Tell the class your favorite novel, listing the title, author, and, most importantly, why and what you like about it.
To be honest, I have three favorite novels. The first is 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia-Marquez. This is a noble prize winner's finest work before the critics named it magical realism. I reconnect to the reality of the spirit world when I read this book. The next is Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon, and lastly, Even Cowgirls get the Blues by Tom Robbins.
I like these books for some of the same reasons. From each I learn something new about life and myself each time I read them. The first two are complicated and difficult enough that I can open them anywhere and read for a while and decipher new literary thoughts about the text, life, and my imagination. I like to think that I become more creative after reading these texts. Gravity's Rainbow is funny in a high-brow intellectual way that many times I have to read the text seven or eight times to get the joke. Pynchon is a master of ambiguity so many times I feel lost and unsure. Better to feel that way in a book than in real life.
Even Cowgirls is my favorite because it makes me laugh. How can anyone not like a book whose one hundredth chapter is called a bottle of champagne and the narrator proceeds to get drunk on his words. And the fact that Tom Robbins is completely irreverent about almost everything. Yes, he's a smart aleck, a funny one.
So, tell us your favorite(s)! They don't have to be a classic or high toned literature. All they have to be is your favorite.
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I have numerous favorites so it’s hard to choose but the books I tend to re-read always leave me wanting to know more. I absolutely love the book the five people you meet in heaven. It’s a novel written by Mitch Albom’s, who also wrote Tuesday’s with Morrie which was also another favorite of mine. But back to the five people you meet in heaven. It’s written about an eighty-three year old man named Eddie, who had died. But, while he was alive he was the head maintenance person at Ruby Point Amusement Park. What I loved about this book was that right away at the beginning it catches your attention and kind of pulls your heart strings a bit because he dies. And its Mitch does a good job at describing Eddie’s final moments, his funeral, and then he takes it the first couple of days afterwards when his friends are cleaning out his apartment. He encounters flash backs through his birthdays. And I would say about the last quarter of the book Mitch starts in with the five people from his life that had been waiting for Eddie in heaven. Each one of the five people has a secret to tell, and story to share and a lesson to reveal. And through all of this Eddie comes to understand the meaning of his own life. The first five people you meet in heaven is a very bitter-sweet novel. I was hard for me to read it without crying because I understood he was old but dying is always a sad event just because it’s always so hard to see any life go. But also really made me wonder if maybe the afterlife, if there is one… Is it anything like that, I can’t help but want to believe that there is something more but it would be so amazing to be reunited with the ones we loved.
Wow, that does sound like a good book. My mom is a big fan of Mitch Albom and loved his Tuesday's with Morrie book. I have wanted to read that one for a while, but time just hasn't permitted. Now, I have to add this one to the list as well. Who knows if I'll ever read ALL of the books that I want, but hey! it's sure nice to plan anyways!
This weeks blog really made me think. It's sad by I have not read for "enjoyment" for years. I have been in school and reading text books for the last 3 years. Any other readings have been for personal development such as prayer books etc. So I have not been able to open a book outside of this. But, I used to love to read for enjoyment. The last author I read was Dee Henderson. She is a christian author who writes a type of mystery, action etc style of books. The characters hook you in. There are several books in her series. They all surround a family with each book focusing on a different member. They are a unique type of family. They were raised together in an orphanage and choose each other as brothers and sisters. Each member became successful. One is a US marshall, one a fireman, etc. I am writing this from memory due to my books are packed in storge with my space confinements. Titles include "The Witness which is about a police chief falling in love with a witness to a murder, The Protector is about Jack O'Malley the fireman, The Negotiator is the first book and interduces Kate Omalley, The Guardian is about Us Marshalls, The Tuuth Seeker is about Lisa O'Malley murder and crime scenes, The Rescuer is about Steven the paramedic, The Healer is about Rachel O'Malley the physician, I believe it is The O'Malley Series. I remember when I started one of these books I didn't want to put them down. I would read for hours and hours until I finished the book. Wow, this reminds me of relaxing times. I think I'll have to pull them out again. Has anyone else read this series?
