Thursday, February 10, 2011

Day 13 in "30 Days of Blogging"

Day 13: your five favourite books and why

This assignment is fantastic and difficult at the same time. I'm supposed to narrow it down to five? What if I miss one? I feel an immense amount of pressure.

So I am going to do my best. And it's likely I'll miss something good - sort of like when I didn't have a John Donne table at my wedding. It happens right? It's hard to make a list.

Here we go.

Top Five Favourite Books (not necessarily in order)

1. Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger

The first time I read this novel, it was a communal copy read by the CP's at Capernwray. I don't know what I loved most - Holden Caulfield's sass, or the notes in the margins. Either way, it was one of my favourite reading experiences. Ever.

"What really knocks me out is a book that when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours, and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn't happen much though"

2. The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde

This book made me fall in love with Oscar Wilde. From the very first quote on artists, I knew it was going to be love. I read this book on the trains of Europe, and it dazzled me. Such wit, so well executed.

"You are a wonderful creation. You know more than you think you know, just as you know less than you want to know"

3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K Rowling

Did I just put HP on my top 5? You bet I did. This book represents the culmination of a beautiful journey back into reading. After graduating, I didn't read for almost a year. I think my degree had brought on reading "overload" Then J.K. Rowling brought me back. And it was a beautiful thing.

"That which Voldemort does not value, he takes no trouble to understand. Of house-elves, and children's tales, of love, loyalty and innocence. Voldemort knows and understands nothing. Nothing. That they all have a power beyond his own, a power beyond the reach of any magic, is a truth he has never grasped"

4. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

It might seem like an obvious choice, but I put it on here because it represents the beginning of this world for me. It was my first, and probably still my best. Ohh Mr. Darcy.

"I cannot fix on the hour, or the look, or the words, which laid the foundation. It is too long ago. I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun"

5. High Fidelity - Nick Hornby

I'm a little unsure about this choice. But Nick had to be represented. I love that I am putting this book on a Top 5. Rob Gordon would be proud.

"I'm tired of the fantasy, because it doesn't really exist. And there are never really any surprises, and it never really....'Delivers'. And I'm tired of it. And I'm tired of everything else for that matter. But I don't ever seem to get tired of you"

4 comments:

Ben S. said...

wow - great list. i'm especially loving the quote from each book. do you just page through and find those or have them written down somewhere? :)

Sharelle said...

oh wow, I wish Bec. that would be much more "literary" and beautiful.

i used the old "google machine" to find my favourite quotes from the novels.

Spiro said...

Republicans for voldemort!

theRachel said...

Confession: I have never read any Wilde, and now I must read this. Thanks!