One of the things I decided about myself in 2012 is that I read too much crap. And by this I mean terrible, terrible books that were senseless, and I am a little bit afraid that while the books were super fun and hit the spot, that I would not know good writing if it hit me in the boob. But please don’t throw books at my boobs. They are already small enough that it would make tricky target practice anyhow. No need to make them smaller.
So, not that I am one to limit the genre or senselessness of what I read, but I thought to myself, “Myself, maybe we could read one book a month that many, many people say is the most amazingist book ever.” I have a feeling amazingist isn’t a superlative, but that’s what reading senseless books gets you as a writer. I asked on twitter to help with collating which 12 books to read, but I didn’t have enough room to state my requirements.
1) I cannot have already read it, with the exception of The Great Gatsby. Everyone and her mother keeps telling me to reread this book, so it’s on the list.
2) It cannot be overlong, as I have to finish it within the month. No Anna Karenina. Besides, a local movie theater claimed that “Keira Knightley is Anna Karenina,” and well, that’s enough for anyone to stay away. (Also, I read Anna. I could not tell you what it was about.)
3) It does not matter if it was published in the last year or three hundred years ago, or if it is a children’s (chapter) book or an adult book. “Classic” to me would be defined as a critical success, either now or many rotations of the earth ago. Doesn’t matter.
4) I’m limiting six of the books to men, six to women. I’d also (hopefully) like to read at least a few by non-white writers. Hopefully.
I like funny books and romantic books and books that are fast-paced. I am not really that in to experimental writing or plots, but WHO KNOWS. Maybe I just haven’t found the right book.
OK! Tell me what to read, pretty please. I will post the list of 12 later in the week from your suggestions, culling books I’ve already read.
I love this game! Enjoy!!
Suggestions:
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
The Ground Beneath Her Feet by Salman Rushdie (this might not be your thing…Haroun and the Sea of Stories is also SO GOOD, but I pretty much have the biggest brain crush on him ever)
The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy
She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb maybe. I loved it. None of his other books held a candle to it (for me). But it was an Oprah book so maybe you should take this with a grain of salt.
The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford (1915). I keep coming back to it for some reason, and I’m not a re-reader.
I think the only classically classic book I like is Jane Eyre. But I like it enough to own a copy and re-read it, so. I would second the Joy Luck Club and add The Kitchen God’s Wife (also by Amy Tan).
I was going to suggest Jane Eyre too. It is one of my favorite classics ever.
I read a bunch of Amy Tan books all at once, which was probably a mistake, because by the time I read The Joy Luck Club I was sick of Amy Tan. The Kitchen God’s Wife was my favorite of all of them.
Ok, right now I’m reading books that use the word “lush” about 27 hundred times too often, so I can’t recommend them, but when I used to read good books, a favorite was A Map of the World by Jane Hamilton. I remember reading it and thinking that woman knew how to use words. I was in awe.
Also, another long-time favorite was Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler
So many good suggestions already! I loved The Handmaid’s Tale and am an Atwood fan generally but think this is her best. I was thinking about The Time Traveller’s Wife. I definitely loved that. To Kill a Mockingbird is never a bad choice. Their Eyes Were Watching God was also excellent and might fulfill your non-white requirement.
Good luck with this and I’m very much looking forward to reading what you write following.
I second the nomination for She’s come undone by Wally Lamb. I will add:
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (one of my all time faves)
Room by Emma Donahue (recent but disturbing)
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See (amazing historical fiction with some romance too)
I’d second Swistle on Jane Eyre as a surprisingly good “classic” classic like old English lit classic.
For children’s books I loved Swiss Family Robinson (but haven’t read it in decades) and what about A Wrinkle in Time? I was thinking of rereading that this year as I recall almost nothing about it. You could also read Tom Sawyer or Huckleberry Finn–(although you probably already have) but they are on my list and certainly classics with good writing. I always love Roald Dahl and certainly Matilda or James and the Giant Peach must be classics by now.
For non white authors you could try “Kindred” by O. Butler. Not sure it’s a classic per se but I read it for a library book club thing and it was engaging.
Ok, I’ll stop
Oh, if it can be a children’s book, then please cross out all those suggestions I made on Twitter and replace them with A Wrinkle in Time.
“The Heart is a Lonely Hunter,” by Carson McCullers. Kind of a bummer, but truly incredible when you consider it was written by a 23-year-old.
Oh, “Jane Eyre”. How I love that book.
Perhaps “A Prayer for Own Meany”?
If you’re not excluding children’s books, may I suggest “The Phantom Tollbooth”? And if you haven’t read it yet, you MUST read “The Fault In Our Stars”.
Also: “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”.
