Sunday, December 03, 2017

6 of my favorite books

My Book Club posts focus on books I haven't read before; so here I thought I would share with you 6 of my faves from my book shelf. 
I laid them out on the cleanest spot on the carpet that I could find for a fancy photo.


Let's start with the one I think I've owned the longest- The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole.  
I really wanted to take a photo of the first book in the series - The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13 3/4 - but it escapes me at 5:30am, so here is book 2 in the set.  My parents bought me the first two I believe, at a book store in Vancouver in the 80's.  My dad (The Grandfather)  was and is a big reader, but didn't approve of most teen and juvenile fiction.  These got his approval probably because they were English, but I'm not sure they would have been ok with me reading them if they'd known the content. The books, especially the first ones in his younger years, are hilarious, and angsty and wonderful. The Queen and I is also a very good book by Sue Townsend, as is The True Confessions of Margaret Hilda Roberts.

Beside that is Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood.  My grandmother bought me a couple of her books as a birthday gift one year; this one and The Handmaids Tale,  and one other I can't think of anymore.  This was my favorite, because I felt like it was written for me. This isn't the original copy from her, I lost that in a move, not that that matters to anyone but me.   I think this is one of MA's greatest books.

Up next is She's Come Undone, by Wally Lamb.  I don't know why or where I bought this one, but this is one of those books that punches you in the gut and you are rooting for the main character and you don't ever want the story to end. Another great one by WL is I Know This Much Is True.

Top row- Where The Red Fern Grows - oh man. This is one of those books for me where you feel like you are in the story.  Get a box of tissues ready.  So good.  No idea how I came across this one but I can't wait to read it with The Boy.  He's probably old enough now, come to think of it.....

I have a pretty big soft spot for the movie Friend Green Tomatos (Jessica Tandy!), but the book, which I ordered from the book counter at the grocery store (early 90's ahem), is SO MUCH BETTER.  I have read this book so many times that it's falling apart.  

The most recent book is Mother. Wife. Sister. Human. Warrior. Falcon. Yardstick. Turban. Cabbage. by Rob Delaney.  I  discovered him when I still used twitter for more than checking the weather, the traffic,and following Chrissy Teigan, and although he is often crass, he is funny and brilliant.  His book is both hilarious and sad, and reading about his struggles with alcohol and depression were eye opening for me.  

I have more that I love and plan on keeping for a while; but recently a friend told me that she almost never re-reads books and gets rid of them as soon as she is done.  
Are you a saver or a recycler?
What are some of your favorite books of all time?