Your Top Ten (favorite works of fiction)

[jtb1951]

I guess it's the scientist in me that loves lists, but then I guess I'm just a troublemaker at heart, too!:)

What I'm looking for here (and please put some serious thought into it!) is your current top ten of all time favorite works of fiction, the books you could enjoy reading for the rest of your life if all your other books mysteriously vanished! Some ground rules: by a work of fiction I don't mean the entire canon of a favorite author (e.g. the works of Shakespeare) but would accept a duology or trilogy where the individual books wouldn't stand alone; see my list for examples. I know ten isn't very many works for most of us, but this wouldn't be as much fun if it was too easy to do! I await your lists with relish (w/ some mustard and ketchup on the side!)

Here are mine (in no particular order, except for numero uno):

1. The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien
2. The Divine Comedy - Dante Alighieri
3. The Illustrated Man - Ray Bradbury
4. Neuromancer - William Gibson
5. The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia - Ursula K. Le Guin
6. The Iliad - Homer
7. The Foundation Trilogy - Isaac Asimov
8. Startide Rising/The Uplift War - David Brin
9. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There - Lewis Carroll
10. "Repent, Harlequin", Said the Ticktockman - Harlan Ellison

John.

P.S. I reserve the right to change my mind at any time!!!:)

[vicki]

Top ten? Okay, no problem!

Like John's list, these are in no particular order except the first--

1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
2. His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman
3. The Beekeeper's Apprentice/A Monstrous Regiment of Women by Laurie R. King (if Mama says it's a duology, it is a duology) (plus, might as well throw OJER in there since it's in the middle and JUST, on account it's continuing with the same supporting characters)
4. Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers (really, all the Harriet Vane Wimseys are one continuing arc, so we count them all as one, in all fairness, and Murder Must Advertise, too, as it happens in the same time-frame, just with Harriet off-stage)
5. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (to this we can add Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman, which is sort of a companion book, as it also has "bird" in the title).
6. The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien (if Mama says it's all part of one big series, it is all part of one big series)
7. Ender's Game/Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card (same stuff, different viewpoints, so it should count as one, right?)
8. Um. Uh. Bkcvio[aonagn.../.......!

<Brain melts>

[AmyLizzie]

1. The Lord of the Rings -J. R. R. Tolkein
2. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
3. Sherlock Holmes. His Last Bow - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
4. The Mists of Avalon - Marion Zimmer Bradley
5. The Three Damsels - Vera Chapman
6. Winnie the Pooh - A. A. Milne
7. The Mandala of Sherlock Holmes: The Missing Years - His Exploits in India and Tibet as Faithfully Recorded by Hurree Chunder Mookerjee, C.I.E., F.R.S., F.R.G.S., Rai Bahadur (Nobu, Jabang) by Jamyang Norbu - GREAT
8. Peter Pan -J. M Barrie
9. The Chronicles of Narnia - C. S. Lewis
10. Ballet Shoes - Noel Steathfield

See not so hard! :cool:

[Nara]

(I'm brand new, so hello! This seemed a good place to start, and to read other folks' choices... I found a few to look for at the library.)

Note: In no order. Just depends on the mood!

1. Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
2. Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut
3. Voyage of the Dawn Treader/The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis (a completely beautiful vision of what it is to die, and definitely made me feel better about things I was going through at the time.)
4. Anything Hercule Poirot, Sherlock Holmes
5. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (I've been reading this for a long time. The first time was back in second grade! Obviously a lot of the message was lost on me back then!)
6. The Last Empress by Anchee Min (incredibly moving story about a woman who raises not one, but two sons to become emperor, losing each one, and having to reign throughout her life.) The audio was fabulous!
7. Wicked by Gregory Maguire (a grown-up version, where no one is all good or all bad... I really loved Glinda in this one, unlike the original. Ugh!)
8. The Lord of the Rings, which my parents gave each other as an engagement ring, since all they could afford ring-wise was the plastic ring off of a coke bottle!)
9. Anything Laurie, of course.
10. Harry Potter! (specifically, the fourth and seventh ones.)

