Favorite Books:
While We Still Live - Helen MacInnes Amazon Listing
My favorite book, While We Still Live is a novel set in Poland at the start of WW2. Helen MacInnes is a wonderful writer and this is one of her best books. The plot follows a young English woman caught visiting a Polish family during the German invasion of Poland. As the war progresses she works as a nurse and eventually joins the Polish resistance. Ultimately, however, this book is not about Sheila or the Aleksander Family, but about Poland and the Polish people fighting for their country, refusing to give up, without any support. The title comes from the Song of the Polish Legions, penned in 1797 when Poland was divided between Russia, Prussia, and Austria. The song later became the national anthem of liberated Poland.
Schindler's List - Thomas Keneally Amazon Listing
Oskar Schindler was responsible for saving over 1500 Jews from the Holocaust. He was named a righteous person by Israel and descendents of the Schindlerjuden are found all over the world. Going broke in the process, Schindler risked everything to defy the Nazis, including being arrested three times by the SS and having to pretend friendship with people he hated. The movie is also very good. I have trouble deciding which I prefer, the only major difference is that the movie compresses parts of the book into fewer locations. Whether reading the book or watching the movie, Schindler's story is deeply moving, sad and uplifting at the same time.
Seabiscuit - Laura Hillenbrand Amazon Listing
I started this book a skeptic and almost didn't get past the opening pages, but I have to say this book lives up to its hype. I was worried that it would be a horsey book, read mostly by people who ride (yes, I know I ride too...) However, you don't have to like horses or horse racing to like this book.
Its not about the horse; or even the jockey, the trainer, or the owner. Seabiscuit is a story of America. During the Great Depression, one little horse with a crooked leg managed to give hope to a nation. Hilldenbrand manages to transport the reader into the era. Her writing style is very visual, with the horse races being especially vivid. I don't know if this book is necessarily one of my favorites, but it is definately worth reading.
A Small Rain - Madeliene L'Engle Amazon Listing
Famous for her Wrinkle in Time series for childern, this is L'Engle's first book. Katherine endures a rough childhood, rarely seeing her father and coping with the death of her mother. The Broadway theater where she acts is her family. She is then shipped off to boarding school in Europe and eventually returns to New York. The entire time she dreams of becoming a concert pianist as her mother was, isolating herself to practice for hours everyday. A coming of age story: Katherine comes vividly off the page as someone you feel you know and have to admire for her dedication and strength of character. Katherine's dedication to her music alone is inspiring. Watching her grow up, she is definately a character you wish to see succeed. A Severed Wasp is the sequel which takes place 50 years later. This book has a mystery to solve, but one also sees Katherine as a elderly woman looking back on her mistakes and triumphs and as the world class pianist you knew she would become in A Small Rain.
The Screwtape Letters - C.S. Lewis Amazon Listing
I have been a huge Lewis fan since I read the Chronicles of Narnia when I was little. The Screwtape Letters, a brilliant religous satire, is a collection of letters from a senior devil, Screwtape, to his protege, Wormwood. Through the letters, Screwtape offers advice and tips to employ when encouraging the human Wormwood oversees to sin. While very funny, at the same time, Lewis brings up such aspects as to what it really means to be humble and the importance of prayer.
Enchantment, Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card
Ok, all of Card's work is great and I have read every thing by him that I have found so far. Ender's Game is by far his most famous novel, winning both the Hugo and Nebula awards for Science Fiction. However, I love fairy tales and retold fairy tales, so Enchantment is my personal favorite. A retelling of Sleeping Beauty, but with a Russian slant: The princess sleeps for 1000 years, Ivan wakes her up, they travel back in time (using some magic bridges). There they battle the evil witch who happens to be Baba Yaga , complete with her hut that spins and runs on chicken legs. Oh, and a jumbo jet that she steals. Baba Yaga is a witch from Russian fairytales, but I always think of Missoursky's "Pictures for an Exibition" with the Baba Yaga movement... Alright, so perhaps Enchantment is not as deep as Ender's Game or Speaker for the Dead, but it is certainly fun. As with most of his novels, the book is character driven and is as much about Ivan and his princess coming to terms with their differences (she is from the middle ages, right as people are converting to christianity; he is a contemporary jewish grad student) as the sword battles and mythology.
The Odessa File - Frederick Forsyth Amazon Listing
A young journalist tracks down a hidden concentration camp commandant after reading the diary of a survivor of the camp. I won't say anymore so that I don't spoil it. The Day of the Jackal is another good book by Frederick Forsyth about an attempted assasination of Charles DeGaulle. These are probably the two best spy fiction books I have read. They may not be great literature, but they are a lot of fun. Both have been turned into movies. The Odessa File was nowhere near as good as the book, but Day of the Jackal was a great movie. Day of the Jackal is also basis for The Jackal, a more recent Bruce Willis movie (but be warned, its not very good).
The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
A classic novel, Gatsby is a weathly, but mysterious man. The author befriends him along with his cousin Daisy and her husband. But all is not as it seems, as Daisy and Gatsby have a past. Fitzgerald creates a decadent and lazy atmosphere for the roaring twenties, when war was over, people were young and rich, and life was a party.
1984 - George Orwell
Alright, anyone who hasn't read this book and Brave New World needs to go to a bookstore right now. Not only are they highly regarded literature, but they are fascinating political novels about freedom of choice. 1984 is the story of a man who is not content with his life or with the world around him. The only problem is that big brother is always watching. How can he rebel, but not be caught? And when he is caught, will he stay true to his convictions? I got really mad at this book, to the point where I was pacing my room as I read the end, but I can't really dislike a book that impacts me that much.
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