More posting about book lists (eg: laziness)

[alphafem67]

I am so lazy about posting lately, that I stole this from someone's blog who I don't even know that was linked to someone's blog, who I do know, at least:

I saw a link on AOL the other day that said '10 books to read before you die'. I'm not sure what I would put on mine, but seriously, 2 Dan Brown books?? 2? They are interesting reads, but really,

Comments

[anonymous]

So are they 10 books you should read? Or your 10 favorite books? Because those might be quite different...

If we're talking favorites, here are a few.. and I think most of them should be on a must read list as well.

The Giver
Lord of the Rings 1 - 3
Harry Potter 1 - 7
A Prayer for Owen Meany
Eat, Pray, Love

Here are some other memorable/favorites, though probably not on my "must read" list.

The Time Travelers Wife
The Hunt for Red October & other Tom Clancy novels
Bourne Identity books (I read those back in the 80s when they were first published)
John Grisham books (The Firm, Pelican Brief, etc.)
The Da Vinci Code
Pastwatch

And for some humor and fun -
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (and follow up books)
Xanth series (very silly but so fun)

I also really enjoyed the Dragon Riders of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey

I'm finding that I judge a book by how memorable it is. I have read a lot of books over the years, but very few stand out in my mind. I see some titles and think - "I KNOW I read that" but can't recall a damn

[alphafem67]

That list was a 'must read' list...and I agree with some, and some are also favorites, but I understand how they can be two different things.
And I forgot to put Owen Meany on my list, that is a definite must read.
Yes, I have read sooooo many books, but it's the ones that I reach for time and again that always show me something new that are my 'must reads'. I love reading books I read way back in high school or college and see what they mean to me now. It's usually something completely different.

[anonymous]

Allison's list is similar to my own:

Loved:
Lord of the Rings
Harry Potter
A Prayer for Owen Meany
Cider House Rules

I really liked:
Time Traveler's Wife
Pastwatch

There are lots more but I'm too lazy to think of them at the moment.

.....

I really did like To Kill A Mockingbird. You should read it.

K

[anonymous]

These are the books everyone should read before they die?!?!?!? Absolutely, unequivocally not. Remember, the time you spend reading Harry Potter 2-7 is time you'll never get get back. And The Stand!?!??! While it's a pretty good book, it can never escape the fact that it's a complete indulgence, Stephen King writing because he can. He has better works - works that are better because they've been somewhat edited. And you're completely right about Dan Brown's books - if he's a must read, so is Dave Barry

[alphafem67]

Hey Craig, welcome to my humble blog...have you read S. King's Gunslinger series (is that the right name?)..I've heard they are his masterpieces. I acknowledge his genius but I can't read all his stuff. The Stand looks a bit overwhelming, but I have heard good things about it.

I agree with Shel Silverstein being on a list like that, and I would gladly hand over my time to JK Rowling any day. Uh, depending on what she does next, naturally. :)
I was pleasantly surprised when I read the Haddon book but I guess I wouldn't put it on my "everyone must read this" list. Kind of a modern day 'Flowers for Algernon'.

[anonymous]

Yes, I've read the Gunslinger series (it's the Dark Tower Series, the Gunslinger was the title of the first book). It's pretty good - but really, really long. The fifth and seventh books are each about the same length as The Stand is. However, the worst thing about them isn't the length, it's the time it took him to finish them. The first was published in 1982 and the seventh in 2004. For those of us reading them as they came out that was a long, long 22 years. Now, however, they're done and you could read them all in one, long, indulgent sitting. I was very worried about how he would end it - how do you do justice to such an epic tale? But when I did finish it, I walked around the house saying "that was perfect, there is no better way for him to have ended it

[alphafem67]

I can see why you would really like the Haddon book. It was incredibly innovative and thought provoking, the way he saw into that boy's mind. Has Kristin read it?

I don't know how Stephen King does it, seriously, cranking out enormous novels like that about once or twice a year. I'll have to start the Gunslinger books, I suppose.

[anonymous]

Sorry, that was me, K's craig...

[anonymous]

I agree with Allison, that a book remain with me. I loved Willa Cather's "My Antonia" I read "Gone With The Wind" twice, I couldn't put "Davinci or Angels and Demons" down. I loved loved loved "Girl With A Pearl Earring" I did enjoy "Time Travelers" but it wasn't a fav. I feel like such an outsider that I could NOT get into Harry Potter, in fact I went to my bishop and confessed this sin, along with my coffee drinking and swearing problem. The book that first captivated me in my younger years was "The Witch of Blackbird Pond"...I always enjoyed books on witches and magic, which makes my distaste for the Potter books all the more confusing.

Classics, I very much loved "Jane Eyre, Le Miserables, Little Women, A Room With A View, Sister Carrie, and Wuthering Heights."

I won't read S. King, too scary and I don't like that silly Chick Lit stuff. I do love a good mystery novel.

P.S. That was from me, Michelle

[anonymous]

I need a good book right now!

Re: P.S. That was from me, Michelle

[anonymous]

Michelle, sometime I would be happy to sit with you and commiserate about the Harry Potter series... you don't need to feel alone...

Have you read John Updike's "Witches of Eastwick"? And along the witches line there's Clive Barker's "Weaveworld". Wally Lamb's "She's Come Undone" is pretty good if you haven't already read it. In the sort of strange "out there" arena there's Katherine Dunn's "Geek Love." - craig

[anonymous]

I've only read three of those books. And Da Vinci Code - ENOUGH. That book just makes me angry.

This is a good post because I am getting lots of book recommendations which I badly need. Lately I've read two horrible books in a row off of Target's reader's club list, lol, so I guess I deserved it.

Two books I just bought:
Devil in the White City (about a serial killer in Chicago in the late 1800's, true story)

Love in the Time of Cholera (because I've never read it and I figured I should)

Also, since someone mentioned it: The Giver changed my life in elementary school and was the book that made me realize how much I loved reading.

That is all.
CaCa

[alphafem67]

I just recently read The Giver and adored it. I see it all over the place lately. I never read "Cholera" either, it's been on my list for ages...I will tell you and your Mom how Asimov moves me. :)

((Target readers club really has some shite on there sometimes, I've noticed))

[anonymous]

I broke down and read "Cholera" earlier this year (mostly because I wanted to read it before I saw the movie). I didn't give it a great review:

http://craigthegrey.com/blog/archives/361

And the movie wasn't that good either....

- craig