Favorite(?) Books
Jul. 25th, 2008 07:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
livingdebThere's been a meme concerning 100 classic books, and Robin, indigo rose, and I decided it would be more fun to see other people's personal top 100 books. I also decided that descriptions or quotes would help people decide if they would like to read any themselves. (I mostly used quotes from the beginning of books to minimize spoilers.)
Then I was going to split my books into categories, and then if my readers knew better books in any of the categories, they would tell me, and then I would go read those books.
Upon further reflection, it is clear that I am not well-enough-read to put together any reasonable sort of list of classic books. So I decided instead to list all the books I can remember that I am absolutely positive that I have read from cover to cover more than once. (It's less than 100, even including nonfiction.) I may like them because they are good, and even because they are the kind of good that could make them classic. Or maybe I am just some kind of weirdo. Some of these are embarrassing.
Also, please excuse any typos and other bad writing. This is taking way too long. I should have split this into several entries. Wait, I better put this behind an lj-cut.
1. Achebe, Chinua, Things Fall Apart (1959) - Learn how cultures collide, set in Nigeria, where some lives are ruined and some are saved when all the rules change, in this epic tale. This one is definately classic material. It begins:
Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond. His fame rested on solid personal achievements. As a young man of eighteen he had brought honor to his village by throwing Amalinze the Cat. Amalinze was the great wrestler who for seven years was unbeaten, from Umuofia to Mbaino. He was called the Cat because his back would never touch the earth. It was this man that Okonkwo threw in a fight which the old men agreed was one of the fiercest since the founder of their town engaged a spirit of the wild for seven days and seven nights.
2. Austen, Jane, Pride and Prejudice (1813) - One of the first romance novels, in an era when romance was also a matter of life and death. It's also quite humorous. This one is also a classic. It opens:
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.
3. Barraclough, Geoffrey, Turning Points in World History (1977) - Once I learned that my freshman history professor was a famous scholar, I checked out this small book. It's quite readable, though I no longer remember what it says. From page 2:
So much, I think, is obvious; but it tells us very little. Science and technology, after all, do not arise of themselves by a process of spontaneous generation. Why did the scientific and technological revolution take place in Europe and not elsewhere? Why not, for example, in China, which had once been scientifically far in advance of Europe?
4. Block, Lawrence, After the First Death (1969) - Just a fun, scary murder mystery. From pages 1-2:
I had been drinking. I had thought that I had given that up, but evidently I had been wrong. I had been drinking, and I had gotten drunk, and I had blacked out, all according to the usual pattern, and if I moved or opened my eyes I would have a hangover, and I didn't want one. If I opened my eyes just a crack I could at least learn whether it was day or night, and I thought about this, and it occurred to me that learning whether it was day or night was not reward enough to balance the punishment of a headache.
5. Bradbury, Ray, Something Wicked This Way Comes (1962) - I never remember the characters or what happens, but I sure like reading one delicious sentence after another. Here's one of them from the first page:
So the salesman jangled and clanged his huge leather kit in which oversized puzzles of ironmongery lay unseen but which his tongue conjured from door to door until he came at last to a lawn which was cut all wrong.
6. Bury, Stephen, The Cobweb (1996) - Great characters, and exciting scary story. It opens thus:
Clyde Banks was standing in line, in the early stages of hypothermia, when he first saw his future wife, Desiree Dhont, wrestle.
7. Bury, Stephen, Interface (1994) - Definitely one of my most favorite books, this has some of my favorite characters of all time in a scary story. And lots of amazing social interactions. It's hard to find a short passage that illustrates this. From page 34:
"It doesn't matter how good my product is?"
"Not at all. Not with those people. Because you are selling to media people. And media people are either thugs, morons, or weasels. You haven't dealt very much with media people, have you?"
"Very little."
"I can tell. Because you don't have that kind of annoying superficial quality that people get when they deal for a living with thugs, morons, and weasels. You are very earnest and sincere and committed to certain principles, as a scientist, and thugs and morons and weasels do not understand that. And when you give them an explanation of how brilliant your machine is, you'll just be putting them off."
