Everything I Love

1. Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon – It is rare that one comes across a book containing adventure, mystery, drama, romance, and an intricately woven plot line; however, it is rarer still that one comes across all of these and absolutely beautiful writing. There are very few books that have pulled me in so entirely as this one, and I would recommend it to anyone in a heartbeat.
2. The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom – Mitch Albom is by far one of my favorite authors. His writing style, which is filled with incredible language and real emotional knowledge is unlike that of any other author I’ve read, which is why I read this book about four times a year, and every time it amazes me just as much as the first time I picked it up.
3. City of Thieves by David Benioff – A strikingly intelligent novel which combines horrors of wartime reality and two of the most incredible characters I have ever come upon. In fact, one of them, Kolya, makes my Favorite Character list.
4. One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest by Ken Kesey – I have never fallen in love with a book (and a character, Dale Harding) so quickly. Everything about this book, from its off-the-wall humor to its deep symbolism allows me to understand why Kesey is so highly regarded in the literary realm.
5. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini – One of the many books that was just as difficult to read as it was amazing. There were so many scenes of horrendous reality, but at the same time, some of the most incredible writing and story telling that I’ve ever come across. I’m not sure I’ve ever cried harder at the end of a book.
6. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant – At first I didn’t think I’d ever like a book that dealt so heavily with a story based off of a religious tale, but the main character, Dinah, with all of her headstrong imperfections, is one of my favorite characters ever.
7. Gone With The Wind by Maragret Mitchell – Unarguably one of the greatest literary romances ever. The second I finished this book, I decided I’m going to name one of my future children Scarlett or Rhett.
8. Catch 22 by Joseph Heller –. This book was the perfect blend of witty writing and intelligent satire. Yossarian’s (by far one of my favorite characters I’ve ever come across) witty habit of signing “Washington Irving” and when he grew tired of signing Washington Irving, “Irving Washington” on his censured letters also gave my blog its name.
9. Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury – I loved this book. I loved everything about it; the 1984 feel, the almost tangible psychological maturation of Guy Montag, the amazingly frightening world concocted by Bradbury of a future with no books and thus no individual thought
10. Death Be Not Proud by John Gunther – One of the saddest, and at the same time, most honest books I’ve ever read. Somehow Gunther was able to do something I so admire, which is to blend complete reality with the most gorgeous writing.
11. Women of the Silk by Gail Tsukiyama – A book of Chinese life filled with everything I enjoy to read about; culture, strong characters, an entirely unique plot line, and courageous women.
12. Old Yeller by Fred Gipson – The first book I can ever remember reading on my own, and one I remember sobbing over for hours. Though I love it more than anything, to this day I (stubbornly) refuse to reread it, because I have no idea what I would do if I didn’t hold it in the same high esteem I did when I was younger.
13. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee – I am so amazed by the fact that Albee was able to write an entire play and story line that takes place in just one evening and all in one room. The wit and intelligence and hilariously deep conversation that husband, wife, and dinner guests have is expertly written, and more captivating than most dialogue I have come across.
14. Sophie’s Choice by William Styron – Focuses around an idea incredibly painful to grasp, and yet, the choice of choosing one child over another is buffered by deep passages and intricate relationships. Though she serves only as a character, I couldn’t help but feel so much for Sophie throughout the entire novel.
15. Shakespeare for Children – Though I can’t remember the exact title or authors, I love this book. I remember Shakespeare’s way-too-difficult-for-a-child plays written next to little cartoon drawings of Hamlet, Macbeth, and Romeo, all equipped with speech bubbles saying things like “Basically, lets go on a date sometime, Juliet”. Most importantly, I remember my grandmother reading to me nightly, and I’m convinced it is why I am completely in love with every Shakespearean play I’ve ever read since then…even without the cartoons.

Getting Lost in the City of Thieves

From the heart-wrenching yet morbidly beautiful tales of raw human nature and incredibly different ways of life written by Khaled Hosseini to Sue Monk Kidd’s honey-sweet novel of a girl’s maturity into womanhood, the list of recommended books was clearly filled to the brim with amazing literature. This fact produced two very true outcomes; the first is that I found great trouble in having to pick my favorites to finish in time for the end of summer, and I finally did with much deliberation. Which brings us to the second – though I finished my required reading, I’ve decided to continue working on the rest of the list. From those recommended, I newly read two this summer (excluding Pride and Prejudice); the wonderfully crafted Emma by Jane Austen and the perhaps more strictly factual All the President’s Men by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. Though quite possibly polar opposites in both content and style, I absolutely loved both. Always a fan of Jane Austen, I found Emma to be just as wonderful as both Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility, for Austen always has a way of producing beautifully light plots and strong female characters through the most beautiful writing. And though admittedly it took me a while to get used to the journalistic style of writing, I was soon dragged into the scandals of the Watergate story seen through the reliable eyes of reporters Woodward and Bernstein in All the President’s Men. Along with the books on the list, I read (and fell in love with) Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson, Sophie’s Choice by William Styron, The House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski, Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest by Ken Kesey, and several more. And though both Kesey’s works was a very close runner up, the novel that most drew me in this summer was one called City of Thieves written by David Benioff.
From the second I picked it up, I fell into it. The book tells the story of the initial narrator’s grandfather, a man rich in dark experience and brimming with the life of his convoluted past. Seen through the eyes of the grandfather as a young boy in German occupied Russia during WWII, the book is none other than a plunge into the depths of physical suffering, psychological pain, and the truest of human emotion unearthed by the tumult within the war. But that doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface. The young boy, Lev, soon finds himself captured by his country’s own men after a misunderstanding near his home. While under arrest, he meets his complete opposite; a beautifully confident, striking young man by the name of Kolya, a deserter from the Russian troops who backs down to no one and believes only in himself. Death for both seems imminent, that is, until they are released by the makings of a deal; if the heartily mismatched duo can somehow forage together a dozen eggs for the Russian general’s daughter’s wedding in a week, they are to be set free. With the fact that finding whole chicken eggs in a country devastated by famine, winter, and violence being their least of all problems, Kolya and Lev set out on a journey which leaves both radically altered in the small period of seven days. Between Lev’s incredible leap into maturity, forced upon him by both the atrocities he takes part in and the world of emotion and adventure opened up to him and Kolya’s humorously and meaningfully rich character which plays as the greatest of foils to Lev’s dark and thoughtful side, Benioff’s tale of death and loyalty unwinds and twists itself into one of the most horrendous and absolutely perfect novels I have ever read. Every aspect of the book appeals to the reader. Benioff masterfully blends adventurous plot with musical language, however, perhaps the most magnetic aspect of his written work lays in the invention of the characters. By creating two heroes from everyday men, each adorned with a myriad of faults and set backs, Benioff adds magic to the individual and thus allows the reader to see within the intrinsic heart of human nature; the will to persevere against all odds. (709)