I love getting ideas from my readers on what sorts of posts you'd like to see! I got some great questions that I would like to take the time to answer. There is so much subject matter to cover that I decided to give each question it's own post rather than doing one huge Q&A post as I'd originally planned. This question is from my good friend Alyssa. Thanks for reading!
Q: What are your favorite "couldn't put them down" books?
A: I've loved reading since childhood so I'd venture to say I've enjoyed thousands of books over the years. Each story is like a friend to me, making a little mark upon the slate of who I am. With so many good "friends" it's hard to pick a favorite but I will attempt to highlight some that are really important to me. If I was forced to choose a favorite book I'd probably say East of Eden by John Steinbeck. I first read it in my teens and it had a profound philosophical influence on me. One of my most favorite quotes the book is "We have only one story. All novels, all poetry, are built on the neverending contest in ourselves of good and evil. And it occurs to me that evil must constantly respawn, while good, while virtue, is immortal. Vice has always a new fresh young face, while virtue is venerable as nothing else in the world is." I have always been struck by these words. It defines my worldview in relation how humans have free will and when we choose our actions we choose the concequences. Another quote that illustrates this is
Other favorite classics of mine include Jane Eyre, Sons and Lovers, Catcher In The Rye, 1984, and Brave New World.
I also love many modern works and I will mention some favorite modern authors rather than attempting to list all their works.
-Kahled Hossini: The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns
-Sue Monk Kidd: The Secret Life of Bees and The Mermaid Chair
-Lisa See: Shanghai Girls and Snow Flower & The Secret Fan
-Jodi Picoult (everything but my favorite is The Tenth Circle)
-Elizabeth Kostova: The Historian
-Laura Ingalls Wilder: The Little House series
-M. L. Gardner: 1929 series
- Jen Lancaster: Bitter Is The New Black Series
- Ken Folliet (everything, but especially The Pillars Of The Earth and The Centry trilogies)
-Francine Rivers: Redeeming Love and The Mark Of The Lion series
-Frank Peretti: (everything, but especially the Darkness series)
-Ted Dekker: (everything but especially The Circle Trilogy)
-Garth Stein: The Art Of Racing In The Rain
-Anita Shreve: everything
-C.S. Lewis: The Chronicles Of Narnia series
I'm sure I'm forgetting many more beloved tomes, but this is a short list of those that stand out to me. Have you read any of these books? Enjoyed them? What are some of your favorites and what are you excited to read next?
Have any questions you'd like me to answer? Please leave them in the comments below!
You listed many great books and authors! I already knew we both loved Pillars of the Earth! I want to dive back into that one someday. And you have me looking for East of Eden.
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Thanks for answering my question, Amanda! I also really loved East of Eden. John Steinbeck is one of my favorite authors. From your list, I love the Little House series, and anything by Francine Rivers. Some books and authors I've enjoyed are: most anything by Willa Cather, A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry (also the saddest book I've ever read), Sarah Addison Allen books--especially Garden Spells, and for Christian fiction, I like Karen Kingsbury and Janette Oke. I own some of the books on your list, I just need to get around to reading them. Another question...what are your favorite recipes that are tried and true? I'm always looking for new recipes to add to my rotation. :) -Alyssa
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