8. Butler, William, The Butterfly Revolution (1961) - The classic version of this book is Lord of the Flies, but I don't like that book, and I quite like this book. But then I'm a sucker for first-person perspective from smart, observant folks. From page 13:
I don't understand why people who don't like books hate people who do like books, but there it is. Howard just happens to have one thing in common with Pete Bunch: they both admire ignorance. Howard is one year older, fifteen, and isn't a year behind like Pete, but his grades aren't very good, and sometimes I help him with his homework. In fact, I guess this is why he lets me live. Of course, Howard wants to go to college and so he tries to keep his work up, because after all he needs college experience if he's going to be a professional football player, like he wants to.
9. Capote, Truman, A Christmas Memory (1956) - I have a big, illustrated version of this, like it's a kids book. It's about a boy and his best friend: his grandmother. From the 4th page of text:
Three hours later we are back in the kitchen hulling a heaping buggyload of windfall pecans. Our backs hurt from gathering them: how hard they were to find (the main crop having been shaken off the trees and sold by the orchard's owners, who are not us) among the concealing leaves, the frosted, deceiving grass.
10. Card, Orson Scott, Ender's Game (1977) - This is a quick, exciting read, even if it does have 357 pages.
11. Dacyczyn, Amy, The Tightwad Gazette (from newspapers compiled 1990-1996) - By far the best book on frugality on I know of. It also has nice drawings and a pretty font. I re-read this when I need a booster shot against commercialism. The author lists a lot of specific ideas but also writes essays on general strategies.
12. Dahl, Roald, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964) - I should read some more of Dahl's books, as Robin tells me this is not the best one, but so far this is the only one I'm sure I've read twice. I love his writing style, and I somehow identify with this extremely poor boy. From page 8:
Only once a year, on his birthday, did Charlie Bucket ever get to taste a bit of chocolate. The whole family saved up their money for that special occasion, and when the great day arrived, Charlie was always presented with one small chocolate bar to eat all by himself. And each time he received it, on those marvelous birthday mornings, he would place it carefully in a small wooden box that he owned, and treasure it as though it were a bar of solid gold; and for the next few days, he would allow himself only to look at it, but never to touch it. Then at last, when he could stand it no longer, he would peel back a tiny bit of the paper wrapping at one corner to expose a tiny bit of chocolate, and then he would take a tiny nibble--just enough to allow the lovely sweet taste to spread out slowly over his tongue. The next day, he would take another tiny nibble, and so on, and so on. And in this way, Charlie would make his ten-cent bar of birthday chocolate last him for more than a month.
13. Dickens, Charles, A Christmas Carol (1843) - I like this story so much that I even like adaptations of it, probably even bad adaptations. Just like even bad pizza tastes good. If I ever felt I needed an antidote to too much frugality, this would be it. From page 2:
Even the blindmen's dogs appeared to know him; and when they saw him coming on, would tug their owners into doorways and up courts; and then would wag their tails as though they said, "no eye at all is better than an evil eye, dark master!
14. Dominguez, Joe, and Vicki Robin, Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence (1992) - My favorite book on taking control of your finances, it also provides a specific nine-step strategy. (I have done only some of the steps.) From the first chapter:
There is a name for this peak of the Fulfillment Curve [a graph of the relationship between fulfillment and money spent], and it provides the basis for transforming your relationship with money. It's a word we use every day, yet we are practically incapable of recognizing it when it's staring us in the face. The word is "enough." At the peak of the Fulfillment Curve we have enough (see Figure 1-3). Enough for our survival. Enough comforts. And even enough little "luxuries." We have everything we need; there's nothing extra to weigh us down, distract or distress us, nothing we've bought on time, have never used and are slaving to pay off. Enough is a fearless place. A trusting place. An honest and self-observant place. It's appreciating and fully enjoying what money brings into your life and yet never purchasing anything that isn't needed and wanted.
15. Douglas, Lloyd C. White Banners (1936) - I don't know why I like this preachy, horribly dated book. I think I just like that one of the characters is so very wonderfully thrifty.
16. Duncan, Lois, Five Were Missing (aka Ransom) (1966) - a kid's book full of teen angst, but I like the main characters and so I go back to visit them occasionally.
17. Eliot, George, Silas Marner (1861) - I don't know why I like this story of a miser who takes in an orphan.
18. Engdahl, Sylvia Louise, This Star Shall Abide (1972) - A kid's sci fi book, and the science is sociology. It's about a boy who wants the secret knowledge, at almost any cost.
