A few minutes, eh, Louise? A few minutes gave me so much that Ive had a job sorting out the mush to get anything even remotely like a list for the Book Challenge: Name 10 books that have stayed with you in some way... Good grief, what a quagmire. :P Anyhoo, be that as it may, here it is, with no apology. 1) Tender Victory by Taylor Caldwell: Written in 1959 at the height of anti-Communist propaganda, this book is a product of its time, without doubt. However, it is also one of those rare pieces that celebrates the human spirit and humanity in such a way that at the age of 15, I stayed up all night to read it. It made me cry, and I was introduced to it by my dear mum (among many others). 2) Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey: This book started a lifelong love with the dragons of Pern and has always been one I turned to when I needed a familiar book to read. The literary equivalent of a blankie, I suppose. :) 3) Stormy: The First American Mustang by Dorothy Childs Hogner: this is such an old book, but one I adored as a child. I learned to read with Stormy, and his battles for survival against the odds made me love him fiercely. He fired my imagination, and my love of animals, so it will be no surprise that the next on my list is... 4) White Fang by Jack London: What can I say about this book? What a classic, what a fine story. I cried, and cried, but in the end there is joy and thats everything a damn good book should be. 5) Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein: IMHO, this is a seminal piece of science fiction and essential reading BUT, it is also an amazing, and remarkable story. Its such an exploration of humanity, again, that it has stayed with me forever. I grok it. :D 6) Shogun by James Clavell: A sweeping drama of the very best kind. It blew my wooly socks right off. Forget the twaddle that was the show, THIS is a brilliant and utterly amazing novel, with the most beautiful love story at its heart, which will rend you incapable of speaking. Its brutal, its evocative, and just... wonderful. 7) The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough: I read this before it became a huge hit, and knew immediately what a treasure it is. Yeah, I know there are detractors and, frankly, the show was awful - it just didnt do it justice - but it still remains one of the best books I have ever read. It has it all including grinding angst - which no author shoud ever be without as part of their repertoire of tools to evoke emotional response. ;) 8) The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis: I had no idea this was an allergory, not until I was a good deal older and wiser. Despite that, this little book has been something that I loved from the time it was read to us in class at school (I was 8), until now. Aslan is a phenomenon, and I adored him. I make no apology in that I introduced my girls to these stories at a very young age, and they loved them too. 9) The Time Travellers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger: What a book! Oh my... this was another one I stayed up all night to read, and I share it with you, Lee. Amazing writing. 10) The Last of the Mohicans by J. Fenimore Cooper: Dear gods, how I wept when I read this. What a fabulous story. Ive read so many books over the years, and these jumped at me, and kinda illustrated a theme as well. Humanity, compassion, love... heh... so much for my pretense of not having a romantic bone. I am, as they say, full of shit. So, sorry Tolkein, and all you countless others, because even though you gave me huge amounts of enjoyment, those ten are closest to my heart. So then, now I get to the dirty bit and nominate people, so... Christine, Stephanie, Babs, Elizabeth (yep, you again, doll ;) ), Robert, Tanya, David, Hannah, Sarah, Louise. Tag me in your response, if you choose to do this, so we can all benefit from your list. I look forward to seeing a few juicy ones up there. And remember guys, its the ones that speak from the heart that go on this list. They do not have to be great works of literary brilliance. xx
Posted on: Tue, 09 Sep 2014 09:26:11 +0000
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