My favorite novels of all time are actually a three books in an Irish love/fairytale series written by Nora Roberts. It sounds a little silly I am sure, for a 21 year old to enjoy reading about romance and fairies but the books are very uplifting. In the first novel, Jewels of the Sun, a recently divorced American professor goes on a journey to her Grandmother’s native land of Ireland. There she stays in a family cottage and begins to write a new kind of novel; Irish Mythology. She is told of a story involving a fairy prince who was in love with a mortal woman. The prince three times offered this woman jewels beyond her wildest dreams if she would only come to live with him in the fairy world for eternity: diamonds, pearls, and sapphires. Because he never speaks of love and only jewels, she offers her hand to a fisherman. Together they had children and she was with him until she died. When the prince found out that his only love had rather died than live an eternal life with him, he became furious and cast a spell on them where they cannot be together until 3 couples fall in love from a chosen family. The American woman is offered a diamond by an Irish man who has fallen for her. The same happens here where they cannot be happy until love is mentioned. In the second book, the Irish man’s brother is the one who falls in love, and in the third, their little sister. At the end of the series, the spell between the fairy prince and his mortal woman is broken and they are seen galloping off into the night together. I can’t explain in depth as to why I love these books. My grandfather is very Irish so I suppose that is one connection I have with the love for fairy tales. They basically make me happy. I am a sucker for love.
in response to Heidi
Hello Heidi!!! I know what you mean when it comes to having time to read for "pleasure." It's been a good while since I've read just for fun as well - textbooks... gotta' love them. :) Anyway, my older sister loves Dee Henderson's books. Several years ago she worked at a Christian book stors, so she always enjoyed sampling out all of the books - of those books, she started reading Dee Henderson. In fact, I seem to recall starting one of her books myself. I think the book was called the Negotiator or something like that. I don't know... maybe I'm thinking of something else. Anyway, yes, her books always sounded very interesting and I thougth it was cool how she would intersperse morals/values into her books as well. That's pretty cool.
Well i just graduated from high school last year so ALL of my reading the past years consisted fo textbooks and the stories in them. My mom reads ALOT, so she has tons of books. One day i decided to grab a book from her collection and read it just to see if it was good. The book was called Flowers In the Attic, by V.C. Andrews. After reading the first couple chapters i really started to get into it. The series is about a brother and sister who, at an early age, are forced to move in with their asstrainged grandmother after their fathers death, only the grandmother locks them in an attic with their two younger siblings..thats a very simplified summary but i dont know how elso to explain it. By the end i was hooked! It was the first book in a series, so i couldnt wait to get the second, Petals On the Wind, which was even better than the first! I never thought i could enjoy a book like this but i did. Now i often read other random books, but every so often i go back to that series and read them over again!
Wow! I'm not sure I can pick a single favorite book, but I will do my best. For me, probably one of the books that I've liked the most is Tyborne, a historical fiction about the Reformation in England. This book was written by Mother Mary Magdalen Taylor. I guess what I liked the best about this book was the historical significance of it. Being historical FICTION, this book was written in an easy to read way that captivates me and always draws me in. Oftentimes, non-fiction reading can be incredibly trying... at least for me. It's not that I'm not interested, but the writing style is usually so "bazar" that it takes forever to make any progress and I virtually get a headache. The very fact that the happenings in the book actually happened to real people amaze me as well. SO being written like a fiction was a huge plus for me! Also, whenever I read this book, I always feel as if I've learned or come away with something new. I believe I've developed a greater appreciation for what men and women, clergy and laymen suffered at that time in history. These people were willing to give theit EVERYTHING for their beliefs... that concept is so foreign in today's society. Nonetheless, I believe their courage is worth acknowledging and defintiely worth emulating.
My favorite novel may be one that you all know, Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt. It’s also a movie, but very different. It’s a story about a family that lives forever because of some spring water that they drank long ago from a huge tree with a T marked in it( Tuck the father did that). The water makes them stay the same age they were when they drank it forever!