[jtb1951]

(I'm brand new, so hello! This seemed a good place to start, and to read other folks' choices... I found a few to look for at the library.)

Welcome to the VBC, Nara, and thanks for posting your top ten!:) Hope you enjoy looking around the various topics and feel free to post everywhere and often! We're glad to have you here!

John.

[Kathryn]

Ooh, I love books, so this is going to be a doozy!

1.) The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
2.) Sins of the Wolf by Anne Perry
3.) The Last Herald Mage trilogy by Mercedes Lackey
4.) The Time-Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
5.) The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
6.) Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
7.) Phantom by Susan Kay
8.) LotR - J.R.R. Tolkein
9.) BEEK - because I can read it over and over again
10.) MOOR - because it's actually my favorite!

... of course, this list could change tomorrow. ;)

[vicki]

Hi, Nara and welcome to the VBC! I look forward to seeing you around the place. I respect anyone who could even begin to read Anna Karenina in second grade! The closest I can come to that is Gone with the Wind in fourth grade, which is pretty lame in comparison.

I've mostly recovered from the brain-melting incident. I think I may need a top 20 or 25 so as to avoid another mental traffic jam.


The Lord of the Rings, which my parents gave each other as an engagement ring, since all they could afford ring-wise was the plastic ring off of a coke bottle!)



That is too cool! They sound like my kinda people. :)

John's list reminds me of what tremendous reading gaps I have in the area of classic SF. I really do need to remedy that. And here's another favorites list where Lackey turns up multiple times--I also need to try her stuff. I have a couple of these in my TBR stack--The Last Unicorn and The Mists of Avalon. I'll move them up a few notches.

The Harry Potters would also have to be on my list (they're all one septology, right? ;)). The Time-Traveler's Wife would be on up there, too. I notice some other fans of His Dark Materials--doesn't the movie adaptation look like it's going to be cool?

Here are a few I haven't come across--will have to investigate for potential addition to the TBR stack:

Phantom by Susan Kay
Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (oooh--like the description on Hamazon)
The Last Empress by Anchee Min (sounds interesting!)
Elswyth Thane - Dawn's Early Light (and the rest of the series)
Winter Solstice - Rosamund Pilcher
The Keeping Days - Norma Johnston
The Three Damsels - Vera Chapman (out of print, unfortunately)
The Mandala of Sherlock Holmes: The Missing Years - His Exploits in India and Tibet as Faithfully Recorded by Hurree Chunder Mookerjee, C.I.E., F.R.S., F.R.G.S., Rai Bahadur (Nobu, Jabang) by Jamyang Norbu - GREAT (I might want to read something from the Canon before reading this)

Not that my TBR stack necessarily needs to be any taller, but I always enjoy adding good books to it!
http://laurierking.com/vbulletin/images/misc/progress.gif

[Kathryn]

Here are a few I haven't come across--will have to investigate for potential addition to the TBR stack:

Phantom by Susan Kay

Unfortunately, this book is VERY hard to come by, being out of print for years. Sometimes you can pick up a copy from ebay or ABE, but usually for crazy prices. Not even my library had it. I happened to get very lucky at a local bookstore (appropriately named "The Bookmine"), where I managed to buy it for under $20.

If you have an interest, I wouldn't mind lending it to you. Actually, that could be sort of neat, doing a VBC recommended reading lending library of sorts. Especially since I'm seeing all kinds of books here that sound interesting. :)

[Nara]

Hi, Nara and welcome to the VBC! I look forward to seeing you around the place. I respect anyone who could even begin to read Anna Karenina in second grade! The closest I can come to that is Gone with the Wind in fourth grade, which is pretty lame in comparison.

