Top Ten Tuesday REWIND: The Top Ten Books I Recommend the Most

My apologies–I have been absent from the last few Top Ten Tuesdays, for absolutely no good reason! But this week was a great time to get back in the game.

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created to share lists with other bookish folks! For this week’s Top Ten Tuesday list, we’ve got a rewind–we can choose any past Top Ten Tuesday subject that we missed! I chose March 26′s prompt: the top ten  books I recommend the most! (Fittingly, many of these are going to look familiar to you TTTers…)

1. Hyperion, by Dan Simmons
I will never stop talking about this book. It represents everything sci-fi should be: believable characters, fantastic technology, and timeless themes. I try to press this novel on everyone!

2. West with the Night, by Beryl Markham
Whenever the subject of memoirs comes up, I immediately recommend West with the Night. It’s one of the only memoirs I’ve read that is well-written, engaging, and impressive, while still being relatable and truthful. Seriously, read it!

3. A Song of Ice and Fire, by G.R.R. Martin
I successfully got my boyfriend and father to read these, and am now trying to force them on my brother. These are great for seasoned fantasy readers who can spot the tropes Martin gleefully butchers, as well as people who watch the HBO show but haven’t yet read the source material.

4. The Golden Notebook, by Doris Lessing
I recently wrote about The Golden Notebook being one of my heart books, and I meant every word! I passed on my recommendation to good friend J, who also very much enjoyed it, and I tend to want to pass it on to just about every female friend I have.

5. Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel
UGH this book is so painfully good. I mention it in almost every TTT post I’ve done! But I can’t help myself. It’s just so well-written and interesting and chock-full of intrigue and pathos.

6. Passage, by Connie Willis
This is one of those books that I recommend and then get upset if the recommendee doesn’t like it, because it resonated so deeply with me. (Thanks, Dad.)

7. Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis
I could NOT stop recommending this book to friends once I finished it. Willis is great at getting you to care about characters who are marked for death. My boyfriend ripped the cover of my copy and it infuriated me, because now I can’t lend it out anymore.

8. Watchmen, by Alan Moore
This is a classic graphic novel that even non-comic book fans should read. It plays with many well-known superhero tropes and can inspire tons of passionate discussion between friends. A great example of the form.

9. The Sparrow, by Mary Doria Russel
Not for everyone, this beautiful tale of a Jesuit mission to a newly-discovered planet is both harrowing and redemptive. And guaranteed to make you cry at least once.

10. East of Eden, by John Steinbeck
This  is just a straight-up classic that everyone should read. I am continually surprised by how many people, even people who are fans of Steinbeck, haven’t read it. Don’t be intimidated by the length; it’s worth it.

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books You’d Like to See Made Into Movies

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week, they post a topic and encourage fellow bloggers to list their own top ten answers. For today, we were asked to list the top ten books  we  would like to see made into movies. I prefer watching action and adventure movies, so my list will reflect that!

1. The Zona, by Nathan Yocum
In my review of this action-adventure novel, I actually wrote that I could see this making an amazing movie! Think about it: a post-apocalyptic United States, where a brutal theocracy rules the West, and Preachers are sanctioned assassins. Not only would I see this movie, I’d be there in the front row on opening night.

2. The Last Werewolf, by Glen Duncan
I recently watched An American Werewolf in London and really enjoyed it (surprisingly, since I am a scaredy-cat and can’t watch most horror movies). I would love to see Duncan’s The Last Werewolf adapted for the screen with that same level of horror and black humor! This is the kind of supernatural thriller that would actually provide thrills.

3. Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel
There is a glut of television shows/books/media in general about the Tudors, but I’ve never experienced such a thoughtful and moving portrait as I found in Mantel’s Wolf Hall. Keeping the focus on Cromwell would be  a welcome change from all the Henry/Anne Boleyn stuff out there. (And hey, looks like I’m in luck! BBC and HBO are making a Wold Hall miniseries! Woohoo!)

4. Blood Meridian, by Cormac McCarthy
Okay, this would be tough, due to the unrelenting violence and general bleakness of the text. No Country for Old Men did a great job of representing McCarthy, though, and I think it can be done, if the novel’s themes are made clear. The struggle between the Kid and the Judge is so powerful and thought-provoking! (A film was planned, actually, but seems to have stalled.)

5. His Dark Materials, by Philip Pullman
I know there were plans to film this entire series, which were scrapped due to the poor box office performance of The Golden Compass movie. However, I think The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglasswould be wonderful to see on screen, if the filmmakers truly committed to the transgressive and mature themes of the books.

