by Susanna Clarke
My favorite is the first story, the title story. Especially the story within the story, the one about the Raven King as a boy. See my 5/28 blog entry for more.
Last update: 10/01/08
New entries in BOLD.
Recent entries at the top of each section.
Below is a list of books I recommend. It's rather an long list already and I'll keep adding to it.
Enjoy.
The Ladies of Grace Adieu
by Susanna Clarke
My favorite is the first story, the title story. Especially the story within the story, the one about the Raven King as a boy. See my 5/28 blog entry for more.
The Curse of Chalion
by Lois McMaster Bujold
Wow! Set in the same world as Paladin of Souls it's got the same fascinating religion. Plus an intricate plot and compelling characters. For a more detailed review see DKA or my blog. This book is highly recommended.
Changing Planes
by Ursula K. LeGuin
A fun book full of imaginative short stories.
The Time Traveler's Wife
by Audrey Niffenegger
Quite possibly the most unique romance of all time! This book is beyond wonderful. It's got a truly great concept and the stellar writing to back it up. Highly recommended.
Paladin of Souls
by Lois McMaster Bujold
This fantasy book is one of my favorites. It's got a rich world and a truly fascinating religion. Highly recommended. See blog entries 10/28/05, 10/22/05, and 10/12/05.
Oryx and Crake
by
Margaret Atwood
see related blog posts 5/9/05 and 4/20/05.
A truly great book! Margaret Atwood is brilliant and one of my favorite writers.
The Eyre Affair
by
Jasper Fforde
Think Douglas Adams (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) meets Shakespeare and Jane Eyre). Hilarious and literary. Gotta love it. Plus there's time travel.
Grendel
by
John Gardner
Beowulf told from the monster's point of view. I love to hear a well-known story retold from the point of view of a character from the periphery. See also Wicked, The Red Tent, and The Mists of Avalon.
Wicked
by Gregory Maquire
You know the story of Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz, now hear it from the point of view of the Wicked Witch of the West. This is a biography of that "wicked witch." Not to be missed.
The Handmaid's Tale
by Margaret Atwood
Margaret Atwood is a brilliant writer and this is my favorite of her books. It is terrifying in an intellectual, "this could be your future" way. It takes existing trends and extrapolates them to a possible and horrifying conclusion. For instance, women named for what man they belong to -- Offred, Ofglen. Uggh. And that's only a slice of the horror that awaits you in Atwood's dystopia. I'm getting chills just remembering it.
The Red Tent
by Anita Diamant
The Bible stories of Jacob and his sons retold from the point of view of Dinah, one of his daughters. Again, love hearing a story retold from the sidelines. This one is a compelling account of the daily lives of women during biblical times.
The Dress Lodger
by
Sheri Holman
I don't normally like historical novels, but this one got me. (Actually maybe I just don't think of myself as someone who likes historical novels because I notice a couple on this list. Maybe it's because I don't generally like history or books on history. That's terrible, I know.) Heartbreaking poverty. Cholera before the science of infectious diseases was understood.
Slammerkin
by
Emma Donoghue
Another historical novel where the protagonist makes a living the old-fashioned way, the really old-fashioned way - i.e. as a "lady of evening."
The Mists of Avalon
by
Marion Zimmer Bradley
Again a retelling of a known story -- this time Arthurian legend -- from the point of view of the people on the fringe -- this time the women in the story. Really great stuff. Kind of goes along with the nonfiction book The Alphabet Versus the Goddess.
Psychology
Learned Optimism
by Martin Seligman
One of the defining books of my life, one I have read over and over again, and continue referring to and applying to my everyday life. In a nutshell, success in life can be predicted by explanatory style. Optimists tend to succeed more than pessimists. Part of the reason this is true is that when faced with negative events, optimists explain those events in a way that is impersonal, temporary and specific. For example, my boss yells at me today and I say "He's just in a bad mood today." Impersonal, i.e. not my fault. Temporary, i.e. only this morning. And specific, i.e. just this one person at just this one time. Pessimists on the other hand explain negative events as personal, permanent, and pervasive -- it's all my fault, it will last forever, and it will affect everything I do. That's a particularly hurtful explanatory style. The good news is that you can learn to change your explanatory style. Read it. Seriously. It's good for you.
What Happy People Know
by
Dan Baker
Favorite quote from this book: "When people fail to live up to their values, the first thing they feel is disappointment in themselves, which creates a lot of stress."
