Books I Can’t Live Without, Part Ten

This post is tenth in a series analyzing my own connection with the “top 100 books the UK can’t live without” (pdf). In previous posts (Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight, and Part Nine), I discussed books 11-100. In this post, I will examine the top ten books UK voters said they could not live without.

10. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.

I haven’t read this one yet, but I want to. I found that many student who have read it were particularly interested in Miss Havisham.

9. His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman.

This series by Philip Pullman actually tied for 8th place. I found this selection interesting. I started to read the first book in this series. I will admit it didn’t grab me right off, but so many people have loved it that I have decided to come back to it this summer, maybe (after the Harry Potter furor has died down, that is).

8. 1984 by George Orwell.

I love dystopian novels, but surprisingly, I’ve never read this. I have a copy on my bookshelf, and I am thinking I might read it after I’m done with Virginia Woolf. As I noted, this book tied for 8th place with Pullman’s series.

7. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë.

I was assigned this book in my senior year of high school. I can still picture the pink cover. I liked it, but I couldn’t keep up with the reading assignments. I am and always have been a slow reader. I fell behind, and I wound up never finishing it. I think I’m going to try it on DailyLit some time down the road. I may have to read Jane Eyre that way, too.

6. The Bible.

I have probably read almost all of this, some parts of it many times. I can’t claim to quote chapter and verse off the top of my head. Obviously religious books are among the most influential books. I personally feel that no matter your religious persuasion, it is a good idea to have a working knowledge of the Bible. I think this is especially important for students of English in order that they may understand biblical allusions. When I have taught the film Moby Dick at my school, I have asked my students to read the story of Achav (Ahab) in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) in order to be familiar with Melville’s allusions. I think if this poll were done in America, the Bible might be higher than number 5. I’ll let you know — I am currently gathering data on this subject myself.

5. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

I have the feeling this book would be number one on an American list. I really think this is one book that genuinely changed my life. It’s the only book I “read ahead” in when required to read it for high school. I recognize the characters in this book — they are so real to me that I feel I know them. It’s one of my all-time favorite books, and it’s in my top five list of books I can’t live without.

4. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling.

I have to say that if someone came and told me that I could only pick one book from this list, or from any list, to take with me to a desert island, and it was the only book I could take, it would be this series. I realize it’s cheating to pick a series, but is this not really just one long story? I have read it so many times that I’ve lost count, but each time, I enjoy it. I don’t think I could tire of Harry Potter.

3. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë.

I tried to read this one recently, but I think it’s another one for my DailyLit files. I will read it some day.

2. Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien.

I really loved these books, too. I will bet these are my dad’s desert island books. I think he re-reads them like I re-read Harry Potter, but he is also a big Harry Potter fan. My favorite character is Gandalf, but I really like Frodo and Sam, too. Actually, I like Bilbo a lot, too. What great characters.

1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

Now here is how you can tell this is a British list. I would be surprised if this book were in America’s top ten at all. I happen to love it. I think it’s a great book — very funny in some places, and I could read it again and again, I think. I don’t believe a lot of Americans have an appreciation for it. I would like to do what I can to move it into our British literature curriculum, where I think it belongs, rather than summer reading for 9th grade Honors students, where it currently is. I just don’t think the students are ready for it, even if they are Honors students. I think it will take some time to phase it out of one grade and into a different one.

There you have it! The top 100 Books the UK Can’t Live Without with my own navel-gazing about the list. Now get out there and read.

[tags]World Book Day, literature, reading[/tags]

A Question of Honor

A Question of HonorAfter over six years of sitting on a finished book without time to shop it to agents and publishers (aside from the odd submission here and there), I finally decided to publish my book with Lulu.com.

A Question of Honor is a young adult novel set in medieval Wales and Scotland. Gwenllian has been accused of a horrible crime; she’s not even sure she is innocent herself. How can she resolve this question of honor?


Support independent publishing: buy this book on Lulu.

