I have been reading a lot lately. I use to really enjoy reading but then work, school, and life happened and it didn’t leave time for reading. Last year a good friend of mine set a goal to read so many books that year. So I of course had to read all of the good books she recommended. Even though I didn’t set the goal myself it was really nice to be motivated to read again because now I don’t have the excuse of school. I discovered many very good and inspiring books through this challenge.
I now have several categories of books that I read. The first category is “the guilty pleasure” book. I love a good murder mystery. My favorite murder mystery author is Mary Higgins Clark. I have read every single one of her books.
The second category is “I’m trying to educate myself.” Books in that category are classics. I always try to read at least one or two “classics” a year to be educated. Classics are a tough category because I absolutely love some classics like Jane Eyre, The Count of Monte Cristo, Wuthering Heights, and Inferno but I absolutely hated some other classics like Picture of Dorian Gray, Ethan Frome, and Catch-22. However, I am more educated for reading them regardless if I liked them, right?
The third category is “I’m trying to look and be smart.” I only read one of those last year. It was written by a Nobel Prize winner, so that makes me smart for just reading it right?
The fourth category is “It came highly recommended.” I read a lot of those last year. I read some books that I ordinarily would not have picked off the shelf myself but was extremely surprised. My top books from this category are Life of Pi, The Poisonwood Bible, The Secret Life of Bees, Water for Elephants, The Alchemist, and The Glass Castle. Seriously those books were amazing, inspiring, and very possibly life changing.
The fifth category is “A fabulous book mixed with history.” I have recently come to thoroughly enjoy historical fiction novels. I know I probably would be smarter if I actually read real history but let’s be honest here historical fiction is much more exciting than real history…… Anyway, my top books in this category are The Historian, The Tea Rose and The Winter Rose. Those books not only have fascinating historical elements thrown in but the stories are so captivating that you feel very invested in the characters.
The sixth and final category is “It’s the cool thing to do.” We all know what fits in this category—Harry Potter, the Twilight series, etc. The good thing about following the crowd for this one is those books are actually half way decent.
Anyway, what makes a book “good” for you? What are your top picks for books you’ve read? I’m always looking for a good book to read.
6 comments:
I loved the Alchemist. I think we should swap favorite Hist. Fiction titles. I'm obsessed! I'm reading one by an old man named Umberto Eco. Isn't that an intriguing name? And, by the way, do you know how to spell intrigueieieng?
good post cheryl. i love talking books. i try to read classics too. i really like catcher in the rye, although i hesitate recommending it to people because of the language. i still loved it.
i'm glad you liked "the poisonwood bible". i fell in love with barbara kingsolver's books in high school. try "the bean trees".
i've found that i dislike the classics we were forced to read in high school-the great gatsby, the tale of two cities, this one with a girl named tess, ( that was not the name, just the description of the book.)
last year i read this book by benazir bhuto. at first i started it because it was kind of "trying to look and be smart". but then i ended up being really interested.
a random recommendation- the walking drum by louis l'amour. i don't enjoy his westerns, but this was different.
sorry about the terribly long comment. i really like books:)
You didn't like Catch-22? I don't know if I can ever speak to you again...but since you like historical fiction, I guess it's ok. I like historical fiction from the Tudor England period, like the Other Boleyn Girl. But I read pretty much anything that crosses my doorway; I'm not too picky! Be sure to share what you read this year so I can steal some inspiration!
Sigh, you know you are old when a book published during your lifetime is considered a classic (Catch-22). I have always lamented the fact that one could never possibly read all the good books available, but tried when I was a kid to start at one end of the library shelf and read each book til the end of the shelf. Then, it dawned on me that I might miss books that were checked out! Now, I tend to concentrate on authors I like. Sue Grafton, Janet Evanovich, Debbie McComber (guilty pleasure category). Thomas Cahill (look and be smart category). Virginia Lee Burton to read aloud. I'm reviewing all the children's lit now that I have a granddaughter to help corrupt (one 'r' or two?). Keep reading! Leonora's Mom
Wow. You posted this just in time. I'm hoping to check out the North Logan library for the first time tonight. And now I have the list of your top "It Came Highly Recommended" life changers. I'm so excited! Thank you! :)
I like your book categories! Fun, fun. I'm glad you have liked a lot of the books I've come across or have had recommended. Have you finished The Winter Rose? Which one did you like better?
I still think you need to try Crime & Punishment. It's probably one of my all time faves and it fits into that 'classic' category we all love and hate. :)
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