What's Your Favorite Book?

 

This is one of those questions where I have strong opinions and can out talk about anyone. If you ask me about hot button topics or current events, I'm much less opinionated and more curious about what you think of those things. Though with books, I want to know what you're reading too. Only you might have to shout to be heard over my tirade about the books I love.

As a child I fell in love with The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner. That was my first grade love and the first stories I remember fan-fic rewriting endings to in my head. At some point around then I found a copy of The Forgotten Door by Alexander Key—that was my first fantasy story. It's about a boy who falls through a doorway into another world. It's a thin book and a worthy read for adults too. 

Yes, I loved the Little House books. There was something slow and peaceful about life on the prairies that calmed me when times were rough. I read and reread those. E. Nesbit books are also a childhood favorite. Five Children and It is delightful but I also adored The Railway Children which may or may not have inspired The Boxcar Children. Feel free to fight with me about that in the comments. 

The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by J.R. Tolkien and why The Hobbit is my most beloved of them could surely ignite some scorn among the bibliophile crowd. Though I read the Harry Potter books as an adult, and I loved them. J.K. Rowlings book The Casual Vacancy is brilliant in my opinion. If I could, I'd replace all copies of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorn taking up space in high school curriculums with it. 

My reading in high school tended toward more popular novels from the New York Times bestseller list books than the classics. The classics I hit harder as time moved on. I love Dickens, D.H. Lawrence, Edith Wharton, Twain, Austen, although another controversial opinion is Tolstoy. I'll never forgive those sixty or so pages about Vronsky's horse and when Anna Karenina threw herself under the train (oopsie spoiler alert) my only thought was honestly, well, thank god, because if I had to spend another minute in her brain I might have done the same). Sorry. Not sorry.

My favorite Stephen King book is The Body (it's retitled Stand by Me when they made it into a movie), although The Stand is neck and neck there. So good. My favorite Dean Koontz is (Sorry Mr. Koontz, you know what I'm going to say here) Watchers. Give me a good futuristic science experiment with a human level intelligent Golden Retriever and I am compelled to purchase all your books forever, but I do keep going back to read Watchers again. 

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon is a book I've loved since the 1990's when it came out in one of those old Book of the Month clubs where you actually got a little catalog in your snail mail and picked the titles that appealed. She's written so many sequels with such rich story that I've long suspected that she is in fact Claire and her husband is Jamie and they're here from the 1700's. Prove me wrong. The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley is another fabulous read. It's the King Arthur story from the point of view of Morgan Le Fay. Though I think the writer was posthumously cancelled. I always like to tell people to read that little story (it's a tome of epic proportions). It's brilliant story. 

On top of my popular book loves are all of Michael Crichton's (Jurrasic Park, Timeline, Andromeda Strain) and even his posthumously written book Eruption, I incorporated piles of non-fiction in my book love-a-thon too. Stephen Hawkins A Brief History of Time (every time I reread it I make a mental note to do that again because I can almost follow this time), or The God Particle by Leon Lederman, anything by Brian Greene and Neil deGrasse Tyson too because when it comes to science, I am a fan. 

Although The Ends of the World by Peter Brannon makes me want to get a PhD in Geology and spend a lifetime with fossils and rocks. It's a story about the five mass extinctions and I found it incredibly uplifting and fascinating, and I will never stop tormenting my husband about the fact that scientists found the missing link lizard somewhere around Hyner Mountain, Pennsylvania because his people kind of hail from there. We've been married since about the day after those lizards crawled out of the ooze so I'm always shopping for such information to torment him with.

Speaking of lizards, War with the Newts by Karel Chapek is one of the best stories I've ever read. This Czech writer and his brother were on Hitler's public enemy number one lists when the Nazi's marched into Prague. It is astonishing to me how what might be considered older books are possibly more relevant today than when they were written. Another couple favorites are All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doer, and having watched it on Netflix is not the same. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini astonished me because growing up in a small town in Ohio in the 70's and 80's was apparently incredibly similar to Afghanistan about that time. That realization really stretched my brain.

Now, I'm going to add only Art /Spiegelman's Maus Books because it's thundering outside and here in The Shire that means the power is going DOWN, plus my husband since the Devonian Period keeps interrupting and my brain is hitting bumpy tracks like that one in Anna Karenina. So, to the book club that asked me what my favorite book is, this is my answer. Sometimes I don't exactly follow directions as you can see. 

