Bibliophile's Lists of Recommended Books |
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Books for bibliophiles Posted: 03.18.05 (5:11 am) You are a bibliophile, ergo, you love books. Logically, you should love books about books and reading even more than other books. Right? Here is a selection of such books that I have enjoyed: 84 Charing Cross Road - Helene Hanff. Memoir. 20 years of correspondence between the New York based author and a bookshop in London. Sweet book, full of mentions of all sorts of books and the joy of reading. Also a charming movie, starring Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins. Parnassus on Wheels & the sequel, The Haunted Bookshop – Christopher Morley. Fiction. The first is a lovely little love story about two middle-aged people who are brought together by an unusual bookshop. The second is a mystery that revolves around a second-hand bookshop run by the couple from the first book. Both are also very much about the joys of reading and owning books. The Name of the Rose - Umberto Eco. Historical fiction. The story revolves around a manuscript, manuscripts and books are discussed in great detail, and the climax takes place in a library. The movie - starring Sean Connery and Christian Slater - is good, but most of the philological and literary references were lost in the translation from book to screen. The Neverending Story - Michael Ende. Fantasy. This book is about the magic ability some books have of drawing the readers so completely into the story that they feel as if they are there. Was made into an okay movie that ended halfway through the story, and a series of other movies tenuously based on the book and characters. The Professor and the Madman - Simon Winchester. History. This book is about the making of the Oxford English Dictionary, and the relationship between the main editor of the OED and one of the men who supplied material for the book. Killer Books: A reader’s guide to exploring the popular world of mystery and suspense - Jean Swanson & Dean James. Reference. The sub-title says it all. Still reading this one and have found loads of authors and books I want to read. The Eyre Affair & the sequel, Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde. Fantasy. Although not of high literary merit, these occasionally funny books make excellent reading for bibliophiles because of all the different literature (real and imaginary) mentioned and alluded to in them, and the literary figures (for example Jane Eyre) that the protagonist, Thursday Next, meets. Thursday is a book cop who learns how to jump into books and interact with the characters (off page). There are two more books in the series that I haven’t read, The Well of Lost Plots and Something Rotten. I may comment on them in future postings. A Passion for Books. Anthology. Just started reading this one. It’s a collection of essays, stories, poems, lists, quotes and cartoons about all kinds of subjects to do with books and reading. |
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Children’s books I have fond memories of, part I of II
Posted: 07.07.05 (3:38 am) These are the books that moulded my reading habits and affected my future reading preferences. Some of them are still favourites, others I haven’t read in years. I first read all of these books in Icelandic, and later some of them in the original languages. Most were originally written in other languages, and nearly all of them are available in English, in some version. I haven’t bothered with most of my favourite Icelandic children’s books because very few (if any) of them have been translated into English, although several have been translated into German and one or more Scandinavian languages. The Tales of Hans Christian Andersen. Fantasy/adventures/parables. I was given these before I could read (I think they were a christening present) and loved to have them read to me. Later, when I could read for myself, I devoured them and got to read the tales my parents thought were too dark for a little kid. Still later, when I got a copy in Danish, I discovered that the Icelandic translator had taken all sorts of licences with the tales. I have long been planning to finish reading them in Danish, but somehow never got round to it. Aesop’s Fables. Fables/parables. I enjoyed reading these delightful tales long before I knew what a fable was. The edition I have is full of pictures and enjoyable to look at as well as to read. The Cat in the Hat and The Cat in the Hat comes back by Dr. Seuss. Picture books. How I envied my brother those books when we were children! The Cat in the hat was able to make as much mess as he pleased – and able to clean it up and make it look as if nothing had happened. Being good little kids, we rarely did anything destructive, but that didn’t mean we didn’t want to. It was fun to sit and read the books to him while we both looked at the pictures and dreamed... The Moomins books by Tove Jansson. Fantasy. Probably the first pure fantasy novels I read. These are wonderful books about the Moomintroll family and their friends and neighbours and their adventures. Enid Blyton’s Adventure books (and to a lesser extent, the Five Find-Outers). Mystery, adventure. My favourite was The Valley of Adventure. I always disliked how wimpy the girls in those books were, and always identified myself with the boys. I loved the exotic locations these kids would find themselves in, and these books are possibly the beginning of my interest in both travel literature and mysteries. A children’s version of the first two books of Gulliver’s
Travels - that’s the ones about Lilliput and Brobdingnag. Fantasy.