19. Frank, Pat, Alas, Babylon (1959) - Your basic straightforward post-apocalyptic novel. I get the idea that these 'fifties characters were able to handle things better than we would be now because we're even farther from remembering how to do things without so much infrastructure.
20. Gould, Steven, Jumper (1992) - A what-if book, a revenge book, a fantasy novel, it's got a much more likable main character than the movie does.
21. Heyer, Georgette Heyer, The Grand Sophy (1950) - Romances wouldn't have such a bad name if more were as great as this. Good characters, fun writing, and who knows what will happen next? It begins like this:
The butler, recognizing her ladyship's only surviving brother at a glance, as he afterward informed his less percipient subordinates, favored Sir Horace with a low bow, and took it upon himself to say that my lady, although not at home to less nearly connected persons, would be happy to see him. Sir Horace, unimpressed by this condescension, handed his caped greatcoat to one footman, his hat and cane to the other, tossed his gloves onto the marble-topped table, and said that he had no doubt of that, and how was Dasset keeping these days? The butler, torn between gratification at having his name remembered and disapproval of Sir Horace's free and easy ways, ...
22. Madrigal, Margarita, Madrigal's Magic Key to Spanish (1951) - my favorite book for learning Spanish grammar. She starts with what you know and tries to explain everything as if it all makes sense instead of as if you may as well just give up and memorize everything. From page 2:
Next there is a category of words that end in "al." These also are often identical in Spanish and English.
the animal = el animal
el animal - central - local - personal
el criminal - comercial - musical - rural
el canal - legal - natural - social
Note: Spanish words that end in "al" are stressed on the last syllable. Example: lo-CAL.
23. Naylor, Grant, Red Dwarf (1992) - British space comedy (like the TV series) sandwiched between slices of dark bread.
24. O'Brien, Robert C., Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIHM (1971) - A fabulous kid's book about heroic mice and rats. It's probably no Watership Down, but it's the one I've read more than once.
25. Palmer, David R., Emergence (1984) - My favorite post-apocalyptic novel, featuring a smart, funny, likable protagonist. Here's what she says about her journalling, in her abbreviated writing style, on page 3:
So journal not just for archaeologists; is therapeutic. Catharsis: Spill guts on paper, feel better. Must be true--psychology text says so (though cautions is better to pay Ph.D.-equipped voyeur week's salary per hour to listen. However, none such included in shelter inventory; will have to make do.)
26. Perry, Thomas, Vanishing Act (1995) - Learn from this exciting novel what to do if you ever need to disappear.
27. Salten, Felix, Bambi (1929) - I haven't read this in a while except for my favorite chapter, Chapter VIII, a conversation between two leaves in autumn. The book opens like this:
He came into the world in the middle of the thicket, in one of those little, hidden forest glades which seem to be entirely open, but are really screened in on all sides. there was very little room in it, scarcely enough for him and his mother.
28. Seuss, Dr., Fox in Sox (1965) - One guy tries to get another guy to try saying various tongue twisters, with which one of my friends was tortured as a child, being forced to read them. I had the advantage that I had a recording of someone reading this, and I still hear his voice in my head, which makes it easier to read things like this:
Through three cheese trees three free fleas flew.
My friend probably felt like the other character who said things like this:
I can't blab such blibber blubber. My tongue isn't made of rubber.
29. Sinclair, Upton, The Jungle (1906) - Everyone agrees this is a poorly written book. Even I don't like the fake happy ending. But the culture changes at the turn of the century fascinate me. This book is known for describing bad conditions at a meat-packing plant, and one of its effects was the creation of the Food and Drug Administration. Investigations uncovered all but one of the shocking things described in this book, though generally they did not all happen to the same family.
30. Sleator, William, House of Stairs (1974) - Sci fi kid's book; the science is psychology. Which of the kids will be able to resist their conditioning--can you guess?
31. Stephenson, Neal, Snow Crash (1992) - This is an exciting book with a refreshingly macho voice. It opens thus:
The Deliverator belongs to an elite order, a hallowed subcategory. He's got esprit up to here. Right now, he is preparing to carry out his third mission of the night. His uniform is black as activated charcoal, filtering the very light out of the air. A bullet will bounce off its arachnofiber weave like a wren hitting a patio door, but excess perspiration wafts through it like a breeze through a freshly napalmed forest.