Arcadia's Images of America—your hometown in a book

 

My BFF gives the best gifts. Over the years she often includes something from my hometown. I moved away long ago and the memories are priceless. When the kids were little they knew that the Willoughby throw my BFF gave me was off-limits. No wrapping the dog in it, no wrapping a kid in it and eating chocolate ice-cream. It was special to me. It was woven with pictures of the local library, schools, and remembered 19th Century homes. I didn't think anything could top that gift until this year when my bestie sent me a little book about my hometown. 

Images of America, Willoughby

It's full of pictures from the founding of the town and through the decades. It even includes old stories and legends I remember obsessing over as a child growing up there. There's a picture of my elementary school that was torn down. I loved seeing the old trolleys I'd never known once existed, and all my favorite rivers, parks, bridges, and haunts. 

It's been ages since I lived in Willoughby, and I've lived in many towns since then. It surprised me to find most of them represented with their very own books in Images of America available through Arcadia Publishing and Barnes and Noble. There's nothing better to splurge on than books in my opinion, and I bought one from almost every town I've lived in. Some are more in-depth and interesting than others. All of them are worth the approximate twenty dollar cost. 

Images of America, Rockwall

Likely I'll never stop missing Texas. Reading through this book I once more got caught up in the great mystery about the Lone Star State's smallest county. There are portions of a prehistoric rock wall that is a matter of much debate—was it man made or is it a natural geological formation? There's good authority for both arguments and when I lived near that part of the wall I might have joined in the digging but for the formidable legion of fire ants guarding it. That's the only thing I don't miss about Texas, fire ants.

Images of America, Shrewsbury

Shrewsbury is a picturesque New England town, closer to Worcester than Boston. I used it in my book Bitch Witch. That entire story landed in my brain during a late night run to Target under a blue moon. The house I used to live in was a perfect setting for the formidable Archer women. That story wrote itself and I have Shrewsbury to thank for it. Though I didn't live there as long as other places in Massachusetts, it stayed with me. I got the Images of America books for most of my Massachusetts towns, including one for where I used to work. Surprisingly some companies are included in this series. 

There's More

To date I've collected ten of the Images of America books, not including the ones I've gifted. One thing I've learned from my bestie is to share good ideas. Browsing the Arcadia publishing website I realize that even some mountains have their own books. It makes sense, everyplace has a story. I've just added a couple more books to my wish list. 

If you want to know more about your favorite American towns and places, check them out. Let me know what you think. 

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer—The story of Christopher Johnson McCandless

 

There's a 2007 movie about this story. Like in most every case of book versus movie, the book is more in-depth and factual. After a long trek through Alaska, a friend sent me a copy of the book telling me to read it to know the true story. 

Wilderness Adventure

While I'd found the movie beautiful (Alaska) and inspiring, I found the book sobering for many reasons. First, a hush of reverence hit me. The book contains quotes by Thoreau, Muir, and lesser known naturalists. What sobered me was the unimaginable courage of anyone who can walk into the wilderness alone and with no backup. I've sampled enough motha nature to know I couldn't expect to walk out if I did that. 

The book contains stories besides McCandless's, stories about climbing icy peaks and dangerous wild wilderness adventures—some with better endings than others. What struck me was the draw of taking such risks for the reward of communing with a more ancient side of our nature. These stories happened before Instagram and are about adventures taken for quiet, personal reasons. Secondly, that motive is something I miss in stories coming out of the world today. The only glory found in these stories is internal and private. I admire that in a human being.

Personal Reasons

Any quest taken for purely personal reasons, without happening to have a camera crew on hand, impresses me. For that alone I appreciate Christopher (Alex Supertramp) McCandless's striving, optimism, and determination. I also appreciate the author, Jon Krakauer, and his effort to uncover this story including what happened to Chris McCandless in the end. 

It's not likely the truth would have ever been known if not for Krakauer's efforts. 

It's definitely worth a read. It's a very centering book. It made me think about what my inner hero needs and it's not Instagram. 

