Desert island books
Ok, I'm certainly not one to take the writer's block thing from LJ, but the question was oddly apropos and I felt the need to post something, so, here we go (and this is in no particular order):
You're packing your bag for that other desert island-the one with no electricity-what 5 books do you take with you?
1. The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
This is my book soulmate. I'd always heard people talk about this book called The Catcher in the Rye but being a kid at the time, I didn't get it. I read it when I was sixteen and like so many before me, felt like Holden was speaking to me. He just got it. My life, both writing and personal, has never been the same since. I've probably read the book fifteen times since then and I know that I'm nowhere near finished. One of the most interesting moments I've had with this book happened in AP English, senior year. We elected to read the book (yes, the students chose most of the books we read in class; don't ask why; I'm sure the rest of them wanted to read it because it looked small) and once we discussed it, the teacher asked the class if we liked Holden. In a class of ten, two people liked him: my best friend and I. Everyone else couldn't stand him. I believe the collective term they used was "whiny." More evidence to the fact that still, fifty years later, it takes a certain kind of person to understand Holden. "Catcher in the Rye made me do it." Please. A sad little justification for a sad little man who did a terrible thing. It's freakin' great. Get used to it.
2. Hooking Up - Tom Wolfe
Admittedly, I didn't actually finish the book for about five years. But! I read two essays from it when I was about seventeen or eighteen and I was-please excuse the frightening use of the English language-hooked. I liked Bonfire of the Vanities but this particular volume knocks it out of the park. Wolfe writes in rather looping circles, topic-hopping crazily; then, you get to the end of the essay and realize that every single word exists for a reason, every single seeming-tangent plays into the thesis of each piece and does so perfectly. That's just the microcosm of the essays. Once you finish the entire book, it dawns on you that the looping circle also works on a macrocosmic level, as well. That's not even mentioning how it seems as though his research is researched. In fact, Tom Wolfe may just be the only novelist who knows what he's talking about. Utter brilliance.
3. Empire Falls - Richard Russo
I happened upon this book by chance: I was at my local library, poking around for something to read, when a thin volume entitled The Whore's Child and Other Stories caught my attention. "I've heard this guy is good," I said to the library director nonchalantly. "I've heard that, too," she replied. I checked out the book on a whim and began to read. And read and read and read and read. It was as if the book had permanently glued itself to my hands. Then, while in Chicago, I needed something to read while waiting for my train home. I wandered into the Waldenbooks (most hideously-named bookstore ever) and remembered the book I had just read and searched for the author's other volumes, recognizing Empire Falls from commercials for an HBO miniseries based on that particular book. Again, on a whim, I bought it. The book did not leave my side for several months as I read, reread, and re-reread it. Apparently, it won the Pulitzer and I cannot think of anything in recent years more deserving. Richard Russo is an entirely unique influence in my life: he makes me want to write as beautifully as he does, and yet, in my own style. I don't want to be exactly like him, as a writer, but in the same league. Avery? Are you listening?
4. To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee
Funny story: I read this book in eighth grade, of my own accord. After I was finished, I talked about the book a little bit with my mom and suggested that if they ever made it into a movie, they should cast Gregory Peck as Atticus. She kind of laughed and said that they'd already done that and he'd won an Academy Award for the performance. So I suppose if the writing thing doesn't work out, I can always be a great casting director. Anyway. This book was my first taste of real literature. During this time, the law happened to be my greatest aspiration, so the entire thing played perfectly...a story about a lawyer fighting for social justice far before his time while his children essentially do the same thing on a smaller level. Tom's tragic end and the reconciliation with Boo Radley added that "Uhhh!" moment after reading it. Mockingbird showed me that words need not be only utilitarian but beautiful, as well.
5. The Mozart Season - Virginia Euwer Wolff
Yes, I know it's a YA novel. So sue me. Obsessed as I am with music, can you really blame me for loving a book that's all about it? Sadly, it's Mozart, but I can get over it. It doesn't really take over the book. I felt like I had found an author who understood music the way that I do and in the way that only a musician can. It created a powerful bond between Allegra, the main character, and me. The book also contains some rather interesting conclusions about life, some of which happen to be true of my own. Oh, and my whole loving Chagall thing? It started there.
As an addendum to the post--and in case they're not checking book count too closely--I'd also take my friend Liz's trilogy with me. She's a brilliant writer and I just can't seem to get it out of my head ever since I read the first two books, particularly the second. I know the third, once she finishes it, will complete the series perfectly and I can't wait to read it (no pressure, honestly!). It's as good as anything else on this list, and certainly deserves a place.