But living forever would be such an awful thing which is exactly what the family thinks. It’s a family with a Mom and Dad, who are Mae and Tuck, they have two sons one who looks seventeen but is actually hundred and four and another who is a little older, they are Jesse and Miles.
Jesse and Miles travel around and try to get money by doing different things in different towns. But they always go home in August( which is when this story takes place). Mae and Tuck do woodworking and knitting, they sell their work where it can be. Because they need to keep moving every twenty years because they don’t want people getting suspicious.
When this story begins, Jesse and Miles come home and planned to meet Mae by the spring tree in the wood across from the Foster home. There a Girl named Winnie decides to go into the wood and finds Jesse sitting by the tree. She sees him drinking some of the spring water. He sees her watching and tells her to “,come out.” They find each other absolutely beautiful even though Winnie is only ten.
Winnie want a drink of the water but Jesse says “, No.” Soon Miles and Mae come along with a horse. They take Winnie and cover the spring with pebbles.
They took Winnie to their house to explain why she shouldn’t drink the water and why she can’t tell anyone their secret.
But a man only out for the wood overhears them, he takes the horse, and goes to the Foster’s house and says “, I’ll give you Winnie you give me the wood.” The Foster’s agree. This man gets the constable and some of his men to go to the house where Winnie is.
I won’t tell you anymore except the family ends up moving again and Jesse is broken hearted.
mschimek i love stories like that they are really intersting fariy tales are the best way to get away from our own world and find ourselves in another. i would love to read those books so i'm going to have to look around and see if i can fins them.
This assignment was hard for me. I don't read for enjoyment. I read my homework assignments and that is it. So I had to go back to high school when they made us read books to find one that I liked. I liked Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. It is written about two brothers that walk from town to town looking for work. The younger brother is mentally challenged and the older one takes care of him. They find work at a farm, where they take them in and give them a roof over there head with the other farm laborers. The younger brother is a really big man and he doesn't know his own strength. He puts mice in his pocket for pets but pets to hard and kills them. His bosses wife shows him kittens and he pets it to hard and kills it. The bosses wife trys to take advantage of him and he pushes her so hard he breaks her neck and they find her in the barn dead. When they realize who is responsible he is gone. The older brother goes to there secret spot and finds him there finding. Finally they have a good thing going with this farming family so when the brother walks away he kills his brother. That is the end of the book. I was so shocked that the brother killed his other brother in the end but the author makes it seem like the burden is now gone for the older brother and he can continue working for the farmer because of what he did to his brother. It is a very sad story but good. I just wish the ending was different. Another book I faintly remember was Summer of the Monkeys where the boy goes to the wood to see the monkey all the time. I remember liking that book too. A lot of the books we read in school had sad ending but now I realize they were books that showed us the hard truth of life. I would suggest the book of Mice and Men to anyone that asked me about it though.
In response to Heidi
I too haven't read in a long time. I used to read mystery books in high school I liked R.L.Stein. I used to read all those books in school for points, I had to have so many points by the end of the semester to pass with an A.
In response to Bean
I also have read a lot of V.C. Andrew's books. I think I read the 3rd out of the Dollanganger series, "If there be Thorns." I also really liked the Orphan series as well. The cool thing about Andrews is the way she captures her readers. I first discovered her back in 9th grade. I was really bored with school so I started reading durring my classes (oops :)). For someone to write so well that I want to keep reading it every chance I get is pretty amazing!
in response to natalie
Hey! I loved that movie. I saw it a couple years ago, but I really enjoyed it. Actually, I kinda' thought it was rather sad... for an ending. Anyway, my sister read the book too, but didn't really like it. Of course, she DID see the movie first, so that probably has effected the way that she viewed the book.
Reading mckenzieb's I was thrilled as these books by Mitch Albom's series are the best. He also started a book before he died about himself that he didn't get to finish so it was done by a best friend. I have them all and find them very inspiring to read and reread, his own was the best if you ever have a chance to read it it is well worth the time. He writes about excepting death with such respect and encouragement to not to be afraid. I really do enjoy this type of true story.