Actually, there was a system in place at my elementary to encourage kids to read. Each book was assigned a number of points, based on length, vocabulary required, understanding, etc. You could trade in each point for either a piece of candy, or a mini eraser. I collected mini erasers at the time. (You can see where this is going, can't you?) Anna Karenina had the highest point value in the whole library - 72 points. I read it for the mini erasers! And yes, I picked out each one lovingly... (and still reread that book every couple of years.)

I can't believe I forgot to add Watership Down by Richard Adams. I LOVE that book; it is almost unnatural how much. (In fact, I keep thinking that another bee book in the Russell series would benefit from the blurbs about bees, like Adams has about rabbits from R.M. Lockley's The Private Life of the Rabbit.) I actually loved this book so much that when I took a reading quiz on it in 6th grade, I got every single question right. The quiz was 100 questions. (Still not sure if that's cool, or just pathetic. ;) )

[annie]

Lots of those would be on my list (which I do also change from time to time). Some that haven't been mentioned:
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins (this got mentioned in the BEEK discussion)
Jane Eyre (keeping up the Gothic theme) and Sheridan Lefanu's The Wyvern Mystery, which has a similar plot-line and probably influenced Charlotte Bronte. I love Lefanu, but have to read him in broad daylight with a solid companion nearby!
Persuasion - my favourite Jane Austen
The Railway Children by E. Nesbitt - I think Bobby & Mary Russell would have got on well together.
I'm trying to decide on my favourite out of Marcia Muller's Sharon McCone series - it would have to be one with Hy Ripinsky in it - another great meeting of minds!
London Bridges by Jane Stevenson is a recent favourite - I'm waiting to see if it stays for the long haul!

Can I ask those who mentioned Shadow of the Wind if they can help me get through it without losing the plot? I love the story line, but can't keep my mind on it!

[Tara]

Ooh. This will require A LOT of thought. Will post my list later, if I can even make one. ;)

5. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (to this we can add Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman, which is sort of a companion book, as it also has "bird" in the title).

I have To Kill a Mockingbird but haven't read it yet. However, I happen to love Catherine, Called Birdy. :)

1. Laura Ingalls Wilder - pick one
2. Lucy Maud Montgomery - ditto, but I'm going to choose Rilla of Ingelside


Love those. Ever read the books about Laura's daughter, mom, grandma, great-grandma? I have all of them except for a couple.
I LOVE LMM! Rilla is my favorite too.

Here are a few I haven't come across--will have to investigate for potential addition to the TBR stack:

Phantom by Susan Kay
Unfortunately, this book is VERY hard to come by, being out of print for years. Sometimes you can pick up a copy from ebay or ABE, but usually for crazy prices. Not even my library had it. I happened to get very lucky at a local bookstore (appropriately named "The Bookmine"), where I managed to buy it for under $20.

If you have an interest, I wouldn't mind lending it to you. Actually, that could be sort of neat, doing a VBC recommended reading lending library of sorts. Especially since I'm seeing all kinds of books here that sound interesting. :)

I have that book! I haven't read it yet. I should. I really should. I got it used for $3, or something. Envy me. :p They must have started printing it again, because I found this:

http://www.amazon.com/Phantom-Susan-Kay/dp/1933626046/ref=pd_bbs_2/002-4664309-7453623?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1187489125&sr=8-2

I can't believe I forgot to add Watership Down by Richard Adams. I LOVE that book; it is almost unnatural how much. (In fact, I keep thinking that another bee book in the Russell series would benefit from the blurbs about bees, like Adams has about rabbits from R.M. Lockley's The Private Life of the Rabbit.) I actually loved this book so much that when I took a reading quiz on it in 6th grade, I got every single question right. The quiz was 100 questions. (Still not sure if that's cool, or just pathetic.)

I love love love that book. Ever see the TV series?

[vicki]

Each book was assigned a number of points, based on length, vocabulary required, understanding, etc. You could trade in each point for either a piece of candy, or a mini eraser. I collected mini erasers at the time. (You can see where this is going, can't you?) Anna Karenina had the highest point value in the whole library - 72 points. I read it for the mini erasers! And yes, I picked out each one lovingly...