32. Stephenson, Neal, Zodiac (1988) - A thrill-seeking environmentalist finds trouble. From pages 1 and 3:
This morning I woke to the sound of little green pumpkins exploding under the tires of his station wagon. Then Rascommon stumbled out and tore down our badminton net.
...
I went outside and followed Rascommon's tire tracks through the backyard. All the pumpkins were destroyed, but I didn't care about these decoys. What could you do with a pumpkin? Get orange shit all over the house? The important stuff--corn and tomatoes--were planted up against fences or behind piles of rubble, where his station wagon couldn't reach.
33. Thomas, Lewis, The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher (1974) (Winner of the National Book Award) - Yes, science should be objective. But it should also be subjective. I love the way the guy takes things personally and enjoys being profoundly affected by what he learns. I highly recommend this one. My favorite in this collection of fascinating essays is "Organelles as Organisms." Here's an excerpt:
My mitochondria comprise a very large proportion of me. I cannot do the calculation, but I suppose there is almost as much of them in sheer dry bulk as there is the rest of me. Looked at in this way, I could be taken for a very large, motile colony of respiring bacteria [the mitochondria], operating a complex system of nuclei, microtubules, and neurons for the pleasure and sustenance of their families, and running, at the moment, a typewriter.
34. Tyler, Anne, The Accidental Tourist (1985) - I've read many of her books, but this is still my favorite. Were I to go a little cuckoo over loneliness, it might look something like this. I mean he sets up an apparatus so that he can automatically get dressed as he gets out of bed, not as exaggerated as what Wallace and Gromit create, but still pretty out there.
35. Watterson, Bill, Attack of the Deranged Mutant Killer Monster Snow Goons (1992) - This is the only Calvin and Hobbes book I have. Not only have I read it several times, I (and others) have also colored in some of the cartoons. Great snowmen. I also particularly love this scene:
Calvin's dad, on the phone at work: "Hello?"
Voice on the line: "Hi Dad! It's me, Calvin."
Calvin's dad: "Calvin, unless this is really important, hang up, OK? I'm very busy."
Calvin: "OK, Dad. Goodbye."
Scene shifts to the kitchen where Calvin and Hobbes are sitting on the kitchen counter, the kitchen sink is overflowing, and the water level throughout the kitchen is midway up the bottom cabinets.
Calvin: "This should qualify in another 15 minutes."
Then I was going to split my books into categories, and then if my readers knew better books in any of the categories, they would tell me, and then I would go read those books.
Upon further reflection, it is clear that I am not well-enough-read to put together any reasonable sort of list of classic books. So I decided instead to list all the books I can remember that I am absolutely positive that I have read from cover to cover more than once. (It's less than 100, even including nonfiction.) I may like them because they are good, and even because they are the kind of good that could make them classic. Or maybe I am just some kind of weirdo. Some of these are embarrassing.
Also, please excuse any typos and other bad writing. This is taking way too long. I should have split this into several entries. Wait, I better put this behind an lj-cut.
1. Achebe, Chinua, Things Fall Apart (1959) - Learn how cultures collide, set in Nigeria, where some lives are ruined and some are saved when all the rules change, in this epic tale. This one is definately classic material. It begins:
Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond. His fame rested on solid personal achievements. As a young man of eighteen he had brought honor to his village by throwing Amalinze the Cat. Amalinze was the great wrestler who for seven years was unbeaten, from Umuofia to Mbaino. He was called the Cat because his back would never touch the earth. It was this man that Okonkwo threw in a fight which the old men agreed was one of the fiercest since the founder of their town engaged a spirit of the wild for seven days and seven nights.
2. Austen, Jane, Pride and Prejudice (1813) - One of the first romance novels, in an era when romance was also a matter of life and death. It's also quite humorous. This one is also a classic. It opens:
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.
3. Barraclough, Geoffrey, Turning Points in World History (1977) - Once I learned that my freshman history professor was a famous scholar, I checked out this small book. It's quite readable, though I no longer remember what it says. From page 2:
So much, I think, is obvious; but it tells us very little. Science and technology, after all, do not arise of themselves by a process of spontaneous generation. Why did the scientific and technological revolution take place in Europe and not elsewhere? Why not, for example, in China, which had once been scientifically far in advance of Europe?
