Thursday, April 1, 2010

Lists - Fiction

Lets go for a bit more artsy here. Well depending on your modd I suppose. I, like most people, enjoy a book that I can sort of shut down my brain on, suspend disbelief and have fun with. This list isn't for those books, so apologies to Lee Child, Vince Flynn, James Lee Burke, and so on.
Again in no order, here are some of my favorite novels.

On the Road - Jack Kerouac : This isn't one that appeals to all, but at the time I read it, (3rd year of college) it really set me on fire. I loved the stream of consciousness, the almost manic pace that Kerouac sets forth. It made me wish I was born 40 years earlier just so that I could hitch hike with safety. A really great English Prof helped out too, explaining all the back stories, and even having eat apple pie with ice cream. He probably would have been all for a hitch hiking weekend.

The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas : Flat out love this. Written, obviously in a much different time, so the wordiness can be a bit much at times, but nothing so bad as approaching Dickens or Hawthorne. Just a little bit of eveything a good story needs; love, action, revenge, humor, redemption, forgiveness. Could easily read all 1800 pages again.

Less than Zero - Bret Easton Ellis : With a thanks to Ben B. for this recommendation as well. This is much like a Cather in the Rye for a later generation. Not quite mine, but much closer. What literary critics saw in C.i.t.R., and I didn't, I saw in this. Very much a lost soul, Clay goes off the deep end with just about every vice, only to realize promise in life and start anew. (possibly, if you like Disney endings, book isn't clear) Good stuff.

A Long Way Down - Nicholas Hornby : If you haven't read any oh N.H.'s stuff, you're missing out. Very clever, witty and varied, he writes many characters with a depth not typically found. To be able in this book, to bounce 4 completely different characters back and forth and not lose any personality is quite impressive. Any of his books are great, so you could try High Fidelity, Fever Pitch, About a Boy, or Slam. I am currently on Juliet, Naked.

A Separate Peace - John Knowles : A story about friends and the subversive feelings between them during a difficult time in history. Two friends, very different, at a boarding school during the Second World War. Gene, returns 15 years after the events unfold and the story is his recollection of his times at the school with Phineus. Real quality and I think it still plays, even though it was written in the 50's about the 40's.

Ok, so there ya go. I am sure at the time I hit post, I will think of others, but...Oh well. This is a varied list, and encompasses, I hope, my varied taste. Enjoy, love to hear yours!

3 comments:

Breanna said...

Great list! I'll have to pick some of those up. Sound good! I finished The Count of Monte Cristo a few months ago and loved it too.

My list includes...
- Harry Potter series (esp. books 5-7)
- Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck
- Same Kind of Different as Me
- Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
- Goodbye to a River

I'm sure that I, too, will think of many many more just as I hit post, but those are a few of my recent favs.

Bre

Breanna said...

Oh, and...
- A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
- The Glass Castle

See, I told you I'd do that! :)

mbutler said...

Well, again in no particular order:
1 - We Were Soldier's Once...And Young by LTG Moore. Way better than the movie

2 - A Wrinkle in Time - Madeleine L'Engle - Yeah, I know, but it made an impression on me in the 60's and I'm old so...there you go.

3 - Animal Farm by G. Orwell. Who knew that I'd be living it sort of...

4 - The Grapes of Wrath - J. Steinbeck. Great book, great commentary.

5 - Lord of the Flies - W. Golding OK, this won't make too many lists but it sure made an impression on me in 9th grade!

6 - To Kill a Mockingbird - H. Lee. What can I say. One of the best ever.

7 - The Illiad and the Odyssey - Homer. No, NOT Homer Simpson to the younger generation. Great story.

8 - Brave New World - A. Huxley. Again, who knew whe it was written in 132 that we would be seeing some of it now.

9 - The Holy Bible - OK, it may be trite to put this here but...one of my favorites. Shows what Man hopefully can become.

10 - Mein Kamph - A. Hitler. Again, not on too many people's list, but worth the read to see inside the mind of the world's worst and what be may become.

That's it! I know many more I could put in but this should help.