Book Meme!

[westernredcedar]

Book meme swiped from magnetic_pole! I can't resist making a list of books...

1. Spend no more than ten minutes writing down the names of books that have been especially significant to you in some way. (Entries other than literary fiction welcome! You might think of your own criteria: books you'd bring to a desert island? Books that you associate with turning points or periods in your life? The most worn items on your bookshelf? Anything between two covers counts.)
Don't think, just brainstorm! Ten minutes only.

2. Type up this list with numbers. At this point, you can reorder the list (if you want), add authors' names, edit, etc.

3. Readers are invited ask about a particular number.


1. Geek Love by Katherine Dunn
2. Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner
3. Bleak House by Charles Dickens
4. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
5. The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
6. Families We Choose by Kath Weston
7. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
8. Undaunted Courage By Stephen Ambrose
9. Lewis and Clark Among the Indians by James Ronda
10. Somebody Else's Kids by Torey Hayden
11. Mommie Dearest by Christina Crawford
12. Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean Auel
13. The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
14. Lies My Teacher Told Me by James Loewin
15. John Dollar by Marianne Wiggins
16. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
17. Morality Play by Barry Unsworth
18. Possession by AS Byatt
19. Kindred by Octavia Butler
20. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
21. In the Woods by Tana French
22. Dune by Frank Herbert (and the rest of the series)
23. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
24. Jurassic Park by Michael Creighton
25. In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O'Brien

I feel like I've discussed several of these books ad nauseum here at this journal already, but ask away! I can always chatter on some more...;)

Comments

[magnetic-pole.livejournal.com]

Wow, C, I feel as if we're often very much on the same wavelength, but I think I've only read three of the books on this list (#3, 5, and 7). Recommend one of the others for me? Something you think my little Filch-loving soul would enjoy? Or, if you're not sure, could you chat a bit about #23? I frequently see that on friends' bookshelves.

So much fun to see these lists! M.

[westernredcedar.livejournal.com]

I noticed that too, about your list! I actually think I have taste in books that varies from many of my friends with whom I otherwise have much in common. I am a really plot driven reader (less character-focus and very little non-fiction) and that tends to veer away from many of my reading friends (see: my book group, who often pick memoirs and slow character studies and I never finish them...)
However, let's see...I'll happily recommend Cloud Atlas to you! It is an amazing feat of a novel, in which every story within the novel is written in a different genre in a different time period. The structure is what makes it so interesting, in that you read the first half of each of the stories (some ending literally mid-sentence) and then read the endings in reverse order in the second half of the book. The book is written like a Matryoshka doll, with each story inside each of the others. As the reader, you have to figure out how and why they all stack together. It is great fun! If you try it, however, be patient with the first story, it's worth it.
Also, it appears you have never read The Phantom Tollbooth?? You should solve that issue ASAP. :) Of the others, I think you would also be intrigued by Kindred, a time-travel story in which an African-American woman (from the 70's when it was written) is repeatedly taken (against her will) back through time to save a distant ancestor who is a white slave-owner, while herself having to face taking the role of a slave to fit in and be part of the culture she lands in. Huge ideas about race/history/family/loyalty/love...and really well told. Octavia Butler writes more hard-core sci-fi as well, all with a gorgeous focus on female communities, energies, leaders...I love all of her work.
Love this, too, and will be investigating your list as well for next reads...

[chiralove.livejournal.com]

Oooh, interesting - like Maggie, I've not read a lot of these! I think ... 4, 5, 7, 12, 13, 16, 18, and 22.

Tell me a bit about why 12? I liked it but not sure I would've picked it for a list like this myself. And, maybe rec me one of the ones I've not read? <3