4. Block, Lawrence, After the First Death (1969) - Just a fun, scary murder mystery. From pages 1-2:
I had been drinking. I had thought that I had given that up, but evidently I had been wrong. I had been drinking, and I had gotten drunk, and I had blacked out, all according to the usual pattern, and if I moved or opened my eyes I would have a hangover, and I didn't want one. If I opened my eyes just a crack I could at least learn whether it was day or night, and I thought about this, and it occurred to me that learning whether it was day or night was not reward enough to balance the punishment of a headache.
5. Bradbury, Ray, Something Wicked This Way Comes (1962) - I never remember the characters or what happens, but I sure like reading one delicious sentence after another. Here's one of them from the first page:
So the salesman jangled and clanged his huge leather kit in which oversized puzzles of ironmongery lay unseen but which his tongue conjured from door to door until he came at last to a lawn which was cut all wrong.
6. Bury, Stephen, The Cobweb (1996) - Great characters, and exciting scary story. It opens thus:
Clyde Banks was standing in line, in the early stages of hypothermia, when he first saw his future wife, Desiree Dhont, wrestle.
7. Bury, Stephen, Interface (1994) - Definitely one of my most favorite books, this has some of my favorite characters of all time in a scary story. And lots of amazing social interactions. It's hard to find a short passage that illustrates this. From page 34:
"It doesn't matter how good my product is?"
"Not at all. Not with those people. Because you are selling to media people. And media people are either thugs, morons, or weasels. You haven't dealt very much with media people, have you?"
"Very little."
"I can tell. Because you don't have that kind of annoying superficial quality that people get when they deal for a living with thugs, morons, and weasels. You are very earnest and sincere and committed to certain principles, as a scientist, and thugs and morons and weasels do not understand that. And when you give them an explanation of how brilliant your machine is, you'll just be putting them off."
8. Butler, William, The Butterfly Revolution (1961) - The classic version of this book is Lord of the Flies, but I don't like that book, and I quite like this book. But then I'm a sucker for first-person perspective from smart, observant folks. From page 13:
I don't understand why people who don't like books hate people who do like books, but there it is. Howard just happens to have one thing in common with Pete Bunch: they both admire ignorance. Howard is one year older, fifteen, and isn't a year behind like Pete, but his grades aren't very good, and sometimes I help him with his homework. In fact, I guess this is why he lets me live. Of course, Howard wants to go to college and so he tries to keep his work up, because after all he needs college experience if he's going to be a professional football player, like he wants to.
9. Capote, Truman, A Christmas Memory (1956) - I have a big, illustrated version of this, like it's a kids book. It's about a boy and his best friend: his grandmother. From the 4th page of text:
Three hours later we are back in the kitchen hulling a heaping buggyload of windfall pecans. Our backs hurt from gathering them: how hard they were to find (the main crop having been shaken off the trees and sold by the orchard's owners, who are not us) among the concealing leaves, the frosted, deceiving grass.
10. Card, Orson Scott, Ender's Game (1977) - This is a quick, exciting read, even if it does have 357 pages.
11. Dacyczyn, Amy, The Tightwad Gazette (from newspapers compiled 1990-1996) - By far the best book on frugality on I know of. It also has nice drawings and a pretty font. I re-read this when I need a booster shot against commercialism. The author lists a lot of specific ideas but also writes essays on general strategies.
12. Dahl, Roald, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964) - I should read some more of Dahl's books, as Robin tells me this is not the best one, but so far this is the only one I'm sure I've read twice. I love his writing style, and I somehow identify with this extremely poor boy. From page 8:
Only once a year, on his birthday, did Charlie Bucket ever get to taste a bit of chocolate. The whole family saved up their money for that special occasion, and when the great day arrived, Charlie was always presented with one small chocolate bar to eat all by himself. And each time he received it, on those marvelous birthday mornings, he would place it carefully in a small wooden box that he owned, and treasure it as though it were a bar of solid gold; and for the next few days, he would allow himself only to look at it, but never to touch it. Then at last, when he could stand it no longer, he would peel back a tiny bit of the paper wrapping at one corner to expose a tiny bit of chocolate, and then he would take a tiny nibble--just enough to allow the lovely sweet taste to spread out slowly over his tongue. The next day, he would take another tiny nibble, and so on, and so on. And in this way, Charlie would make his ten-cent bar of birthday chocolate last him for more than a month.