The Hating Game A Novel by Sally Thorne—A Quick Read & Pure Escapism

 

This one is pure escapism

Often when I ask someone what they like to read and we talk classics, non-fiction, memoirs, biographies, and literature, I'll add but what is your go-to escapism reading? You know the kind of book you devour but don't necessarily remember to add to recommendations, something you picked up and couldn't put down? 

Because reading can be just for fun

For Christmas I received a delicious pile of books: Coffee-table books, inspirational, bestsellers, non-fiction, and books that are friend's favorites (including some translated into English from other languages). Books are my favorite gifts to receive. I feel like the luckiest person ever to have vetted and recommended piles of books waiting for me. It's great when I can literally cozy into my over-sized chair with them scattered beside me, piled on the floor, and a few in my lap and read one after another. 

Movies are great, but books are my first love. They contain MORE detail, deeper story!

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne was a gift and came with the instructions to take a day and read it obsessively. It's pure escapism and just fun. It's about two co-workers who absolutely despise each other. They share an office. It's told from the point of view of Lucy Hutton. The publishing house she works for merged with another publishing house and now she has to compete with Joshua Templeman, a priggish and perfect man who judges her every move and never smiles.

Lucie initiates various games against Joshua, keeping track of his predictable behavior and trying to one-up him as he effortlessly wins every battle she wages. Things get heated when they compete for an upcoming promotion they both want and they keep Human Resources busy with their hijinks. I laughed out loud and read until the wee hours of the morning, unable to put the book down and go to bed. 

It's a fast-paced story and you won't want to put it down either!

In fact I planned to reread it to deconstruct Thorne's writing style. I was that impressed with her technique. Maybe I will get to that in time—after I've read all the other vetted and gifted gems vying for my attention. Have I mentioned how much I love to read? It's one of my favorite things, especially when a book keeps me laughing out loud.

The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t with Her Mind—by Jackson Ford

The only thing that could inspire me to step away from writing is the threat of a government fine. So I stopped writing long enough to pay my taxes and get my car inspected. While waiting on my car, I walked to the library. Yes, in January. I'm impressed too. It's cold. I froze. 

It's probably been ten years since I went into a library. I love libraries. I'm one of those people who always votes to increase their budget because I want it to be there when it's time for my ten year visit. One of the perks of being a writer is people give me books. Sometimes they're from other writers for a review or promotion, and sometimes they're simply gifts. Also, the local bookstore has chai tea and I go there too much and I buy books there. It's not a financially sound process to buy books with each cup of chai, and to give them away after I read them. But I have to or I'd need a bigger house.

It's really not a surprise, if you've ever seen my purse, that even after ten years I'd still have my library card in there. I also have a card for a taxi driver named Stephanos in Athens, Greece, a stone from Stonehenge, a piece of amber with a bug in it, and a one dollar Egyptian coin with King Tut on it. If I had the chance to take an unplanned trip to Greece or Cairo, I could get a taxi driver I know or skip converting my money because I have a coin worth a good eighteen cents.

What is a surprise was that the ten-year-old library card still works. It was nice and warm in the library and I could have free books for about three weeks which makes good fiscal sense. I grabbed the newest Margaret Atwood novel and a book on coding written for someone about ten years old. I learned more about coding in the few minutes I perused it than I ever knew, so I checked it out. 

I also picked up a book by a writer I'd never heard of before. Jackson Ford. He wrote The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t with Her Mind. I love titles that tell you what you need to know. There's a book I loved called The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared. It's by Jonas Jonasson. You have the synopsis in the title with these kinds of books. 

I'd bet that The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t with Her Mind will become a television show/movie (the 100 year old man book did). I could sense that as I read it. It's about a woman named Teagan Frost, who was genetically altered by her science-minded parents to have the ability to move sh*t with her mind. She gets taken by the government and forced to work for an agency called China Shop. By day they move furniture, and on the side they're spies. At least they're the kind who break into buildings and take information. 

It's an action packed novel and nothing goes right for Teagan. Her powers are limited and hurt her, and you can't help but feel sorry for her forced into a life she doesn't want. Teagan wants to run a restaurant. Her hobby is eating. She's rude and swears a lot. You can't help but like her when she's getting tasered, punched in the face, or jumping out an eighty story window. 

