During the long summer of 2005 Heidi was receiving chemotherapy and had to stay at the hospital for 3-7 days each round. I was working fulltime, taking a couple graduate courses, and caring for our two dogs. In other words I was driving a lot and grew tired of listening to music, sports radio, and NPR and missed my favorite pass time; reading. I began to check out audio books from the library and got hooked.
Fortunately I have a job that requires me to drive around a lot so I listen to audio books to pass the time. I listen to them while I’m walking my dogs, riding my bike or motorcycle, and even while I brush my teeth. I love to read but I am simply too busy to sit down and read so I cheat; and I cheat real good! I am now finishing my 150th audio book, what was the sesquicentennial selection you ask? Madam Secretary, the personal memoirs of Madeline Albright.
Currently I go through 1-2 audio books a week and rotate fiction to non-fiction. Libraries are full of great audio books and downloading them onto my iPod and erasing them as I go make it even easier. I listen to everything from classical literature to current social commentary. Occasionally the authors read the books themselves, like Barack Obama’s The Audacity of Hope and John McCain’s Faith of My Fathers, which is kind of neat, it makes me feel like I am hearing their stories the way the authors wanted them to be told.
But that is not always the case, when I tried to listen to Beloved read by the author, Toni Morrison, it was unbearable and I gave up after Disc 2. Other books such as As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner and The Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens were just too complicated and I gave up after the first disk. But for the most part I enjoy all the books I “read,” to an extent.
I know I should have read some of these books long ago but better late than never. This may be really boring to some but this is a 3-Part Blog. The first part is my Top 20 Fiction, followed by my Top 20 Non-Fiction and finally the Top 10 Worst (5 fiction, 5 non-fiction). And the winners are in alphabetical order...
A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini: Ever wonder what it would’ve been like to be a woman under the Taliban? I don’t know if this story has a happy or sad ending but it makes you appreciate the good old USA that’s for sure.
Blasphemy, Douglas Preston: I’m religious, but as this story illustrates religion can motivate people to do some pretty freaky stuff! I love the way this story unfolds, it gets pretty crazy toward the end.
Catch-22, Joseph Heller: At first I found this WWII POW camp story pretty obnoxious…no, very obnoxious. But then it grew on me and I began to identify true “catch-22s.” I find it funny how many people use this term as if they know what it means but really don’t.
Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller: What is the real reason Biff is such a screw up? His father! Yet Willy refuses to take any of the blame for his own imperfections but puts it all on his child instead. Sadly one sees this in the real world all too often.
Deception Point, Dan Brown: I found this cleverer than Brown’s other books. After all, would NASA receive more funding and would a presidential race be influenced if a fossilized space critter was found?
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, H.S. Thompson: OK, this story is loosely based on true experiences but since he was so frickin’ high no one knows how much was true, not even Thompson. Though I have never used illegal drugs I found myself afraid and loathing in that strange, backward desert city resulting in some conflicted feelings.
Middlesex, Jeffrey Eugenides: Homosexuality is one thing but hermaphrodites are entirely different. What about people born with both, or partially both male/female genitals or the wrong chromosomes, where do they fit in? Though this is a rare condition I can’t help but wonder how I would react if I had a child born with this condition.
Odd Thomas, Dean Koontz: Probably my favorite Koontz book. I thought it would just be another story of someone who sees dead people but all of these characters in this small city in the middle of the Mojave are likable and entertaining. Kind of like an “X-Files” in book form.
State of Fear, Michael Crichton: I was not going to include a Crichton book but in honor of this recently deceased author I included this one. I have strong feelings about fear mongering and agree that the government and big business wants the people in a perpetual state of panic. Plus I love the short essay at the back; it made me a little more cautious about jumping to conclusions regarding global warming.
The Chamber, John Grisham: Believe it or not this piece of fiction made me re-evaluate my stand on the death penalty. I really re-thought the issue as a result of this heartbreaking, frustrating novel and this among other things slowly altered my beliefs. I’m all about harsh punishments but is a death for a death really productive?
The Colorado Kid, Steven King: Not as much profanity or gore as most of King’s novels but it is a chilling mystery none-the-less. This short book will drive you crazy as you play out the events in your head trying to find answers, in fact if anyone has read this book could you please share with me your conclusions.
The Ghost, Robert Harris: A suspense about a ghostwriter writing the memoirs for the former UK Prime Minister. It’s a good book but the last few paragraphs made the difference as you see that the answer to the quandary was in front of your face more than once and you are truly left wondering what will happen next.
The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck: This is a heartbreaking classic that makes one appreciate the era we live in. Incredibly so many people lived like this during the Great Depression. It is hard to imagine Americans treating other Americans in this way and makes Woody Guthrie’s music make so much sense.
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald: Spoiler alert, he is not that great, in fact his demise was actually quite pathetic. Not only is this a glimpse of the high-life during the roaring twenties but it shows that people are not as perfect or charming as they might appear and wealth does not provide happiness if you die young.
The Jungle, Upton Sinclair: Everyone likes to focus on the disgusting conditions at the meat packing plants but that is only a third of the book. There is so much going on here and at the heart of the novel, the misuse and exploitation of immigrant labor, something equally relevant today as it was a hundred years ago.
The Last Good Kiss, James Crumley: I don’t know why I could not get this dark, crusty, dirty mystery out of my mind. The story is full of violence, murder, alcohol, drugs, prostitution, and pornography but it was such an addictive story. It is hard to like anyone in this book and really epitomizes the elusive term anti-hero.
The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway: You really feel for this old guy and the novel makes you wonder what makes him tick while consequently results in self-evaluation as to what makes oneself tick.
The Razor’s Edge, W. Somerset Maugham: Poor Larry, he had it all until WWI and now he is essentially a homeless vet, but only because he chooses to be homeless. This story makes one want to think deeper and find the true meaning to life. Most importantly, as a nation at war we produce a few more Larrys everyday.
The Terror, Dan Simmons: The HMS Terror gets stuck in the ice in Antarctica and slowly one at a time the crew disappears or is ripped apart. Polar Bears you ask? Nope, there is something else far more scary in the dark not too mention the crew has plenty of creeps to go around as well.
1984, George Orwell: This was written in response to the Soviet Union but currently this frightening novel’s characteristics are more applicable to the good old USA than any other country. I mean for crying out loud our government listens to our phone calls, reads are emails, and even tries to learn what books we check out from the library. It’s incredible that this book was written 50+ years ago, it could’ve been written yesterday!
2 comments:
For starters, even if you couldn't get through the audio versions of As I Lay Dying and Tale of Two Cities, you must read them. I adore the both of them (but I can see how listening to them while driving would be confusing).
However, I must say, I disagree with your critique of Death of a Salesman. Grated, I read it 2 years ago, so I can't remember details, but I had more sympathy for Willy. I think it shows more of the sorrow of the American dream, like Great Gatsby. Like sometimes hard work doesn't give you the life that you want, and in Gatsby's place, sometimes money doesn't either.
Do you know A Raisin in the Sun? If not, I think you might enjoy it. It is a play, so it will only be about 1.5-2hrs to listen to.
Michael and I wonder how you have time for all this. You are crazy! We agree with many of your selections. I really enjoyed State of Fear too! And I had just looked at A Thousand Splendid Suns. I was thinking about getting it. Hope all is well with you two!
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