In chosing a favorite author and book I am not really sure about what I liked best. I read Sidney Sheldon, Danielle Steel, Nora Roberts, Nathan Jorgenson, and they all seem really good. I did enjoy a a book over the christmas holiday that I read called Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult. It was very suspenseful with good drama. Jodi Picoult writes several books and I have read many of them but this one was different. It brings in the Amish culture, a baby found dead, breaking the law by someone in the Amish community and how to save a young girls life. The young girl was very mature but had been allowed out of her surrounding and found life attractive on the otherside of life as they knew it to be possible. Young people are able to seek to see if they want a life as amish for ever or not and some chose to leave. The families will not except they back if they leave. All of it was very good reading and made you feel a life of a different culture which is very educational. Good read and an author that has you coming back for more.
Renee Rustad thanks I'll keep that in mind do you happen to know the title of the book? I liked to read it if I can find it.
I am glad that I wasnt the only one that really had to think for this weeks assignment. It has been probaly at least 4 years since i read a book of enjoyment. My favorite author has always been James Patterson. Its really hard to pick just one of his books as a favorite. He writes detective stories and i guess my favorite series of his would be the Alex Cross series. Alex cross is the main detective and called out for the high priorty cases. Pattersons books to me are page turners. I remember when i would hate to have to stop reading them as you just wanted to keep reading in suspense of what is going to happen next. One of my favorites is Along came a Spider which is now movie as well but the book so so much better. The book is about alex being called out for a case which involved 2 wealthy kids being kidnapped by their teacher. To me all of Pattersons books are the best. And would read them all over again that is once i have the free time to do it.
Response to Natalie
I have never heard of the book or the movie. It sounds really good i will have to check out the movie one of these days.
I have always been a fan of C.S. Lewis since I was a little girl. I used to (thanks to having more time then)get lost in the series of books he wrote. My all time favorite was THE LION THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE. As a little girl, I was able to read about this vast land with animals that could speak, along with all the adventurous journeys the characters embarked in. It was truly a story that tuned my imagination as I read.
It was so exciting to recently see the movie that was created based on C. S. Lewis' story, THE LION THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE. Now, watching the film, I can find new exciting meanings and implications behind the story line.
Mckenzie,
I've read the book, THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN. It was such a great story, yet an emotional rollercoaster as well.
I love to read, and it actually takes me to a place in which I can let all of my worries of everyday life escape my mind. For many years I have read Danielle Steel’s books, and I can say that there is not a one that I haven’t loved. If I had to pick my favorite, I would choose one that I have read rather recently. “Miracle”. I think that the title sums it up perfectly, and this novel shows how sometimes when you think that life can’t get any worse, a true miracle happens. I enjoy D.S. books because they are so intense. When you think that the drama cannot get any thicker, another tragedy occurs, but usually by the end of the book, you are seeing the good in all people and their situations!
In resonse to heidi:
It is so much fun, and truly relaxing if you can make the time to read for pleasure! It's worth it!!
I would have to admit that I don’t read much for enjoyment. I don’t really have too much time to do it and with reading so much for school, I don’t really feel like it either. There are a couple of books that I love and own myself, and that I would read over and over again. My favorite book of all time is A Child Called It by Dave Pelzer. This novel is the first of a set of novels, the second being The Lost Boy, and the third being A Man Named Dave. I first read A Child Called It when I was in high school. I was very popular and I sat on a waiting list for a long time. Well it was worth the wait, it is a very good novel. I like this novel so much because it tells the life a real boy who went through some very troubling, and horrible times growing up. I usually would not like hearing about children getting abused and living in pure HELL but this novel really drew my attention when I started reading it. The whole novel talks about a young boy named Dave who grew up with an alcoholic mother who would abuse, and neglect him all the time. He never had a normal childhood, and feared for his life every day. He had two brothers and a father that was in the picture but no one did anything about the treatment that he was being given. Dave would not just get abused and neglected he got very hurt many times. His mother would make him do all the chores and work, and in return not feed him and abuse him if he didn’t do them right and fast enough. She would do things like place his hand on a hot stove, smack him around, and even stab him. Dave was also never able to eat, and had to live and sleep in the basement on an old army cot. Dave did have one person who was trying to help him and that was the school nurse, but it didn’t help. Like I said before, this is a really good novel and hooks you into reading it right away.
