booklist for ![[profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
journeyintoday
Jul. 5th, 2005 03:35 pm2eclipseand for anyone else who cares to peruse these reviews.
in a recent conversation....okay SEVERAL recent conversations i was requested to put together a list of MUST read-books for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
journeyintoday. if you don't like this list....well, it probably wasn't meant for you anyway. if you do - good stuff - enjoy, comment, forward, whatever.
author comes first, then title, review, and asterisks indicate priority, not in terms of "read this first" but in terms of "be SURE you get to this". it is cut because it will be DAMN long. i am a bibliophile, after all. the two things i need to be truly at home in any place are my books and my cats. give me a third option and i will add my candles.....things you discover when you move.
DISCLAIMER: this list is going to be very heavy on philosophy/theology/fantasy/science fiction. i do occassionally read non-fiction and regular fiction and there is a sample of these things in this list, but i like what i like and i read what i like/what interests me. most of the non-fiction is human-rights related/political. most of the "fiction" is either pretty close to fantasy (cuz that's what i like) or qualifies as a "classic".2eclipse= big snob.
khalil gibran - the prophet*. this is one of the books i try to live my life by (others being obviously the bible and something called desiderata - not really a book at all). it is beautifully written and full of wisdom.
james lee burke - black cherry blues. this is sort of a mystery. i'm not usually a huge fan of those, but this guy simply writes beautiful prose. his characters are compelling and his plots are solid. you know things are going to get violent when he starts using fruit metaphors. we need more writers who can command the english language as well as this guy.
craig hill - in God's time. this is written by a professor of mine who was raised as a fundamentalist christian and who has a singularly CLEAR way of understanding why the religious right is WRONG. it is refreshing and may help non-christians understand what turned them off of christianity in the first place, but i recommend this book to everyone, fundamentalists, christians and non-christians. and yes, i realize that it is a bit radical/mean of me to separate fundamentalists from christians.:)
frank herbert - dune*. this is THE must read book of science fiction. one of the two authors i think is as good as tolkein (who i want to be when i grow up), but in a totally different direction. the politics in this book are brilliant and complex. the universe is complete. the ideas are magnificent. it is an exciting and wonderful story of heroism, intrigue and a fight against tyranny. the others in the series are also VERY good, but this one is the must-read.
neil gaimen & terry pratchett - good omens. this book is pee-your-pants-funny. i have probably loaned and never got back more copies of this book than any other. to the point where i take people to the bookstore and make them buy it rather than lending my own copy much of the time. british humor and a great story. basically the idea is that the end of the world is coming except that there is a mix-up at the hospital and the anti-christ gets baby-swapped and is raised as a normal american kid.
barbara erenreicht - nickel and dimed. this book is depressing but important. it is also non-fiction. a journalist tries to make ends meet in 3 different cities around the US on minimum wage (or there abouts) pay. this book describes the environments she worked with, the attitudes of the people she worked with and the hardships. it is disturbing because 1) it is clear that few of us could do better and 2) if she had it so hard given her resources, how much harder must it be for people who live this way.
richard adams - watership down. at first glance this is a book about rabbits. i first read it when i was...12?13? and i thought that is exactly what it was. only as an adult did i realize that it is an intense political critique as well. i have reread this book more than 10 times, not because of the politics, but because it is a damn good story. still the 4 types of government explored are interesting to think about. REALLY worth reading, even if you don't like rabbits.
aristotle - nichomachean ethics*. this book changed my life. changed the way i see....just about everything. and it's perhaps the most assessable of aristotle's works. he talks about virtue and friendship and all the things that are important to humans. it is interesting how very little we have changed in the last 3000 years. this is where we also get the law of non-contradiction and a really lovely definition of happiness. action through virtue.:)
allan bloom - the closing of the american mind. this has been out for a long time but i still think it is a really interesting social critique. insightful.
fyodor dostoyevsky - crime and punishment*. this book is a statement on self-conviction. it is truly brilliant and a little grusome. an important read.
