Favorite Books: Part II

To whom it may concern:

After my rather long winded introduction, let's proceed directly to my favorite books, as grammatically conflicting for me as that name is. Well, almost directly . . . I must admit that I have many difficulties defining favorites of any kind. Maybe this is because, when applied to books, I enjoy too many genres of reading material. Or maybe it's that not all classics, whether books or other things, are created equally. Whatever it really is, laying out even a simple, general list of favorites is tricky for me at best, cumbersome at worst. Add to this the fact that I strive to read the canonical books of any field when learning about a topic. As a result, I've been plowing thru the standard canon of literary works for years. However, to claim that every work which appears on a recommended or required reading list is a page turner or immortal book for some common reason, is a mistake. 

For example, Don Quixote is a classic which appears on nearly every reading list I've ever seen, from High School Summer reading programs to requirements for Doctoral candidates. There are many reasons for its inclusion. Primarily I think, because it's the very first truly modern novel. At least that's the claim advanced by it's defenders. However, I did not find it a good read by any definition I can apply to it. While this is my mere uneducated opinion (i.e. I haven't studied the text in a class environment), I have read it and compared it to others of the same genre and find that it rambles, takes unnecessary detours, seems to contradict itself in places, and generally runs way too long (up to 1,000 pages in some editions!)

However, to it's credit, it incorporates multiple narrators (say some, and I'm not quite sure but that they are correct. Maybe a second reading is in order?), a complex plot which, written in two halves has the characters reacting in part two to real events in the life of the author. To explain, in part two, the main characters find a sequel to their own adventure, which really was published in Cervante's time prior to his publication of part two. In it, they read about themselves and decide to take alternate paths in order to frustrate the false writer's narrative. Quite complex and ingenious I think. Sort of time travel before the fact. The author also utilizes a good bit of meta fictional writing long before Calvino or his predecessors came along.

Nevertheless, as a novel, the story sucks, pure and simple. While there are many stories within the larger story; and often they are superior in quality to the deluded and ill conceived adventures of Don Quixote. However, don't let the fact that it's mammoth and shows up on every reading list in creation fool you. It's worth reading for the reasons I listed above. Prior to it, there was nothing else like it.

Yet to determine its true worth, ask yourself why there are so few movies about it (I actually can't think of any, but I haven't Googled it either). Also, ask yourself why you don't know anyone who's read it. Or if they claim they have, see if they can name any adventure other than the one with the windmills. That "adventure" occurred in the first 20 pages or so (Chapter 2 or 3 I think). I mention this because that's the only comment I typically get from people when discussing Quixote in person, I'm convinced that most people have only read that far. If that describes you, don't feel alone. There are entire blogs devoted to this book in which some of the authors confess that they've never read beyond the first part (which doesn't even represent the first half). In my experience, there are many who have tried to read Quixote but few, and by few I mean almost none, who finished it. Don't feel like the Lone Ranger on this one. Besides, it's not one of my favorites. 

OK, after a horribly long winded aside, let me finally list some of my actual favorite titles and tell you why I enjoyed them. What follows may seem too generalized for true favorites, but to me the literary world is a buffet of flavors. There are simply too many beautiful options to settle on just a handful. I hope you'll enjoy some of favorites. So, here goes! 

For fiction in general, my favorites are among the oldest and most famous. I think it impossible to surpass Homer's Iliad and Odyssey for pure fiction and creative genius. The former is deep, in many ways darker than the latter, and deals with more pointed issues. In the Iliad Homer hammers home again and again what it means to be human. Both take noticeably divergent perspectives on the power of the gods. The latter is at places funny, lighter, and contains rollicking adventures not even matched by Tolkien, Twain, or Lewis. Throw in the lyrical quality of even many English translations, and Homer can sing you (and he sang it for his original audience(s) rather than required them to read it) into a world where one-eyed monsters live, where men get turned to pigs, the wrath of one man alters the course of history, and the knowledge of one's future is anything but a blessing. These stories are alive and still kick after 2,800+ years. 

Next on my favorite fiction list has to be The Lord of the Rings by Tolkien. It is epic, deep, dark (except for the Hobbit), and breathtakingly profound in places. Beyond that, it's a riveting tale told by a master storyteller which keeps my mind glued to it, savoring morsels from it for weeks after the last page has come and gone. The hobbits in it ironically demonstrate to us what it means to be human, which is, or should be, the task of all good, serious literature.