There are good uses for bribery in the educational process. :)

They cover each of the major US wars. Revolutionary, Civil, Spanish American, WWI and a couple during WWII.

That's interesting--I did notice they were out of print. One day, we'll be able to download and read all these out of print books electronically. Not as nice as a page in the hand, but at least it would be accessible.


Unfortunately, this book is VERY hard to come by, being out of print for years. Sometimes you can pick up a copy from ebay or ABE, but usually for crazy prices. Not even my library had it. I happened to get very lucky at a local bookstore (appropriately named "The Bookmine"), where I managed to buy it for under $20.

If you have an interest, I wouldn't mind lending it to you. Actually, that could be sort of neat, doing a VBC recommended reading lending library of sorts. Especially since I'm seeing all kinds of books here that sound interesting.


Wow--thanks for the offer! If I can't get it through my library, I'll email or pm you. I also love mail-lending to my online book-friends--in fact, I have a 2-cd set of the BBC dramatization of BEEK on lending-rounds in the VBC right now--email or pm me if you want to get in the line-up for those.

As I posted in another thread, one of my favorite hard-to-find mysteries, King and Joker by Peter Dickinson, just came back into print! Wheee! <does happy dance>


R.M. Lockley's The Private Life of the Rabbit.


I'm a newbie to this one--what's it about? I did try to read Watership Down and couldn't get past the third page, which disappointed me greatly. I'm hoping it was just due to my being in the wrong mood for it. I'll try it again sometime to see if it ultimately takes.

Tara, you do need to read TKaM. It's fabulous!

Annie, I've been wanting to try The Woman in White and some LeFanu (interesting factoid: in Gaudy Night, my favorite Peter Wimsey mystery, Harriet Vane works on a paper about LeFanu's work).

[vicki]

I opened a shelfari.com account, in which you can have a "top ten" shelf. My top ten shelf (http://www.shelfari.com/vickivanv/lists/top10) now has 26 books on it...so far. Ack! And the only reason it's that small was that I was able to lump a lot of the series stuff into box sets. It's sooo hard to choose!

[annie]

There are good uses for bribery in the educational process. :)



That's interesting--I did notice they were out of print. One day, we'll be able to download and read all these out of print books electronically. Not as nice as a page in the hand, but at least it would be accessible.



Wow--thanks for the offer! If I can't get it through my library, I'll email or pm you. I also love mail-lending to my online book-friends--in fact, I have a 2-cd set of the BBC dramatization of BEEK on lending-rounds in the VBC right now--email or pm me if you want to get in the line-up for those.

As I posted in another thread, one of my favorite hard-to-find mysteries, King and Joker by Peter Dickinson, just came back into print! Wheee! <does happy dance>



I'm a newbie to this one--what's it about? I did try to read Watership Down and couldn't get past the third page, which disappointed me greatly. I'm hoping it was just due to my being in the wrong mood for it. I'll try it again sometime to see if it ultimately takes.

Tara, you do need to read TKaM. It's fabulous!

Annie, I've been wanting to try The Woman in White and some LeFanu (interesting factoid: in Gaudy Night, my favorite Peter Wimsey mystery, Harriet Vane works on a paper about LeFanu's work).
I have a feeling that was how I first found Lefanu! But I was lucky to have the run of all the books in my parents' and grandparents' homes and found many of these at an early age!
I think The Woman in White has everything - love,melodrama, the power of friendship, bit of Gothic horror (almost all explained away) and a serious villain. Also one the first female amateur detectives. It just got into the recent BBC "100 favourite books" so it still has a following.
I'd recommend any of Lefanu's short stories - but they are scary (!). He wrote the first "female vampire" story - Elvira and helped fuel the Victorian fascination with vampires. One of his short stories concerns the (probable) hallucinatory qualities of green tea - which has amused me during the recent fashion for this beverage!
His novels can meander dreadfully, the only one I'd recommend for a first go is "The Wyvern Mystery" - it isn't anywhere near as good a novel over all as Jane Eyre (very few are!), but it's a good read, and an insight into the time it was written.