In response to McKenzieB I also enjoy novel written by Mitch Albom. I really enjoy the novel Tuesday With Morrie. This is a book that got my attention right away and kept me reading. I have never read Five People You Meet in Heaven, but I am very interested to.
It seems forever since I have had the chance to read a book for my luxury; but now that I have to choose I will pick the novel “Wicked- the life and times of the wicked witch of the west” by Gregory Magurie. As most of you know the wicked witch of the west is one of the most known villains of all time. Her character is from the classic motion picture Wizard of OZ. There are many stories and books who share the side of the villain, but Mr. Magurie does it different. I found it to be more appealing to the older audience, and it took me by surprise. Unlike most novels, who share the other side, it shares the life of the Wicked Witch of the west, Elphaba. The classic tale of “the Wizard of OZ” is one of my all time favorite movies, but this book made me look at OZ in a whole new way. In so many ways it shares the hardships of what many of us face today. The harsh judgment of being different and considered an outcast, is something that most can relate to. In so many ways I found Elphaba to be smart, witty and most of all misunderstood. I believe that this book really tells the truth behind what is good and what is evil.
in response to heidi mccormick. I too feel like it has been forever since i had the chance to read for fun. i graduate from the RN program this may,last year i graduated in may with my LPN- it has also been 3 years in school for me. If i could have written about any healthcare problem, this would have been a breeze. Anyway, I found your seris of book by Dee Henderson to be intresting, especially about the one called the " witness". I hope that after graduation i find my passion to read for fun again, and maybe i will up this book.
Response to everyone, I see a commonality in students. Those of us who loved to read for enjoyment have had to put off our pursuits during higher education. When I had to stop and think about it I realized how much I loved to read and how much I have missed by not reading. The amount of text and school work of a college student puts a taxing amount on the eyes and brain. When I have had a few minutes to myself I have found that I put in a mindless movie and zone, not having to work for my entertainment. I think I will resolve to pick up a good book again and read, even if only for a few minutes several times a week. Hopefully I won't get too involved in the story and neglect my studies. If so I'll blame it on this class!!! LOL Heidi
Well I am not sure if I can actually pick a favorite book that is a hard decision. I guess if I had to pick a favorite right now I would say “Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince” by J. K. Rowling. It is the most recent book that I have read. It is a very interesting book. My friends that I have talked to about this book said that it is their favorite out of the Harry Potter books. I would have to agree. I have not finished the last one yet though. This book has a lot of action in it. I did not want to put it down. I love books that I can pick up and read for hours and it does not seem like I have been reading for a long time at all. I do not want to say too much about this book for those who like to watch the movies. I know I really enjoy the movies. Let me tell you this movie is going to be action packed. In this Harry is taught a lot about how everything came to be with “you know who”. He gets lessons taught to him privately by a very wise wizard not going to say who which I am sure some of you can guess. There is a lot of information that comes out in this one. I feel that you learn more about each character with each new book which I am sure how it is supposed to work. The only other thing that I will tell you about this one is that someone important gets killed. I would have to say that what makes this my favorite is all of the action that is going on in the book and it just makes you want to read the next one.
Heidi McCormick-your post on resolving to read more instead of easier forms of entertainment struck a chord with me. Like most of the other readers, I haven't read for the fun of it for quite some time. And I miss it. This weeks assignment brought that back to the forefront for me, and I think it's time to do some reading. There is such a difference in reading a book and using my imagination to put the "movie" together in my head compared to watching someone else's idea on how it happened. How many times have you been dissappointed by watching a movie that was made from a book you enjoyed? Sometimes it works out, but usually, the book is better! Read on!
