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Post by Jane.Eyre.Force on Dec 14, 2013 4:11:31 GMT -5
Perhaps a childhood favourite, or books that have touched you in some way. My bookcases are bursting at the seams and I recently had to invest in yet another one, which meant I was searching through my collection last night and I got to thinking about my absolute favourite stories.
It would be great if this could generate some discussion, as I'm sure most of us love any excuse to talk about a beloved book! So, in no particular order, here are mine:
1. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
2. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
3. The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
4. Feed my Dear Dogs by Emma Richler
5. Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood
6. A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M Miller
7. East of Eden by John Steinbeck
8. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
9. Smash it Up by Stephanie Buckley
10. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
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Post by PeregrineTook on Dec 14, 2013 10:25:24 GMT -5
Oooo, not sure I can narrow it down to only ten. There are some books I love because of reading them with my daughter, there are some I love from my childhood, some I love from teaching, and others that I love from my recreational reading. I'm going to give this a shot. Ten books, no particular order. Very random. Multiple reasons. Also, trying to avoid overlapping your list, Jane.
1. The Three Little Pigs (Disney version) because my daughter had it memorized word for word by the time she was three and it was the first book she could "read" to me
2. Clockwork Angel (Cassandra Clare) really enjoyable book to teach to sophomores
3. Haroun and the Sea of Stories (Salmon Rushdie) Really lovely poetic prose, and really fun to teach to my modern fiction kids
4. Name of the Wind (Patrick Rothfuss) love the way he creates the story world
5. The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy (JRR Tolkien) yes, I was that nerdy kids in middle school who was re-reading these books while my peers had never heard of them
6. An infinite number of mythology texts in the library in the town where I grew up (see nerd references in 5)
7. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (Gregory MacGuire) This is a fantastic take on a familiar tale and I'd love to use it with my world lit. students, but can't because of the adult content
8. The Mole and Troll books (not sure who wrote them) my daughter and I still read these to each other from time to time at bedtime
9. Le Petite Prince (Antoine De Saint Exuperie) this book is fun as it means new things as you go through life, I originally read it in French (first French novel I completed) and it was extremely fun to teach to my reading class
10. Sacred Hoops (Phil Jackson) it's just an interesting read with some unusual perspectives on spirituality
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Post by Squirt on Dec 21, 2013 18:35:36 GMT -5
Now I feel culturally illiterate because I've never read any of those books. Ha ha. Oh god, favorite books? Let's go.
#1. A Mango Shaped Space By Wendy Mass(I cry every single time, without a doubt)
#2. Looking for Alaska By John Green (I just skip the end, don't need to cry)
#3. The Harry Potter Series By J.K. Rowling (Ravenclaw Forever!)
#4. The Percy Jackson Series By Rick Riordan (I haven't re-read these in forever!)(Teehee, blue plastic hairbrush)
#5. The Grover The Overlander Series By Suzanne Collins (Crying everytime)
#6. This is where it gets blurry. Let's just leave it as John Green and Wendy Mass type books. Also Mythology/fairy Tales
That was in no particular order until #6. I don't doubt my list wasn't much of a surprise.
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Post by Jane.Eyre.Force on Dec 22, 2013 7:06:38 GMT -5
Ah, I remember reading Looking for Alaska on a whim a few years ago! Very sad but interesting book. It isn't something I would usually read, but I was surprised at how much it actually effected me. I think I still have my copy of it somewhere.
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Post by NotJustaBook on Dec 27, 2013 13:26:18 GMT -5
I'll see if I can come up with ten. It seems like whatever I read most recently that I really liked is my favourite but well... these have stuck with me, in no particular order:
1. 'Pride and Prejudice' by Jane Austen
2. 'Mistborn: The Final Empire' by Brandon Sanderson
3. The 'Harry Potter' books by J. K. Rowling
4. 'Gone with the Wind' by Margaret Mitchell
5. 'The Fault in Our Stars' by John Green
6. 'Thanks for the Memories' by Cecelia Ahern
7. 'A Game of Thrones' by George R. R. Martin.
8. 'The Alloy of Law' by Brandon Sanderson
9. 'Iphigenia in Aulis' by Euripides
10. Insert whatever tragedy by Euripides/book by Brandon Sanderson I last wrote a paper about/analysed/read
I feel like this list is super embarrassing compared with all the cultured titles I see but I assure you it would have been more embarrassing had i included my favourite bad books (I may have a fondness for horribly dumb teenage paranormal romance novels). And well, this changes a lot, though it likely won't change to include a lot of classics or intellectual reads. I really prefer reading dumb, but fun things.
I also included 'The Fault in Our Stars' because I literally just finished it and I'm amazed at how well I liked it. Not something I'd usually read at because I'm not into Young Adult but he's a brilliant writer and I'm so in awe of his skills.
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Post by Squirt on Dec 27, 2013 13:40:14 GMT -5
TFIOS would be in my top ten but it makes me feel to miserable.
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Post by NotJustaBook on Dec 27, 2013 13:57:03 GMT -5
TFIOS would be in my top ten but it makes me feel to miserable. Ha, yes. If I hadn't kind of detatched myself a bit from the book near the end, I would have been a blubbering mess right now. I'm actually mad at it for being both so good and heartbreaking. |
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Post by Jane.Eyre.Force on Dec 28, 2013 6:00:54 GMT -5
As long as it isn't the Twilight series, I don't see a problem. ;) I keep seeing 'The Fault in Our Stars' being mentioned all over the internet recently. I should really pick a copy of it up. |
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Post by NotJustaBook on Dec 28, 2013 6:09:21 GMT -5
Ha, ha, I read those, too. Laughed my ass off. But they're not even bad enough to keep me interested... XD
Yeah, the movie's coming out in not too long. I do recommend it, even if it's heartbreaking.
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Post by PeregrineTook on Dec 28, 2013 12:42:39 GMT -5
Hmm, mayhaps I should also peruse "The Fault in Our Stars." Quality young adult material is particularly handy for those of us who teach English. That said, I have never read the Hunger Games books nor the Harry Potter books. Go ahead, judge me. It's okay.
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Post by Squirt on Dec 29, 2013 21:26:11 GMT -5
I'm okay with the hunger games, it's pretty new and not quite a classic. But Harry Potter?! That is unforgivable! Pippin, you have been very naughty!
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Post by Jane.Eyre.Force on Dec 30, 2013 3:48:03 GMT -5
So, I read the Hunger Games trilogy recently and I'm guessing Collins was heavily inspired by Battle Royale?
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Post by Squirt on Dec 30, 2013 11:27:35 GMT -5
After reading a quick Wikipedia article that totes needs a spoiler alert, I'd say yes, but I'm not sure. I also think I need to get my hands on a copy, I'll talk to my dear mum sometime.
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Post by Jane.Eyre.Force on Dec 30, 2013 14:27:24 GMT -5
It's a decent book. I wasn't fond of the manga, however. Too graphic for me.
...Yet I'll quite happily read 'The Walking Dead'. I make no sense. Well, seeing as we are on the subject of graphic novels now, has anyone read The Sandman series by Neil Gaiman?
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Post by PeregrineTook on Dec 30, 2013 21:03:19 GMT -5
Neil Gaiman is brilliantly amazing!
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