albert einstein - relativity(the special and the general theory). yes, i know. i'm recommending a book on math. but einstein SPECIFICALLY wrote this for math morons like me. his clarity makes it inexcusable for any modern american to be unable to talk about the general and special theories of relativity with fluency even if a few small parts go over their heads. these ideas CHANGED THE FUCKING WORLD and made the united states the super-power it is today (perhaps this is a bad thing, but we should understand it). it is criminal how few people give a shit. in anycase, this book is about THEORIES. it is mostly PROSE, not mostly numbers. READ IT!@@@!!!$%#@!
edwin abbott - flatland. this is a book about a square....sort of. mainly this book is an exploration of dimensions in a way that is accessible to EVERYONE. if you can stretch your mind far enough to say "lets pretend a square was alive and gave a shit" then you can work your way through this book and it will be worth it. it will stretch your mind a bit if you have never truly considered dimensions before. not demintia, dimensions.
carlos castenadas - journey to ixland. this book has a lot of kantian philosophy snuck into it. you might not ever even guess that you are reading philosophy. it is about apprenticeship under a native american sorceror. NOTE: this book is FICTION. that doesn't mean that the ideas it contains are not true.
ernest hemingway - the old man and the sea. okay, so hemingway was a mysogynist. i still have to give him credit for being brilliant. and for never using big words. it is amazing how this guy conveys complicated ideas using such simple language. and it is a good story.
humphrey carpenter - tolkein. in my humble opinion this is the best biography on tolkein out there (it goes without saying that you have read/will read tolkein right? i mean, i don't REALLY need to put that on this list because you already know you HAVE to read it right?*******). anywho, this book explains a lot of behind the scenes stuff, but you get a real feel for tolkein's life, why he is incapable of writing decent/realistic women (my only REAL criticism of him), his relationship with c.s. lewis, his love of nature, his work at oxford....it is a great read. i couldn't put it down. but then, i want to grow up and be tolkein.
robin hobb - 3 trilogies. yes, i know, this is a lot of reading
the farseer trilogy
the bingtown traders trilogy
the tawny man trilogy
these are all written in the same world. they are all brilliant, with the exception of the last book, which is still damn good. i LOVE character driven work and hers is some of the best i have ever read. she writes interesting explorations of what it means to fail, to BE a failure, to be unable to protect your loved ones, to love someone, to be responsible to a community, to be a hero. she is one of the few authors who continues to surprise me (which is difficult considering how much fantasy i've read) and she is one of the few female authors out there who i think can write male characters with any credibility.
megan lindholm - alien earth*. this is actually the same author as robin hobb, but under a different pseudonym and actually a totally different writing style. megan lindholm is a LOT edgier. you can find one of her short stories here: http://www.asimovs.com/Nebulas03/cut.shtml did i mention she is edgy? this is her ONE ATTEMPT at science fiction and it is brilliant brilliant brilliant. it is also a stand-alone book (breathe your sigh of relief now) and deep and personal. it is about secrets and love and seeing through the bullshit. unfortunately it is out of print. therefore you will have to go on amazon.com to find it. it shouldn't be too hard to get your hands on a copy. i just checked and they had 15 copies used.
susan cooper - the dark is rising series. this is a somewhat dark series of stories for children. it is easy to read and completely engaging. it is well written and has a great take on many popular mythologies.
china mieville - perdito street station. this book is CREEPY with a capital Cuh. and really good. detailed science fiction with a really complete world. it blurs the line between the organic and the mechanical. china is one of the few authors i have found who can really sell me on a completely alien way of thinking about things. most written aliens (imho) think WAY too much like humans to be believable. i did not have that problem in this book. the result is painful, gruesome, inspiring, fantastic. i can't wait to read more of his work so i can find out if this was a lucky mistake or if i have found a new favorite to add to my list.