13. Dickens, Charles, A Christmas Carol (1843) - I like this story so much that I even like adaptations of it, probably even bad adaptations. Just like even bad pizza tastes good. If I ever felt I needed an antidote to too much frugality, this would be it. From page 2:
Even the blindmen's dogs appeared to know him; and when they saw him coming on, would tug their owners into doorways and up courts; and then would wag their tails as though they said, "no eye at all is better than an evil eye, dark master!
14. Dominguez, Joe, and Vicki Robin, Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence (1992) - My favorite book on taking control of your finances, it also provides a specific nine-step strategy. (I have done only some of the steps.) From the first chapter:
There is a name for this peak of the Fulfillment Curve [a graph of the relationship between fulfillment and money spent], and it provides the basis for transforming your relationship with money. It's a word we use every day, yet we are practically incapable of recognizing it when it's staring us in the face. The word is "enough." At the peak of the Fulfillment Curve we have enough (see Figure 1-3). Enough for our survival. Enough comforts. And even enough little "luxuries." We have everything we need; there's nothing extra to weigh us down, distract or distress us, nothing we've bought on time, have never used and are slaving to pay off. Enough is a fearless place. A trusting place. An honest and self-observant place. It's appreciating and fully enjoying what money brings into your life and yet never purchasing anything that isn't needed and wanted.
15. Douglas, Lloyd C. White Banners (1936) - I don't know why I like this preachy, horribly dated book. I think I just like that one of the characters is so very wonderfully thrifty.
16. Duncan, Lois, Five Were Missing (aka Ransom) (1966) - a kid's book full of teen angst, but I like the main characters and so I go back to visit them occasionally.
17. Eliot, George, Silas Marner (1861) - I don't know why I like this story of a miser who takes in an orphan.
18. Engdahl, Sylvia Louise, This Star Shall Abide (1972) - A kid's sci fi book, and the science is sociology. It's about a boy who wants the secret knowledge, at almost any cost.
19. Frank, Pat, Alas, Babylon (1959) - Your basic straightforward post-apocalyptic novel. I get the idea that these 'fifties characters were able to handle things better than we would be now because we're even farther from remembering how to do things without so much infrastructure.
20. Gould, Steven, Jumper (1992) - A what-if book, a revenge book, a fantasy novel, it's got a much more likable main character than the movie does.
21. Heyer, Georgette Heyer, The Grand Sophy (1950) - Romances wouldn't have such a bad name if more were as great as this. Good characters, fun writing, and who knows what will happen next? It begins like this:
The butler, recognizing her ladyship's only surviving brother at a glance, as he afterward informed his less percipient subordinates, favored Sir Horace with a low bow, and took it upon himself to say that my lady, although not at home to less nearly connected persons, would be happy to see him. Sir Horace, unimpressed by this condescension, handed his caped greatcoat to one footman, his hat and cane to the other, tossed his gloves onto the marble-topped table, and said that he had no doubt of that, and how was Dasset keeping these days? The butler, torn between gratification at having his name remembered and disapproval of Sir Horace's free and easy ways, ...
22. Madrigal, Margarita, Madrigal's Magic Key to Spanish (1951) - my favorite book for learning Spanish grammar. She starts with what you know and tries to explain everything as if it all makes sense instead of as if you may as well just give up and memorize everything. From page 2:
Next there is a category of words that end in "al." These also are often identical in Spanish and English.
the animal = el animal
el animal - central - local - personal
el criminal - comercial - musical - rural
el canal - legal - natural - social
Note: Spanish words that end in "al" are stressed on the last syllable. Example: lo-CAL.
23. Naylor, Grant, Red Dwarf (1992) - British space comedy (like the TV series) sandwiched between slices of dark bread.
24. O'Brien, Robert C., Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIHM (1971) - A fabulous kid's book about heroic mice and rats. It's probably no Watership Down, but it's the one I've read more than once.
25. Palmer, David R., Emergence (1984) - My favorite post-apocalyptic novel, featuring a smart, funny, likable protagonist. Here's what she says about her journalling, in her abbreviated writing style, on page 3:
So journal not just for archaeologists; is therapeutic. Catharsis: Spill guts on paper, feel better. Must be true--psychology text says so (though cautions is better to pay Ph.D.-equipped voyeur week's salary per hour to listen. However, none such included in shelter inventory; will have to make do.)
