MamaBloo’s 10 All time Favorite Books
I could go on and on about the books below – they are like old friends to me. I would love for YOU to post a comment telling me your favorite book and why. Here are my top ten:
#10 – Seabiscuit by Lauren Hillenbrand – I actually cried the ugly cry at the end of this book. Not because the ending was tragic or heart-wrenching, but because the books was over and I loved Seabiscuit (the horse) just that much… sigh…
#9 – The Red Tent by Anita Diamant - The power of women! And I don’t say that in a flip way. Nothing is more amazing to me than when a group of women get together in harmony with each other. This book may be about more than that, but it also is all about that.
#8 -A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving - One critic wrote that this book was a “meditation on literature, history, and God.” There ya have it.
#7 – The Brothers K by David James Duncan. A friend of mine actually PRAYED for these characters when she wasn’t reading. It’s is just that good. And if you like baseball ( I do!) this book is even sweeter.
#6 – I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith – Charming!!! The movie is just a poopie (did I really just say “poopie” ???) version of this amazingly intimate, funny, and delightful book.
#5 – To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee – How could anyone in their right mind not put this on their list. Atticus? Jem? Scout? But take my advice, DO NOT name your cat after Boo Radley…
#4 – Rebecca by Daphne DeMaurier – A good old-fashioned freaky, shivery mystery. Don’t read on a cold, stormy night unless you have a nerves of steal.
#3 – Peace Like a River by Leif Enger- Every syllable in this book is worth reading… every one. You will feel like the characters are family on about page 2 and the author only draws you in further as you read. Just like family everyone is quirky with warts — but you love the snot out of them, too. And get ready to gasp in utter HOPE at the end of the novel.
#2 – The Lord of The Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien - Every Sci Fi/ Fantasy book seems to steal from Tolkien. He is the ultimate master of good versus evil, the hero’s quest, rich fake-historical fiction, and making you want to live in Middle Earth, if only to meet Legolas the elf!
#1 – Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery - No other book has shaped my outlook as much as this one. To look at life through the eyes of beauty and adventure, to claim those kindred spirits and bosom friends out there, and to find love in pure simplicity came via the words of one Ms. Anne Shirley. And, yes, there is a part of us all that wishes we could’ve married Gilbert….
3, 5, 7, 8 & 9 are all on my list, not in the same order or holding the same spot, but definitely on my list. Guess I have to add a couple to my reading list too.
5 & 8 are in my top 5!…and there are a couple here that are new to me – always exciting to be pointed towards more books!
Read all these! Good list. I would add these favorites (in no particular order):
The Good Earth, Pearl Buck (fiction, old China)
The Middle Place, Kelly Corrigan (funny memoir)
The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls (one of the best memoirs I’ve ever read)
Angela’s Ashes, Frank McCourt (His childhood in Ireland, stays with you forever)
Ender’s Shadow, Orson Scott Card (best sci fi)
A Fine Balance, Rohinton Mistry (Fiction, India, another you can’t forget)
Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe (beautiful, touching classic!)
The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini (Can’t put it down!)
Kristin Lavransdatter, Sigrid Undset (trilogy, fiction, 14th century Norway, love to follow character’s whole life!)
Is this too many?! Know I’m missing some favorites, but this is what I can see in my bookcases!
Thanks, Kari!
I am bout to start Half The Sky which I heard was amazing..
The Shipping News
The Road
What Looks Like Crazy On An Ordinary Day
Life of Pi
The Namesake
Interpreter of Maladies
Thank you! I love good book lists. I don’t have a list for you but I just read “Understood Betsy”. It’s for my little girl to read, but it’s just as good for an adult, I think. It was wonderful. Author is Dorothy Canfield Fisher.
Kelli — is the book MY HALF OF THE SKY or HALF THE SKY?? I found both and they both look really good!
Hi Kari. Thanks to all for the great titles everyone. I love getting recommendations on books. I’m currently reading two that I’m really enjoying. One title is “The Help”. It takes place in Mississippi in the 1960′s and is about three extraordinary women. I literally can’t put it down and have dark bags under my eyes from reading late into the night—I love reading a book that grips me like that! The other title I just bought and it is especially poignant to read with the devastation that has happened in Haiti. It’s called “Mountains Beyond Mountains” by Tracy Kidder and is about the quest of Dr. Paul Farmer to cure the world and focuses on Haiti, Peru. Cuba and Russia. It is just as gripping and personal of a story.
Oh boy oh boy!! Where to start! I could copy most of your faves as my faves, Kari! Hands down all time fave is “Peace Like a River” but also would add to your list “East of Eden” – there are great writers and then there are geniuses and Steinbeck is a genius. “Kitchen God’s Wife” by Amy Tan is the start of my love for books when I realized I could learn about other cultures, places and times in a whole new way so it will always have a special place in my heart. “Lonesome Dove” by Larry McMurtry, don’t knock it ’til you try it.
Oh! I forgot “Pride and Prejudice” which I can’t believe I forgot to add. This one is like an old friend to me. Don’t even tell me you don’t like this book because I take it like a personal rejection! And “Traveling Mercies” by Anne Lamott.
Anne “The Help” is my next book! And “Mountains Beyond Mountains” is a great one. I keep thinking about it too with the quake in Haiti and wonder where and what Paul Farmer is doing.
I’m so sorry. One more. This has really got me thinking!! “The Hiding Place” by Corrie Ten Boom. I read it when I was 12 or 13 and it had a profound effect on me. I reread it again a few years ago and was surprised how much I remembered from the first time. An amazing women!