huston smith - the world's religions. okay, so there are some very fair critiques of this book. it is written by a westerner and he groups tribal religions together and fails to treat neopaganism and some of the other smaller religions that have sprung up. also i would like to have seen him add a section on cults. that being said, his explanation of THE MAIN religions of the world was more accessible to me because he is a westerner and because he is therefore able to relate information about those religions in a way that makes sense to me. i have looked at many books on comparative religions and i ENJOYED this one the most. i especially like what he says about hindu-ism. it ALMOST made me want to be hindu. however, i am not that accepting.
george r. r. martin - A Song of Ice and Fire series*. so far i have found these to be MORE than worth the wait. we will see if that continues to hold true in november or whenever it is that they are saying they will release the next book(which is finally finished *dances*). martin is the other of the 2 authors that i think are as good as tolkein. he is the only one in the same genre (herbert being science fiction rather than fantasy). martin used to be a historian so his world is very complete. i don't mean that he has plotted out the history of the whole world. i mean that he has plotted out the history of the area he deals with and its surrounding areas thoroughly. his politics are as good as frank herbert's his characters are as good as robin hobb's. the only thing that he describes in as much detail as tolkein is the food, but he still has a lot of it. it is also DARK. as dark as donaldson(who i haven't gotten to yet). he is not afraid to kill off his main characters and he likes to cut off people's noses. also his characters swear like modern people. george r. r. martin rocks! just askaryaluna or [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com].
stephen r. donaldson - lord foul's bane*
the ill-earth war*
the power that preserves*
these are amazing books. VERY dark. the protagonist is a leper whose first major action in the book is to rape someone. this is a SERIOUS treatment of what it means to be redeemed, how it happens and what the prices are. you can tell it was written a long time ago but it doesn't matter. this series is phenomenal.
there is a truly wonderful character who breaks down and weeps at the thought of a world so bereft of beauty as ours is...granted that is only by comparison, but it made a big impression on me.
kenneth graham - the wind in the willows*. this is a children's classic for VERY good reasons. i see no reason to say more than that.
alright. i'm sure i will think of more....but this list has already gotten WAY too long. and covered enough ground to keep me busy for a couple of months if i reread all the time. so i'm going to stop here and add later if i need to. enjoyjourneyintoday.
in a recent conversation....okay SEVERAL recent conversations i was requested to put together a list of MUST read-books for
journeyintoday. if you don't like this list....well, it probably wasn't meant for you anyway. if you do - good stuff - enjoy, comment, forward, whatever.author comes first, then title, review, and asterisks indicate priority, not in terms of "read this first" but in terms of "be SURE you get to this". it is cut because it will be DAMN long. i am a bibliophile, after all. the two things i need to be truly at home in any place are my books and my cats. give me a third option and i will add my candles.....things you discover when you move.
DISCLAIMER: this list is going to be very heavy on philosophy/theology/fantasy/science fiction. i do occassionally read non-fiction and regular fiction and there is a sample of these things in this list, but i like what i like and i read what i like/what interests me. most of the non-fiction is human-rights related/political. most of the "fiction" is either pretty close to fantasy (cuz that's what i like) or qualifies as a "classic".
2eclipse= big snob.khalil gibran - the prophet*. this is one of the books i try to live my life by (others being obviously the bible and something called desiderata - not really a book at all). it is beautifully written and full of wisdom.
james lee burke - black cherry blues. this is sort of a mystery. i'm not usually a huge fan of those, but this guy simply writes beautiful prose. his characters are compelling and his plots are solid. you know things are going to get violent when he starts using fruit metaphors. we need more writers who can command the english language as well as this guy.
craig hill - in God's time. this is written by a professor of mine who was raised as a fundamentalist christian and who has a singularly CLEAR way of understanding why the religious right is WRONG. it is refreshing and may help non-christians understand what turned them off of christianity in the first place, but i recommend this book to everyone, fundamentalists, christians and non-christians. and yes, i realize that it is a bit radical/mean of me to separate fundamentalists from christians.:)
frank herbert - dune*. this is THE must read book of science fiction. one of the two authors i think is as good as tolkein (who i want to be when i grow up), but in a totally different direction. the politics in this book are brilliant and complex. the universe is complete. the ideas are magnificent. it is an exciting and wonderful story of heroism, intrigue and a fight against tyranny. the others in the series are also VERY good, but this one is the must-read.
