1. The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins (1868): This is for sure my all-time favorite detective novel (not that I have read very many) that was so much fun to read. A very well-written page-turner full of colorful characters that you shouldn't pass up.
2. White Noise by Don DeLillo (1985): Still my favorite DeLillo, if you are going to read one book about the 20th century, I think this one should be it.
3. Disgrace by JM Coetzee (1993): This one is pretty dark but if you can make your way through, it's worth it. At it's core, it examines race relations in post-apartheid South Africa.
4. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (2004): Confession: I have read this book three times and I love it even more with each read. It is a romance novel with a dose a sci-fi, but still smart and and I love it. It will always be a book that I won't hesitate to pick up and reread when I need a good love story in my life.
5. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of A Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah (2007): This is a truly heart-breaking read that examines a subject I feel is important for those removed from it to learn about: child soldiers in Sierra Leone.
6. The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot (1860): This is my all-time favorite bildungsroman (yes I like it more than Jane Eyre) and if you are interested in Eliot I think this is a great place to state.
7. The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window Into Human Nature by Steven Pinker (2007): I think this is the most interesting of Pinker's books I have read. He combines his vast knowledge of language and human behavior to examine what the words we use say about ourselves.
8. Alphabet Juice by Roy Blount Jr (2009): This is a hysterical and intelligent look into specific words in our ever-changing vocabulary. It reads like an amusing dictionary. If you are a nerd about words, this is for you.
9. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (1884): A children's classic that I read as an adult, this novel is about the nature of freedom and the meaning of human connections.
I need to add some of these to my tbr list. Do you think you'll ever write a post about any of these?
ReplyDeleteRed, That's a good question. I feel like if I were going to review any of them I would want to reread them, or at least seriously revisit them. Which ones are you most interested in?
ReplyDeleteThat's what I've done with a few books I've wanted to write about so I re-read them. I've wanted to check out A Long Way Gone and The Moonstone and Disgrace also sound interesting. I don't really have any interest in the Time Traveler's Wife other than the fact that you've listed it as a favorite a few times.
ReplyDeleteWow, nice range of books! Many I haven't read, too -- I'm adding these to my TBR!
ReplyDeleteRed, Ok I'll keep that in mind! I'm not usually a big re-reader but I think in the case of a few of my favorites I would probably enjoy it in the end.
ReplyDeleteThanks Brenna, you reminded me I need to read DISGRACE and WAITING FOR THE BARBARIANS!
ReplyDeleteIt is totally time I reread "The Time Traveler's Wife"...but I bet my "review" of it will end up just being a diary of all the times I cried while I read it, because I don't know what else to write about it.
ReplyDeleteThese are some of my favorites as well. I love White Noise and Disgrace. I'm glad to hear that Stuff of Thought is interesting. I started Blank Slate, but thought it was really boring...not the ideas, but the writing.
ReplyDeleteCome check out my list for the week at The Scarlet Letter.
Great list. I guess I never realized that Moonstone was a mystery. I'll have to check it out now. #5 and #3 sound especially interesting. Great blog. Glad I found you.
ReplyDeleteYou've got some great choices! I loved "A Long Way Gone." I read it when I was teaching high school, and I ended up reading it to my tenth grade World History students. They really got into it.
ReplyDeleteI've only read a couple of works by George Eliot, so it looks like I'll have to add "The Mill on the Floss" to the tbr pile.
My list is here, if you're interested.
Lots of good choices here, and some I still want to read. I've never picked up anything by Coetzee, so he's high on my wishlist.
ReplyDeleteI loved The Time Traveller's Wife! Just can't get into George Elliot though.
ReplyDeleteI'm the same way. I have read some books that I really enjoyed, but just didn't blog about. Not sure if I ever will. Liked your list!
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