December 29, 200916 yr Author I'd like to add The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever (both trilogies) by Stephen R. Donaldson. Think Lord of the Rings on steroids. Lord of the Rings on steroids? Wow, for someone who tends to stay in the historic fiction and nonfiction realms, that sounds a little over the top fantasy to me.
December 29, 200916 yr Author Rockmom: I know A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was a big deal when it was published. Any chance you can give a quick synopsis?
December 29, 200916 yr All of the books below have had some sort of influence on how I see the world. I could defintely go on and on and on...but since only 15 were asked for, these are mine in no particular order: Red Badge of Courage (Stephen Crane) Exxodus (Leon Uris) Mila 18 (Leon Uris) QB VII (Leon Uris) Trinity (Leon Uris) Redemption (Leon Uris) Hawaii (James Micehner) The Naked and The Dead (Norman Mailer) A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens) The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexander Dumas) (Read the French version, no less ) A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith) Diary of Anne Frank (Anne Frank) The Last of the Mohicans (James Fenimore Cooper) The Yearling (Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings) I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Maya Angelou) The Blood of Lambs (Kamal Saleem) Infadel (Ayaan Hirsi Ali) Great Book. Love his work.
December 29, 200916 yr Rockmom: I know A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was a big deal when it was published. Any chance you can give a quick synopsis? It was published in 1943 and the main character is Francie Nolan. Of course, it's set in Brooklyn at the turn of the century. Some of what I would assume were the more shocking elements in this book at the time it ws published are alcoholism (Fancie's father), pediophilia (Francie escapes a pediophilic murderer) and I guess a frank look at poverty and the circumstances of environment on poverty: ie inferior teachers, job opportunities. People think when reading a review it's a "chick book". But, although the central character is a young girl, the book is much more about rising above one's circumstances. It doesn't paint poverty as romantic, but it doesn't rail aginst the injustice either. It sort of just realizes poverty, if that makes any sense. It paints the picture of those who love where they're from, despite the "world's" insistance that they shoul strive to beat it and forget it. I don't know if that helps. It's about 500 pages I think. I read it the first time when I was 12. I've read it at least once a year every year since. It simply is a beautiful book.
December 29, 200916 yr Great Book. Love his work. I love James Michener as well. Hawaii was my absolute favorite of his. I loved the way he began with the formation of the islands, the migration of the natives and it had a great affect on me really studying religion as a means of domination. Not that I condone that...just sayin'...:lol:
December 29, 200916 yr Author It was published in 1943 and the main character is Francie Nolan. Of course, it's set in Brooklyn at the turn of the century. Some of what I would assume were the more shocking elements in this book at the time it ws published are alcoholism (Fancie's father), pediophilia (Francie escapes a pediophilic murderer) and I guess a frank look at poverty and the circumstances of environment on poverty: ie inferior teachers, job opportunities. People think when reading a review it's a "chick book". But, although the central character is a young girl, the book is much more about rising above one's circumstances. It doesn't paint poverty as romantic, but it doesn't rail aginst the injustice either. It sort of just realizes poverty, if that makes any sense. It paints the picture of those who love where they're from, despite the "world's" insistance that they shoul strive to beat it and forget it. I don't know if that helps. It's about 500 pages I think. I read it the first time when I was 12. I've read it at least once a year every year since. It simply is a beautiful book. Sounds like something I'm definitely interested in checking out.
December 29, 200916 yr 1) The Seven Storey Mountain - Thomas Merton 2) The Lord of the Rings Trilogy - J.R.R. Tolkien 3) In Our Time - Ernest Hemingway 4) The Things They Carried - Tim O'Brien 5) The Confessions - Saint Augustine of Hippo 6) On the Laws - Marcus Tullius Cicero 7) Light in August - William Faulkner 8) To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee 9) A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens 10) The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams 11) The Birthday of the World - Ursula K. LeGuin 12) Cosmos - Carl Sagan 13) Brave New World - Aldous Huxley 14) The Stand - Stephen King 15) The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis
December 29, 200916 yr The Canterbury Tales...Chaucer Dracula...Bram Stoker Lord of the Rings...J.R.R. Tolkien The Foundation Trilogy...Isaac Asimov West of Eden Trilogy...Harry Harrison When Worlds Collide...Philip Wylie/Edwin Balmer The Stand....Stephen King Wizard's First Rule...Terry Goodkind Eye of the World...Robert Jordan Tomorrow!...Philip Wylie The entire 'Pelucidar' series...Edgar Rice Burroughs Robinson Crusoe...Daniel Defoe 1984...George Orwell Fahrenheit 451...Ray Bradbury Brave New World...Aldous Huxley Have you read any beyond the original trilogy? I've read the first four and there are at least two others he wrote that I've heard of. I'm just wondering if it's worth it.