[annie]

I have a feeling that was how I first found Lefanu! But I was lucky to have the run of all the books in my parents' and grandparents' homes and found many of these at an early age!
I think The Woman in White has everything - love,melodrama, the power of friendship, bit of Gothic horror (almost all explained away) and a serious villain. Also one the first female amateur detectives. It just got into the recent BBC "100 favourite books" so it still has a following.
I'd recommend any of Lefanu's short stories - but they are scary (!). He wrote the first "female vampire" story - Elvira and helped fuel the Victorian fascination with vampires. One of his short stories concerns the (probable) hallucinatory qualities of green tea - which has amused me during the recent fashion for this beverage!
His novels can meander dreadfully, the only one I'd recommend for a first go is "The Wyvern Mystery" - it isn't anywhere near as good a novel over all as Jane Eyre (very few are!), but it's a good read, and an insight into the time it was written.[/QUOTE]

[VictoriaMisselthwaite]

OK, I'm going to attempt this...it's kind of not quite a top ten, and it's in no particular order, although right now I'm very involved in Holmes and Russell, canon and kanon...


I'll start with Les Miserables, which I discovered through the musical. It led to a wonderful involvement [some might call it obsession] with the story, the characters, as well as with a particular performer [Philip Quast] in the 10th anniversary concert, which eventually led to a trip to London in 2001. Truly a life changing read! *nods wisely*

The Secret Garden is another book I discovered through the musical, and actually this is the show that I travelled to London for...Philip Quast, who played Archibald Craven there in '01, was the Javert who caught my attention in LM...

[i]Jane Eyre is another one I found through the musical, though it may be a little more obscure than the others. Actually, the year the show was on Broadway, they performed an excerpt on the Tony Awards, and I found the cast recording, then read the book and fell in love!

The Scarlet Pimpernel, and my favourite in the series, Sir Percy Hits Back. Yet again, another book read by way of the musical! I completely fell for the main antagonist, Chauvelin, probably in part due to William Michals' lovely baritone portrayal, but also because Sir Percy Hits Back showed another side of Chauvelin, in his lovely and very sheltered daughter, Fleurette. That's where I got my live journal name...

Naturally, I must include the entire Harry Potter series. I've read all but the last book, but I've also read all the spoilers, which I tend to seek out in general, and I'm looking forward to actually reading the last book, regardless of knowing "everything"!

I'll also mention and recommend, Little Women, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, the Little House on the Prairie series as well, as books I remember enjoying quite a bit...


Of course, the entire Sherlock Holmes canon almost goes without saying, as does the Mary Russell series, but of those I *do* have a current order, [though I really love them all] which is as follows:

Locked Rooms
The Beekeeper's Apprentice
Justice Hall
O Jerusalem
The Game
The Moor
A Monstrous Regiment Of Women
A Letter Of Mary


OK...I've rambled long enough! *Next*!!! :)

[FerryPerson]

I would have to put on my list any book that I enjoy re-reading...These are in no particular order and may include a series
1) A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle (would love to meet her! I re-read this one when I need to see good overcome evil...)
2) The Princess Bride by William Goldman (also in the top ten for movies from a book)
3) The Lord of the Rings & Hobbit by JRR Tolkein (also the movie thing)
4) Mary Russell series by Laurie R King (big duh)
5) Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury (the man is a genius poet!)
6) Lamb - the Gospel According to Bif, Jesus' Childhood Friend by Christopher Moore (a seriously funny book - I always laugh aloud!)
7) Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters (another fabulous series to re-read esp. when a new one is out!)
8) Harry Potter series by JK Rowling (I though each one better than the last and am reading them in reverse order to find all the portends I missed!)
9) Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich (great characters -so hysterical!)
10) Pern series by Anne McCaffery
I cheated and put series so it's more than ten:D
I have read a lot of Fantasy fiction, but went into mysteries with strong female characters when in a funk about searching for employment. That's when I picked up a Martinelli and later a Russell (Beekeeper's Apprentice makes me happy with the first paragraph!) All the books I truly enjoy have an element of humor - invoking anything from a silent laugh or tears running down the cheeks!

