1. The Kite Runner
Khaled Hosseini
This book was very popular when I was in sixth, seventh, and eighth grade. A few of my friends can recall reading it around that time, but remembered few of the details and even less of the plot-line. From what I gathered, it is about a boy who commits a deep betrayal, with the story exploring the possibility of redemption — set in past and present Afghanistan. I never picked it up before because the war in Afghanistan felt too real and immediate to me, a current event that put headlines in the news I watched. Looking at the dim grittiness of the cover, which quoted critic’s words like “HEARTBREAKING” — the thought of reading a first person account, even if crafted as a work of fiction, was daunting to me. But the book has been acclaimed as “timely” and “unforgettable”, and eventually the praise it received outweighed my dread of an unhappy ending.
2. The Red Tent
Anita Diamant
As The Kite Runner has a prevalent theme of fathers and sons, The Red Tent is about mothers and daughters. I had heard of the book only once before, and that was reading it described as “a perennial book-club favorite”. So naturally my mom had a copy. Reading the back cover, I discerned that the book was an intimate portrait of a mere footnote of a character mentioned in the bible. A woman, whose ancient story, summarized into one line in a book written by men, is fleshed out into a novel over four hundred pages in length. The idea appealed to me greatly — myself being raised in a religion whose sacred book largely overlooks my gender.
3. Tamar
Mal Peet
Tamar is a family favorite, and it has frequently been said in our book-loving household that I must read it. The book itself is a jacket-less hardback, dark brown in color with gold lettering on the spine, which gives the title and author and nothing else. From reading the first few pages, the title is a namesake given to someone’s daughter — which is intriguing, as I adore names and their stories.
4. Life of Pi
Yann Martel
Yet another story that has been exalted by my mother and brother, as well as by the world of contemporary literature. I can remember my mother reading this book when I was much younger, and I can remember listening to her discuss it with my father while she cooked (even though I wasn’t supposed to listen, because she said I was too young). What I know was that as a child, I was attracted to the vividly colored, glossy cover of the paperback — the aquatic sapphire of the ocean, vast and blue around a boy’s small and lonely boat, which he shared with a brilliantly striped tiger. He and the tiger were the survivors of a shipwreck, I was told when I asked. I was also told that one day, I should read it.
5. Like Water for Chocolate
Laura Esquivel
I liked the sound of this book whenever it was presented as an example — I love fictional books written about the Spanish culture, and the romance the story seems to promise was another attractive factor. Knowing that the book had also been made into a movie — and popular one at that — was a testimony to the appeal of the story, and I believe that I would enjoy it.
6. Les Miserables
Victor Hugo
Les Miserables was loaned to me just this past summer, by someone who considered it to be his favorite book of all time. Les Mis is a story that I came to be familiar with as a child, in the form of a soundtrack composed of heartrending ballads. The play, it seems, is more famous than the book itself, but my friend assured me of its worthiness as a read. Even though the paperback’s breadth and tiny, tedious print seems formidable, I intend to see it to the end, even if I have to plod through its grueling forty-seven-billion pages without pleasure.
7. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
J. R. R. Tolkien
I’ve seen the LOtR movies several times over, which I have loved, and have read The Hobbit, which I found to be mildly enjoyable. One thing that always displeased me about the movies, however, was Elijah Wood’s wide-eyed, wienerish performance as Frodo, the protagonist. I was told that this was a fault of the movie’s creation, and that the Frodo of the book was much worthier. I also know that the full scope of the epic would have been impossible to portray in the allotted time Hollywood gave, and that a substantial amount of the detail was lost in the transition from page to screen. I have decided that since I am a fan of the movie franchise, it is my duty as a reader to also take on Tolkien’s verbosity and legendary penchant for description and experience the epic tale as it was originally intended: in book form.
8. The Devil in the White City
Erik Larson
A mystery, based on true events. I once tried to start reading this little black book while I was sunbathing, but made the mistake of also bringing along the Da Vinci Code, and beginning it on the same day. I was distracted and dropped The Devil In the White City in favor of the fast-paced bestseller. Now once again retrieved from the shelf and dusted off for another go, the novel smells slightly of banana sun lotion. From what I remember, the story is set around the time — and in the midst of, I do believe — the event of the World’s Fair, something I know little about.
9. Water for Elephants
Sarah Gruen
Another novel suggested by a friend, and one of the few books my father has ever read in his adult life. I watched the film adaptation this past summer, and was enchanted with the story and characters. I was also informed that, while the movie version was entertaining and Robert Pattinson is a fine piece of tush, the film did not completely capture the wonder and charm of the book itself. It tells the story of a young man who falls in love with being a part of a depression-era traveling circus — and also with the Ringmaster’s beautiful young wife, Marlena.
10. The Book Thief
Markus Zusak
We already own a copy of The Book Thief, and it has been recommended to me many times over the course of my reading career. Just the word ‘thief’ in the title, I find intriguing, though perhaps it is slightly explained with the knowledge that the book is set in Nazi Germany. I’d imagine many books would be forbidden to the public, or burned, or banned entirely. Another thing that I drew me to the book was that when I was looking up Life of Pi, The Book Thief came up many times under “people who searched for Life of Pi also searched for” — so apparently book is more widely recognized than what I had thought.
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