Books I Can’t Live Without, Part Nine

This post is ninth in a series analyzing my own connection with the “top 100 books the UK can’t live without” (pdf). In previous posts (Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, and Part Eight), I discussed books 21-100. In this post, I will examine books 11-20.

20. Middlemarch by George Eliot.

I haven’t read this one.

19. The Time-Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.

I haven’t read this one, but it sure has received a lot of attention.

18. Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger.

I read this one in high school (on my own, not as part of a class), and I hated Holden Caulfield. I read it again for the second time two years ago when I prepared to teach it to my freshmen, and I had a great experience with the book. My students loved it. They do every year, it seems. It’s a great book to teach to teenagers. I find that Salinger’s writing style to be fresh and different, especially given when the novel was written. Is it one of my desert-island books? Probably not, but I think many of my students would say it is theirs.

17. Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks.

Never heard of it.

16. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.

I first tried to read this, I think, in the sixth grade. I never got past Gandalf and Bilbo blowing smoke rings. I think it was just too advanced for me. I have done this book with 9th grade honors students and found that they have had trouble with it. My dad says his fifth grade teacher read it to his class, and I think having someone read it to me would have made a difference. I didn’t try again until I was in college, when I read all of the LotR books and loved them. I read that Tolkien was always sorry later that The Hobbit was written in such an avuncular tone, and that he had to restrain himself from editing it a great deal when he published the LotR books in order to make the riddling scene with Gollum match with the account given in LotR. I personally like that style. I’m not sure it would have worked with the heavier material in LotR, but I like The Hobbit a great deal. Sarah and I read it together, and she loved it, too.

15. Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier.

I can’t remember if I have seen this movie. I feel like I have, but I’m not sure. I haven’t read the book, and I should. It’s on the to-read list.

14. Complete Works of Shakespeare by William Shakespeare.

I’m not sure if this is a well-known edition of Shakespeare’s plays or simply, as it says, just all of them. Of course, this is high on my list, but I fail to understand why Hamlet was singled out far down the top-100 list while the other plays were not. My favorites are King Lear, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Othello, Hamlet, and Macbeth. I am less familiar with some of the others (despite reading them in a Shakespeare course in college), and I suspect I would love all of them if I were more familiar with them.

13. Catch 22 by Joseph Heller.

On my to-read list. Almost did it last year, but there were no extra copies around at school, and then other books came along and got in the way.

12. Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy.

I read a memorable English Journal article about an English teacher’s experience teaching this, her favorite book, to a class of unappreciative students. I have taken to sharing the article with my students when we read The Great Gatsby so they will know that if they grumble about it, they’re breaking my heart. I haven’t actually read this book, though. A former colleague says this is his favorite book. His dog is even named for Tess. But he hates Thoreau, so how much stock can one put in his opinion?

11. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.

I never could bring myself to read this one.

Stay tuned for the Top Ten as chosen by British voters at the World Book Day website.

[tags]World Book Day, literature, reading[/tags]

Books I Can’t Live Without, Part Eight

This post is eighth in a series analyzing my own connection with the “top 100 books the UK can’t live without” (pdf). In previous posts (Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six and Part Seven), I discussed books 31-100. In this post, I will examine books 21-30.

30. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame.

I’m not sure if I ever read all of this or just part, but I am familiar with it. My husband really enjoyed it as a kid; he’s mentioned that several times. I guess it didn’t make much of an impression on me.

29. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.

I don’t think I read this one until I was in high school or college, and the first impression I had was that this was no children’s book. It was hilarious and absurd in a way a child reading it wouldn’t really get. I liked it very much.

28. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck.

I began reading this one in high school — not as part of an assignment, but on my own. I didn’t finish. I need to finish it some day.

27. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

Believe it or not, I tried to read this one on my own in high school, too. I wanted to be ready for college, and I read or tried to read a bunch of books I had heard were classics. I didn’t get very far into this one, but maybe I’ll come back to it some day.

26. Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh.