[Smurrey]

Choosing a top ten list for books is like trying to pick your favorite chocolate, sure you have your creamy, nutty rochets or your dark, buttery truffles that will always top the list but are meant to be savored not gobbled down and discarded like any old Twix or Whatchimicallit. (sp?) Then again, those have their place too and I really wouldn't make it through the week without them. There are other genres to be considered also. Things that I am not generally a fan of, but that when something truly outstanding, like a Godiva Belgian Dark Chocolate ice cream appears on the market, I--OF COURSE-- appreciate it despite my genre bias. Soooo... much to consider and now I'm hungry....

That being said, here are a few books that I love. It seems that I may have posted this list elsewhere on this site, but, oh well. I will, by the way, be cheating.

In no particular order:
1. The Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series by LRK
2. The Green Knowe series by L. M. Boston
3. The Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters
4. The Chronos/ Kairnos series by L'Engle
5. The Chronicles of NArnia by Lewis
6. The H P series by JKR
7. The Vicky Bliss series by E P
8. The Forbidden Game series by L J Smith
9. The Irene Adler series by C N Douglass (Sorry Holmes)
10. The Maggie series by Kasey Michaels
10. The Twillight series by S Meyers
10. The Dark is Rising series by s Cooper

BAH!!!

See www.goodreads.com smurrey for a comprehensive and growing list :o

[FerryPerson]

Smurrey - you picked a few more of my favorites! I enjoyed the Alder series as well, but think I prefer the Russell-Holmes pairing better. I can't bring the titles up in my brain at the moment, but was on the edge of my figurative seat for the books that covered the Jack the Ripper phenomena by Douglass.
The books I really enjoy are all long series because I don't have to say good-bye to my the characters I love!

[Smurrey]

I actually discovered the Adler series before MRH, and it is good but overall I prefer MRH too. It is a completely different vibe and Holmes gets such poor press, but that's to be expected I guess.

[nkk1969]

9) Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich (great characters -so hysterical!)


What did you think of the latest book? I'm not so thrilled with the last few, and was not going to buy...hmm, why can I not think of the name?... Anyway, a girlfriend in Germany sent it as a present and I read it. I think she's gone as far as she can take the characters and it seemed a little Same Stuff, Different Day to me.

Nikki

[Smurrey]

My apologies jtb1951, I didn't read your original posting before I added mine, I skimmed through the lists. As penance, I will try again, but I will leave off all of the afore mentioned book series. These are all stand alones as far as I know

1. Lord of the Flies by Golding
2. Piercing the Darkness/This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti
3. Jane Emily by Particia Clapp
4. Little Women by Alcott
5. Fahrenheit 451 by Bradbury
6. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
7. Step to the Music Phyllis Whitney
8. The Book Thief by Zusak
9. Weekend by Christopher Pike
10. Jane Eyre by c. Bronte
10. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
10. Gone With the Wind

I have excluded my favorites from YA literature, which was difficult. Maybe if no one minded I could do another list for them?

[KarenB]

Smurrey - please do a YA list - many of my favorites are YA and I'd really like to see what you list. I can't do these lists at all, I always end up with a deer-in-the-headlights look on my face utterly unable to decide on only ten!

[vicki]

Yah, we need a YA list.

I can't do these lists at all, I always end up with a deer-in-the-headlights look on my face utterly unable to decide on only ten!

It makes my brain melt to try and narrow it down to ten. My shelfari top ten shelf will probably end up at about 60 or 70.

[FerryPerson]

What did you think of the latest book? I'm not so thrilled with the last few, and was not going to buy...hmm, why can I not think of the name?... Anyway, a girlfriend in Germany sent it as a present and I read it. I think she's gone as far as she can take the characters and it seemed a little Same Stuff, Different Day to me.