To my knowledge, the full novel has never been translated into Icelandic,
and the children’s versions have had most of the satirical bite taken out
of them by well-meaning editors who have reduced them to tales for children.Norse and ancient Greek myths. The books I first read (and still own) are wonderfully illustrated versions for children that are (sadly) long out of print, but for adult reading I recommend the perennial Bulfinch’s Mythology, especially for the Greek/Roman myths. I also read and loved the Gylfaginning part of Snorri’s Edda, which is the main source of the Norse mythology you find in modern books on the subject. The Mary Poppins books by PL Travers. Fantasy. I read at least four of them and loved them all. Mary is such a wonderfully proper and yet wacky character that you can’t help liking her. The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien. Fantasy. I was 8 when The Hobbit came out in Icelandic, and it cemented my lifelong liking for fantasy. I had cut my reading teeth on fairy tales, legends and myths and this was a natural continuation of that process. Although there are no children in the stories, both hobbit and dwarves are no bigger than children, and their behaviour is rather childish at times, which makes them appealing to children. An added pleasure is Tolkien’s style which is simply sparkling with good humour. Here is an excerpt from Chapter 1 of The Hobbit. |
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Children’s books I have fond memories of, part
II of II Posted: 09.12.05 (2:34 am) It is interesting to note that most of the books I loved best when I was a child were fantasies. Some of these I still occasionally pick up and read. Books by Astrid Lindgren: The Brothers Lionheart. 2 brothers are reunited after death in a fantasy world where an evil warlord armed with a dragon has part of the land in thrall and is trying to invade the free parts. Mio, my Mio. An orphan discovers that he is really a prince. He ends up fighting an evil knight who steals people and animals from his father’s kingdom. Ronja, the Robber’s Daughter A more lighthearted story about a girl who grows up as the only child in a group of rowdy robbers, and finally finds a friend when she meets a boy, the son of the leader of another group of robbers. All sorts of mayhem ensues when the two robber kings start fighting for territory and the children decide to teach the adults a lesson. I was never very fond of the Pippi Longstocking books, perhaps because I was already in my teens when I first read them. The Village that Slept by Manique P. de Ladebat. Two children who have survived a plane crash in the Pyrenees have to make it on their own for about 8 months, in an abandoned village. I borrowed it repeatedly from the library when I was a child and teenager, and have been looking for a copy to buy for several years. Since I wrote this, I was able to re-read it, and although it’s an enjoyable enough story, I don’t think I will bother to try to find a copy to own, unless one day I have children I can read it to. A fantasy novel by Peruvian author Carlota Carvallo de Nunez, for which I have not been able to find an English title. In Spanish it’s Rutsi, el pequeno alucinado. It is the story of an immortal jungle spirit who wants to experience being human, so he takes on the form of a young boy and has all sorts of adventures as he travels from jungle to village to city and back to the jungle. It transported me into a world full of wonder and magic. I am David by Anne Holm. I was about 12 when I read this beautiful story of a young boy who escapes from a prison camp in Greece and makes his way across the continent to Denmark, finding his destiny along the way. I still pick it up occasionally when I want to read something that will make me feel good. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Another favourite that I discovered at the library and borrowed over and over again. About a young orphan girl who finds a hidden garden and discovers she has a hypochondriac cousin. Together they make over the neglected garden and bring joy and happiness to themselves and the boy’s father. I didn’t read A Little Princess until I was an adult, but would probably not have liked it as much as a child – Sara is so incredibly good and perfect, and I hated such characters in stories. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. Fantasy. Another book belonging to my brother that I wanted for myself. It’s just as related to fairy-tales as The Hobbit is, and an added bonus is the echoes of one of my favourite tales by Hans Christian Andersen: The Snow Queen. I also recommend the rest of the series. The Neverending Story by Michael Ende. Fantasy. About a boy who is transported into a fantasy adventure through the book he is reading. A wonderful story about the power of a good book. Later, when I was in my teens, I discovered Momo, which I like even better, and will discuss later. Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery. I read it and two of its sequels as a child and loved them all. |
