couldn't find it on Amazon.com). Otherwise, I have four plays to read in French ("Ruy Blas," "La guerre de Troie n'aura pas lieu," "Antigone" and "La machine infernale") as well as a few linguistics books (starting with "Alice au pays du langage"). And then I am sort of half-reading a few Spanish books - the "simplified" reading books for people at my level of Spanish. It's rather difficult, but I learned that reading is one of the best ways to improve language comprehension outside of the classroom. That, and, you know, living in Spain.
Some of the books you suggest might have to go on my Amazon wishlist, because English books are not impossible to get here, but they are a little bit more limited in selection. Books get shipped to my parents' house - it's just easier that way. Feel free to show me some love.
Otherwise, just show your love by contributing a few ideas of your favorite books. It might take me all year, if I get enough recommendations. But I promise I'll read them all eventually.
I know this is a dangerous proposition. What can I say? I live on the edge.
The Reader by Bernhard Schlink. Originally written i German (Der Vorleser). After reading this, I bought three copies of the book as Christmas gifts for my mother, father and younger sister. It's really, really good.
no particular order. Neverwhere (Neil Gaiman - any of his books just rock). A Wrinkle in Time (Madeline L'Engle - all of her books rock too). Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe (Doug Adams - any of that series OR any other of his books). i can't think of any more right now.
i'm currently reading the color purple, catch-22, and something wicked this way comes, as well as a mythology book.
btw, i noticed t.a.t.u. on your wishlist. good choice. i have it.
You guys rule.
And Trista - I am glad you pointed that out to me (tatu) because I hadn't put in the right link - I had accidently just linked to the wishlist main page, but not to my personal list. Have another look - it's quite different now.
Off the top of my head:
Budding Prospects by T. Coraghessan Boyle
Choke by Chuck Palahniuk
Sometimes A Great Notion by Ken Kesey
Oh, The Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss
"the wind-up bird chronicles," by haruki murakami. "stones from the river," by ursula hegi. that really amazing book about horses - "horse sense"? something like that - by jane smiley. "the handmaid's tale" by margaret atwood (or "alias grace" by margaret atwood). "cracking india" by bapsi sidhwa. as a bonus: "a suitable boy" by vikram seth.
Ever-changing.
(1) Godric, Frederick Buechner
(2) Jesus' Son, Denis Johnson
(3) Tumble Home, Amy Hempel
(4) Drown, Junot Diaz
(5) Me Talk Pretty One Day, David Sedaris
Written on the Body, Jeanette Winterson
Fountainhead, Ayn Rand
Memoirs of an Invisible Man, H.F. Saint (not to be confused with the classic 0 Invisible Man)
I'm a big fan of escapist fiction...and so the first ones that pop into my head are Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden, I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith, and Blindness by Jose Saramago (even though its truth terrifies me).
Hm. I'll try and go chronologically. The first thing that impacted me early early on was "The Long Walk" (Stephen King as Bachman). And um, after that it's a blur. So in no order: "Glass Bead Game" (Hesse), one of a few Denis Johnson books, one of many Tom Robbins books ("Jitterbug Perfume" seems to stand out), maybe "Feast of Snakes" (Crews), anything by Kafka ("The Trial" because it was the first), "Ficciones" (Borges, and I still think his stuff is going to hit me even harder down the road) and um, throw in some Carver shorts. I can't decide on five, obviously. Right now I'm reading "Wise Blood" (O'Connor) and "Sam the Cat" (Klam).
Aw, Lee, why'd you have to go and do this?
Books I read as a child until they fell apart:
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
The Secret Garden and The Little Princess by Francis Hodgson Burnett
Tons of others.
As an adult, books I've recently recommended:
Fermat's Enigma by Simon Singh. Yes, it's about math, but it's also about research and how it builds on itself century after century.
The Professor and the Madman, by Simon Winchester. Fascinating history book. If you like WORDS, this is for you.
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. Yes, every woman and her mother read this book, but that doesn't make it any less cool.
Shutterbabe, by Deborah Copaken Kogan. A woman's memoir of becoming a photojournalist through the eighties and nineties. Excellent.
Basque History of the World by Mark Kurlansky. Cool viewpoint on history.
Some interesting choices are popping up here, Lee. I'm not sure if these qualify as my "all time favourites" but I always think of them when someone asks me the question:
1. Maybe a bit obvious, because it's on so many people's favourite book lists, but how about "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. So effective at suspending disbelief, that the magic stays in your head long after finishing the book.
2. One the cynics love to bash, but it gave me a boost at a time when I needed it: "Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah" by Richard Bach. Given to me by a smart friend, who has given away so many copies of it he lost count.
3. Just because it's a cracking yarn, and written by a great Scot: "The Thirty-Nine Steps" by John Buchan. And you don't even have to buy it - try http://www.december14.net/displays/gutenberg/39steps.html