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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!

Congratulations to our beloved poet and literary darling Percival Everett for joining the ranks of the influential in this year’s TIMES list! You can find your favorite Percival Everett books here at Bay Books, every day, Read further this short article from Cord Jefferson, Oscar winning screenplay writer of American Fiction, the film adaptation of Everett’s book Erasure.

There’s a moment that may surprise you reading Percival Everett’s novel James, a reimagining of Huck Finn’s Black sidekick and their treacherous journey to freedom. It’s the moment when you take a break from laughing hysterically to realize you’re laughing at a book about slavery. Many writers are afraid to insert levity in stories of tragedy, particularly stories of violent prejudice. But James, which won the National Book Award, shows that to omit joy is to do a disservice to the people who endured those tragedies—people who, despite their circumstances, always found ways to fall in love, have children, create art, and, indeed, laugh.

There’s a lesson in there about how to write, but there’s also one about how to live. Percival is a writer, painter, musician, equestrian, fly fisherman, mathematician, father, husband, and professor. It would all be annoying if I didn’t learn so much from him—chiefly that life is long, arduous, and unfair, but it’s always worth living.