6. Kushiel’s Dart, by Jacqueline Carey
You’d probably have to tone down some of the sex, but it would still be an incredibly charged movie! The world-building is so strong in the book, and it would be so cool to see Terre d’Ange on screen. Now, who should play Phaedre?

7. Good Omens, by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
It’s such a snarky, funny book; filmed with that tongue-in-cheek manner in mind, it could be really hilarious! I’d like to see Crowley and Aziraphale’s friendship visually. I kind of imagine this movie looking like a mash-up of the television show Supernatural (which I am currently totally obsessed with) and Dogma.

8. The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien Soon, this will be a reality!

9.  Passage, by Connie Willis I know I mention this book on nearly every TTT, but it’s just because I love it so gosh-darn much! It could be tricky to film, but the “death experience” scenes would be gorgeous. I picture them having this surreal, floating quality, in contrast to the highly-focused, everyday business of the hospital. Oh man. Now I really want this to be a movie!

10. Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides
I actually didn’t enjoy reading Middlesex. However, I could see it being a fantastic movie, if its quirkiness was truly embraced. Like a Forrest Gump coming of age movie for the millennial set. I’m imagining Wes Anderson directing…

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Non-YA Science Fiction Novels!

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week, they post a topic and encourage fellow bloggers to list their own top ten answers. This week’s prompt is to choose your top ten books in any genre you would like: historical fiction, dystopian lit, Victorian novels, or romance, just to name a few! I chose to list my Top Ten Non-YA Science Fiction Books, as you’ll see below.

Permit me to go off on a tangent for a minute: I chose to do this because as a genre, science fiction written for adults–like fantasy–is often considered juvenile, silly, and unimportant. That’s unfair. Science fiction has a lot of valuable things to say about what it means to be human, about time, about memory, about creation, about our fears, about how this world can be made better. It’s an arena that allows authors and readers to make their own realities, to dream bigger, to innovate and explore–and for that, it’s denigrated? When science fiction is done just right, with relevance to both our lives now and what they might look like in the future, it can be a very moving, powerful experience. So if you don’t consider yourself a sci-fi fan, think about trying one of the novels below!

1. The Sparrow, by Mary Doria Russell
A tale about space exploration and the discovery of a new planet and culture that also chronicles the only survivor’s painful physical and mental recovery. Incredibly powerful and a true homage to human curiosity and resilience.

2. Stranger in a Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein
There is some “free love” philosophizing in here that somewhat marred my enjoyment of the book, but the premise–of the first human raised on Mars, brought back to Earth–is strong enough to stand on its own.

3. The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman
An extremely realistic portrayal of the lingering effects war has on a soldier, and a great subversion of many typical “space novella” novels. Haldeman fought in the Vietnam War, and this novel is considered by many to be his autobiography of sorts.

4. The Windup Girl, by Paolo Bacigalupi
If you have any interest in climate change and issues of food sovereignty (GMOs, copyrighting seeds, etc.), this is the book for you. Bacigalupi runs with ideas of biotechnology, human-created natural disasters, and economic meltdowns, and throws them in a futuristic Thailand populated with double-crossing American businessmen, child laborers, rebels, and windup girls.

5. Passage, by Connie Willis
I love this book! It explores what happens to us after we die, as researched by doctors in a hospital–including one doctor who keeps putting herself under to try to solve the mystery.

6. The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood
While Atwood has sometimes chafed at being labeled a science fiction author, this tale of a dystopian, theocratic future where women are property whose only purpose is to bear children is chilling enough to make me hope it remains in the realm of fiction. I  have recommend this book to everyone, even friends who tell me they don’t like sci-fi–it’s that good.

7. The Left Hand of Darkness, by Ursula K. LeGuin
It actually took me two tries to get through this book. (I wasn’t in the right headspace the first time.) Past LeGuin’s impressive descriptions of a cold, bleak planet, she also addresses the question of how a human might navigate a world without gender. It’s both a sci-fi and feminist classic for a reason.

8. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, by Philip K. Dick
Another science fiction classic (and the basis for a classic sci-fi movie, Bladerunner). The central question is: what does it mean to be human, and how can we even tell when we aren’t human anymore? It’s a bit of a mind-screw.