I actually haven’t read any Waugh, and I have been meaning to do so.

25. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.

I started reading this one in sixth grade, but I don’t think I was ready for it. I haven’t tried to pick it up again, but I have been meaning to.

24. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy.

Haven’t tried it. Too intimidated by the length.

23. Bleak House by Charles Dickens.

I haven’t read it. Sure does sound like a cheery book, doesn’t it?

22. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

I am surprised to see this quintessential novel of the American Dream on a list of favorites by Brits! One of my all-time favorite books. So many pretty passages. You can read some thoughts I wrote about this book nearly six years ago. Nothing’s changed.

21. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell.

This was the first “adult” book I read. Up until that point, I’d read only children’s and YA books directed toward my age group. My mom had just re-read Gone with the Wind and her paperback copy was on the coffee table. I picked it up and looked at it, turning to the back to read the synopsis or reviews or whatever they were. I remembered my Girl Scout leader had a big hardback copy of the book, and it really impressed me. I thought it must be important if she had to have a hardback copy. My mom noticed me looking at the book and asked me if I wanted to read it. I was astonished. Me? I could actually read it? It hadn’t occurred to me that I could read a book like that. For some reason, my mom’s simple question made me feel like I could tackle it — I really could. I said I would. It took me two weeks. I read it between classes, at lunch, at every free moment I had. I was irritated when Ms. Snyder told me it was a good book (one of her favorites) and so clean. In fact, she said, the only racy thing in it was when Scarlett’s husband raped her. I was in a foul mood that she had ruined what seemed to me to be a major plot point. I felt a major sense of accomplishment after I finished that book. I was thirteen years old and in seventh grade, same as my own oldest daughter is now. I would ask her if she wants to read it, but after she finished The Witch of Blackbird Pond, she made it perfectly clear that historical fiction was not her thing.

[tags]World Book Day, literature, reading[/tags]

Books I Can’t Live Without, Part Seven

This post is seventh in a series analyzing my own connection with the “top 100 books the UK can’t live without” (pdf). In previous posts (Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, and Part Six), I discussed books 41-100. In this post, I will examine books 31-40.

40. Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne.

I am, of course, familiar with Winnie the Pooh, but I think the only books I’ve read have been the Disney-ized versions. I have a stuffed animal — a Winnie the Pooh doll — that I have had since I was seven. That makes it nearly 30 years old. He no longer has his little red shirt, but aside from that, he’s in remarkably good shape. My children play with him now.

39. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden.

I haven’t read this. I’m torn about whether I want to. If anyone’s read and and can tell me what they think beyond the hype the book got, I’d love to hear from you.

38. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis De Bernieres.

I haven’t read it, but I have heard of it. I’m not sure I would have heard of it if not for the movie, which I also have not seen.

37. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.

On my to-read list and my bookshelf. I think I’ll tackle it after Virginia Woolf.

36. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis.

I liked this book best in the Chronicles of Narnia, but I never finished reading the whole series, so perhaps that is premature. Americans don’t know what Turkish Delight is. I thought the movie was very good, too.

35. Persuasion by Jane Austen.

I have tried to read this one twice and life keeps getting in the way. Perhaps I’ll try it via DailyLit so I can finish it at a slower pace. It seems like such a strange thing, but the type in my copy is so small, and I feel like I make no progress when I read it.

34. Emma by Jane Austen.

On my bookshelf and my to-read list.

33. Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis.

Confusing that the series would be listed separately from one of the books in the series if the other books were not. I wonder why that would be? At any rate, I didn’t finish the series, though I liked the books I read (for the most part).

32. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens.

I haven’t read it. Maybe one day. DailyLit?

31. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy.

I haven’t read this one, but I want to. Another one on the to-read list.

[tags]World Book Day, literature, reading[/tags]

The Myth of You and Me

The Myth of You and MeLast night I finished reading Leah Stewart’s The Myth of You and Me. My mother loaned me the book thinking I might enjoy it, and while we both agree that our reading tastes don’t usually converge, this time she was right. I wasn’t sure I would like it at first, but I did get into it.

