Favorites

I love looking at the 100 Best Books lists that you can find anywhere by just googling it.  There are always lots of books that I agree are great, a few that I scratch my head over and ones that I just don't get...sorry Harry Potter (while a great phenomenon and good story, not a top 100, my opinion only).  So, obviously, recommending a great book is like naming art.  The beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

My favorites change all the time, but there are definitely some books that stand out.

1.  East of Eden by John Steinbeck

2.  The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck

3. Flags in the Dust by William Faulkner (also As I Lay Dying)

4. My Antonia by Willa Cather

5. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

6. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

7. All The Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy

8. A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

9. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

10. Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt

There's more, but those top the list and I have to say one thing:  One day, long ago, my husband asked me what made a book a good book and I handed him Les Miserables (not in real time of course, I had to think about it for a minute or two).  His exposure to reading was mostly the back of movie boxes for he had "seen the movie" of lots of great books...and that didn't cut it in my snobby opinion.  With Les Mis, he started waking up at 5 am to make sure he got to read and read each moment he could fit it in and when he put it down, he got it.  Good books are not daunting, they are not difficult, rather they are transporting.  You begin to think about the characters, dream you are in the story at night, and most of all, the story becomes a part of you.  That is a good book, that is my definition of a good read.  

Good Reads

Thinking back some of my favorite books:

Falling Leaves by Adeline Yen Mah about growing up in China during the revolution, but really a rather personal story of feeling rejected in one's family

The Year of Biblical Living by AJ Jacobs funny, funny book.  This one really made me contemplate what following the letter of the law without the application of the principle behind the law...of course, that is a deeper response than probably the author intended, but that was my take away.

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith (who incidentally wrote 101 Dalmatians).  Delightful and well written romance.  The story itself is light, but the writing is wonderful.  I would recommend it to anyone in their teens who love Jane Austin.

Don't Lets Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller.  The story of an African childhood.  I love books that open my eyes to the world around me, this one gave me insight into the complicated political changes that have overwhelmed much of Africa...from a personal perspective.  We all ought to know more about our world, and we all ought to be more involved in making it a better place.

That's all for now.  Just little thoughts.