9. Dune, by Frank Herbert
I was I had read this as a much younger nerd, because it follows the structure of Campbell’s Hero’s Journey so closely that after having read tons of other sci-fi and fantasy, Dune can feel a bit formulaic. That’s not Dune’s fault, though!

10. The Children of Men, by P.D. James
An excellent dystopian future, where everyone is infertile and children are no longer born. A dying world, with no hope of a next generation, is a very bleak one indeed. The world-building here is great, as is the excitement and fright when, it’s discovered, a woman might be pregnant.

Bonus! 11. Who Goes There? by John Campbell Jr.
The novella that inspired my favorite horror movie, The Thing, is scary in what felt, to me, like a very 1940s way. There’s no overt violence or gore, or even an explanation of what the Thing is or what it looks like. Instead, it’s a subtle, creeping kind of horror–who do you trust and how do you survive when faced with a being that can perfectly mimic not only the appearance of, but also the voice, memories, and personality of, your friends? How do you even trust yourself, when you can be assimilated by the Thing and not even realize it? The physical limitations that the Antarctic setting imposes on the humans only adds to the feeling of claustrophobia. Read it for free here.

Top Ten Tuesday: The Top Ten Books I’d Quickly Save If My House Was Going To Be Abducted By Aliens

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week, they post a topic and encourage fellow bloggers to list their own top ten answers. They are particularly fond of lists and I have to say, so am I! I like the idea of this meme because it’s a little more intensive and in-depth than some others I’ve seen. I don’t know that I’ll do it every week, but I liked this Tuesday’s topic: The Top Ten Books I’d Quickly Save If My House Was Going To Be Abducted By Aliens.

1. Passage, by Connie Willis
I couldn’t put this book down when I read it for the first time. It’s not only one of my favorite sci-fi/fantasy novels, but one of my favorite novels period. Willis’s conceptualization of what exists for us after death is eerie and sad but ultimately hopeful, too.

2. Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis
What can I say? I really like Connie Willis. She writes wonderfully real female characters and the coolest plots!

3. The Golden Notebook, by Doris Lessing
This should be mandatory reading for everyone who considers themselves feminists. (And actually, for people who don’t consider themselves feminists, either–maybe it will make them one.) I love my worn and dog-eared copy of this book, and would want to save it so I could continue to press it on my friends.

4. Blood Meridian, by Cormac McCarthy
I love reading about the American West, and nobody writes it like McCarthy. This is my favorite out of all his works; the Biblical imagery contrasts spectacularly against the savagery and senselessness of the Judge and his gang. Every time I read Blood Meridian, I realize something new.

5. Averno, by Louise Gluck
I hope poetry counts! This collection is haunting and lovely by turns. Gluck’s appropriation of the myth of Persephone and Hades into both a doomed love story and a struggle between mother and daughter and mother and husband is masterful. (Also, it’s a short collection and would help break up the longer texts I’ve included!)

6. The Prophet, by Kahlil Gibran
My high school guidance counselor gave me a copy of this eight years ago. I am still as enchanted by Gibran’s dreamy prose poetry now as I was as an 18 year old! His poems are also serve as some of the best possible inspiration for my own original writing.

7. The Sparrow, by Mary Doria Russell
I thought this was especially fitting for the alien theme, since the novel explores humanity’s interaction with a newly-discovered alien planet through the experiences of a team of Jesuits. The angst levels in this one are incredible.

8. The Birds of Ecuador Field Guide, by Robert S. Ridgely
I brought this guide with me on my three-month long study abroad trip to Ecuador and proceeded to carry it in my backpack the entire time I was there. My time in Ecuador helped take my interest in birds and make me into a real birdwatcher. Totally indispensable, beautifully-illustrated plates, and best of all, includes all of my penciled-in notations of when and where I saw each bird.

9. Open Veins of Latin America, by Eduardo Hughes Galeano
Speaking of my time in Ecuador…I read this book for the second time while I was there, and it made a huge impact in the way I think about Latin America and its relationship to the United States. The copy I have was my father’s original copy from when he was young, growing up in Mexico, and that makes it even more special to me.

10.  East of Eden, by John Steinbeck
One of my best friends gave me East of Eden, knowing of my love for novels that deal with the evil that lurks in the hearts of men (and women). Besides being my fave Steinbeck, my friend wrote a lovely inscription in the front, and even though I could replace the book, I wouldn’t be able to replace her kind words!

Whew! That was fun (and surprisingly easy)! So that’s my list. Check out others’ lists over at The Broke and the Bookish!