neil gaimen & terry pratchett - good omens. this book is pee-your-pants-funny. i have probably loaned and never got back more copies of this book than any other. to the point where i take people to the bookstore and make them buy it rather than lending my own copy much of the time. british humor and a great story. basically the idea is that the end of the world is coming except that there is a mix-up at the hospital and the anti-christ gets baby-swapped and is raised as a normal american kid.
barbara erenreicht - nickel and dimed. this book is depressing but important. it is also non-fiction. a journalist tries to make ends meet in 3 different cities around the US on minimum wage (or there abouts) pay. this book describes the environments she worked with, the attitudes of the people she worked with and the hardships. it is disturbing because 1) it is clear that few of us could do better and 2) if she had it so hard given her resources, how much harder must it be for people who live this way.
richard adams - watership down. at first glance this is a book about rabbits. i first read it when i was...12?13? and i thought that is exactly what it was. only as an adult did i realize that it is an intense political critique as well. i have reread this book more than 10 times, not because of the politics, but because it is a damn good story. still the 4 types of government explored are interesting to think about. REALLY worth reading, even if you don't like rabbits.
aristotle - nichomachean ethics*. this book changed my life. changed the way i see....just about everything. and it's perhaps the most assessable of aristotle's works. he talks about virtue and friendship and all the things that are important to humans. it is interesting how very little we have changed in the last 3000 years. this is where we also get the law of non-contradiction and a really lovely definition of happiness. action through virtue.:)
allan bloom - the closing of the american mind. this has been out for a long time but i still think it is a really interesting social critique. insightful.
fyodor dostoyevsky - crime and punishment*. this book is a statement on self-conviction. it is truly brilliant and a little grusome. an important read.
albert einstein - relativity(the special and the general theory). yes, i know. i'm recommending a book on math. but einstein SPECIFICALLY wrote this for math morons like me. his clarity makes it inexcusable for any modern american to be unable to talk about the general and special theories of relativity with fluency even if a few small parts go over their heads. these ideas CHANGED THE FUCKING WORLD and made the united states the super-power it is today (perhaps this is a bad thing, but we should understand it). it is criminal how few people give a shit. in anycase, this book is about THEORIES. it is mostly PROSE, not mostly numbers. READ IT!@@@!!!$%#@!
edwin abbott - flatland. this is a book about a square....sort of. mainly this book is an exploration of dimensions in a way that is accessible to EVERYONE. if you can stretch your mind far enough to say "lets pretend a square was alive and gave a shit" then you can work your way through this book and it will be worth it. it will stretch your mind a bit if you have never truly considered dimensions before. not demintia, dimensions.
carlos castenadas - journey to ixland. this book has a lot of kantian philosophy snuck into it. you might not ever even guess that you are reading philosophy. it is about apprenticeship under a native american sorceror. NOTE: this book is FICTION. that doesn't mean that the ideas it contains are not true.
ernest hemingway - the old man and the sea. okay, so hemingway was a mysogynist. i still have to give him credit for being brilliant. and for never using big words. it is amazing how this guy conveys complicated ideas using such simple language. and it is a good story.
humphrey carpenter - tolkein. in my humble opinion this is the best biography on tolkein out there (it goes without saying that you have read/will read tolkein right? i mean, i don't REALLY need to put that on this list because you already know you HAVE to read it right?*******). anywho, this book explains a lot of behind the scenes stuff, but you get a real feel for tolkein's life, why he is incapable of writing decent/realistic women (my only REAL criticism of him), his relationship with c.s. lewis, his love of nature, his work at oxford....it is a great read. i couldn't put it down. but then, i want to grow up and be tolkein.