You're packing your bag for that other desert island-the one with no electricity-what 5 books do you take with you?
1. The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
This is my book soulmate. I'd always heard people talk about this book called The Catcher in the Rye but being a kid at the time, I didn't get it. I read it when I was sixteen and like so many before me, felt like Holden was speaking to me. He just got it. My life, both writing and personal, has never been the same since. I've probably read the book fifteen times since then and I know that I'm nowhere near finished. One of the most interesting moments I've had with this book happened in AP English, senior year. We elected to read the book (yes, the students chose most of the books we read in class; don't ask why; I'm sure the rest of them wanted to read it because it looked small) and once we discussed it, the teacher asked the class if we liked Holden. In a class of ten, two people liked him: my best friend and I. Everyone else couldn't stand him. I believe the collective term they used was "whiny." More evidence to the fact that still, fifty years later, it takes a certain kind of person to understand Holden. "Catcher in the Rye made me do it." Please. A sad little justification for a sad little man who did a terrible thing. It's freakin' great. Get used to it.
2. Hooking Up - Tom Wolfe
Admittedly, I didn't actually finish the book for about five years. But! I read two essays from it when I was about seventeen or eighteen and I was-please excuse the frightening use of the English language-hooked. I liked Bonfire of the Vanities but this particular volume knocks it out of the park. Wolfe writes in rather looping circles, topic-hopping crazily; then, you get to the end of the essay and realize that every single word exists for a reason, every single seeming-tangent plays into the thesis of each piece and does so perfectly. That's just the microcosm of the essays. Once you finish the entire book, it dawns on you that the looping circle also works on a macrocosmic level, as well. That's not even mentioning how it seems as though his research is researched. In fact, Tom Wolfe may just be the only novelist who knows what he's talking about. Utter brilliance.
3. Empire Falls - Richard Russo
I happened upon this book by chance: I was at my local library, poking around for something to read, when a thin volume entitled The Whore's Child and Other Stories caught my attention. "I've heard this guy is good," I said to the library director nonchalantly. "I've heard that, too," she replied. I checked out the book on a whim and began to read. And read and read and read and read. It was as if the book had permanently glued itself to my hands. Then, while in Chicago, I needed something to read while waiting for my train home. I wandered into the Waldenbooks (most hideously-named bookstore ever) and remembered the book I had just read and searched for the author's other volumes, recognizing Empire Falls from commercials for an HBO miniseries based on that particular book. Again, on a whim, I bought it. The book did not leave my side for several months as I read, reread, and re-reread it. Apparently, it won the Pulitzer and I cannot think of anything in recent years more deserving. Richard Russo is an entirely unique influence in my life: he makes me want to write as beautifully as he does, and yet, in my own style. I don't want to be exactly like him, as a writer, but in the same league. Avery? Are you listening?
4. To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee
Funny story: I read this book in eighth grade, of my own accord. After I was finished, I talked about the book a little bit with my mom and suggested that if they ever made it into a movie, they should cast Gregory Peck as Atticus. She kind of laughed and said that they'd already done that and he'd won an Academy Award for the performance. So I suppose if the writing thing doesn't work out, I can always be a great casting director. Anyway. This book was my first taste of real literature. During this time, the law happened to be my greatest aspiration, so the entire thing played perfectly...a story about a lawyer fighting for social justice far before his time while his children essentially do the same thing on a smaller level. Tom's tragic end and the reconciliation with Boo Radley added that "Uhhh!" moment after reading it. Mockingbird showed me that words need not be only utilitarian but beautiful, as well.
5. The Mozart Season - Virginia Euwer Wolff
Yes, I know it's a YA novel. So sue me. Obsessed as I am with music, can you really blame me for loving a book that's all about it? Sadly, it's Mozart, but I can get over it. It doesn't really take over the book. I felt like I had found an author who understood music the way that I do and in the way that only a musician can. It created a powerful bond between Allegra, the main character, and me. The book also contains some rather interesting conclusions about life, some of which happen to be true of my own. Oh, and my whole loving Chagall thing? It started there.
As an addendum to the post--and in case they're not checking book count too closely--I'd also take my friend Liz's trilogy with me. She's a brilliant writer and I just can't seem to get it out of my head ever since I read the first two books, particularly the second. I know the third, once she finishes it, will complete the series perfectly and I can't wait to read it (no pressure, honestly!). It's as good as anything else on this list, and certainly deserves a place.