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Habitual Reader Profiles - Page 1
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Name: Bluestalking Reader |
| State: Illinois | |
| Vocation / Avocation: Adult Program Coordinator | |
| Website: http://bluestalking.typepad.com |
Why I'm a Habitual Reader:
I've been a reader all my life, for just about as long as I can remember. I've been a book collector and book seller in the past, quitting bookselling once I realized people who paid me money actually had the nerve to want me to part with my books! (Fiends.) My Bachelor's degree was in English literature (because that ensured I'd have to read a lot of books, not because I had any plans that required it) and I now work in a library. I review books for Jacket Magazine as well as independently reviewing for publishers in the U.S. and U.K. I operate a blog devoted to reviews and matters bookish for my library, and also for the Northwest Suburban Library System (Chicago). If I'm not reading books I'm reading books about books. And, if you need further proof, my family will show you their collective stubbed toes from tripping over my piles of books.
My List of Ten: Top Ten Books You Have No Excuse Not to Read
1. The Blind Assassin
Author: Margaret Atwood
One hundred years from now people will still be reading and studying Margaret
Atwood. This novel is her masterpiece (so far).
2. Great Expectations
Author: Charles Dickens
Dickens is my sentimental favorite writer of all time, and though I love all
his books this one is the one I recommend.
3. One Hundred Years of Solitude
Author: Gabriel Garcia Marquez
I didn't know people could even write like this before I read this book. It's
so magical and transporting.
4. Mrs. Dalloway
Author: Virginia Woolf
As with Dickens, I love all the Woolf I've ever read. This is a fairly difficult
one if you're not into stream of consciousness, but I recommend giving it a
try.
5. Intruder in the Dust
Author: William Faulkner
Again, another favorite writer of mine! Okay, I'm partial, but this book symbolizes,
for me, the reason he won the Nobel Prize. It contains more of humanity between
its covers than anything I've ever read. And it's funny, too!
6. Jane Eyre
Author: Charlotte Bronte
Gothic novels are wonderfully atmospheric, and the Brontes wrote some of the
best. Jane Eyre also has a lot to say about maintaining your integrity in the
face of great temptation. Plus, Mr. Rochester is a really, really hot main
character. Alright, a little shallow...
7. East of Eden
Author: John Steinbeck
One of the best novels ever written. Full stop.
8. The Man Who Loved Children
Author: Christina Stead
A brutal book, masterfully written. It also contains one of the most disturbingly
annoying main characters I've ever encountered, but the power of it... Ah,
the power.
9. Ethan Frome
Author: Edith Wharton
About as perfect a novella as you'll ever find. I've read it several times
and find something new with every read.
10. The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Author: Victor Hugo
This one isn't as monumental as his 'Les Miserables,' but I've read and re-read
this one, weeping every time. It goes a long way toward teaching you not to
judge a person by his exterior, and not to assume a disfigured person doesn't
have a huge heart beating underneath.
Have you read any of these titles? Review one now.
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