Post by vwhassenfeffer on Oct 11, 2018 20:56:39 GMT -5
Okay, and now to occupy myself with something other than the depressing news on TV:
I've been watching The Great American Read on PBS and kibitzing over favorites with good friends of mine in Waco about our most loved books, many of which are on the list, but many of which are not. PBS' list does include a great favorite of mine, Pride and Prejudice which, yes, I have voted for. I've also discussed the series with coworkers and the small library staff here in my hometown. We all have our personal favorites, and our puzzlement of why certain books were on the PBS list, while many others are not. I readily confess to you all that I, a very proficient reader who has read thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of books in my lifetime, have in the past tried - and failed - to get through War and Peace. I am incredulous that this mammoth work would be a favorite of so many, while I lose track of the players in it - scorecards be damned, the thing needs a full libretto! Do so many people really read it, or are they merely pretending it's a favorite because it sounds impressive? I've also failed at Cervante's Don Quixote, but I can at least understand that one having so many fans. Another friend expresses doubts about Moby Dick's popularity, while we all ponder whether certain books made the cut more because they attracted fans through movie/TV/marketing versions. And is it really fair to put entire series, many of them much media'd such as the whole Harry Potter collection, etc. up against single volumes and consider the voting fair? Are we really expecting Where the Red Fern Grows to go up against all three Hunger Games books? Even Katniss Everdeen would have to say that isn't sporting! With all this in mind, I've been thinking about all the favorites of mine that aren't on the list (single books, though many are part of a series too) but that I'd like to heartily recommend to others. Some of my favorites will no doubt bore or perplex you, but they're all on the list for the reason that I've read them and loved them. They encompass different genres and different ages of my life, just like the PBS list. I'm putting them out here so as to recommend them to everyone, and I'd be very curious to know some of your favorites that didn't make the PBS list too!
In no particular order of preference or genre, then, here's MY Great American Read!:
I, Claudius - Robert Graves
A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
The House of Seven Gables - Nathaniel Hawthorne (sure, you think it's a musty classic now, but it's actually a mystery thriller!)
The Phantom Tollbooth - Norton Juster
Mary Poppins - P.L. Travers
101 Dalmatians - Dodie Smith (yes, it too was a book long before it became a Disney film - and the book is better!)
Crocodile on a Sandbank - Elizabeth Peters
Les Rois Mages - Michel Tournier
Lord of Light - Roger Zelazny
The Ship Who Sang - Anne McCaffrey
Night Life of the Gods - Thorne Smith (not nearly as well known as his Topper books, but so wonderful!)
The Bridge of Birds - Barry Hughart
The Song of Mavin Manyshaped - Sherri S. Tepper
The Crown Jewels - Walter Jon Williams ( )
Agent of Change - Steve Miller and Sharon Lee
Druid's Blood - Esther Friesner
Intervention - Julian May
Going Postal - Terry Pratchett
Making Money - Terry Pratchett
Night Watch - Terry Pratchett
Sorcery and Cecilia - Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer
Cold Sassy Tree - Olive Ann Burns
Windhaven - George R. R. Martin and Lisa Tuttle (came out looonnngg before Game of Thrones and is nothing alike, trust me)
Flashman - George MacDonald Fraser
Aunt Dimity's Death - Nancy Atherton
The Thin Woman - Dorothy Cannell
Silverlock - John Myers Myers
In Conquest Born - C.S. Friedman
Too Many Magicians - Randall Garrett
Mystery Walk - Robert McCammon
The Scarlet Pimpernel - Baroness Orczy
Ruggles of Red Gap - Harry Leon Wilson (dated now, but still a classic!)
Gaudy Night - Dorothy L. Sayers
The Alienist - Caleb Carr
Oath of Swords - David Weber
Howl's Moving Castle - Diana Wynn Jones
Any favorites of yours here that you'd vote for? Any recommends for me?
I've been watching The Great American Read on PBS and kibitzing over favorites with good friends of mine in Waco about our most loved books, many of which are on the list, but many of which are not. PBS' list does include a great favorite of mine, Pride and Prejudice which, yes, I have voted for. I've also discussed the series with coworkers and the small library staff here in my hometown. We all have our personal favorites, and our puzzlement of why certain books were on the PBS list, while many others are not. I readily confess to you all that I, a very proficient reader who has read thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of books in my lifetime, have in the past tried - and failed - to get through War and Peace. I am incredulous that this mammoth work would be a favorite of so many, while I lose track of the players in it - scorecards be damned, the thing needs a full libretto! Do so many people really read it, or are they merely pretending it's a favorite because it sounds impressive? I've also failed at Cervante's Don Quixote, but I can at least understand that one having so many fans. Another friend expresses doubts about Moby Dick's popularity, while we all ponder whether certain books made the cut more because they attracted fans through movie/TV/marketing versions. And is it really fair to put entire series, many of them much media'd such as the whole Harry Potter collection, etc. up against single volumes and consider the voting fair? Are we really expecting Where the Red Fern Grows to go up against all three Hunger Games books? Even Katniss Everdeen would have to say that isn't sporting! With all this in mind, I've been thinking about all the favorites of mine that aren't on the list (single books, though many are part of a series too) but that I'd like to heartily recommend to others. Some of my favorites will no doubt bore or perplex you, but they're all on the list for the reason that I've read them and loved them. They encompass different genres and different ages of my life, just like the PBS list. I'm putting them out here so as to recommend them to everyone, and I'd be very curious to know some of your favorites that didn't make the PBS list too!
In no particular order of preference or genre, then, here's MY Great American Read!:
I, Claudius - Robert Graves
A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
The House of Seven Gables - Nathaniel Hawthorne (sure, you think it's a musty classic now, but it's actually a mystery thriller!)
The Phantom Tollbooth - Norton Juster
Mary Poppins - P.L. Travers
101 Dalmatians - Dodie Smith (yes, it too was a book long before it became a Disney film - and the book is better!)
Crocodile on a Sandbank - Elizabeth Peters
Les Rois Mages - Michel Tournier
Lord of Light - Roger Zelazny
The Ship Who Sang - Anne McCaffrey
Night Life of the Gods - Thorne Smith (not nearly as well known as his Topper books, but so wonderful!)
The Bridge of Birds - Barry Hughart
The Song of Mavin Manyshaped - Sherri S. Tepper
The Crown Jewels - Walter Jon Williams ( )
Agent of Change - Steve Miller and Sharon Lee
Druid's Blood - Esther Friesner
Intervention - Julian May
Going Postal - Terry Pratchett
Making Money - Terry Pratchett
Night Watch - Terry Pratchett
Sorcery and Cecilia - Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer
Cold Sassy Tree - Olive Ann Burns
Windhaven - George R. R. Martin and Lisa Tuttle (came out looonnngg before Game of Thrones and is nothing alike, trust me)
Flashman - George MacDonald Fraser
Aunt Dimity's Death - Nancy Atherton
The Thin Woman - Dorothy Cannell
Silverlock - John Myers Myers
In Conquest Born - C.S. Friedman
Too Many Magicians - Randall Garrett
Mystery Walk - Robert McCammon
The Scarlet Pimpernel - Baroness Orczy
Ruggles of Red Gap - Harry Leon Wilson (dated now, but still a classic!)
Gaudy Night - Dorothy L. Sayers
The Alienist - Caleb Carr
Oath of Swords - David Weber
Howl's Moving Castle - Diana Wynn Jones
Any favorites of yours here that you'd vote for? Any recommends for me?