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books revisted
Mar. 28th, 2005 10:37 amSome of my favorite novels, in no real order-
The Miracle Game by Josef Skvorecky
I bought my copy in a bookstore in Prague and read it in the middle of the night sitting on my uncomfortable dorm bed. It was the first book I've read in a very long time that made me cry. I recognized something in it, a similar attachment to very small moments and memories.
Crime & Punishment by Dostoevsky
The first time I read this novel, I was about fifteen. It took me two days to rip through it. Now I think I own a half a dozen translations and I've read it dozens of times. I wrote one of my most interesting academic papers on this book. I keep reading it for the magnificent depth and beautiful prose.
The Lord of the Rings trilogy by JRR Tolkien
My mother gave me her frail paperbacks to read when I was about eight years old. I plowed through those as well, captivated by the complexity and the world built inside. It colored huge swathes of imagination and occupied long hours. I think it was Tolkien that made me want to write and create worlds of my own.
The Fionavar Tapestry series by Guy Gavriel Kay
Another fantasy series I picked up at a young age. I read them again every year or two, to remind myself of things important to me. I think the story has some very powerful messages about love, and doing what one has to do. One of the aspects I enjoy the most is the weaving of so many mythologies into one place. I like to read these in the summer, on bright blue days.
The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
It's terribly hard to pick just one Wharton novel because I love them all. She is one of the few American authors I love without reservation. Her wit, her clarity and her peceptiveness make the stories real and effortless. They are a world I have never seen, as much as any fantasy novel. This novel is especially brilliant.
No Saints or Angels by Ivan Klima
I copied passages out of this novel onto all my notes. Not only was it gorgeously written, it pierced me all the way through. Reading this book made it possible for me to conceptualize growing older and living with the consequences of so many choices. This was also one of many novels Gene introduced me to, and I knew it had to be good if he liked it.
Cyteen by CJ Cherryh
Unlike most of the sci-fi I love, I came to this one later in life. RM recommended it sometime after we met and I'm currently reading it again. It has all sorts of elements I love in a good sci-fi novel - space colonialism, terraforming, cloning, interstellar politics, love, betrayal and death. This story is smart in a way so few novels are, because it works with powerfully complicated relations in detail.
The Miracle Game by Josef Skvorecky
I bought my copy in a bookstore in Prague and read it in the middle of the night sitting on my uncomfortable dorm bed. It was the first book I've read in a very long time that made me cry. I recognized something in it, a similar attachment to very small moments and memories.
Crime & Punishment by Dostoevsky
The first time I read this novel, I was about fifteen. It took me two days to rip through it. Now I think I own a half a dozen translations and I've read it dozens of times. I wrote one of my most interesting academic papers on this book. I keep reading it for the magnificent depth and beautiful prose.
The Lord of the Rings trilogy by JRR Tolkien
My mother gave me her frail paperbacks to read when I was about eight years old. I plowed through those as well, captivated by the complexity and the world built inside. It colored huge swathes of imagination and occupied long hours. I think it was Tolkien that made me want to write and create worlds of my own.
The Fionavar Tapestry series by Guy Gavriel Kay
Another fantasy series I picked up at a young age. I read them again every year or two, to remind myself of things important to me. I think the story has some very powerful messages about love, and doing what one has to do. One of the aspects I enjoy the most is the weaving of so many mythologies into one place. I like to read these in the summer, on bright blue days.
The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
It's terribly hard to pick just one Wharton novel because I love them all. She is one of the few American authors I love without reservation. Her wit, her clarity and her peceptiveness make the stories real and effortless. They are a world I have never seen, as much as any fantasy novel. This novel is especially brilliant.
No Saints or Angels by Ivan Klima
I copied passages out of this novel onto all my notes. Not only was it gorgeously written, it pierced me all the way through. Reading this book made it possible for me to conceptualize growing older and living with the consequences of so many choices. This was also one of many novels Gene introduced me to, and I knew it had to be good if he liked it.
Cyteen by CJ Cherryh
Unlike most of the sci-fi I love, I came to this one later in life. RM recommended it sometime after we met and I'm currently reading it again. It has all sorts of elements I love in a good sci-fi novel - space colonialism, terraforming, cloning, interstellar politics, love, betrayal and death. This story is smart in a way so few novels are, because it works with powerfully complicated relations in detail.