26. Perry, Thomas, Vanishing Act (1995) - Learn from this exciting novel what to do if you ever need to disappear.
27. Salten, Felix, Bambi (1929) - I haven't read this in a while except for my favorite chapter, Chapter VIII, a conversation between two leaves in autumn. The book opens like this:
He came into the world in the middle of the thicket, in one of those little, hidden forest glades which seem to be entirely open, but are really screened in on all sides. there was very little room in it, scarcely enough for him and his mother.
28. Seuss, Dr., Fox in Sox (1965) - One guy tries to get another guy to try saying various tongue twisters, with which one of my friends was tortured as a child, being forced to read them. I had the advantage that I had a recording of someone reading this, and I still hear his voice in my head, which makes it easier to read things like this:
Through three cheese trees three free fleas flew.
My friend probably felt like the other character who said things like this:
I can't blab such blibber blubber. My tongue isn't made of rubber.
29. Sinclair, Upton, The Jungle (1906) - Everyone agrees this is a poorly written book. Even I don't like the fake happy ending. But the culture changes at the turn of the century fascinate me. This book is known for describing bad conditions at a meat-packing plant, and one of its effects was the creation of the Food and Drug Administration. Investigations uncovered all but one of the shocking things described in this book, though generally they did not all happen to the same family.
30. Sleator, William, House of Stairs (1974) - Sci fi kid's book; the science is psychology. Which of the kids will be able to resist their conditioning--can you guess?
31. Stephenson, Neal, Snow Crash (1992) - This is an exciting book with a refreshingly macho voice. It opens thus:
The Deliverator belongs to an elite order, a hallowed subcategory. He's got esprit up to here. Right now, he is preparing to carry out his third mission of the night. His uniform is black as activated charcoal, filtering the very light out of the air. A bullet will bounce off its arachnofiber weave like a wren hitting a patio door, but excess perspiration wafts through it like a breeze through a freshly napalmed forest.
32. Stephenson, Neal, Zodiac (1988) - A thrill-seeking environmentalist finds trouble. From pages 1 and 3:
This morning I woke to the sound of little green pumpkins exploding under the tires of his station wagon. Then Rascommon stumbled out and tore down our badminton net.
...
I went outside and followed Rascommon's tire tracks through the backyard. All the pumpkins were destroyed, but I didn't care about these decoys. What could you do with a pumpkin? Get orange shit all over the house? The important stuff--corn and tomatoes--were planted up against fences or behind piles of rubble, where his station wagon couldn't reach.
33. Thomas, Lewis, The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher (1974) (Winner of the National Book Award) - Yes, science should be objective. But it should also be subjective. I love the way the guy takes things personally and enjoys being profoundly affected by what he learns. I highly recommend this one. My favorite in this collection of fascinating essays is "Organelles as Organisms." Here's an excerpt:
My mitochondria comprise a very large proportion of me. I cannot do the calculation, but I suppose there is almost as much of them in sheer dry bulk as there is the rest of me. Looked at in this way, I could be taken for a very large, motile colony of respiring bacteria [the mitochondria], operating a complex system of nuclei, microtubules, and neurons for the pleasure and sustenance of their families, and running, at the moment, a typewriter.
34. Tyler, Anne, The Accidental Tourist (1985) - I've read many of her books, but this is still my favorite. Were I to go a little cuckoo over loneliness, it might look something like this. I mean he sets up an apparatus so that he can automatically get dressed as he gets out of bed, not as exaggerated as what Wallace and Gromit create, but still pretty out there.
35. Watterson, Bill, Attack of the Deranged Mutant Killer Monster Snow Goons (1992) - This is the only Calvin and Hobbes book I have. Not only have I read it several times, I (and others) have also colored in some of the cartoons. Great snowmen. I also particularly love this scene:
Calvin's dad, on the phone at work: "Hello?"
Voice on the line: "Hi Dad! It's me, Calvin."
Calvin's dad: "Calvin, unless this is really important, hang up, OK? I'm very busy."
Calvin: "OK, Dad. Goodbye."
Scene shifts to the kitchen where Calvin and Hobbes are sitting on the kitchen counter, the kitchen sink is overflowing, and the water level throughout the kitchen is midway up the bottom cabinets.
Calvin: "This should qualify in another 15 minutes."