The Myth of You and Me is the story of the dissolution of a special friendship. Cameron and Sonia became best friends when they were fourteen, and they had one of those special friendships some people never have, and those lucky enough usually have only once in a lifetime. They seemed inseparable. What could go wrong? Years later, Cameron is assistant to noted historian Oliver Doucet in Oxford, Mississippi. When Cameron receives a letter from Sonia announcing her marriage, Oliver is intrigued. After he passes away, he leaves behind a special package and insists that Cameron deliver it to Sonia in person.

The novel is written in a zig-zag line, moving back and forth from the present to the past as Cameron makes her way to Sonia’s house in Boston and recollects their friendship. It isn’t hard to follow, for Stewart’s transitions are clear. I liked the characters because they were realistic, but I’m not sure I’d have liked to have known them — except for Oliver. I found Sonia’s mother to be so over-the-top as to be unbelievable. I think writers are treading dangerously when they paint a character as almost completely good or completely flawed — those types of people don’t really exist. I had trouble believing her character.

This novel was written for my generation. There are indeed so many cultural references specific to people of my generation — acid washed jeans, Dirty Dancing, and Swatch watches — that I fear the novel may become somewhat dated over time. I think people from around age 30 to 40 will appreciate this novel directed right at their generation, but I wonder if it will have wider appeal to others.

All told, I enjoyed the book. It is not without its problems, but it is certainly worth a read. I think most people can relate to the ache of loneliness that you can never feel after that very special friend is no longer in your life, whether you drifted apart slowly or made a sudden break.

[tags]Leah Stewart, The Myth of You and Me, literature, reading, review[/tags]

Books I Can’t Live Without, Part Six

This post is sixth in a series analyzing my own connection with the “top 100 books the UK can’t live without” (pdf). In previous posts (Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, and Part Five), I discussed books 51-100. In this post, I will examine books 41-50.

50. Atonement by Ian McEwan.

I haven’t heard of this one.

49. Lord of the Flies by William Golding.

I really love this book. It’s disturbing. I read it in high school, but not for class. Simon was my favorite character, but I felt so much pity for Piggy. A few years ago, the Discovery Channel ran this series on great books on their partner network TLC. One of the books profiled was Lord of the Flies. A former student of Golding’s was interviewed for the program. It was one of those tony all-boys academies. Golding’s former pupil said that every once in a while, Golding would ask the boys to write an essay, and he would be scribbling away at his own desk. Years later, the man realized that his teacher was writing Lord of the Flies… while looking out at a classroom full of well-mannered, upper-crust boys. I never forgot that — how close are we to Lord of the Flies, really?

48. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood.

I loved this book, also. I am kind of a fan of dystopian novels. I found this novel to be frightening. I really hope I get a chance to teach it some day. I reviewed the novel here after I read it.

47. Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy.

I haven’t read this one, but I have often been confused by the title. Why “madding”? And why do so many people say “maddening” instead, just as the World Book Day folks did in that pdf file I linked?

46. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery.

Never read it, and frankly, not interested.

45. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins.

Never heard of it.

44. A Prayer for Owen Meaney by John Irving.

On my to-read list.

43. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Very high on my to-read list.

42. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown.

Really? Britons voted this a book they couldn’t live without? I’m scratching my head over that. I mean, when I think of the amazing books this piece of crap beat out. Hamlet? Lolita? Possession? I just can’t believe this book is even on the list.

41. Animal Farm by George Orwell.

Still need to read this one, but again, it’s on my list.

[tags]World Book Day, literature, reading[/tags]

Books I Can’t Live Without, Part Five

This post is fifth in a series analyzing my own connection with the “top 100 books the UK can’t live without” (pdf). In previous posts (Part One, Part Two, Part Three, and Part Four), I discussed books 61-100. In this post, I will examine books 51-60.

60. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

On my to-read list. Great title.

59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon.

Roger sent me this book; I loved it. I wrote a review here.

58. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.

On my to-read list for sure.

57. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.

Now despite what I said about Oliver Twist, I actually do want to read this one.

56. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.

Never heard of it.

55. A Suitable Boy by Vikrem Seth.

Never heard of it.

54. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen.

I read this one about ten years ago and LOVED it. “Give me some occupation, Miss Dashwood, or I shall go mad.” Almost as good as Pride and Prejudice.

53. Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons.

Never heard of it.

52. Dune by Frank Herbert.

I’ll pass. Sorry, Dad.

51. Life of Pi by Yann Martel.

On my to-read list for about two years now. Some day.

[tags]World Book Day, literature, reading[/tags]

Books I Can’t Live Without, Part Four

This post is fourth in a series analyzing my own connection with the “top 100 books the UK can’t live without” (pdf). In previous posts (Part One, Part Two, and Part Three), I discussed books 71-100. In this post, I will examine books 61-70.

70. Moby Dick by Herman Melville.

I’m reading this one through DailyLit.com right now (see sidebar). I’ve seen two movie versions, and I love the story. I think I was smarter to read it in tiny chunks, though.

69. Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie.

I’ve not read it.

68. Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding.

On my to-read list. I think.

67. Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy.

Never read it. Might read it some day.

66. On the Road by Jack Kerouac.

Never read it, but I think it’s near and dear to Steve’s heart.

65. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas.

I love this book. I had never read it until I was asked to teach it to 10th graders in my second year teaching. It has a great story. Dumas knows how to write a good adventure.

64. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.

I have a copy, and it’s on my to-read list.

63. The Secret History by Donna Tartt.

Never heard of it.

62. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov.

As reprehensible as Humbert Humbert is, it’s hard to beat Nabokov’s writing style. This book has some of the prettiest prose I’ve ever read, and it’s so well written. I am really glad I read it.

61. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.

Despite the fact that my students read this book for summer reading, I’ve never actually read it. I have seen the movie. I will read it soon. I have plenty of copies on hand at school. Just one of those things I haven’t gotten to yet.

More to come.

[tags]World Book Day, literature, reading[/tags]

Books I Can’t Live Without, Part Three

This post is third in a series analyzing my own connection with the “top 100 books the UK can’t live without” (pdf). In two previous posts (Part One and Part Two), I discussed books 81-100. In this post, I will examine books 71-80.

80. Possession by A.S. Byatt.

Byatt made a name for herself a few years back when she criticized the Harry Potter books. I haven’t read any of her other books, but I just loved this one. It is the story of two British Romantic poets and the scholars who study them. If you liked The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield, you’ll love this book. An English teacher’s dream!

79. Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray.

I haven’t read this one yet. Some day.

78. Germinal by Émile Zola.

I haven’t read this one. I have, of course, heard of Zola, but not of this particular book.

77. Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome.

Never heard of it.

76. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath.

I am familiar with and have taught her poetry, but I’ve never actually read this book. Maybe some day. I find it kind of heartless that I am humming lyrics to Tom Petty’s song “Yer So Bad”: “Now she’s got nothin’, head in the oven…”

75. Ulysses by James Joyce.

God help me, but this one is on my to-read list. I might need a margarita or 30 first.

74. Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson.

I never heard of it — let’s hope this isn’t going to be too much of a refrain!

73. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

I never had much desire to read this one.

72. Dracula by Bram Stoker.

Who isn’t familiar with the story? I did try to read it about ten years ago or so, but I didn’t finish. I think maybe I wasn’t in the right frame of mind. I do want to read it some day.

71. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens.

Maybe I’m just close-minded on this one, as I enjoy other Dickens works, but I just can’t make myself actually read this one. It has been summer reading for my 9th graders for years, and I’m lobbying to get it removed from the list.

Stay tuned for the rest!

[tags]World Book Day, literature, reading[/tags]