Sunday, November 12, 2006

Books, books, books

I was inspired by Steve to write this post. Books are something I've always enjoyed and never minded talking about. My hope is if I write about them in this pre-formatted list form, then I will somehow seem like less of a nerd and people will think it's cool. (That is the point of these things, right?)

A book that didn't change my life: The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. Perhaps my expectations were too high, or my motivation was too low. I guarantee you it changed Warren's life though.

A book I’ve read more than once: My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok. One of my all-time favorites. It gets better every time I read it.

A book I would take with me if I were stuck on a desert island: SAS Survival Handbook: How to Survive in the Wild, in Any Climate, on Land or at Sea by John Wiseman. I've never read it, but I'm thinking a desert island would be the prime place to start.

A book that made me laugh: Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris. If you've never read Sedaris, you've been missing out. He's genuinely funny, unlike a bunch of authors who just pretend to be. The recent trend seems to show that growing up homosexual in a disfunctional family situation will somehow make you funny. Or totally screwed up. Or maybe they're synonymous. (Read Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs if you don't believe me.)

A book that made me cry: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. I bawled. 'Nuff said.

A book that I wish I had written: Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler. If I were a novelist, I would want my style to most closely resemble Tyler's. It's real without being pretentious, it's interesting without being far-fetched, and it's extraordinary while still being ordinary.

A book that I wish had never been written: Can I pick two for this? I'm still bitter about these books being on "everyone's reading list" in school. I would burn them and not look back. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith and A Separate Peace by John Knowles. Don't even try to defend them. I know what you're thinking, "But they're brilliant coming-of-age novels." No, I think they suck.

A book I’ve been meaning to read: The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis. I finished Mere Christianity and thought it was phenomenal so I'm expecting great things from this one too.

I’m currently reading: At Home in the Heart of Appalachia by John O'Brien. Since I live at home in the heart of Appalachia, I thought it was only fitting to read about it. So far, not too enlightening.

4 comments:

Steve said...

Interesting... I haven't read many of the books you mentioned. I'll have to read My Name is Asher Lev once I get a chance.

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad we have such smiilar taste in books and can commiserate about Burroughs.

Jamie Kayle said...

Is it bad that the only book I have read on your list are The Purpose Driven Life and Mere Christianity (one of which is a book "that didn't change [your] life"??
I guess it's good that we like a lot of the same music :)
Tennessee or bust!

Anonymous said...

Hey, if you like reading Sedaris, you should check out Audible.com (or Limewire if you're so inclined) and find his audio books. His reading of his works is even funnier.

Also, Taylor Mali, again on Audible, does terrific and hilarious and poignant poetry that Sedaris fans will love.

Another book by Sedaris you'll probably love is Naked. Fantastic stuff.