Kelly’s Thanksgiving: Top 10 Books I’m Thankful For

As you may have guessed (or if you’ve read my profile, know) I am a self proclaimed bibliophile.  I love books.  I love to read them, I love to collect them (1st editions and early paperbacks), and I love the places they take me.  Here’s a list of the top ten books I am thankful to have read.

10)  The Dragonriders of Pern Series by Anne McCaffrey: This is the series, or rather the three books that originally made up the series, that got me involved in any kind of fandom.  My first experience with truly being a super fan was when I joined online, PBeM RPG’s (play by email, role playing games) based on this series.  This cemented my interest in fantasy, fandom, and reading as a whole.  The series has grown quite a bit since the first three books, and Anne McCaffrey’s son Todd has taken over some of the writing duties.  Still, I owe being here, writing for Fandomania, and sharing my book obsession with you to The Dragonriders of Pern. “Who wills, can. Who tries, does. Who loves, lives”

9)  Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon: This story has history, romance, time travel… really, what more could you ask for?  Scotsmen in kilts?  It’s got that too!  What’s not to be thankful for!?  This series has long been a favorite of my mother’s, and a couple of years ago I borrowed Outlander, the first book, and was totally hooked.  This series may not have had a profound influence on my life, but it did give me something I could talk to my mom about, and they really are just very enjoyable and memorable to read. “No wonder men got impervious to superficial pain, I thought. It came from this habit of hammering each other incessantly.”

8) The Boy Detective Fails by Joe Meno: First of all, who wouldn’t be thankful of a book that came with a decoder ring in it!?  I really wish I was more eloquent in my speech. Maybe then I could explain the extreme feelings in this book and how I felt reading it.  It was simply amazing.  It’s an homage to all of those kid detective stories you’ve ever known and loved.  This story is about what comes next, the biggest mystery of them all, growing up and living your life.  If you’ve never heard of this book, you MUST go check it out and read it.  “The most important things in your life are almost always impossible to predict.”

7)  Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier: I like this story for many of the same reasons I liked Jane Eyre, which I’ll discuss in a bit.  It’s a story of a young, rather plain girl who catches the eye of an older, wealthier man, and the rest is history.  Except it isn’t like Jane Eyre, as this is a love affair that doesn’t go easily, and unlike Jane Eyre it can’t really be said to have a happy ending.  The differences are also fascinating, and this is just another example of a book that I can read over and over again.  “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.”

6)  Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein: You can take the man off of Mars, but you can’t take the Martian out of the man.  Putting this sixth on the list seems like a poor showing for it, but this list was actually very difficult for me to make.  Stranger in a Strange Land was my first Heinlein story, and it is certainly one of the most memorable.   As in most of Heinlein’s books, nothing is sacred, least of all politics, family structure, and especially that silly practice of wearing clothing.  Until this book I had always liked science fiction movies, but after reading this, I loved science fiction books. “There was so much to grok, so little to grok from”

5)  Dracula by Bram Stoker: Dark, seductive, and nightmare inducing, this was the second classic I ever read.  There were actually some moments where I literally was so scared I had to stop reading.  Keep in mind I was also in seventh grade the first time I read it, but even to this day it will send chills down my spine.  Without Dracula there wouldn’t be a Buffy or an Edward Cullen.  “No man knows till he has suffered from the night how sweet and dear to his heart and eye the morning can be.”

4)  Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte: Jane Eyre was really one of the first classics I ever read, and this was probably back in the seventh grade.  It has always been a story that has stuck with me, and I could pick up and read it at anytime or start from any page.  It proved to my young mind that classics could be interesting and relevant. “I don’t think, sir, that you have a right to command me, merely because you are older than I, or because you have seen more of the world than I have; your claim to superiority depends on the use you have made of your time and experience. ”

3)  The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis: The Chronicles of Narnia truly got me interested in reading.  I remember in the 5th grade my teacher started off with The Magician’s Nephew, and by the time we finally finished that and moved on to The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe I had convinced my parents to buy me the boxed set so that I could read them myself.  The slow pace was maddening.  This set of stories turned me into the bibliophile I am today by sparking my imagination and by helping me escape the mundane existence of a 5th grader.  “Laugh and fear not, creatures. Now that you are no longer dumb and witless, you need not always be grave. For jokes as well as justice come in with speech.”

2)  The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami: Haruki Murakami is an exceptional writer when it comes to character interaction.  I would truly recommend any of his books. I have read most of his translated works, but by far The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is my absolute favorite.  In this story the events that affect the main character, Toru Okada, are initiated when his cat runs away, leading his seemingly boring life down a weird path.  He meets characters like May Kasahara, a young teen girl who skips school and enjoys talking about death, and Creta Kano, a “prostitute of the mind”.  This book and many of Murakami’s other works force me to think in a different way.  I’m not sure if it’s cultural differences or just his take on things, but I always have to check my perspective when I read one of his stories.  “But even so, every now and then I would feel a violent stab of loneliness. The very water I drink, the very air I breathed, would feel like long, sharp needles. The pages of a book in my hands would take on the threatening metallic gleam of razor blades. I could hear the roots of loneliness creeping through me when the world was hushed at 4 o’clock in the morning.”

1)  Time Enough for Love by Robert Heinlein: Robert Heinlein has to be my favorite author, and while I still haven’t read all of his works,  I have a large collection of first editions, early paperback, and of course off the shelf paperbacks where I can crack the spine and not feel guilty.  This book taught me that time is perspective, and we can all love and be loved, and there shouldn’t be constraints or time limits.  Time Enough for Love is truly my all time favorite book.  Very rarely do I reread a book, but I have probably rediscovered this one five or six times, each time finding a new quote or section of the story that I appreciate more this time around.  I think Time Enough for Love has the largest collection of amazing quotes in one place at one time that wasn’t a quote book.   “The more you love, the more you can love — and the more intensely you love. Nor is there any limit on how many you can love. If a person had time enough, he could love all of that majority who are decent and just.”