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Ten Books By Which Ye Shall Know Me
Oct. 9th, 2013 12:16 pmI decided to make this entry after reading the entry of the same name over at Grumpy Rumblings.
One of the authors of that blog made a top-ten list based on the number of re-readings. This might be my top-ten most-read books:
1. House of Stairs (William Sleator) - A teen book about how some teens interact while dealing with being in a really strange setting. Major character development for the lead character.
2. This Star Shall Abide (Sylvia Louise Engdahl) - For a long time this was my favorite sci fi book. It's an exciting story about a kid who doesn't like the way things are and tries to fight it and figure out more. Also there are cool machines where you can dream what happened to someone else--a very exciting way to learn history. And it's also about truth, a fascinating concept.
3. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIHM (Robert C. O'Brien) - It's a kid's book, but an exciting adventure story that also makes you feel bad that rats are so hated. For some reason, I enjoy returning to this world.
4. Five Were Missing (Lois Duncan) - This is another teen book with an interesting plot, mysteries, and character development. I enjoy returning here, too.
5. Something Wicked This Way Comes (Ray Bradbury) - I never remember what this book is about, but I always remember that the writing is so good that it's read-aloud quality.
6. Ender's Game (Orson Scott Card) - This is a fast, exciting read.
7. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen) - I like how I really don't like Mr. Darby at first, and then I gradually do, just like she does. And I love the way her friend deals with marrying Mr. Collins--she has her own room and encourages him to garden, etc. And her dad cracks me up sometimes. I don't like every scene, but I do like many of them.
8. The Tightwad Gazette (Amy Daczysn) - I use this to inoculate myself against advertising.
9. Interface (Stephen Bury) - This book has it all: read-aloud quality, amazing characters, and fascinating plot. I like it better than Cobweb by the same duo even though it's way more over-the-top. This is probably my current favorite book.
10. The Grand Sophy (Georgette Heyer) - I may now prefer Frederica, but I've read The Grand Sophy more often. A romance from a time when marriage was all for females, which makes it extra dramatic. Plus Sophy is over-the-top, and I really like watching the guy's character development.
11. Snow Crash (Neal Stephenson) - I don't love everything about this book, but there sure are a lot of scenes I love, right from the first page where you meet "The Deliverator" who has "esprit up to here" and it turns out he's a pizza delivery guy--in a world where the consequences for failure are pretty bad. There are loads of interesting characters and situations.
Oops, eleven.
However, I'm not sure what you can learn about me from that list. This list might be better for learning about me in general:
1. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Roald Dahl) - I identify with Charlie. I used to pass a donut shop on the way to the bus stop--oh, so tempting if you had money, which I didn't. And I have the same strategy of making something last by taking just a tiny amount many, many times (though not as tiny as his amounts!). I first read this as a kid and it is now part of me.
2. Your Money or Your Life (Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin) - This explains how I like to interact with my finances. There is such a thing as enough. And I really, really value financial independence.
3. No Impact Man (Colin Beavan) - I'm not religious, but I am spiritual, and this book is the best religious book I have. (Old Girl Scout books have also filled this role for me.) This is about a guy who spends one year trying to change his lifestyle to minimize his impact on the environment, while still living in New York City (?!). He does much better than I ever would have guessed. The book captures most of my favorite things from the blog in a nice, short, readable form.
4. House of Stairs (William Sleator) - See above. Also, the science in this sci-fi book is psychology (the field I got my BA in).
5. This Star Shall Abide (Sylvia Louise Engdahl) - See above. Also, the science in this sci-fi book is sociology (the field I got my MA in). It's also about truth, a fascinating concept.
6. The Jungle (Upton Sinclair) - Everyone agrees this is a poorly written book--except I think only the ending is bad. It's about a guy who loves the efficiency of a meat packing plant until he finds out the details behind it. Everything in this book was found to have really happened (except for a guy falling into a vat), and as a result the FDA was created. GMOs and/or big business influence have confounded the FDA today, but we still need it. This is a good insight into my politics: things could be so amazing when you leave people free to create, but we do need laws for when motivation by profit isn't enough.
7. The Federalist Papers (founding fathers) - probably. I don't exactly remember it, but it shows we shouldn't just follow our Constitution and laws which were, after all, created by mere people. We should always keep looking at what we want from a government and how best to achieve it. (I prefer tweaking over revolution if at all possible, though.)
8. Emergence (David R. Palmer) - This is a much more fun book about intelligence and rationalization. Except for all the dead people (it's in a post-apocalyptic world).