Wuthering Heights, Great Expectations, Catcher in the Rye, Of Mice and Men, and To Kill a Mockingbird are some of the only classics I have enjoyed. For the non-white authors I liked Black Boy and Native Son by Richard Wright and Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. I also second Their Eyes Were Watching God if you haven’t read it yet.
I have classics, but I define classic as old. Of the old books though, my very favorite book is McTeague by Frank Norris and also East of Eden by John Steinbeck is quite excellent.
If you’re really going to tackle a book a month, I think you should consider Rafael Sabatini’s “Captain Blood” as your reader’s holiday. Sabatini (1875 – 1950) was the master of the great short read. He was born in Italy and his mother and father were both opera singers. He spoke 7 languages. His son Lancelot flew his plane over his parent’s house the day he got his RAF wings and died in a fiery crash right in front of them. It must have been a weird and terrible life, but I think it also lent his novels about pirates and slaves and intelligent, driven women a harder, more observed edge than his contemporaries, who can be a little sugary for my taste. Good luck with the project!
I haven’t read “Captain Blood” yet, but Sabatini’s “Scaramouche” has one of my favorite lines ever: “He was born with a gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad.”
I keep thinking I’ll revisit some of the classics I loved as a dorky teen. Then I remember that I secretly hated most of them and just wanted to appear dreamy and romantic. Instead, I was bored and came off as dorky rather than dreamy. #fail
Their Eyes Were Watching God is a great suggestion. You might also try The Namesake or The Color Purple for nonwhite writers.
I think Jane Austen holds up remarkably well — she’s so good at characters and the ridiculousness of people. I like Mansfield Park if you’ve already done Pride and Prejudice. I also second The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter.
Oh! In Our Time by Hemingway. Short stories, which I normally hate, but these are brilliant.
A Tale of Two Cities or Great Expectations are the best Dickens.
I just reread The Handmaid’s Tale, and it was really good. Much better than I remember it being when I read it in late high school/early college. The Secret Garden and Little Women are always good choices, too, though you’ve probably read them.
Oh, The Bell Jar, too. I liked that one a lot.
Ok, some of these have been said and some haven’t.
A Prayer for Owen Meaney
Invisible Man (Ellison)
A Swiftly Tilting Planet
High Fidelity
Me Talk Pretty One Day
Ficciones (Borges)
Beloved
The Curious Incident of the Dog at Night-time
The Time Traveler’s Wife
Love is a MixTape
A Visit From the Goon Squad
something by Chuck Palahniuk…maybe Diary or Lullaby?
Moby Dick is supposed to be quite “classical”. I loved “Gone with the Wind” and Barbara Kingsolver’s “Poisonwood Bible”–if that’s considered a classic.
Happy reading, Grammy
Howabout Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli. It is a Newberry Book Award winner(1990). Great story. Young adult and
children”s literature, A twelve year old boy accomplishes extraordinary deeds while sturggling with homelessness
and racism in a fictional PA town. Ex-school teacher PAP, Blessings in Abundance
I’ve read Maniac Magee probably more times than any other book. I love that book. I’ll second that suggestion.
Man this makes me wish I still had my syllabi from my english major days–I focused on “minority literature” and loved so so much of it, but I can barely remember what I read a month ago, much less 12 years ago.
Well, nevermind. I’ll just give you a general list (though some of these I read so long ago, I don’t really remember if they’re fast paced or not, just that I loved something about them.): Jane Eyre, Joy Luck Club, Kitchen God’s Wife, The Bean Trees (everyone else will tell you to read Kingsolver’s Poisonwood Bible, but I honestly loved her earlier works better), One Hundred Years of Solitude, Bless Me Ultima, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Eva Luna, Wicked, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Universe, Phantom Tollbooth (such an underrated book!), Time Traveler’s Wife…
Oh man, I really can go on and on huh?
I agree with Ginger about Kingsolver. The Bean Trees is magical. I liked Poisonwood, but it doesn’t compare to her earlier novels. Oh! and Eva Luna is fantastic.
OK, my “classics” are From The Mixed Up Files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler by E L Konigsburg (female author), The Westing Game, All Quiet on the Western Front, Lolita, Slaughterhouse Five, Clockwork Orange, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius (yes, it’s totally modern, but it’s wonderful), and Utopia by Sir Thomas More (or for an even more obscure book- Looking Backwards by Edward Bellamy)
Ok, here are more choices.
Anything by Jhumpa Lahiri, Edwidge Danticat, Diana Abu-Jaber.
