ALL TIME FAVORITE BOOKS
Every now and then I come across a passage out of a book I'm reading and I'm captivated with the message, the way it is written, and how it hits me where I live. The following quote from The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield is an example of what I'm talking about.
There is something about words. In expert hands, maniputated deftly, they take you prisoner. Wind themselves around your limbs like spider silk, and you are so enthralled you cannot move, they pierce your skin, enter your blood, numb your thoughts. Inside you they work their magic.
This one paragraph describes how I feel so many times when I'm reading the Scriptures, for instance. The words indeed "work their magic" in me as I ponder what I've just read. And what better hands could the words be manipulated by than the Spirit of God? No wonder the Bible is still the #1 bestseller!
But I also feel this way when I read an excellent novel. I get so caught up in reading it that I think about it while I go about my business during the day and when I'm falling asleep at night. Sometimes I even dream about certain aspects of the book.
If I'm really taken with the author, I will try to get all the books he/she has written and read them all. And these I don't rush through so I can savor the experience for as long as possible. I'm doing that very thing now with James Herriot, the Yorkshire vet who wrote hilariously about his adventures treating animals. I recently ordered five of his books and started at the beginning (All Creatures Great and Small). I'm taking my time going through it so I can admire and appreciate his "way with words." He was a genius at using just enough exaggeration of an incident to make it really funny.
I think it would be interesting to hear from readers about what books have given you the most enjoyment over the years. Like we did with movies. And it doesn't have to be just fiction.
I'll go first: my favorite all time book is Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, which I read the first time in 1960 when I was 21.
Let's see how you do with this assignment!!
4 comments:
I'll go first and say that "Atlas Shrugged" certainly influenced my life more than any other fiction book. Another all time favorite is "And Ladies of the Club." (I can't figure out how to underline or bold, so quotes are the best I can do.)
I've been thinking about this and have decided "avorite" to me means those books I will reread...so based on that my favs are Watchers by Dean Koontz and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.
well what would one of my posts be without a list - I'll try to do this spur of the moment.
GREAT books I've read in the last couple of years:
1. The Book Thief (Zusak). Words cannot describe how great this book is. I have recommended it to around 20 folks and every one without exception has thought it was a GREAT book, not just a good one.
2. Pillars of the Earth (Follet) - Momma Shack says she does not like any story set in the middle ages because "it's too dirty." Well, whoop-de-doo. So sorry to soil your mind, Mom. (JK). If you can handle the 'dirt' of life in the 1100s, then this is 1000 pages of sheer bliss - and it's sequel (World Without End) is excellent too, although Follet's church bashing comes out a little more in the sequel.
3. Epic (Kostick) GREAT YA book about a futuristic society that places social status (and survival, in a way) on performance in a game. Very, good story.
4. Eity of Ember - probably would have been a new name to all, but now that it's going to be a movie (already?), the rest of the world will discover it. It's a great story - again about a future society after some wipe-out event. YA category.
5. I'll close with perhaps my favorite series of all time - the Circle Trilogy (Black, Red, White) by Ted Dekker. Ash already knows how great Dekker can be (but not always). This is truly what great reading is all about.
Okay, that's CITY of Ember . . .
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