Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Assigned Reading

Do you have a book that you could read a thousand times over?

Most avid readers have one or two that every few years they will dust off and read through once more to recall why it meant so much in the first place.

For me they are Persuasion by Jane Austen, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and D.V. by Diana Vreeland. As you can see my literally tastes run slightly shallow and vanilla - most were forced to read Persuasion and Gatsby in high school or college. Sorry.

Truth be told - if I could find my copy of Danielle Steel's Wanderlust, I would add that to this already impressive list.

But, if you haven't read D.V. - I highly recommend the sparkling autobiography. It's chocked-full of witty stories from the former fashion editor of Harper's Bazaar and editor-in-chief of Vogue. If only life were just that fabulous. Sigh.

So - what about you? What old friend do you turn the pages of time and again?
I'm always looking for new reads - especially during a slow news day...


Stay tuned. More at 11.

10 comments:

Cookie said...

Beach Music by Pat Conroy

mamacita said...

David Sedaris makes me wet my pants pretty much every time I read him. And please tell me you've read The Sweet Potato Queens' Book of Love.

Leslie Ruth Petree said...

I read Divine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood *at least* once a year. And I second Mamacita on The Sweet Potato Queens. Freakin' hilarious. You will never regret reading SPQ's First Big Ass Novel.

Yes, that is the actual title.

EKM said...

**MUST READ** -
Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom,
To Kill a Mockingbird by (Nell) Harper Lee,
The Mercy of Thin Air by Ronlyn Dominique,
The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown,
Riding in Trucks (forget who its by! About a girl born/bred in Charleston),
Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank,
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner,
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens,
Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw,
My Antonia by Willa Cather,
Daisy Miller by Henry James,
Short Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald,
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis,
Moonstone by Wilkie Collins,
Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller,
Our Town by Thornton Wilder,
Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser,
Gullivers Travels by Jonathon Swift

Living Life in the Lowcountry said...

I was just telling someone the other day that I read To Kill a Mockingbird again about every 7-8 years!

Gail, northern California said...

If you're an animal lover ~All of the James Herriot books, especially the original five.

Book that had me laughing out loud ~"French Impressions" by John s. Littell

Olivia: (mostly) Happy Homemaker said...

I laughed out loud at your mention of Danielle Steele! I used to LOVE her books when I was in high school (were they appropriate for that age??) but even then I couldn't remember which was which... they all kind of had the same plot.

I love Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh.

What Kate Wore said...

Prince of Peace by James Carroll and Gone With the Wind.

FYI, tomorrow's (Thursday's) post will tag you; we totally understand if you do not want to play...

Smiles at you!
tp

GrannySmithGreen said...

Well, I think EKM covered them all! I might add The Shack and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. I don't think I have to even mention Eugenia Price, do I?

Melissa @ I Pick Pretty said...

No wonder you're one of my favorite blog types; two of our three favorites ("Gatsby" & "Persuasion") are the same. I find that most people only know "Pride & Prejudice" or "Sense & Sensibility", so consider this Austen fan impressed.

What sort of reading are you in the mood for? If you want something easy to read, yet darkly hilarious, I second the Sedaris suggestion. Everything I've read of his is good, but "Me Talk Pretty One Day" is my favorite.