Books to read

Pic via Mama Kat

Today, I'm leaving the NaBloPoMo prompts to visit one of Mama Kat’s Writing Prompt – List 8 books you’ve read that you think everyone should read in their lifetime.  So here goes…. 

-The Talisman by Stephen King.  This book tops the list because it is the one that set me on the path to a lifetime love of reading.  I read it the summer that I was sixteen.  Before this, I grudgingly read for school and perhaps picked one up for personal reading once in a while but that was it.  I saw a friend reading it at the pool and he was enjoying it so much that he offered to loan it to me.  I had never read anything so long but, since I had a bit of a crush on this guy, I took up the challenge.  From the very first page, the story hooked me and wouldn’t let go.  I spent days with my nose in this book, unable to put it down.  With this book, Mr. King captured my imagination and never let go.  I went on to read his other books and have never stopped reading since. 

-Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien.  I know that this is actually three books but I can’t imagine recommending just one.  I am in absolute awe of his imagination.  He created this world, its peoples, its languages and its history in such a way that you almost believe that they are real.  You can’t help yourself; you find yourself in the story caring about each and every friend.  Yes, the characters become like friends long before the end. 

-Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling.  Again, I know this isn’t a single book but once you have read the first book, you NEED to know what happens next.  This started out as a story for tweens but turned in a phenomenon that sucked adults into the world of wizardry as well.  This story is a modern classic that belongs on any “100 books you must read” list. 

-Night by Eli Wiesel.  This is a book that I had to read in CEGEP (college) for an English class.  This story is about the author’s experiences in the Nazi concentration camps.  It is a small book, part of a larger manuscript that had been published in Yiddish, that gives you snapshots of life behind the gates.  It is small but powerful.  Normally, this kind of book is one that would never hit my radar which is a shame because, without that class assignment, I would never have read it.  I recommend everyone read it at least once their life. 

-Lord of the Flies by William Golding.  This is another book that was assigned reading; this time in high school.  I think that every teen should be forced asked to read this.  It appears on almost all of those “must-read” lists for very good reason.  It is a case study in how quickly so-called civilized human beings can degenerate when the structures of society are stripped away.  This book is really a predecessor of all of those zombie/virus/disaster apocalypse movies that everyone is so fond of today – except with better writing. 

-Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery.  This Canadian classic is a book that every child should read or have read to them.  It is the story of orphan Anne Shirley who is sent to the farm of Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert (middle-aged siblings) called Green Gables, in P.E.I.  They had wanted a boy but Anne, with her intelligence, imagination and spirit stayed and turned life upside down for all who knew her.  This book has so much charm and humour that you can’t help but fall in love with it. 

-Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.  I actually own a two (huge) book set of all of the Sherlock Holmes stories and love them.  He is such an iconic character that I can’t imagine anyone in the English-speaking world not knowing who he is.  How many people have actually read the body of work that made him so famous though?  It is definitely worth diving into and, as always, better than the movies and tv shows out there (although some of them are pretty good). 

-Still Life by Louise Penny (first book in a series) – Here is another Canadian author who deserves a wide audience.  Louise Penny writes mysteries and lives about an hour south of Montreal so she’s practically a home town girl for me.  The main character in her series is Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Homicide Department of the Sureté du Québec (provincial police force).  Each of her novels can be enjoyed as a stand-alone novel but I highly suggest starting with the first one and working your way through.  The development of her characters and their stories is hard to resist and I’m always looking forward to the “next one”. 

This post has become a bit of a novel itself (sorry!) but, as you can tell, books are definitely my passion. 

Kat