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Good eating, good reading Posted: 04.15.05 (6:31 am) Many of my fellow bibliophiles are fond of good eating as well as good reading. They are not all full-blown foodies - the culinary equivalent of bibliophiles - but they do enjoy good food and some combine both pleasures by reading at the dinner table – a pleasurable but fattening practice. Here is a selection of my favourite food-related non-fiction, in no particular order: Kitchen Confidential - Anthony Bourdain. Memoir of a life lived with food. The combination of a very entertaining, no-holds-barred memoir and an inside look at the restaurant business. The author is a chef and his love of food is exuberantly expressed in the narrative. Includes some useful kitchen and restaurant advice. A Cook’s Journey - Anthony Bourdain. Travel & food. By turns gross and hunger-inducing - but always entertaining - this is the story of Bourdain’s round-the-world journey with a camera crew in tow, in search of good food, with diversions into gag-inducing cuisine (beating heart of cobra, anyone?). The Man Who Ate Everything - Jeffrey Steingarten. Essays and articles on food. Essays on all sorts of food related topics, such as French, sorry, Belgian fries, fruitcakes, water, bread, truffle-hunting, chocroute, and Italian ice-cream, all pursued with tenacity, stamina and a seemingly inexhaustible cache of money. You have to admire someone who is this obsessed with food. The Encyclopedia of Cookery and Cooking Techniques (Icelandic translation) - Anne Willan. Food reference. Chock full of mouth-watering recipes, every-day and exotic foods, descriptions that make the fiddliest of cooking techniques look easy, and gorgeous photographs of food, ranging from the common to the exotic, and cooking utensils, ranging from necessary to weird. Íslensk matarhefð (Icelandic food tradition) – Nanna Rögnvaldardóttir. Food history. A history of food and cooking in Iceland from settlement to modern times. A brilliant book. The Raj at Table - David Burton. Social (and food) history. The various aspects of food, cooking and eating in Raj era India are examined, along with the effects of Indian cuisine on British cuisine, with many quotations from people who were there, and several recipes, some of which I use regularly. The True History of Chocolate - Sophie D Coe and Michael D Coe. Food history and science. This is a definitive history of one of the most irresistible foods in the world. Starts out dry, but begins to mellow when the botanical chapters end and the history chapters begin. Will have any chocolate connoisseur drooling before the end. History of Food - Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat. Food history. An informative and not too academic history of food. Naturally not all inclusive, but traces the main developments from hunting and gathering to modern cooking and food production methods. A Year in Provence and Toujours Provence by Peter Mayle. Travel. They may be stereotypical examples of the “living the good life abroad” genre of travel literature, but they do have some excellent descriptions of food and eating. I expect I would probably like Frances Mayes’s books about Tuscany for the same reason. We of the Never-Never by Jeannie Gunn. Memoir. Has some delightful and funny scenes with food, including the author’s first attempts at making damper bread and a description of a magnificent Christmas feast served in the sweltering heat of the Australian summer. These three are part fiction, part non-fiction: Nanny Ogg’s Cookbook - Terry Pratchett et al. Cookbook/comedy. A wonderfully quirky cookbook with recipes for some of the food mentioned in the Discworld books (leaving out the secret ingredients), with advice and notes from the marvellous Nanny Ogg. You can find all sorts of delicious, not so delicious, and downright dangerous foods here, like the dried frog pills the Bursar eats in order to stay (relatively) sane, Nobby’s mom’s Jammy Devils, Mrs. Colon’s curry with sultanas, assassin bon-bons, etc. Funny as well as useful. The Little House Cookbook - Barbara M. Walker. Literature/recipes. A well-researched literary recipe book with recipes for all the food that is mentioned in the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Brings back memories of my childhood, watching the TV series every Sunday and devouring the books one by one as they were published. One that I’m looking forward to read: The Literary Gourmet - Linda Wolfe. Literature/recipes. Passages describing food and meals from various famous works of literature, with menus and recipes. |
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Good reading about good eating Posted: 05.19.05 (5:50 am) I’ve already listed my favourite non-fiction foodie books. Now it’s time for fiction. Not only do I enjoy reading food history and other food-related non-fiction, I also love novels that have great descriptions of food and meals in them. In some cases, it’s the only thing I like about the books, in others it’s an added bonus to an already good book. Here are some fiction books with food and eating scenes I have enjoyed: Chocolat - Joanne Harris. A sensuous book about a woman who runs a chocolate shop and who is able to find the perfect type of chocolate for each of her customers. The movie is even more chocolate-centric, and has the added attraction of delectable Johnny Depp. Babette’s Feast - Karen Blixen. Wonderful story about a French chef who cooks the meal of a lifetime for a group of strictly puritanical small town Danes, with amusing results. Another novel that has been made into a great movie. Like Water for Chocolate - Laura Esquivel. A so-so love story with great scenes of food preparation, wonderful food, feasting and recipes. For story, I liked the movie better than the book, but the food scenes are better in the book. