My Ten Favorite Books--Updated!Now you have to understand that unlike a lot of Americans my age, I dedicated some time in my teens to reading the classics, and when I say the classics I mean the books listed on the backs of Classics Illustrated comics. That's a pretty good list, although, of course, skewed with action books to appeal to young men.
I hasten to add that my opinions are based on how I felt about the book at the time, not necessarily how I would feel about it now.
1. The Count of Monte Cristo. Dumas' classic tale of revenge, set against the backdrop of post-revolutionary France. Edmund Dantes is thrown into jail, denounced by three men who want his job, his girl, and his silence. After many years he escapes the jail and becomes a wealthy man. He seeks down his three accusers and avenges himself with amazingly intricate and fascinating plots against them.
2. Crime and Punishment. Doestoyevsky's warning about the dangers of nihilistic thought seemed especially apropos to a young man growing up in the era of Charles Manson and the Weather Underground.
3. Leave it to Psmith. Wodehouse's masterpiece, the linchpin to the Blandings Castle series. The flowerpot theme is developed; the scene will be mentioned in every Blandings Castle book to follow.
4. Men Against the Sea. The sequel to Mutiny on the Bounty, it tells the tale of what happened to Captain Bligh and those on the Bounty who declined to rebel, and their thousands of miles' journey to civilization in a large rowboat.
5. Treasure Island. The first book I ever re-read.
6. Gone with the Wind. I've said on many occasions that this is the great American novel, disrespected by many because it's "just" a romance. But it spawned an entire genre of fiction as well as one of the greatest movies of all time, and is a terrific read. Scarlett is a classic character, flawed and ruthless but admirable in her determination.
7. Bertie & Jeeves (pick them all). Funniest stuff ever written. Most first person characters are earnest and smart. Wodehouse had the genius to create a silly young man as his narrator.
8. Dune. Frank Herbert's novel of intergalactic intrigue, set against a desert planet where every droplet of water is precious.
9. Sherlock Holmes (pick one). I have never outgrown him.
10. Lord of the Rings trilogy. I think you've heard of this one. Read it in 9th & 12th grades. It would be interesting to pick it up again now that I've seen the movies.
Other books that didn't quite make the cut, but are great: Tai-Pan (Clavell), anything else by Doestoyevsky or Dumas, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (Heinlein), Stand on Zanzibar (Brunner), the Flashman novels (Frasier). Probably five other books that I'll think of the minute after I post this.
Your favorites? If you list them on your blog, put a link in the comments and I'll update my post to link to it.
Update:
Kitty's list is up. I'll admit, I only recognized three of the books, and have only read two of them (Angela's Ashes and The Godfather).
Rachel's list is
up as well. I'd definitely go with "The Wind in the Willows" as a book that electrified me the first time I read it.
