Favorite Books

Jabber talking recently about reading Pride and Prejudice got me to thinking about what are the greatest fictional books ever written.

I took several literature classes in college, and I love to read, so I've read a lot of books over the years. I expect most of our BWS audience is the same...

Which means we all have favorite books. And yet perhaps there are still well-known books that have been written over the years which we've never quite gotten around to reading...

As an example, my Dad gave me a copy of Melville's "Moby D ick" as a Christmas gift this year. (Actually, it's a beautiful version of the book with gold leaf on the page edges, and I think it is probably part of one of those "Great Books" types of collections, as he has an entire bookcase filled with these classics.)

But the thing is, even though I'm over 60, I'm not sure I have actually ever read "Moby D ick." Oh sure, I've heard of Captain Ahab, and I think I know the general gist of the story. Who among us doesn't know the book opens with the famous, oft-riffed phrase, "Call me Ishmael."

That line is probably one of the most recognizable opening lines in Western literature.

Bottom line, I have read many of the great and classic books written, including "To Kill a Mockingbird," "War and Peace," "Gone with the Wind," "Anna Karenina," "Jane Eyre," "Wuthering Heights," "The Great Gatsby," and "many others.

And yet, I have likely missed as many great books as I have read. Witness my "Moby D ick" admission.

(NOTE: I know, of course, that I am breaking up the second word of that title. But I have to, or else the forum software censors me...)

ANYWAY: I started wondering: What books would we -- as a group -- select if we were to create a list of wonderful reading that we'd want to pass down to a person of 18 today? You know, a list titled something like "50 Must Read, Mind-Altering NOVELS You Should Try to Read in Your Lifetime."

I'll begin by saying that per my rules, here, the original work does not have to have been written in English, as long as good English translations are available.

So what would you suggest we put into our BWS list?

I'll start by throwing out a few personal favorites, and hopefully everyone here will want to comment as to whether or not these books qualify, and/or add a few selections of their own, with a sentence or two as to why you are voting for it.

1. "War and Peace" by Count Leo Tolstoy. A huge volume, this epic historical novel offers readers a panoramic study of early 19th-century Russian society via a look at five aristocratic families. Set against the background of Russian social life during the war against Napoleon (1805-14), many people consider that it is one of the world's greatest novels.

2. "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier. A story about psychological obsession and immortality, by one of the best writers of the 20th century, IMHO, this book opens with the famous phrase, “Last night, I dreamed I went to Manderley again.”

3. "Gone with the Wind" by Margaret Mitchell. Set during the US's Civil War, it's a fantastic story of of one woman’s doomed love and one civilization’s doomed quest.

4. "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald. While overtly a story of life in the U.S. during the Jazz Age, it is really a story about the haves and how they think of the have-nots.

5. "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee This is a wonderful book about justice and deeply held beliefs, right and wrong, and the agony of growing up.

6. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy Another memorable Tolstoy novel of prewar Russia, this one features - in short -- a foolish and beautiful woman named Anna who cheats on her husband. And yet, in his classic story of doomed love, Tolstoy will have you enthralled by his magnificent heroine, the unhappily married Anna Karenina, and her tragic affair with the dashing Count Vronsky.

OK, I don't want to hog the discussion. Let's hear what y'all want to add to our delightful list...

A few of my favorites.

To Kill a MockingBird is probably one of my all-time favorite classics!

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair (the full original version)

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

1984 by George Orwell

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Call of the Wild by Jack London

Those are some good ones, Cookie! I also realized that we ought to include the "Dune" series, for all the sci-fi fans out there.

Here's a link to info on all of the Dune Novels, which are originally by Frank Herbert, of course, but now continued by his son, Brian.

What else goes on the list?

Currently in the middle of "Killing Kennedy". It's good. When I finish this, then I'll check out the Dune Novels. Thanks.

I just finished Adriana Trigiani's book, The Supreme Macaroni Company. I have read all of her books and love them. She pulls me in and makes me care about her characters and what happens to them. I'm now reading Book 2 of the Maeve Chronicles; I loved Book 1 so of course had to buy Book 2. :-) The author is Elizabeth Cunningham. I love reading about strong women who have a mind of their own.

Another great author whose books I love is Lisa See. As you can tell, I'm partial to female authors. :-)

Speaking of female authors, Yonuh, I tried to send you this link on your WP blog, but I couldn't get it to go through.

It's an article from an oncology journal which references -- 25+ years later -- the book "First You Cry," by Betty Rollins.

I remember reading that book in the 70s and it has stuck with me ever since. But it's not a candidate for our best fiction discussion as it is a memoir.

Here's the link. The article dates from 2001, by the way.

Interesting. I'm seeing more and more comparisons of funding and PR for breast cancer vs that for lung and other cancers. Lung cancer so far seems to be the stepchild for research funding, which means the early diagnosis and survival rates haven't changed much in some 50 years. I would like to see that change. Part of the problem is there aren't enough survivors to get the story out there. And the survivors that are speaking out aren't getting the press that breast cancer survivors are. It's sad that this is the state of things in the 21st century.

Has anyone here read, "His Last Dutchess" by Gabrielle Kimm?
I'm about 80% through this book and like it very much.
Am also reading Joyce Meyer's "Knowing God Intimately"; read this book several years ago and decided to reread it. Perhaps it'll get ingrained into the brain a little better during the second read. Hope so.

Haven't read either, Jabber. Would love it if you'd tell us more about each book.

Gabrielle Kimm wrote "His Last Duchess" after reading Robert
Browning's poem, "My Last Duchess" in college. The backdrop is a castle in 16th-century Italy. Duke of Ferrara, Alfronso d'Este, marries a young, teenage virgin named Lucrezia de' Medici. The Duke's dark and handsome and a dangerously mysterious, amoral character. The Duchess's pureness renders the Duke impotent, spite the fact that he already has twin girls by his long-suffering mistress Francesca Felizzi. Alfronso wed the beautiful Lucrezia to produce an heir for his estate. He immediately blames his sexual ineptness on his wife; love turns to hate; and he plots her murder. In the meantime, being left alone for long periods of time, Lucrezia befriends servants, such as: cooks, maids, painters. The Duke hires a wall-painting of Lucrezia and after what he thinks is her demise, he remarries again and again, but is constantly looking at the painting and remarking how she's "His Last Duchess." The Robert Browning poem is included in the end of the book, this being the novel's 8th or 9th major revision.

As for Joyce Meyer's "Knowing God Intimately," I'm about 1/2 halfway through. The most impressive thing, which I missed the first time I read it a few years ago, is that The Holy Spirit has seven characteristics, which are: Grace, Glory, Life, Truth, Supplication aka Prayer, Adoption and Holiness. Don't know how I didn't grasp this before. God loves the number 7 and His Holy Spirit has Seven Spirits. Cool. Right! The overall theme of this book is asking for and receiving the empowering of the Holy Spirit.

P.S. It may appear that I gave the "His Last Duchess" plot totally away. But I didn't. I left a lot out in case someone gets the itch to read it. What happens to the duchess is fun and interesting.