Let’s Talk about Some Books You Really should have Read by Now
~~~the uncommon bookworm
But first let’s keep in mind the immortal words of Virginia Woolf, in her book titled “How Should One Read a Book?”
“The only advice, indeed, that one person can give another about reading
is to take no advice, to follow your own instincts, to use your own reason,
to come to your own conclusions. If this is agreed between us, then I feel
at liberty to put forward a few ideas and suggestions because you will not
allow them to fetter that independence which is the most important quality
that a reader can possess.”
With that in mind, here are a few ideas and suggestions put forth as books you probably should have read already and why.
· “Tuck Everlasting” by Natalie Babbitt. Shows us that without the dimension of aging, our lives would lose their shape. In order to not just ‘be’, we need the balance of life and death.
· “James” by Percival Everett. Gives a different perspective and knowledge of culture, language and who gets to tell the story.
· “The Mountain in the Sea” by Ray Nayler. It will blow your mind. There is intelligent life out there and it just might be below the ocean surface. Get ready.
· “The Women’s Room” by Marilyn French. Earth shattering when it was written and rugged commentary on society’s expectations of women. Declared at the time to be a ‘game-changer’—-but you will ask yourself after reading it, did anything change?
· “The Light Pirate” by Lily Brooks-Dalton. A different take on the effects of climate change and how we could possibly adapt to the changes the earth will undergo and also how some things just don’t change in human nature.
· “A Prayer for Owen Meaney” by John Irving. A story about a man who is convinced of his purpose in life. A character-driven story, it explores complex themes of faith, destiny, and friendship through the narrator’s relationship with the extraordinary Owen Meany, “a boy with a wrecked voice–not because of his voice, or because he was the smallest person I ever knew, or even because he was the instrument of my mother’s death, but because he is the reason I believe in God”. Incredible.
· “Ulysses” by James Joyce. Because no one has actually finished reading this book and you can claim that you have. Tah dah!
