Monday, January 28, 2008

6 of 8

I'm on a roll!

8 books you really should read.

1. Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore. A story of two teen boys finding their way in the world -- one being Biff, and one being none other than Jesus H. Christ (and yes -- the "H" is actually the first letter of his middle name). The chapter about their first meeting is priceless, with a middle-school aged Biff running into a boy in the market who keeps bringing a frog back to life after his brother whacks it over the head with a rock.

2. The House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski. A drug addict stumbles into his dead neighbor's apartment, where he finds the manuscript of a non-fiction book detailing the case of a family that moved into a house that was bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. If you can make sense of the first few chapters, I promise the book will give you nightmares.

3. The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall. A man wakes up without any memory of who he is. That's what happens when you're eaten by a "thought shark".

4. Into Thin Air by John Krackauer. The true story of a team of Mount Everest climbers who meet their fate in a fit of ego-driven lunacy. Like a Greek tragedy, you know how it's going to end -- but you still find yourself yelling "turn back, morons!"

5. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke. It's Harry Potter for adults -- a lush tale of two competing magicians in Victorian England, where magic is commonly accepted but not commonly practiced.

6. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. Vampire....Brutal murderer....Bibliophile? Brilliantly told and written, this tale of Dracula through the ages is sure to keep you gripped to the end -- and you'll no doubt look over your shoulder a few times when out in public after reading it.

7. Pack of Two by Caroline Knapp. Any dog lover would appreciate this memoir about a woman and her dog. Caroline Knapp died of cancer several years ago, but this stands as a great testament to a life well lived with a canine companion.

8. I Like it When by Mary Murphy. Vampboy is a bit young for 1-7, but this is one of his present favorites for me to read him at bed time. Every time I read it, I'm reminded that it's great to be a dad.

2 comments:

nyjlm said...

I Like it When was one of my 8yo's very favorite books when he was tinier. He would "do" all of the actions in the book as we read. Such a very favorite memory of mine :) My sister just asked if she could borrow it for her 2 year old.
#1 sounds like I need to put on my reading list!

Rebecca said...

Given that Lamb, and The Historian are both on my list of favorites, it looks like I might need to go check out the rest of these on your list. I haven't read the other 6 yet, but clearly you have excellent tastes. haha