December 29, 200916 yr I love James Michener as well. Hawaii was my absolute favorite of his. I loved the way he began with the formation of the islands, the migration of the natives and it had a great affect on me really studying religion as a means of domination. Not that I condone that...just sayin'...:lol: I have most of his books in hardback. Picked up pretty much all of them for a couple of bucks apiece at Half-Price books.:thumb:
December 29, 200916 yr 1) Lord of the Rings Trilogy 2) Original Dragonlance Trilogy (Dragons of Autumn's Twilight, Dragon's of Winter's Night, Dragon's of Spring's Dawning) 3) Cosmos 4) Black Elk Speaks 5) Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee 6) Night 7) Chronicles of Narnia 8) Beach Music 9) The Blood of Lambs 10) A River Runs Through It 11) The Secret Life of Bees Ok...that's actually 26 books. Oops! :lol:
December 29, 200916 yr I have most of his books in hardback. Picked up pretty much all of them for a couple of bucks apiece at Half-Price books.:thumb: That's how obsessed I am with Leon Uris. :lol: I am always on the look out for copies of his books in hardback. I love Michener, but I haven't developed that "have to have" obsession with his entire body of work.
December 29, 200916 yr 1) Lord of the Rings Trilogy 2) Original Dragonlance Trilogy (Dragons of Autumn's Twilight, Dragon's of Winter's Night, Dragon's of Spring's Dawning) 3) Cosmos 4) Black Elk Speaks 5) Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee 6) Night 7) Chronicles of Narnia 8) Beach Music 9) The Blood of Lambs 10) A River Runs Through It 11) The Secret Life of Bees Ok...that's actually 26 books. Oops! :lol: I'm going to have to do a 2nd set of 15...well...I guess it would be 13 to make up for the fact that I posted 17 in my first post. :lol: The Secret Life of Bees is an AMAZING book! I have a hard time narrowing down a list of books that have influenced me. I am a voracious reader. I simply can't think of any book I've read that I didn't pick up something valuable from. So, to add on to my list: The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd Marley and Me John Grogan Tuesdays with Morrie Mitch Albom John Jakes Kent Family Chronicles (all 8) For the Sins of My Father by Albert DeMeo Angela's Ashes, Tis and Teacher Man all by Frank McCourt
December 30, 200916 yr Starship Troopers - Robert Heinlein Stranger in a Strange Land - Robert Heinlein Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand The Gods Themselves - Isaac Asimov The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings trilogy - J.R.R. Tolkein Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll The Godfather - Mario Puzo Wiseguy - Nicholas Pileggi Road to Perdition - Max Allan Collins Donnie Brasco - Joseph D. Pistone The Hunchback of Notre Dame - Victor Hugo The Good Earth - Pearl S. Buck The Last of the Mohicans - James Fenimore Cooper A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens Great Expectations - Charles Dickens Don Quixote - Miguel de Cervantes (translation by John Ormsby) Dr Jeckyll and Mr Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson Germinal - Emile Zola Lady Chatterly's Lover - D.H. Lawrence In no particular order, along with several other books listed by others.
December 30, 200916 yr Have you read any beyond the original trilogy? I've read the first four and there are at least two others he wrote that I've heard of. I'm just wondering if it's worth it. Just a for what it's worth. IMO. The Gods Themselves is Asimov's best work.
December 30, 200916 yr The Last Days of Summer Invisible Monsters Catcher in the Rye Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal How to be Good Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream American Psycho Ham on Rye The Prince The Great Gatsby Women A River Runs Through It Choke The Big Sleep Of Mice and Men Just noticed that this was on both of our lists!
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