The book is set in L.A., and I'm not familiar with L.A. other than passing through a couple times. The setting didn't sound like the place I'd passed through, and at the end of the book the author admitted he'd never been there. Someone more familiar with it would have to make the call on the authenticity, but who cares? It was escapism. My only other criticism is that they use the word kerb for curb and somehow they use that word a lot. That may be a translation issue, I don't think it was written in English originally.

As a nitpicky writer little things like that bump me out of a story. I know it's dumb, but it does. Mostly I think things like OMG, is this a new writing thing? Has curb officially become kerb? Because sometimes there are weird little writing rules, like having to capitalize dumpster (I refuse. I hate other people's nitpicky rules, especially when they look like errors to the reader when technically they're correct. Dumpster was/is a brand name). I only like MY nitpicky things, not other peoples. I can be annoying like Teagan. 

Anyway, I'd give this book a solid four out of five stars for pure escapism, but no depth. I tend to be generous with my stars. As a writer I'm aware that someone took the time to do all that work and transform this story into a fast-paced exciting read. I'm not going to poo-poo it because it's not what I'd have written. 

The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t with Her Mind ends by opening up the story for the next book in a series, which is a thing series writers are supposed to do too. So kudos to Jackson Ford. But I'll be moving on to my ten-year-old level book on coding now, and I'll wait for the movie or the series. If it never happens, and I spot the next book in the library someday, well, I'd definitely pick it up. Maybe, maybe, I'd buy it to read with a chai too—that depends entirely on the cover. 

Circe by Madeline Miller—My Latest Good Read

Another one for your TBR pile!

First, Bibliophile Details

I read Circe in hardcover. I'd also put a copy on my Kindle App. It's something I often do in case I go on a trip in the middle of my book. In this case I never opened the Kindle copy. I got the book from the Book of the Month Club. The subscription was a gift. 

It's a Little, Brown and Company book. The cover is matte and pleasant to the touch. The paper is a nice quality and the pages are easy to turn. Reading it was a pleasant visceral experience.

Beware, there be spoilers ahead

Circe is about the immortal goddess, daughter of Helios. The story world is one readers will be familiar with if they know their Greek myths. Even if you've never read them you'll probably know more than you realize from movies and pop culture. 

The author does a lovely job of giving it her own twist and provides excellent details about the hierarchy of the gods from Kronos to Zeus, and from Titans to the "new-squeaking gods upon Olympus who had not seen the making of the world". 

The details are delicious and the fate of the nymphs brings an excellent arterial vein take on subjugated females to the tale.

The Ugly Truth

Immortality is an idea that's intrigued me since I wrote my immortal warrior story. So I loved Miller's ruthless, spoiled, childish gods. They are heartless to each other. There's no love between them. They're cruel and delight in inflicting misery on each other. 

It makes sense to me that an immortal would lack empathy, but occasionally the chronic meanness was a heavy read.

Circe is a goddess and nymph with less than perfect looks and no discernible talents. The other gods can barely tolerate her. She's loyal but aware of her situation and reads her people well. 

After wreaking revenge on a fellow nymph Circe gets banished to a Greek Island. (That's my personal dream scenario. What god do I need to offend for that?)

You Go Girl

Most of Circe's life passes alone on that isolated island. She discovers her strengths and weaknesses there. Her father is Helios who rides his chariot across the sky as the sun each day. He can see her if he cares to, so he and other gods can know what she's up to though they ignore her even when she needs help.

Shipwrecked mortals occasionally knock on her door. Circe has a weakness for them though they disappoint her possibly more than the gods did. 

What worked for me was both the world Miller detailed and Circe's depth. She recognizes her faults as well as the faults of those around her. Despite having the ability to eternally be as selfish or comfortable as the other gods she constantly searches for meaning and growth despite the judgement and misery she brings on herself. 

Not that she's perfect. She has a real talent for vengeance. 

I'd give it four stars

The five star system doesn't work for me. Since I write too I always see the hard work behind the story and want to give five stars for

Stephanie Karfelt

that. Yet I think of all the stellar literature I've had the pleasure to read and drop it down a notch to be fair. 

Circe is a good solid read. I'm glad I read it and I enjoyed it. If you're into mythology you'll want to dig in. 

Next! Bring on another hardcover!

You and I both know I'm chapters into that next book already, but we'll talk about that one another day.