Nikki
Well, it's not great literature and not a series I go back to repeatedly like Russell-Holmes (re-reading Beekeeper! Delicious!), but they're a good laugh. I usually get them at my favorite used bookstore "Mr. B's Bookery," so the cost is pretty low. When you need a good laugh, Evanovich has a knack with her turns of phrase! (or is that turn of phrases? - whatever!)

[annie]

Smurrey - please do a YA list - many of my favorites are YA and I'd really like to see what you list. I can't do these lists at all, I always end up with a deer-in-the-headlights look on my face utterly unable to decide on only ten!

I only discovered "Young adult" books as an adult! I don't think the category had been invented in the '60s in England!
I read a lot of books in my teens - I had parents / grandparents who didn't believe in censoring my reading, and I do think it is an ideal age to read some of the classics.
I recall reading 1984 (which so upset me I've not been able to read it since), Cry, the Beloved Country (ditto).
I read Sartre (I'm sure that only teenagers could belive they understood him);
Lady Chatterley's Lover - which presented a very different view of sex from the robust facts my female relatives ensured that I knew!
Under Milk Wood - stuck for 24 hours on a journey through France, this was my only reading matter, and I can still recite entire passages of that beautiful poetic prose. I didn't know then that I would remember Polly Garter in the years that followed "nothing grows in our garden - only babies - and washing..."
I wallowed in Gone With the wind and Forever Amber, and thrilled to all of Jane Austen's romances. I even ploughed through Tom Jones - which I still re-read every so often.

With my own children I discovered the authors labelled "YA" - Cynthia Voigt, S.E. Hinton, Ursula LeGuin; and I would put the excellent English author Phillip Pullman in that category as well, for his Ruby in the Smoke series as well as Dark Materials.

[Smurrey]

Ok, Here goes:

1. The View From Saturday or From the Mixed Up files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Koningsburg
2. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
3. Looking for Alaska by John Greene
4. The Westing Game by Ellen Rankin
5. The Last Silk Dress by Ann Rinaldi
6. Fog Magic by Julia Sauer
7. The Boy Who was Thrown Away by Stephanie Smith
8. ARtemis Fowl by Eoin Cowlfer
9. Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
10. Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher
10. Jackaroo by Cynthia Voigt
10. The Silver Kiss by Annette Curtis Klause

[Smurrey]

I only discovered "Young adult" books as an adult! I don't think the category had been invented in the '60s in England!

I actually wrote a paper on this topic over the summer for a class. It is dull reading, but should you be interested in a hasty root sampling of YA lit, well, here you go.

[annie]

Thanks - I've saved it to read later. Russell would say "then I'll tell you if I think it's dull"! (but I am sure it is not!). The genre is now well established her in the UK, and attracts some of the best authors.

[jtb1951]

I actually wrote a paper on this topic over the summer for a class. It is dull reading, but should you be interested in a hasty root sampling of YA lit, well, here you go.

Thanks for sharing your paper, Shauna; not dull at all, and an interesting synopsis of YA literature that I wasn't at all aware of. Thanks, again!:)

John.

[Smurrey]

Thank you :o I am working on my Master's in Library Media Specialist. One perk is all the great new literature I'm introduced too, One detriment is just the being on the other side of the desk again, I could never be a professional student like Russell, my heart doesn't thrive on research-- at least not on the organized kind. I'm too right brained or left brained or scatter brained or something :p

[jtb1951]

Thank you I am working on my Master's in Library Media Specialist. One perk is all the great new literature I'm introduced too

My younger daughter (Valentine Wiggin) is a junior in college majoring in history (minor in creative writing) who plans on pursuing a Master's in Library Science after graduation, so I'm always interested in the exploits of those engaged in the library field!

John.