That's less than ten. Oh, well. Good thing I don't have to follow the rules in my own blog.
One of the authors of that blog made a top-ten list based on the number of re-readings. This might be my top-ten most-read books:
1. House of Stairs (William Sleator) - A teen book about how some teens interact while dealing with being in a really strange setting. Major character development for the lead character.
2. This Star Shall Abide (Sylvia Louise Engdahl) - For a long time this was my favorite sci fi book. It's an exciting story about a kid who doesn't like the way things are and tries to fight it and figure out more. Also there are cool machines where you can dream what happened to someone else--a very exciting way to learn history. And it's also about truth, a fascinating concept.
3. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIHM (Robert C. O'Brien) - It's a kid's book, but an exciting adventure story that also makes you feel bad that rats are so hated. For some reason, I enjoy returning to this world.
4. Five Were Missing (Lois Duncan) - This is another teen book with an interesting plot, mysteries, and character development. I enjoy returning here, too.
5. Something Wicked This Way Comes (Ray Bradbury) - I never remember what this book is about, but I always remember that the writing is so good that it's read-aloud quality.
6. Ender's Game (Orson Scott Card) - This is a fast, exciting read.
7. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen) - I like how I really don't like Mr. Darby at first, and then I gradually do, just like she does. And I love the way her friend deals with marrying Mr. Collins--she has her own room and encourages him to garden, etc. And her dad cracks me up sometimes. I don't like every scene, but I do like many of them.
8. The Tightwad Gazette (Amy Daczysn) - I use this to inoculate myself against advertising.
9. Interface (Stephen Bury) - This book has it all: read-aloud quality, amazing characters, and fascinating plot. I like it better than Cobweb by the same duo even though it's way more over-the-top. This is probably my current favorite book.
10. The Grand Sophy (Georgette Heyer) - I may now prefer Frederica, but I've read The Grand Sophy more often. A romance from a time when marriage was all for females, which makes it extra dramatic. Plus Sophy is over-the-top, and I really like watching the guy's character development.
11. Snow Crash (Neal Stephenson) - I don't love everything about this book, but there sure are a lot of scenes I love, right from the first page where you meet "The Deliverator" who has "esprit up to here" and it turns out he's a pizza delivery guy--in a world where the consequences for failure are pretty bad. There are loads of interesting characters and situations.
Oops, eleven.
However, I'm not sure what you can learn about me from that list. This list might be better for learning about me in general:
1. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Roald Dahl) - I identify with Charlie. I used to pass a donut shop on the way to the bus stop--oh, so tempting if you had money, which I didn't. And I have the same strategy of making something last by taking just a tiny amount many, many times (though not as tiny as his amounts!). I first read this as a kid and it is now part of me.
2. Your Money or Your Life (Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin) - This explains how I like to interact with my finances. There is such a thing as enough. And I really, really value financial independence.
3. No Impact Man (Colin Beavan) - I'm not religious, but I am spiritual, and this book is the best religious book I have. (Old Girl Scout books have also filled this role for me.) This is about a guy who spends one year trying to change his lifestyle to minimize his impact on the environment, while still living in New York City (?!). He does much better than I ever would have guessed. The book captures most of my favorite things from the blog in a nice, short, readable form.
4. House of Stairs (William Sleator) - See above. Also, the science in this sci-fi book is psychology (the field I got my BA in).
5. This Star Shall Abide (Sylvia Louise Engdahl) - See above. Also, the science in this sci-fi book is sociology (the field I got my MA in). It's also about truth, a fascinating concept.
6. The Jungle (Upton Sinclair) - Everyone agrees this is a poorly written book--except I think only the ending is bad. It's about a guy who loves the efficiency of a meat packing plant until he finds out the details behind it. Everything in this book was found to have really happened (except for a guy falling into a vat), and as a result the FDA was created. GMOs and/or big business influence have confounded the FDA today, but we still need it. This is a good insight into my politics: things could be so amazing when you leave people free to create, but we do need laws for when motivation by profit isn't enough.
7. The Federalist Papers (founding fathers) - probably. I don't exactly remember it, but it shows we shouldn't just follow our Constitution and laws which were, after all, created by mere people. We should always keep looking at what we want from a government and how best to achieve it. (I prefer tweaking over revolution if at all possible, though.)
8. Emergence (David R. Palmer) - This is a much more fun book about intelligence and rationalization. Except for all the dead people (it's in a post-apocalyptic world).
That's less than ten. Oh, well. Good thing I don't have to follow the rules in my own blog.