For sheer depth of imagery, poetic beauty, theological excellence, drama, and overall effect (and more quotable quotes for me than in most Shakespearean works, not to mention a thorough romp through mythology by allusion), one would be very hard pressed to select anything better than Paradise Lost by Milton. His depiction of the fall into sin by our original parents paints a disparity few of us have even pondered, fewer still have grasped, and no one else I've read can communicate. It too is deep, dark (I'm seeing a pattern here), tragic, heavy, hauntingly beautiful,  tells me where I came from, what I am, what I should be, and why I'm not what I should be. At the end of it all, he not only tells us what it's like to be human, but why we are like it.

On a less epic scale, I've read many other works multiple times, which in my mind qualify them a favorite. At the pinnacle of this heap fall none other than the works of the venerable Charles Dickens. I can't recall how many times I've read Great Expectations. And I have read The Christmas Carol on Christmas Eve for the last few years. Some of my most loved and hated characters come from Dickens's pages. More evil than Gollum or Sauron is Quilp from The Old Curiosity Shop. I actually cheered when his dead body washed up on the river bank. There would be few better men than the Cheeryble brothers in Nicholas Nickleby. Nowhere in my experience, either in life or in literature, have I seen such a pure form of Christian love for another where the right hand truly didn't know what the left was doing. These aren't good books and characters, they are great ones. Don't pass up Dickens.

Others in this category would include The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis (his space trilogy is great too). I've read them at least 5 times. Dracula by Bram Stoker, Frankenstien by Mary Shelley, The Foundation and Robot series by Assimov, To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee, In Cold Blood and Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote form a group of works divergent in their topics and approaches, powerful in their delivery, and simply unforgettable in the stories they tell. In a totally different vein, the fictional works of Aynn Rand are enlightening even if one doesn't buy her philosophy. 

Of course, no list of my favorites would be complete if I didn't enjoy in Shakespeare, the short works and poems by Poe, the novels of the Bronte sisters, and the classic short stories from O. Henry. Lately I've been reading the works of Thomas Hardy. I you enjoy not knowing the end until it happens, read him. Be warned tho, he attacks nearly every social convention, and the three novels I've read are tragedies. However, he's easy to read, and for classics, are real page turners. I suppose my list could go on if I actually went and looked at the books on my shelf. But by doing it from memory, I'm sure I've caught the best of the best.

Naturally, I enjoy good non-fiction too. However, since nonfiction can be very categorical  favorites might be harder to recommend. Thus, I'll only mention the tip of the top here and as generally applicable as possible. The Bible can't be overlooked if one expects to be fully educated (and maybe now one would have to toss into the same argument the Koran and other religious texts. While I've never read the Koran, I  imagine it's only a matter of time before I will). One need not believe it to benefit from it, but so much in our western culture comes from it, that one really has to be familiar with it's stories and themes. Mythology, Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin, Descartes, Kant, Hegel, Heidegger, and others have shaped the way we view the world around us. In a sociological context, one really should read Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death, and Technopolies. And if you've ever wondered why the modern corporation operates  the way it does, read Matthew B. Crawford's  Shop  Class as Soulcraft. Just for fun, if for no other reason than to be able to argue with his defenders, it's worth the effort it takes to read Robert Persig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (The follow up book Lila is no where near the quality of ZaAMM, read it at your own risk). Some call it deep philosophy, others Buddhism, and yet others complete excrement. I've read it twice and find it fascinating if not totally convincing. You decide.

Beyond books that are unquestionably great, I also enjoy the voice of good writers. Joseph Heller writes in a most engaging way. He wrote Catch 22 which resonates clear overtones of M*A*S*H. Maybe I should say that the series flashes personality from his book since it predates the show. Nevertheless, his voice captivates me, as does Twain's, Faulkner's, Steinbeck's, Franklin's, and especially, that sweaty-toothed-madman himself, Walt Whitman. Or, give me a Garrison Keillor book where he sing-songs along like a verbal Ulysses inebriating the Cyclops with his dry, mid-Western humor, and I'll laugh out loud until I cry reading it.

Anyway, that's about the best I can do in delineating my favorite books. However, I think you get my point, and hopefully,  you'll got a few of these titles to whet your appetite. Additionally, in my side bar I've listed the books I'm currently reading. The last title will generally be the last book I finished. So a title will slide down the list until it disappears. At least that's the plan.

I hope you found some fodder for your own reading edification and enjoyment.

Until next time,

Contemplate the mysteries, and remember to breathe (and sleep - some of these books are addictive).