I started 50 Book Challenge at the end of last October. The idea is you read 50 books in a year. Apparently they named it pretty well. The only other real stipulation, and its more of a suggestion, is that the average length should be at least 300 pages.
So here are, in no particular order, a few of my favorite books of the last year, well since October anyway.
I, Claudius – My favorite professor in college was always talking about this one, and I had been meaning to read it for a long, long time. It is a great book, especially if you are interested in ancient Rome.
Till We Have Faces – Believe it or not, this was the first C.S. Lewis book I ever read. The imagery was amazing, and there is some serious food for thought. Writing an allegory without it coming off preachy can be tough, but this one really works.
A Farewell to Arms – I’m not sure how, but I had managed to go my entire life without reading any of Hemmingway’s novels. The high school I went to did not place a high value on literature. At any rate, I loved this book. It was completely different than I thought it would be, and it took me a while to get into Hemmingway’s Spartan style. By the end of the book, though, I was hooked.
Chasing Che – This is a first-hand account of a man who followed Che Guevara’s famous motorcycle trip in South America. I found it at a library book sale and picked it up out of curiosity. I’m really glad I did. It’s not the best writing in the world, but the story really got to me, now I just need to fix up my old motorcycle. I’ve already got my passport.
Into Thin Air – There is something wrong with a person who reads about a horrible disaster, then wants to go out and do the same thing. I am one of those people. I never really had any interest in Everest, but now I really want to climb it. That’s not totally crazy. Right?
The Last Enemy – I like memoirs and I like reading about aviation, so when you mix the two, I’ll probably like it. This book really drew me in.
All of these I definitely recommend. Check them out; I think you’ll enjoy them.
3 responses so far ↓
mpetitti // July 11, 2008 at 1:41 pm
Hysterical headline.
joecetta // July 11, 2008 at 2:18 pm
I can’t explain it either, but after reading Into Thin Air I got fascinated with the idea of climbing Everest! Then again, after reading I, Claudius I became fascinated with the idea of becoming a Roman Emperor. Maybe it’s just me.
tbellsbooks // July 11, 2008 at 2:47 pm
There are some really great books out there, even the new ones! I read about 150 books a year. Some wonderful old titles I read over again and won’t part with. I had so many that I started selling them online when I ran out of space. Then I kept buying. Then I went into the books business. lol You can find some of mine and thousands of other titles at http://www.tbellsbooks.com. Into Thin Air was fabulous. The new…. the old…. I could go on for days. One of the books I would take through the Time Machine with me would be Angela’s Ashes.