I have time to read! Every day, I give my students 50 minutes to read and I teach two classes (one morning and one afternoon). So I get to read for 100 glorious minutes a day! This has really gotten me thinking about how I need to choose my books carefully - being so excited over mandatory reading time tells me there is no time to mess around with fluff I'm going to forget. I need books that make an impact! So I thought about what I've loved and what I've hated....bringing me to the (much more complicated than I thought) task of naming my top five books. Well it can't be done. No way. Never. What I can do is create a working list of books I love and I can tell three or four books that would definitely make the cut (at the moment anyway)! But to commit to that fifth book and leave out ALL OF THE OTHER BOOKS is a little too much for me to handle without some serious time devoted to this selection process...
So these are not set in stone and they appear in no particular order. Remember that this is the current list, not the be all, end all list. I repeat, it is not the "I would bring these books to the deserted island above all others list" but it's a darn good start. And I will say, I've decided to leave Harry Potter legacy off of my list altogether even though I love that world and wish I could visit Hogwarts for real :-)
My "Top" Four:
The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Scandal, suspense, mystery, history, intricate story lines twisted together and fantastical ideas and love. The history of it fascinates me and I'm in awe of the complexity of the story.
The God of Small Things - Arhundhati Roy. It is so poetic and so full of voice. Absolutely immerses the reader in the culture of India's caste system and the reality of all consuming temptation - haunting after it's over. Sometimes I go to it for something old and familiar to read. For years, I have quoted this as my "favorite" book.
Olive Kitteridge - Elizabeth Strout. Is this because I just finished? I'm not sure. Only time will tell...But this is so real. The characters are so well written that you believe they are people you've met before. And there is no sugar coating the tough stuff - I love Olive even though she's a bit of a witch. And I understand the very human-ness of each character more than anything.
The Red Tent - Anita Diamant. This make me SO proud to be a woman. I have a Catholic upbringing to guide me through this very loosely biblical history so I know the characters and really enjoy reading it from a woman's perspective instead of the male centered view Bible stories normally include.
Others to consider as contenders:
Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamott
The Great Gatsby
The Poisonwood Bible
The Time Traveler's Wife
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
Heart of Darkness
Mrs. Dalloway
The Hours
Me Talk Pretty One Day
Slammerkin
And there are so many more.....how does one decide?????
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