So I love to read. I think all of your know that. I regularly read from most genres. Fiction, non-fiction, mystery, biography, fantasy. While I love some very "deep" books (Les Miserables), some of my favorites are quite fluffy. (For instance, Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep, which I highly recommend for little girls. Quite a hilarious series of retold fairy tales, very short.) Many great leaders have talked about reading "good" books and having a library of them. People say to not waste your time on dumb books since there are so many good ones. Having picked up many a dumb book (and even finished a few), I want some recommendations. What do y'all think are good books? Now, any opinion counts, but let me list a few not to bother recommending even if you LOVE them (You can say you love them. Just don't try to get me to read them):
- Anything Hemmingway (he can't write. Don't even try to convince me he can. I've read several of his books and I write better than he does.)
- Anything Fitzgerald (blech)
- Anything Holocaust-related (I've read too many. I recommend "And There Was Light." I'm done with that genre.)
- "Gone With the Wind" (I just can't do it. The movie was torture enough.)
- James Joyce (um... NO!)
- Kate Chopin (Someone tried to justify one of her book endings to me. I'm not buying it.)
Okay, I'm sure you've picked up that I'm looking for positive, uplifting, GOOD reading. I'm not saying depressing doesn't have its place. (Let me refer back to Les Miserables.) I'm just saying that it should still be uplifting. (Did I mention Les Miserables?)
Suggestions? Favorite books? (Like I said, you're allowed to like books I don't like. You can even justify why you like them. I'll love you anyway.)
9 comments:
Caleb says to read "Don Quixote" (if you haven't already). He's 1/3 of the way through and likes its dry humor. He also appreciates your list of "don't recommends". His wife wishes he would get his own account and make his own comments. (Closet Blog Reader)
I don't really think there's anything I've read that you haven't already read (especially lately) besides those fairy tale books by Cameron Dokey. Light reading for sure. Now, if you would like a recommendation for a good sewing book, let me know...
"Twilight?"
Just kidding. Kill me now.
I just read "The Time Traveler's Wife"--This one was a bit much on the PG-13 material, but I found the story absolutely riveting. Just skip the crappy parts.
How do you feel about non-fiction these days?
"A River Runs Through It"
"A Room of One's Own"
"I'm Perfect. You're Doomed"
"A Grief Observed"
The Collected Speeches of Martin Luther King Jr.
"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings"
Okay...so is it all Modernist Era authors that you hate, or is it just Fitzgerald, Hemmingway, Joyce, & Chopin? Because I for one am a huge Jack London and Virginia Wolfe fan. "Call of the Wild" is one I haven't read in years, and I was just blown away by London's use of imagery.
Poetry has also been leeching it's way into my literary diet. I recommend the works of Frost (anything), Tennyson (especially "Idylls of the King"), and Walt Whitman ("Leaves of Grass").
Books I JUST love:
"A Room with a View"
"To Kill a Mockingbird"
"Something Wicked this Way Comes"
"The Virginian"
I could go on.
You tell me the the direction of genre your "feeling" right now, and I'll keep posting.
you're feeling..."you're" feeling.
I can't think of anything that I've read that you haven't already.
Sorry.
Caleb - Thanks for being my closet blog reader. :) I added Don Quixote to my list. I started it once, but was too intimidated and didn't get past page four. I'll try harder this time.
Becky - I didn't mention Twilight because I thought it was not even worth mentioning, but since you bring it up, NO!!!! I will not read drivel. And not so much into the Modernist Era writers. But I will have to pick up Jack London. Never tried him. I need to try poetry again. The only poetry I've ever enjoyed before was Jack Prelutsky (you know, "homework, oh homework, I hate you, you stink") but maybe I'm cooler now and will get it. You can keep giving me lists of books and I'll weed through them. I really do want a good library for my children.
Serene - Are you SURE you haven't read something I haven't read? I bet you have. But thanks for commenting. Like you, I covet comments. :)
I really enjoyed reading "The House of Mirth" by Edith Wharton. I know a lot of people were turned off of her by having to read "Ethan Frome" in high school (I haven't read it, so I can't comment on it). I enjoy her work, and it really shows a snapshot of what life was like back around the turn of the century for the upper class. It's tragic, though--fair warning.
Another book that I own that I really enjoy is "Nicholas and Alexandra" by Robert K. Massie. He actually started researching them after learning his child had hemophilia, and after doing research to see how other families coped. It's a fascinating book, with a lot of research put into it.
Leanne - Thanks for your suggestions. I just started "Ethan Frome" and was having a hard time with it, so I'll try "House of Mirth" instead and see about that one. Even if it's tragic. (Hate those.) I'm interested in "Nicholas and Alexandra."
Everybody - Thank you for your suggestions. You can keep sending them. I'll even try everything you send (unless I have previous experience). Of course, I don't promise to like everything (I'm stupidly picky about books I like), but I think I can judge whether a book is good or not. Notice I didn't carp about Mark Twain in this post even though I can't stand reading him. :) I know he has his place.
THANK YOU!!
I'm taking a second look.
Leanne is absolutely right. *Anything* written by Edith Wharton is bound to leave your brain with something to chew on. I recommend reading her "Age of Innocence" first. Martin Scorsese directed an amazing film adaptation of it, that you might also consider. It stars Michelle Pfeiffer and Daniel Day Lewis, and it just might be the only performance I've ever thought Winonna Ryder did justice.
"House of Mirth" was also turned into a film starring Gillian Anderson of X-files fame. If you're in the mood for a heart wrencher. This book and/or film is just the ticket.
All of Wharton's storylines end badly, but that doesn't necessarily imply you will not be uplifted. "Ethan Frome" actually caught me completely unaware with it's ending, but I was shocked how much passion it evoked in its short novella sized length.
If you like Wharton, you might also try some of Henry James. I have a love hate relationship with him, but his "Washington Square" was devestating. I loved it. It also inspired three or four film versions. The best of those is the 1949 Montgomery Clift version called "The Heiress" and the 1996 version, starring Jennifer Jason Leigh.
Thanks for more, Beck.
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