Abcde BLOG

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted over at the Broke and the Bookish.  This week we are asked about the top ten books that came to us as "highly recommended" by friends, family, or contemporaries.

1.  The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro.  This book now has a place in my top ten favorite novels, so I guess I think all the lists are right.  I chose this book in particular when I was participating in Rose City Reader's Battle of the Prizes--British Edition.  Thanks!

2.  French Women Don't Get Fat.  This one was given to me by my friend Diana.  I was resistant to it at first, but I really appreciate the simpler eating and joyful living philosophy of the text.  In fact, it's time to read it again.

3.  Woman by Natalie Angier was given me for my birthday one year by a friend in Washington, DC.  The book was fascinating, and I read it straight through like a novel.  I've since had to buy 2 more copies because mine keep disappearing into friends' libraries.

4.  The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark was recommended by a friend on LiveJournal.  She's pretty well obsessed with the book, and with Maggie Smith.  And, hey, who can argue?  This book suited me perfectly because of my love for boarding school fiction.

5.  Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (well all Garcia Marquez actually) was recommended to me by one of my favorite high school instructors, Mr. Kelly.  This was my first encounter with magical realism and Garcia Marquez became one of my most-loved authors.

6.  As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner was another book recommended by Mr. Kelly.  Other than "The Bear" (which I wasn't too fond of), this was my first Faulkner book.  I enjoyed it immensely, though I didn't fully understand it's brilliance.  It started me off reading several other Faulkner novels, and now I teach it to my students.  Thanks, Mr. Kelly--you've made a difference!

7.  While I Was Gone by Sue Miller.  This one was pointed out to me by the manager of a bookstore I worked for several years ago.  She said I *had* to read it for the twist.  And she was right.  I finished it one lazy afternoon on my sofa, and when I got to the twist, I called the store manager right then and there.

8.  Agatha Christie.  My mum read Agatha Christie when I was younger, and I picked them up as the most readily available books in junior high.  I've been committed to Christie ever since.

9.  John Donne's Poetry.  This one is really thanks to my undergrad mentor and thesis director.  She took me to my first real academic conference, and she helped me every step along the way.  She gave me Donne, helped me understand his poetry and encouraged me to pursue it.

10.  The various wonderful scholarly books recommended to my by my undergraduate director, my dissertation director and all my professors along the way.

****Edit****  I've just been reminded of 84 Charing Cross Road which recommendation I picked up from another book--maybe Jane Brockett?  and which was supplied to me by my secret bookblogger Santa last year!