New year = new book list!
Many moons ago (Summer 2008), Steve and I "encouraged" one another to read our respective favorite books.
His recommendation to me:
John Adams by David McCullough
My recommendation to him:
Advise and Consent by Allen Drury
It didn't take long for either of us to decide that we like each other's taste in books.
Both are excellent.
Instead of making traditional new year resolutions, we've created a book list for each other with books we've either read ourselves and loved, or books we'd like to read, but we want the other person to find out if they're worth reading.
hehehe...
For the Mr.
I have assigned Steve the following books to read, which fall under three periods of world history: Classical antiquity, the Renaissance, and the U.S. Civil War era.
1. One of three books I've selected from classical antiquity: The Iliad, The Odyssey or The Aeneid. It's poetry and prose, so he can pick one of these three. My guess is that Steve will breeze through the other two assigned books, but it may take him a while to get through Homer or Virgil, depending on which he chooses.
2. Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead - a play based on two lesser figures from Shakespeare's Hamlet, so...in a very roundabout way...a selection from the Renaissance/Humanist movement in 16th century England even though it was written in the 20th century.
3. One of the greatest books I've ever read about the American Civil War - The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara. The title comes from a poignant conversation between Sgt. Kilrain and Col. Chamberlain fighting together for the Union. If you don't feel like reading the book, I'd highly recommend the movie Gettysburg, which is based on Killer Angels. Be warned though, it is a real tear jerker.
For the Mrs.
Steve gave me a little more freedom in choosing the books I'll be reading by offering only the following guidelines. One of the books must be:
1. A Pulitzer prize winner
2. A biography about a head of state
3. A book about a thing
So, I've got the second one covered (it falls under two categories, but I am counting it as the head of state). My dad gave me Cleopatra, which I am thoroughly enjoying, but if you have any suggestions about a favorite pulitzer prize-winning book, or a book about some fascinating thing, please, do tell! I'm always up for good book suggestions.
Happy reading.
3 comments:
One of my favorite books: Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri. It won the 2000 Pulitzer for Fiction and is more of a collection of short stories than a novel, but really good, moving stories. Hope you find a good book! My sister made her husband read Pride and Prejudice when they did a similar thing. She had to read the biography of Michael Jordan. It was pretty funny seeing her carry that book around.
this is such a great idea!
If you're still looking for a "thing" book, I can recommend "From Beirut to Jerusalem" by Thomas Friedman. (its a bit of a stretch, as the Middle East is not strictly a "thing").
Mr. Friedman won two Pulitzer's for his war-time journalism, and this book covers the period in which he won the awards.
Props to you both. At your recommendation, I'll try to tackle the list you gave the Mr. I've read the Iliad and Killer Angles . . . so we'll see if I can get through The Aeneid and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.
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