15 Books in 15 Minutes

Laura posted this in her latest blog and I thought I would carry the torch.

The instructions are to come up with 15 books in no more than 15 mintues that have stuck with you, for better for for worse. Here is my list, feel free to post your own:

1. A Dog Called Kitty - Bill Wallace (My favorite book in grade 4)
2. Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson
3. The Chronicles of Narnia series - C.S. Lewis
4. Mother West Wind Why and How Stories - Thornton W. Burgess (My father read these to me before bed as a child. Sentimentally awesome)
5. Children of the Promise series - Dean Hughes ( a Mormon series set in WW II)
6. East of Eden - John Steinbeck (I don't know who can beat this kind of story-telling)
7. An Instance of the Fingerpost - Ian Pears (a loooong but interesting murder mystery as told by four very unreliable narrators that also describes scientific thought in Restoration Europe. It entertains to teach.)
8. The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho (a spiritual allegory)
9. The Outsider - Albert Camus (the epitome of existentialism)
10. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
11. Green Grass, Running Water - Thomas King (formatted to represent Native American oral story telling. Quite interesting and hilarious.)
12. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo (One of the most moving books I've ever read)
13. Dune series - Frank Herbert (a science fiction metaphor for the politics and religious extremism surrounding the middle east and its natural resources)
14. The Fall of a Titan - Igor Gouzenko (Oh how the mighty hath fallen! An extremely powerful cautionary tale of moral descent set in Communist Russia)
15. Wild Geese - Martha Ostenso (A poignant take of Canadian prairie isolationism)

Like Laura, I would also love to read your lists. Sometimes it's funny what sticks with us.

J

When He Grows Up...

As little kids, and even into our teenage years, I think we all remember thinking or saying "When I grow up I'm going to be a...". Well now I find myself thinking about my own little baby. What sport is he going to play if any? What things is he going to take an interest in? Is he going to be a number crunching, logistical super geek like his Dad or a passionate, arts loving, literature buff like his Mom? Maybe both. Maybe neither. All I know is that whatever this little boy of mine decides he wants to do, I will always be one proud mother...unless what he wants to do is sniff glue or hold a Guiness World Record for the most amount of hair plucked out of an individual by a pair of tweezers. My son, "the hairless wonder." It has a nice ring to it, don't you think?

J

Characters Worth Remembering

I'm an English major, which means I've read a lot of books in my day. Therefore, last night as I held my darling baby in my arms and tried to block out his cantankerous caterwauls, a random question entered my mind: out of all the literature I've ever read, what five characters are my favorite and why? It was difficult to whittle it down (and I have more favorites) but here it is:

1. MAX from Where the Wild Thing Are by Maurice Sendak. This was one of my favorite books as a child. I have always been a bit of a tom-boy but at one point in my childhood I actually fancied myself a boy and would run around with my shirt off swinging one of my father's socks around with a tennis ball in the end. So when I read this story about a boy who was sent to his room for chasing his dog with a fork and growling at his Mom while wearing a wolf costume only to be transported to the land of the Wild Things where he eventually becomes King - well, what mischief making child wouldn't dream of such an adventure??

2. JIM HAWKINS from Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. I've read this book about ten times and it still doesn't get old. Pirates, buried treasure, sword play, treachery, and triumph. These are the perfect ingredients to inspire a child's imagination. Did I mention there are pirates? Are we seeing a theme yet? Child empowerment anyone?

3. ALGERNON ("ALGY") MONCRIEFF from The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. Although he's a spoiled London aristocrat, he's just so incredibly witty and hilarious that his immoral and pretentious sensibilities seem like more of a virtue than a vice. I've always admired wit and being able to say exactly what you mean, when you mean to say it and in the cleverest way possible.

4. ELIZABETH BENNET from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin. I admire how Elizabeth is intelligent, witty and is able to stray (albeit slightly) from her society's expectations of her and still be rewarded for her deviation. Plus, I love how she is able to insult in a sophisticated way. If only I had that talent - not that I want to insult people.

5. SCOUT FINCH from To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Even though she's fictitious, I have such an admiration for this little girl - her spunk and tenacity - as well as her adamant loyalty to her father and his morals. Plus, she's a tom-boy just like I was. There is just such an innocent charm to her rationale and a charming naivete to her narrative.

I'm curious. What are your favorite fictitious characters from literature?

J