[Smurrey]

Well, if I could find someone to pay me to read books for fun, that would of course be the IDEAL job, being a librarian is a close second though :) I am to a school librarian and I legitimately enjoy encouraging, bribing, brow-beating, and begging students to read. I freely admit to having deep-seeded psycological problems for which I take several IV's of coffee and hits of chocolate to self-medicate daily :) I have found the Masters classes hit and miss as far as relevence and practicality, but I will admit it is partly just difficult to be on the other side of the desk. Teachers are control freaks by nature and it isn't easy to be treated a a student again. All of my classes are online, which sounds good as far as the commute, but has had new and unforeseen challenges. Mostly though, I'm just tired after working and grumpy about one more thing to do. Don't mind me. When I'm finished, it will all be worth it. Many colleges are now encouraging students to get their Masters immediately after their Bachelors, and I completely understad that now.

[vicki]

Okay--here it is the wee hours of the morning and what do I see but a link to a paper on YA lit, which is a love of mine! So of course I have to click on it, and I'm glad I did--good stuff! Thanks for posting, Shauna!


They call this the “problem novel”; a story where the protagonist finds themselves in a dire situation that is complicated and quite possibly not of their own making and they are on their own to find a solution—adults are often useless to the protagonist or the problem needing solved. Problems include teen pregnancy, dealing with parental abuse, dealing with parent’s divorce, injustice, etc. These novels still typically had “happy” endings, with the notable exception of Richard Cormier’s The Chocolate War, and still left many taboo topics untackled.


This made me think of Brock Cole's The Facts Speak for Themselves (http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/11/16/reviews/971116.16metzget.html), which is one of the best and most disturbing YA books I've read. It tackles taboos, features adults in varying states of uselessness, dysfunction and malignancy. and it reads almost like poetry. I'm not sure I can narrow my Beloved Bookshelf down to 10 or even 20 books, but I could probably cut it down to 50, and TFSfT would be among those titles.

And I'm one who agrees in the broad categorization of YA. I think it's probably fair to include most of the 20s in the range, as the coming of age issues are often still directly relevant (or at least very bright in the memory) during that decade. But the process of "becoming" can take place in fits and starts over a person's entire life-span, so I think there is a lot in YA lit that people of any age can appreciate in relation to their current experience.

<Waves to John> Say hi to Valentine for me! I admire all these library science gurus--librarians rock!

[KarenB]

Smurrey, your post made me chuckle.

"Teachers are control freaks by nature and it isn't easy to be treated a a student again. All of my classes are online, which sounds good as far as the commute, but has had new and unforeseen challenges."

I majored in psychology and remember hearing that teachers, psychologists and clergy came out the highest in need for power as a career. Found it rather disturbing as I considered one of those as a career and chose another. hmmmm . . . I finished my master's long distance with a correspondence course (oh does THAT sound dated!) and found the lack of interaction with other students the most frustrating part of the class. Is that so with online courses?

[jtb1951]

<Waves to John> Say hi to Valentine for me! I admire all these library science gurus--librarians rock!

She's off to college for her junior year after a busy summer working an internship at the Chicago History Museum (formerly, the Chicago Historical Society), and doing research at the History Museum and the Newberry Library on the Women's Pavilion at the Columbian Exposition (Chicago World's Fair) of 1892-93 to present at school in fulfillment of a summer research grant she was awarded. (We're not too proud of her!!)

John.

[jtb1951]

Still love the library. Probably one of it's best patrons

I think it's hard to overestimate the deep impact that public libraries have had on the development and nurturing of the life-long love of reading that many of us share. As a grade school denizen of our local branch of the Chicago Public Library I felt like the proverbial 'kid in a candy store', and would pick out as many books as my "juvenile reader" library card would allow, then spend hours systematically pulling down the volumes of the different encyclopedias and reading through all the magical info they contained (what a nerd, I know...) When summer vacation came those book limits were lifted and I was in hog heaven being able to check out as many books as I could carry out; what a thrill!!! It is decades later now, but I'll never lose those formative memories, and I'll certainly never stop enjoying my use of our local library!:) Happy times!!

John.