Random Ramblings (or Books You Should Be Reading)

Happy Tuesday, everyone. I hope all of you who are returning to work, too, are having an easier time of it than I am. I haven't seen time creep by so slowly in a long, long time.





Today, I'm going to switch gears a little bit and talk about some books that everyone should read at least once in your life. It's going to be a hodgepodge of genres, but that's just the way I go. But first, I want to share this little gem I found over on ONTD:

This is something Twilight-related I can get behind, a crossover to span the ages! And no, other than this picture, you won't find any Twilight books in my post today (or ever!).

All right, the first book on my list is Good Omens by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman. I try to reread this book at least once every year, and it never fails to make me laugh. If you thought a book about the Apocalpse & the son of Satan couldn't be funny, well, you thought wrong! Of course, given the authors, the book is distinctly British in tone & in humor, so it might not be for you if you don't get into that sort of humor. Me, I love it and can't get enough of it.

Next on my list is another classic, The Princess Bride by William Goldman. If you've only seen the film, you need to search out this book and read it. You get a lot more backstory on the not-so-main characters (such as Inigo & Fezzick), and it's really a delightful read. I need to take my own advice & reread it because I haven't read it since I was a kid.

Now for something a little more serious but still wonderful: The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan. You may know her as the author of The Joy Luck Club. I think I've read all of her books (with the possible exception of The Kitchen God's Wife), but this one is my hands-down favorite. It's the story of two adult sisters, Olivia and Kwan, told with many flashbacks.

Olivia's a young girl when her half-sister, Kwan, comes from China to live with her family, and she's initially very excited by this development, but she comes to find that Kwan isn't exactly the sister she's dreamed about. She's kind of embarassing to Olivia because she doesn't speak English well, and she seems to be crazy because she talks to ghosts and speaks of past lives. These stories will influence the course of Olivia's life and her relationship with Kwan, and Olivia may just learn that Kwan's not as crazy as she seems. It's a beautiful story, and it never fails to both spook me at times and bring me to tears.

And here's another serious book: The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. History buffs, you'll enjoy this one. It takes place in the 12th century in England, and it's about the lives that swirl and intersect around the building of a cathedral in Kingsbridge. I try to reread this one about every year, too, though that can be difficult because of the length of this novel. Don't let the length scare you off, though; it's a very gripping story. I was hooked before I even got out of the prologue. How can you beat this opening? The book opens with a town readying for the execution of a man accused of thievery, and everyone is there, from the lowest peasant to the highest nobleman. However, just as sentence is being carried out, the man's girlfriend places a curse upon the three men presiding over this affair: a sherrif, a priest, and a knight. It's a stellar opening, and a fantastic book.

Okay, one more before I close my post for today. I would recommend the entire series, but honestly, it's hit and miss in terms of quality, so I'm just going to recommend the first book from the series: On a Pale Horse by Piers Anthony, book 1 of the Incarnations of Immortality series.

I first read this book probably a year or so before my dad passed away, and it really helped me get through that difficult time. The book is about a young man named Zane who is down on his luck. He's broke, he's luckless in love, and no matter his best intention, it all just crashes around him. He plans to commit suicide, and as he's about to pull the trigger, who should appear in his small apartment but Death? In his surprise & shock, he pulls the trigger on Death, killing him. He then learns from Fate that there are Incarnations, personifications of things such as death, fate, war, etc. which are just offices being held by mortals. Because he killed Death, Zane must now take his place & reap the souls of those who are in balance and unable to reach heaven or hell by their own accord.

It's a really good sci-fi/fantasy read, and Anthony also offers up a lot of interesting moral conundrums for us to ponder (an example of this is whether it is moral to keep the elderly alive by machines, even when they don't want to be).

So, there you go. There are five good books you ought to take a look at. Tomorrow, we get to delve into Deadpool, so I hope you come back for that. :-)