Wilkie Collins is really good if you like kind of trashy Victorian novels (much more fun than Dickens)
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier is a must (also, My Cousin Rachel)
Beloved by Toni Morrison (also The Bluest Eye)
Their Eyes Were Watching God
Lolita
Katherine by Anya Seton
Also, I Capture the Castle
I can’t wait to see what you come up with – maybe a few new ones that I’ve always been too afraid to try? My suggestions:
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly
Oh, I second the following:
Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
Clockwork Orange
Slaughterhouse Five
The Name of the Rose
Oh, “The Book of Lost Things”–so beautiful and wonderful and creepy. I liked that book so much, I gave it as a gift.
Here are 10 “classics” you could try
The Warrior’s apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold
The Deed of Paksenarrion: A Novel by Elizabeth Moon
Soul Music by Terry Pratchett
Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy by Douglas Adams
Cast in Shadow by Michelle Sagara
Fledgling by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
Cocaine Blues by Kerry Greenwood
Every woman for herself by Trisha Ashley
Finn Family Moomintroll by Tove Jansson
May Poppins by PL Travers
All are reasonably short but A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth is great and by a non white author but incredibly long ( can be counter acted with a few Amar Chitra Katha comics)
Oh, fun! I have to second a couple of the above recommendations: Jane Eyre (Sooooo damn romantic, even if it does cement the “if you love a bastard hard enough, he’ll become a prince” trope), The Westing Game, A Wrinkle in Time, Owen Meany (of course), The Poisonwood Bible, To Kill a Mockingbird, Little Women, Rebecca.
My suggestions: The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins. It’s a Victorian/Gothic mystery/love story. So awesome. In fact, I think I need to find my copy and re-read it.
The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie. This is the book that brought about the Fatwah (spelling?) on Rushdie, and it’s absurdly, weirdly, wonderfully fantastic. It also makes one scratch one’s head about what was so offensive.
Also good by Rushdie is Midnight’s Children.
Life of Pi by Yann Martel made me racked-with-sobs cry in a good way.
American Gods by Neil Gaiman is phenomenal. I think it’s been underrated, but it really brings up interesting questions of belief and morality. (The idea behind the book is that the gods people believed in when they came to America are still living when their people stop believing in them, so they need to find employment. Love goddesses become prostitutes, god-kings [like Odin] become mob bosses. It’s incredible.)
I’ve really been on an Agatha Christie kick lately, but her novel And Then There Were None is really a fabulous read. Not just a really well-thought-out and paced mystery, but also a good philosophical look at justice. (I have a fantasy of writing a prequel to And Then There Were None based on one of the characters–I really feel like her back story needs to be written.)
Also, I would love to get in on this reading improvement gig. Would you consider making this a classic books book club? I’ll actually get on Twitter for it!
Since there are so many Jane Eyre recommendations (which I love)…Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys. It is a re-imagined past to Mr. Rochester.
Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich, she has written a series of books about the lives of people from a Chippewa reservation in North Dakota, they include The Beet Queen and Tracks.
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (anything by him is fantastic)
Aura by Carlos Fuentes (short novella but so amazing)
I went thru a Jane Austen phase, so any of hers for sure.
Someone else said Phantom Tollbooth that would be a great choice
And to second some others, The Time Traveller’s Wife, She’s Come Undone, Life of Pi, The Secret Garden and Little Women
I listen to audio books too and usually do longer books that would take more than a month. But here are a few of my favorites:
The Robe by Lloyd C. Douglas
Fire by Night Lynn Austin (Christen Fiction, but a great story set in the civil war)
Roots by Alex Haley
The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
Redeeming Love Francine Rivers
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
I suspect that I’m the only person on the face of the earth who despises Jane Eyre, but man, do I hate it! Most of my recommendations have already been mentioned, but I’ll add A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith.
I loved Summer and The House of Mirth, both by Edith Wharton. The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery is not quite a classic, but it is a funny, oldey-timey romance that never fails to catch me with its details. I don’t know why I’m not thinking of any non-white authors! I loved Anagrams by Lorrie Moore. I actually enjoyed the Super Sad Super True Love Story book by Shteyngart, and I normally hate writing by guys like that–it was a little dystopian, a little white-boy myopic, and a little pop-culture-ish.
Oh, and Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.
Since children’s books are fair game and that’s what I end up reading to my kids:
any book by Robert Lawson
any book by Elizabeth George Speare (very hard to choose)
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken
A Wrinkle In Time by Madeline L’Engle
Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling
Where The Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
Happy reading!
Already so many choices, an Australian classic is seven little Australians by Ethel Turner, one if my favourites.
Other books I have enjoyed are:
Room by Emma donoghue but it is very disturbing so only if you are emotionally strong.
Sarah’s key by Tatiana De Rosenay
Year of wonders by Geraldine Brooks
Jessica by Bryce Courtenay – fabulous Australian story by my favourite Australian author.
Oh one more to add –
Falling leaves by Adeline Yen Mah