(See blog entry Primary Values 2-13-05)
Religion
Traveling Mercies
Some Thoughts on Faith
by Anne Lamott
Perhaps not for people who are easily offended or have conservative, traditional views about religion. However I found this book to be truly wonderful. I highly recommend it. I couldn't begin to quote you all the rare and beautiful moments in this book, we'd be here for months. It's a perfect book for imperfect people, people like me who are just a little bit messed up but still believe strongly, deeply, and constantly, even in the worst moments, even in the cold dark. My absolute favorite section is around page 49 when she talks about how she finally let Jesus into her life. It had me weeping at the bus stop. See blog entries: 7/24/06, 7/10/06, and 7/5/06
A Woman’s Journey to God
Finding the Feminine Path
by
Joan Borysenko
A great book, although perhaps not for everyone. It's perhaps not for people who have very traditional, conservative, patriarchal views about religion. Still, I loved it and found it both helpful and inspiring. Different things bring different people closer to the divine. You gotta go with what works for you and let others go with what works for them. I don't think God cares so much what route you take so long as you get there.
In Memory of Her
A Feminist Theological Reconstruction of Christian Origins
by
Elisabeth Schussller Fiorenza
In college I took a great class called "Women in the Christian Tradition." This was one of the books we studied. I love it for its depiction of early Christianity as a "discipleship of equals" where men and women were equal before God and the only father/authority figure you had to answer to was God. It talks about how the patriarchal structure got added on after in order to make the movement more socially acceptable. Again, this book is perhaps not for everyone, but it certainly worked for me.
Science
Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers
The Acclaimed Guide to Stress, Stress-Related Diseases, and Coping
by
Robert M. Sapolsky
see blog entries at 6/23/05 and 3/11/05 (part of the lost ones, so it's far down the page)
The Language Instinct
How the Mind Creates Language
by Steven Pinker
Another great book I was exposed to in college.
How the Mind Works
by
Steven Pinker
OK, so anything by Steven Pinker is probably worth reading.
The Age of Spiritual Machines
by
Ray Kurzweil
Fascinating book on future science and technology. Also a really good source of ideas if you're a science fiction writer like me. There are hundreds and hundreds of good story ideas in there. Seriously. I don't have time to write all of them, so help yourself.
Writing
The Portable MFA in Creative Writing
by the New York Writer's Workshop
Very helpful so far, especially the section on fiction.
Writing to Change the World
by Mary Pipher
This is a good book for any writer who sees writing as a holy chore and wants to use words to effect positive change. It's a very recent book (2006) and talks a bit about current events. There is even a chapter on blogs and how they can be used as a means for positive change. Pipher also talks a lot about using words and writing to connect with others, and how forming a connection with someone is often the first step to changing them or spurring them to action. Don't miss the several pages of Recommended Reading at the end of the book. There's a lot of good looking stuff there.
Page After Page
by Heather Sellers
A wonderful book about writing. It helped me so much. I particularly like the part about treating writing like a lover. :) See blog entries: 3/11/06, 3/19/05, and especially 1/13/05.
No Plot, No Problem
by Chris Baty
A great book to have by your side during NaNoWriMo. See blog entries: 11/15/05, 11/14/05, 11/10/05, and 11/2/05.
A Writer’s Book of Days
by
Judy Reeves
My first novel started as writing practices using prompts from this book. There's a prompt for every day of the year, plus a lot of encouragement along the way.
The Pocket Muse
Ideas and Inspirations for Writing
by
Monica Wood
Another really good book of writing prompts.
Anything by Sark. A Creative Companion, Succulent Wild Woman, Transformation Soup, Eat Mangoes Naked.
Other non-fiction
Steering by Starlight
by Martha Beck
A wonderful "self-help" book. Fascinating psychology, inspiring sprituality. Lots of helpful stuff in there. See blog entry 10/2/08.
Deadly Persuasion
by Jean Kilbourne
A fantastic book on the dangers of advertising, how it affects us without our knowledge or consent. This book had a huge impact on my thinking about advertising and, in a more general sense, how what we are exposed to changes who we are, even when we don't realize it. It was part of the foundation for my essay "Osmosis."
The Alphabet Versus the Goddess
by Leonard Shlain
One of all-time favorite books.
The Tipping Point
How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
by Malcolm Gladwell