Good Books

[deelaundry]

I decided to do the "List Good Books" meme. Due to a tragic bookcase accident, many of my books are now in storage. Wah, wah. But here are a few I still have around. Crack, mysteries, numbers, answers, kids' books...

- Expecting Someone Taller by Tom Holt. Complete and utter crack, bringing the characters of Wagner’s Ring Cycle to modern day UK. Hilarious and engaging.

- Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin by Lloyd Moss. Read this children’s book aloud to savor every well-chosen word, filled with the joy of both language and music.

- The Stories of Ray Bradbury by Ray Bradbury. Guys, I read this 900-page book of short stories in one weekend and I went frickin' INSANE. Insane. Just to pick one, "The Scythe" is a chiller that I will never forget.

- The Changelings translated by Rosette F. Willig. 12th century Japanese novel about crossdressing siblings. Awesome.

- The Fletch novels by Gregory McDonald. Did you see the Chevy Chase movies? Please forget them entirely and read these books, anyway. Sharp and funny, with (usually) good mysteries at the heart of them. Look, you like House, don’t you? You’ll like Fletch.

- Flynn, and The Buck Passes Flynn, and Flynn’s Inn by Gregory McDonald. The protagonist is nicer but no less interesting in this series of mysteries. You’ll either like the underlying social commentary or you won’t.

- Carrie by Stephen King. This book is one of the most tragic I’ve ever read. If you’ve ever been an outsider not by choice, I’ll bet you find the end of the book heartbreaking.

- What Counts: The Complete Harper’s Index, edited by Charles Conn & Ilena Silverman. NUMBERS. ZOMG, numbers, numbers, numbers... but there’s many a tale to be told in them, you betcha.

- Why Things Are: Answers to Every Essential Question in Life by Joel Achenbach. Joel is Dave Barry’s slightly more serious cousin, maybe not by blood but certainly spiritually. This book answers questions like, “Why is it an insult to call someone a turkey?” and “Why do women’s shirts cost more to dry-clean than men’s?” and “Why does the US have a Social Security tax?” It’s thought-provoking stuff. Seriously.

- Life Is Hell, Love Is Hell, and School Is Hell by Matt Groening. Before the Simpsons, there were Bongo, Akbar, and Jeff. My husband and I still say to each other, “I think I’ll have a little drinkie-poo.”

- Any Dorothy Sayers book, and any Agatha Christie book (well, there are some duds but mostly any). F-list folks who are writers: they are just like us. No, I mean it. And I adore them for it.

- Should I admit that I like Jeffrey Archer books and short stories? Probably not. But I have kind of a thing for twists at the end and he, and O. Henry, and Ray Bradbury are all excellent at it.

Kids’ Books
- Goody New Shoes (Hello Reading) by Harriet Ziefert. This is a must-have just for the revolutionary, countercultural first line: “Penny’s mom needed a rest.” And then Mom gets one! She gets to stay at home with her feet up, eating popcorn and watching TV, while Dad takes the kids out on errands. Anything that busts the stereotype of Super Mom and so ably conveys the idea that Moms deserve a break, too, gets an A-plus from me.
- Jamberry by Bruce Degen. YAY, MADE-UP WORDS! So fun to read out loud.
- The Magic Friend-Maker by Gladys Baker Bond. This is a gazillion years old (i.e., from my childhood) but I love it. Probably because I was a “one-girl” too, and any book that has girls bonding over rocks is awesome.
- Toad Eats Out by Susan Schade and Jon Buller (also Railroad Toad and Toad on the Road). Social stories made fun. Spectrum moms know what I’m talking about. Toad Eats Out is especially good, because (a) it goes through all the steps of going out, from choosing the place to paying the tip, and (b) there’s a surprise but it’s not the end of the world! They can handle it together! Awesome.
- Go Dog Go by P.D. Eastman. Yeah, it’s kind of long, but it’s fun and it TEACHES LOCATIONAL PREPOSITIONS. Good God, no other book does that very well.

Comments

[pwcorgigirl.livejournal.com]

Jamberry! Anything by Bruce Degen was a bit hit when the boy was little, but that one is just wonderful.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

"Quickberry quackberry, pick me a blackberry." Lovely illustrations and wonderful words. It's one of my favorites to read aloud.

