Some of you may know this about me, but I enjoy a good read now and then. I love reading up on random shit on the inter-webs and when a topic interests me, I write it down on a "Topics To Explore" list I have going. Those of you who lived with me or went to school with me may also know that in Northfield in the spring, there is always a book fair at the ice arena. It's called the Jesse James Book Raid and it lasts three days. The first day its like $5 for a box of books. The Second day it gets cheaper and then on the last day after 1pm, whatever is left... IS FREE.
Me being the thrifty Scandinavian I am, have patronized this event every year while in Northfield and have usually filled up several boxes of books. They add more than 100 pounds to my car and KILL my gas mileage on my way back to Chicagoland, but it is so worth it. I grab old travel books that just look cool, recent books (got a few Bob Woodward ones last year), seminal historical works (The Federalist Papers, The Jungle, Why We can't Wait, etc.) Obviously, I haven't read even a portion of the stacks and stacks of boxes of books that - because both of my parents are moving to new apartments or condos - are sitting in storage units currently. Eventually, I hope to put them in a library/study/office of sorts, but I guess that presumes I have a job/house that a space like that goes with.
So, this spring, one of the things I want to do is ask some of my favorite professors (and those I never took, but appreciate their opinion or insight) what their favorite books are. But actually no. I want to ask them for a list of books they think every Carleton Grad should read. Or maybe not even that. Maybe what I really want to ask is what books have been transformative for them? Which have shaped their worldviews and impacted the way they act in life?
As I was thinking about that, however, I realized I don't know if I can answer those questions myself. I consider myself fairly well-read, but I have trouble reading for pleasure as much as I wish I could and there a ton of books that I feel like I should re-read because I read them when I was in 9th grade and I think I would really like/understand them more now.
I'm going to think about these questions over the next few weeks and hopefully get back to the blog and post my lists. I encourage you all to do the same. I love hearing what people enjoy reading and I love getting book/short story recommendations. Similar to music recommendations, when someone makes a connection ("Wow, I think Elliot would really like this song..."), I believe that it demonstrates a strong connection in two people's interests and friendship. For example, I haven't a clue what Free-ho would enjoy reading (no offense, Free-Ho), but I have read articles on the internet and sent them to Toto before.
So... what's your fav/most recommended/most transformative books?
MOLSON OUT.
I'm just going to list some of my favorite books. They are all novels. None of them are classics like "the Great Gatsby" or "A Farewell to Arms" but they are still fun to read. And that's what's important right? In no particular order:
ReplyDelete1) "Bonfire of the Vanities" by Tom Wolfe
2) "Jurassic Park" (I really like Michael Crichton actually..RIP)
3) "I am Charlotte Simmons" by Tom Wolfe
4) "Name of the Wind" and "Wise Man's Fear" by Patrick Rothfuss (2 books in a trilogy. 3rd hasn't come out yet).
5) "Camel Club" and its sequels by David Baldacci
Except for Jurassic Park, those are all books I've read quite recently. I really only started reading for pleasure since I graduated.
Books (1), (3), and (4) I would recommend the most.
Well, I'm a Russian major partly because *gasp* I have a thing for Russian lit, so my list of favorite books is pretty dominated by the Russians. All four of these reach heights of literature that the Western world rarely achieves.
ReplyDelete1. "The Master and Margarita" by Mikhail Bulgakov
2. "Crime and Punishment" and "The Brothers Karamazov" by Dostoevsky
3. "Dead Souls" by Gogol
4. "Moscow to the End of the Line" by Venedict Yerofeyev
Following those three, it becomes obvious what a sci-fi nerd I am:
5. "Anathem" by Neal Stephenson
6. "The Man in the High Castle" by Philip K. Dick
7. "The Sirens of Titan" by Kurt Vonnegut
8. "The Foundation Trilogy" by Isaac Asimov
I think all of you sciency/philosophy types would really enjoy Anathem, it's a long one but absolutely worth the read. It's the only sci-fi novel I've read that attempts to merge epistemological debates with the ramifications of quantum mechanics, i.e. parallel universes and the like. The rest of the novels I listed speak for themselves.
I recently read "The Most Human Human" because I saw the author on The Daily Show and I really enjoyed it. Lots of cool ideas about how humans interact with computers and what computers tell us about what it means to be human.
As you can see, BK and I are completely different readers. I wouldn't call what I read "literature" as much as straight up entertainment.
ReplyDeleteWorld War Z. It's about the zombie apocalypse.
ReplyDeleteI generally don't read books more than once even though I tend to forget most of the salient details, so it would probably be worthwhile to do. I also haven't done a whole lot of reading for pleasure since high school. So basically I don't think I can come up with a top 5 most transformational or even favorite books, but I came up with a few that I remember liking quite a bit:
ReplyDeleteThe Giver - Lois Lowry: I was pretty young when I read this, so I'm pretty sure I didn't get all of the themes, but I remember enjoying it and I still remember the ending.
Slaughterhouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut: One of the more unique writers you'll ever read. Not everyone will like him, but everyone ought to read at least one of his novels.
Catch-22 - Joseph Heller: Maybe the funniest book I've ever read, at the same time one of the most poignant.
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee: Probably my favorite assigned reading in high school.
I've also read a lot of sci-fi/dystopian stuff but I don't really know how I'd rank it
BK, I tried reading Crime and Punishment one summer in high school. I've heard the ending is really good, and it dealt with a lot of interesting ideas, but I just couldn't get through it.
ReplyDeleteActually Ted was the one that recommended I read Slaughterhouse Five. He is indeed "one of the more unique writers."
ReplyDeleteGood point on "To Kill a Mockingbird." Another assigned reading I liked was "the Life of Pi." I reread that one about a year ago and thought it was great.
The middle of Crime and Punishment is the hardest to get through, all of his inner struggles with guilt draw on. But the end is fantastic. You should try again, or make a go at The Brothers Karamazov. I know that my high school self would have struggled with Crime and Punishment too.
ReplyDeleteHave either of you read any Vonnegut besides Slaughterhouse Five? I really enjoyed The Sirens of Titan, Cat's Cradle, and Breakfast of Champions. His short stories are pretty good too, Harrison Bergeron is the best known of them, I think.
Breakfast of Champions was the first one I read actually. I think I read at least one other one too, but I don't remember which one. I'm sure I'll read one or two more at some point.
ReplyDelete