Dan Juetten
First I have to clear the dust, and dig back into the past. Before college, work, kids, etc. etc. to a time when I was able to sit down with a book and read for the fun of it! I really can’t blame my lack of reading on any of those things, it comes down to priorities, and I think I have pushed too many of my hobbies and interests to the side as I have journeyed through life.
One book series that comes quickly to mind is the Zion Chronicles by Bodie & Brock Theone. It is a fictional series based on the war in Jerusalem in 1947 as Israel fought for independence. The main character, Ellie Warne, is an American journalist that is photographing the fighting. I was really caught up by the story as I have always enjoyed Jewish history. It is a very easy series to read and become involved in the many relationships and narratives taking place. It felt like a behind the scenes look at what took place, the struggles and victories of those involved. The aviation in the books caught my attention as airplane fuel flows in my blood. I’d really like to read them again for the 3rd or 4th time!
Some of the other authors I would like to read more of are C.S. Lewis and Louis L’Amour.
Dan Juetten
I don't get a chance to read a lot. The last 10 books I've read have been for school but when I was younger I used to like to read a lot. I used to go camping up by Cascade Falls and around Lake Superior with my aunt and my cousin. I was the youngest but she always used to bring Harry Potter books. On the way up there and every night we curled up in our sleeping bags and we would all take turns reading. I guess J.K. Rowling's books caught our attention because we were all a little witchy, especially my aunt and I so we read her books to feel that magic inside ourselves. The thing I like about J.K. Rowling is that her books aren't that "kidish." A lot of her vocabulary is very expanded and she tries to work in more adult understandings about life. Her characters feel like they come to life and her chapters all end with a great hanger so you want to keep reading. I haven't read the last 2 books but I would like to this summer. I love when I read a book and I remember a few months later like it was a movie. A lot of the Harry Potter series I get mixed up with the movies but that's a good thing in my eyes. If Rowling is good enough to make it come to life in my head then it's good enough for me. :)
I also have the same situation as most of you. Reading for enjoyment has been put on the back burner while classes and studying take precedence. I like to read in the summer at our lake when we are camping, that is when I have time to sit at the beach or on the deck to read.
I’m not sure I can pin down one certain book that is my favorite. However, the author Sue Monk Kidd did come to mind. I have read a few of her books and really enjoy the stories she has to tell. The first one I read was “The Secret Life of Bees”. The setting is 1964 in South Carolina. It is about a young girl, Lily, who lives with her father who is abusive. Her mother was killed when she was four. The only mother figure she has ever known is Rosealeen, who is a black woman, who works on her fathers peach farm. The story is about Lily trying to find out the truth about her mother’s death. She and Rosealeen escape from the abuse and blame that her father has burdened her with for years. In their journey , they meet up with three black beekeeping sisters. During the stay there she learns the real truth about her mother and her past and learns a whole lot about her self as well. It’s a great book!!
Another book that I have enjoyed by Sue Monk Kidd is “ The Mermaid Chair”. There are several more that I would like to read, hopefully I can read them this summer as I will not be taking any summer classes!! :)
in response to Renee Rustad~
I also have enjoyed books from the various authors you have mentioned. There is one book though that I have been wanting to read by Jodi Picoult, "My sisters Keeper". I have had it for awhile and just have not had the time to sit down and read it. When I start a book it's hard for me to put it down until I'm done with it.
Just a comment about what Dan had mentioned about movies made from books. I totally agree that the movies are generally never as good as the books are!! It seems that the books have more detail and while reading the book I feel like I'm part of the story more so than a movie.
I love to read books it is a great relaxer and past time thing for people to do! My favorite book is the kite runner I have never seen the moviee of it though I agree that movies ruin books and I dont want to do that to this one. It is about a little boys struggles growing up in the middle east and his journey through being a young man to adulthood. It is just amazing to me to think how some of those issues could be going on over there and some of the struggles that people go through that I wouldnt even imagine.
I really beleive that all of you should take sometime off and read a book. It is just relaxing to get your mind off of everyday life and see where your imagination can run.
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