[nightdog-barks.livejournal.com]

Mmmmm ... Dorothy Sayers!

The Nine Tailors, Have His Carcase, Whose Body? I need to reread some Sayers -- wonderful stuff!

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

I like the earlier mysteries better, but I like the character moments of the late ones, in which Lord Peter and Harriet Vane are married. Such intriguing, almost anachronistic ideas about marriage and child-rearing. (Wait, does "anachronistic" go in both directions in time? I mean "before its time," not "quaintly old.")

[blackmare.livejournal.com]

Sayers? I am unfamiliar.

*sigh*

So many good books, and so little time.

[takes-a-fairy.livejournal.com]

good books...no time

*nods & sighs in agreement*

Yes, and sadly, more of them are being cranked out while we're missing out on these.

[poeia.livejournal.com]

Try Main Street by Sinclair Lewis. I haven't read it in a few years (decades) but what struck me was that it was a feminist novel written by a man in 1920.

[takes-a-fairy.livejournal.com]

I think I may have read The Nine Taylors many moons ago.

[chewy-101.livejournal.com]

Kids books!
Occasionally, I go to the book shops and settle into the kids' section where I reread all of my childhood favourites. I don't buy them-as part of the experience is hiding out with the bright coloured carpets and sitting in a chair that is two sizes too small for me, but it's therapeudic to go back. I was a book nerd as a kid, and my middle years of juvenile fiction were such good ones.

When you're a little little kid, books are interactive; things to be read to you, for you to read to others and be shared. Then, finally,some time later, comes a point when you are left alone with the book and you leave the world behind and it's just you in the fantasy. That's when chapter books come into play. Mysteries, adventures, ghost stories, etc. Good times.
Rambling, sorry. I'd love to see some book lists circulating about of things they read as a kid. I'd get a kick out of that, so thanks for your kids' list above!

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Most of the above are books I read to my kids, with the exception of The Magic Friend-Maker. But it is definitely fun to go down memory lane with the older books. I even have a cute one called "Eddie Elephant" that was my dad's book in childhood, and it's just as fun today.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

I had nothing else to do, and then I went a little crazy, that's how I managed. *twirly eyes* I actually haven't read many of his novels; must rectify that. : )

[xaipw.livejournal.com]

Should I admit that I like Jeffrey Archer books and short stories?

Oh c'mon! Who doesn't love Kane and Abel?! My mom is still trying to get me to read Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less.

I haven't read Carrie. I have such a love/hate relationship with Stephen King. One book he's excellent, the next he suffers from literary diarrhea.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Carrie is one of his earlier books, and it's short. My sympathies were 100% with Carrie, and the end... oh.

Not a Penny More is very good. The short stories are probably my favorite, though.

(Adore your icon!)

[mer-duff.livejournal.com]

Oh, I love Ray Bradbury. I think my favourite short story is "A Piece of Wood." I went through a Ray Bradbury writing style phase in my late teens, far too heavily inspired by Dandelion Wine...

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

I don't remember whether I've read Dandelion Wine. I'll have to check it out. (And, really, start reading things other than fic again.)

[takes-a-fairy.livejournal.com]

I had to read Dandelion Wine for a highschool english class...but don't remember anything more about it. :o)

[poeia.livejournal.com]

Over the last few days I did a humongous purge. I've been living in my apartment for 30 years and needed more space. Step one is to move my computer into one of the wall unit sections which meant getting rid of a lot of books. I ended up giving 283 books to a charity thrift shop.

Some of it was easy (I never use most of the old movie reference books any more -- the Interweb is so much easier and more complete.) Some of it was simply painful. I got rid of about 3/4 of my mysteries. But I did keep Dashiell Hammett and Dorothy Sayers (although my Sayers are so old they are disintegrating).

My copy of the Harper's Index went.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Purging books is always hard for me, and my husband doesn't seem to understand. "But you haven't read that one in a long time." Well, no, but when I see the cover I can remember how happy I felt when I read it.

Now, sadly, most of my books are packed away and I've been fic-reading instead of book-reading. At least it means I never have to purge because of space issues. : )