Sunday, November 16, 2008

Book meme (or An Impossible Task)

“There is one thing on which we are agreed: There are too many books in the world to read in a single lifetime; you have to draw the line somewhere.” – The Thirteenth Tale, Diane Setterfield

Books as torture? I don’t think so, but this meme is and it involves books. How do you narrow down 4 books to recommend to people in the following categories? If you’re the kind of person whose mother used to say would read a gum wrapper over and over and over if that’s all she could get her hands on, recommending only 4 books is nigh on impossible, especially in no more than 30 words. But, I’ll give it a shot.

Fiction – Gosh, where to begin? I’m tempted to choose Tale of Two Cities or Pride and Prejudice because they’re my two favorite books of all time. But let’s be honest, if you haven’t already read them, you probably wouldn’t just on my recommendation.

  • The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield- It’s very mysterious. I couldn’t even fathom the answer to the mystery until it was revealed. Jane Eyre is a theme throughout and it kind of reminds me of it.

Autobiography – I would choose The Color of Water by James McBride, but my friend Diane chose that one. I read a biography of Marie Curie which was pretty good, but my choice is:

  • Change Me Into Zeus’s Daughter by Barbara Robinette Moss – A young woman growing up impoverished in the South, her face malformed due to poor nutrition and lack of medical care, wishes to look like Zeus’s daughter Aphrodite.

Non-Fiction – This one is easy.

  • Manhunt The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer by James L. Swanson – A fascinating, detailed, and action-packed story of the plot to kill Lincoln, Johnson, and Seward and the manhunt that took place afterwards.

Any Genre – An oldie, but a goodie. I’ve read it about 5 (or more) times. Forget the movie, the book is so much better.

  • The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger – He is a master storyteller. It’s totally engrossing and compelling. Although you know what happens, you can’t help but hope it ends differently.

5 comments:

C-Bone said...

An award? For us?!

Diane said...

Hey... I'm reading The Thirteenth Tale now! I think it's weird how we often wind up with the same books, even though your taste runs much deeper than mine. Maybe I'm smarter than I think. Nah. That's not it.

I debated on Perfect Storm, too, but I didn't want to admit that I only read it because the man is HOT. Oh. I just admitted that, didn't I. Oops.

Zuzana said...

I love this tag, as I love to hear about books. I will try to post my later this week, even though I seem to be almost a non-reader in comparison to all of you;)

Heather said...

I might need to read these. I'm embarassed to say I haven't read anything on your list! Although, my reading has been pretty slack lately. I'm ashamed. I'm supposed to do this post later and it scares me!!! I'm going to give it my best shot though!!

Jenners said...

Hello --Diane sent me to you after she visited a blog I just started on books and reading (http://findyournextbookhere.blogspot.com/).
I'd love if you could check it out and hopefully contribute in some way as you sound like a compulsive reader like myself. At the risk of sounding like a complete weirdo, I've even read the labels on the deodorizing spray that was in the bathroom at my former workplace. I'd rather read that when "doing my business" than just sit there with nothing to do. I hope this isn't coming off completely insane but I did totally relate to your gum wrapper comment.

Loved "The Perfect Storm" as well, and I hope to check out some of the other books you listed. Thanks!