robin hobb - 3 trilogies. yes, i know, this is a lot of reading
the farseer trilogy
the bingtown traders trilogy
the tawny man trilogy
these are all written in the same world. they are all brilliant, with the exception of the last book, which is still damn good. i LOVE character driven work and hers is some of the best i have ever read. she writes interesting explorations of what it means to fail, to BE a failure, to be unable to protect your loved ones, to love someone, to be responsible to a community, to be a hero. she is one of the few authors who continues to surprise me (which is difficult considering how much fantasy i've read) and she is one of the few female authors out there who i think can write male characters with any credibility.
megan lindholm - alien earth*. this is actually the same author as robin hobb, but under a different pseudonym and actually a totally different writing style. megan lindholm is a LOT edgier. you can find one of her short stories here: http://www.asimovs.com/Nebulas03/cut.shtml did i mention she is edgy? this is her ONE ATTEMPT at science fiction and it is brilliant brilliant brilliant. it is also a stand-alone book (breathe your sigh of relief now) and deep and personal. it is about secrets and love and seeing through the bullshit. unfortunately it is out of print. therefore you will have to go on amazon.com to find it. it shouldn't be too hard to get your hands on a copy. i just checked and they had 15 copies used.
susan cooper - the dark is rising series. this is a somewhat dark series of stories for children. it is easy to read and completely engaging. it is well written and has a great take on many popular mythologies.
china mieville - perdito street station. this book is CREEPY with a capital Cuh. and really good. detailed science fiction with a really complete world. it blurs the line between the organic and the mechanical. china is one of the few authors i have found who can really sell me on a completely alien way of thinking about things. most written aliens (imho) think WAY too much like humans to be believable. i did not have that problem in this book. the result is painful, gruesome, inspiring, fantastic. i can't wait to read more of his work so i can find out if this was a lucky mistake or if i have found a new favorite to add to my list.
huston smith - the world's religions. okay, so there are some very fair critiques of this book. it is written by a westerner and he groups tribal religions together and fails to treat neopaganism and some of the other smaller religions that have sprung up. also i would like to have seen him add a section on cults. that being said, his explanation of THE MAIN religions of the world was more accessible to me because he is a westerner and because he is therefore able to relate information about those religions in a way that makes sense to me. i have looked at many books on comparative religions and i ENJOYED this one the most. i especially like what he says about hindu-ism. it ALMOST made me want to be hindu. however, i am not that accepting.
george r. r. martin - A Song of Ice and Fire series*. so far i have found these to be MORE than worth the wait. we will see if that continues to hold true in november or whenever it is that they are saying they will release the next book(which is finally finished *dances*). martin is the other of the 2 authors that i think are as good as tolkein. he is the only one in the same genre (herbert being science fiction rather than fantasy). martin used to be a historian so his world is very complete. i don't mean that he has plotted out the history of the whole world. i mean that he has plotted out the history of the area he deals with and its surrounding areas thoroughly. his politics are as good as frank herbert's his characters are as good as robin hobb's. the only thing that he describes in as much detail as tolkein is the food, but he still has a lot of it. it is also DARK. as dark as donaldson(who i haven't gotten to yet). he is not afraid to kill off his main characters and he likes to cut off people's noses. also his characters swear like modern people. george r. r. martin rocks! just ask
aryaluna or [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com]. stephen r. donaldson - lord foul's bane*
the ill-earth war*
the power that preserves*
these are amazing books. VERY dark. the protagonist is a leper whose first major action in the book is to rape someone. this is a SERIOUS treatment of what it means to be redeemed, how it happens and what the prices are. you can tell it was written a long time ago but it doesn't matter. this series is phenomenal.
there is a truly wonderful character who breaks down and weeps at the thought of a world so bereft of beauty as ours is...granted that is only by comparison, but it made a big impression on me.
kenneth graham - the wind in the willows*. this is a children's classic for VERY good reasons. i see no reason to say more than that.
alright. i'm sure i will think of more....but this list has already gotten WAY too long. and covered enough ground to keep me busy for a couple of months if i reread all the time. so i'm going to stop here and add later if i need to. enjoy
journeyintoday.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
mmm....
Date: 2005-07-06 04:27 pm (UTC)