Part II in a series. You can check out the first five book by clicking on this link right here.The funniest thing coming out of these posts is just how much I love books. Sifting through the list, picking the books to write about, and then casting my mind back to the things that I loved, that moved me - sometimes when all you do is read book after book after book, you forget how nice it is to go back and just remember. I'm still reading new stuff (in fact I have two reviews ready to go this week), but I'm just saying: the act of sitting my chair and thinking back to those books and in many instances those circumstances is nice...damn nice.
So, without further ado, here's Books 6-10:
6. Truman Capote - In Cold Blood: No film adaptation has come close to capturing how incredible this account of the Kansas slayings of the Clutter family in 1959 is. A singular work of narrative nonfiction, this changed the face of investigative writing forever. Even more incredible when you consider it's from the same guy who wrote Breakfast at Tiffany's.
7. Don DeLillo - White Noise: An "airborne toxic event" hits a small town in Middle America, but that's just the easy explanation for the symptoms of technology and media buzz that is slowly eroding away the secrets and feelings that work to both reinforce and tear down our relationships with one another. It's hard to pin down this novel in easy synopsis, but by all measures a modern classic.
8. Mark Dunn - Ella Minnow Pea: I unabashedly love this book. Ella fights the tyranny of her small island as, slowly, letters begin to be banned from use. As the novel progresses, Dunn does away with each of the letters as they are banned, and you're left with both a wonderful ode to words and a defense of our freedom of expression.
9. Harlan Ellision - Deathbird Stories: This is the book that completely flipped my lid in college. A collection of short stories about the new Gods we create out of our desperation and need, it only appears to be science fiction. "The Whimper of Whipped Dogs" roars at a nation living by the credo of "don't get involved" and the title story forces you to re-evaluate your beliefs in everything. But that's just me.
10. John Irving - A Prayer for Owen Meany: This is one of the novels where the "what" of the novel is entwined with the circumstances around my reading it: sitting in a suite in Las Vegas (long story how we wound up in a suite), my sick wife in the bedroom and me huddled on the couch, emotionally exhausted by the story and the vacation we were taking. Childhood, faith, war, friendship, this book covers everything and evokes so much I can never do it justice. One of my all-time favorite novels, I'll leave with the tag on the cover: "Owen Meany, the only child of a new Hampshire granite quarrier, believes he is God's instrument; he is."There you go. In the last post one of our regulars (oh, let's just say it: K.A. Laity, who lives near my favorite bar!) bemoaned the lack of 19th century books in the series. So to put a smile her face we'll conclude the series with a bonus post of all pre-1900 Shelf of fame books!
In the meantime...Suppose, just suppose, that you had a Shelf of Fame. What would be on it?
8 comments:
I don't know any of these, I love the variety though.
I love green tea!
=D
I know it's not wholly relevant to the reviewness, but I felt the need to assure you that you're not the only heretic around =)
green tea? s'rsly, what is with everyone!
Hurrah!! Squeaky wheel, etc. pays off.
In Cold Blood: what a masterful book. Extraordinary, spawned a whole new genre. Effective and at the time, unique. Powerful writing.
I have never been able to finish a DeLillo book.
While I kind of 'got over' Irving's quirks, I have to say I really enjoyed Owen Meany despite the quirks. I think that the superb structure has a lot to do with that. It's like telling the audience you're going to do something impossible, they chuckle, roll their eyes, know it's a trick and yet, when he pulls it off, it's really breath-taking.
And by the by, at Mahar's last night (the best bar in the world) enjoying some fine brews ;-)
Must dash, but among my shelf's contents: Beowulf, Njal's Saga, Canterbury Tales, Collected Marlowe, Collected Shakespeare, Collected Donne, Orinooko, School for Scandal, The Complete Works of William Blake, The Mysteries of Udolpho, The Monk, The Complete Jane Austen, The Complete Elizabeth Gaskell (yes, I know I'm cheating), Jane Eyre...
Oh, gotta go.
MangaCat - glad to know I'm not the only heathen around these parts!
And I would definitely check out Ella Minnow Pea - the word "delightful" was made for this book!
K.A. Laity:
In Cold Blood - Agreed (obviously)!
Irving - his later stuff doesn't thrill me that much, but the trifecta of Owen Meany/Hotel new Hampshire/World According to Garp are masterful!
DeLillo - Honestly, White Noise is the only DeLillo I loved - the rest I can take or leave.
Mahar's - sigh...I really have to stop by there my next trip upstate. Give Lori my best, signed Member #9876
Finally, I think you'll definitely see some cross-over in my pre-1900 list - the shelves of Shakespeare editions and criticisms will attest to that (incindentally, I'm a Arden man for most of my reading, though back in the college day it was all about the Riverside edition)! Oh, and I have a feeling Blake and Austen will probably creep up in there too!
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