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens. Mmmmmmm! Those mouth-watering descriptions of the shops on Christmas morning and all the food they are selling, and the Cratchits’ Christmas meal are enough to make anyone hungry. Has been filmed many times, but the food scenes have not translated well onto the screen in those versions I have seen. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café - Fannie Flagg. I would love to be able to sit down in the Whistle Stop Café and order a plate of fried green tomatoes. Would avoid the barbecued pork, however. Good movie, great book. Faking It - Jennifer Crusie. The discussion about men as doughnuts or muffins had me salivating, and I put down the book, marched to the kitchen and baked up a batch of blueberry muffins to eat while I read the rest of the book. Crusie fans will know which scene I’m referring to. The Little House books – Laura Ingalls Wilder. Wonderful descriptions of frontier food. The Famous Five and Five Find-Outers books by Enid Blyton. Those kids were always eating and having picnics. At the drop of a hat the motherly girl would produce, as if by magic, a basket of mouth-watering goodies that would be devoured with gusto by the kids and that would in all likelihood send the reader straight to the kitchen to raid the refrigerator. The Asterix comic books. Several of the books include sumptuous feasts as part of the story, and they always end in a boisterous alfresco group dinner under the stars that I always wanted to participate in. Piers Anthony’s Xanth books. Who wouldn’t want to have a pie tree in their backyard? Currently reading: The Cereal Murders by Diane Mott Davidson, a mystery that I haven't yet decided whether I like or not, but which has great descriptions of food and some mouthwatering recipes. |
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Enjoyable love stories and romances Posted: 05.31.05 (6:14 am) I enjoy sitting down to read a good love story. A good romantic narrative has the ability to play with one’s emotions and the moment when the lovers either head towards happily ever after or say goodbye forever can spark a release of pent up feelings about totally unrelated things. Before I go on, I had better define the difference between romances and love stories: A romance is a work of fiction or occasionally a biography where the story focuses on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and ends well, i.e. with the lovers united and every indication that they will live happily ever after. A love story is a romance that is included in a work of fiction or non-fiction (biography, history) that does not focus exclusively on the romance, is perhaps more or just as much about something else. This can for example be a family or historical epic, a coming-of-age story, a real or fictional biography, a story about social behaviour and customs, or just about any other kind of story. These love stories sometimes end in separation or tragedy for the lovers. Some love stories and romances I have enjoyed: Just about anything by Georgette Heyer. Her historical novels are rarely just romances, but rather social comedies after the Jane Austen model that just happen to include a love story (and usually a bit of comedy that sometimes turns into slapstick). I especially like The Quiet Gentleman, The Nonesuch and The Unknown Ajax. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen. A great novel of manners that includes not one, but two love stories. Is there a romance novelist in the English-speaking world who hasn’t been influenced by this book? Has been made into several movies, including a modern Hindi version (Bride & Prejudice), and an excellent TV miniseries with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. Persuasion - Jane Austen. Great story about second chances and mature love vs. young love. My favourite Austen novel. Also a good movie with Amanda Root and Ciarán Hinds. Romeo and Juliet - William Shakespeare. A play that begins as a romantic comedy and ends as the ultimate tragic love story. There are several movie versions, most lately a modern version with Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. Twelfth Night: Or What You Will - William Shakespeare at his most light-hearted. A play. Features several different types of love: imaginary love, obsessive love, self-love, love at first sight, and also the platonic love of a man for his friend. Has no less than three romances, and some very funny comic scenes. There is an excellent movie with Imogen Stubbs, Toby Stephens and Helena Bonham-Carter as the romantic leads, and a supporting cast that includes Imelda Staunton, Ben Kingsley, Nigel Hawthorne and Richard E. Grant. A Precious Jewel - Mary Balogh. Unusual Regency romance. The standard Regency romance usually gets no more erotic than describing a few kisses, and if there is sex, it is implied rather than stated or described. This one not only breaks the “no sex” rule, it gets away with it. The heroine is a prostitute who becomes the mistress of the hero, one of her regular clients, and falls in love with him. The wrenching scenes of her professional performances make the scenes where they finally make love all the more emotional and satisfying. It is admirable how Balogh manages to make the sex and love scenes real without them becoming pornographic. A two hanky cry. Tim - Colleen McCulloch. A tender love story about a middle-aged woman who falls in love with and marries a young, intellectually disabled man. Have a hanky handy, as it does get weepy at times. Check out the movie with Piper Laurie and a young and gorgeous Mel Gibson. |
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