What’s your favourite book? And Why?

I have spent a good part,

of the last two days,

reading,

Where The Red Fern Grows.

I am sure many of you have read it.

It’s something of a classic,

there are over,

eight hundred reviews,

on amazon, alone.

OK,

I’m sort of embarrassed to admit,

I had never heard of this book,

until about a month ago.

A woman  I met,

told me about it,

it seemed to mean,

a lot to her.

I was intrigued and interested,

by both the book and the woman.

So, a couple of Sundays ago,

I took it out of the library.

It was the first time,

I went to the children’s section.

It’s a wonderful book.

Full of fun and adventure.

It’s about the importance,

of friendship,

of family,

of loyalty,

of sacrifice,

and of hard work.

Full of love and compassion,

as well as,

pain and heartbreak.

An exemplary piece of  children’s literature.

One of the first questions,

I ask someone who I find interesting,

is,

what is your favourite book?

It’s important to me.

I also know it’s not really,

that easy a question to answer.

It can vary,

depending on life circumstance.

For instance,

the summer I was fourteen,

I read a giant opus of a book,

Youngblood Hawke by Herman Wouk.

I was really taken with it,

all I remember about it now,

is that it was humongous,

and it made me dream of being a writer.

It was about a writer and I thought,

wow,

that is the most interesting of lives.

I have never re-read that book,

I don’t know if I would still like it,

so,

I will go on remembering it,

vaguely,

and dreamily.

It’s better not to tempt,

dissapointment.

One book I love and have re-read is,

The Catcher In The Rye,

I know many people don’t like this novel,

but,

to me,

it is the best portrayal,

I have read,

of how alien and marginal,

a sensitive, intelligent,

teenager feels.

I read it last year and I felt,

the gnawing in the pit of my stomach,

I was fifteen again,

not in a nostalgic,

wasn’t it great sort of way,

but,

in a,

my God,

will anyone ever get me, way.

But, my favourite book of all time is,

The World According To Garp.

I have been thinking about this,

the past few weeks,

and wondering,

what this says about me.

I think it means I expect the worst,

but,

fervently hope for the best.

I also think it means,

I think you should be weary of,

joining anything,

that orthodoxy,

even when it starts from a good place,

more often than not leads to fanaticism.

It says I know love is imperfect,

and,

sometimes painful,

but,

always worth the risk.

It means I should always try to,

remember what being a child is,

that flippant off hand remarks,

can lead to years of misunderstanding,

and sometimes permanent scaring.

It means that life is both,

hysterically funny and tragic,

sometimes,

simultaneously.

An odd choice as a favourite granted,

it’s about a man,

raised by a single mother,

who has a family and is a writer.

I am none of these things.

And yet,

somehow,

I always felt that someway, somehow,

I was Garp.

Strange.

But, if,

I am anything,

I am strange:-)

Tell me what your favourite book is,

I’m interested.

Later girls,

BB

Desert Island Books

What books would I want to have on a desert island?

I have always found that to be a interesting game to play with myself.

In a perfect world, fantasy world that is,

I would land on an island populated sparsely,

 with women.

I would wash on to the beach,

 closely followed by my giant steamer trunk,  

 filled with books.

The desert island game would then become,

 Fantasy Island.

No, but, seriously.

I have considered this game many times over the years,

played it with friends,

with customers.

To make it interesting I take five books,

 two are very small.

All would fit in an overnight bag.

Obviously, a Kindle or some such device would be great,

 because of storage capabilities but,

there is no electricity or power sources on a desert island,

and I’m no engineer.

Number one,

84 Charing Cross Road  because I love this book,

also it is tiny.

Number two, W. Somerset Maugham Collected Short Stories Volume 4

Again tiny,

 and it contains my all time favourite short story,

 The Book Bag.

I would bring my favourite novel by my favourite novelist.

The World According To Garp by John Irving.

Also I would bring Rat Bohemia by Sarah Schulman.

I see it as a work of staggering power and originality.

Schulman is one of the best writers I have ever read,

 and I wouldn’t mind spending the rest of my life rereading her.

So, that’s four.

I am very comfortable with these choices.

The fifth is tough.

The situation deserves analysis,

since I have recently been accused of over analysing,

I should figure this out.

I believe the fifth book should be a book I have never read,

just for the sheer discovery factor.

Also, it should be an acknowledged classic,

 great work of literature.

It should be a tough read,

 to keep me thinking, stimulated and prevent Alzheimer’s.

So upon analysis and reflection,

 I have narrowed it down to three,

Moby Dick, Ulysses or War and Peace.

I have read none of these,

all are considered great and,

 have been on my to be read at some point in my life, list.

All are one volume,

 and fit the requirement of the overnight bag size.

So it comes down to,

 do I want to spend the remainder of my days with,

a stoic New Englander, a weird Irishman or a Russian Count.

Do I want to read about obsession and the slaughter of Whales,

a drunken and poetic odyssey,

or the horror and heroism of war.

I think I would opt for Ulysses.

A hard and long read but, based on nothing but,

second hand info,

 a happier read.

If any of you,

 play or have ever played this game,

let me know your choices,

it would be fun.

Later girls

BB