Well I have never actually tried to choose an actual "favorite" author so I am not really sure what to do with this post. I first off want to say that I have several favorites which include (but are not necessarily all of them, just in case I forget someone):
Madeleine L'Engle
Patrick Rothfus
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Pat Conroy
Chiam Potok
John Irving
Tom Robbins
Since I have already mentioned the top 3 authors in other posts, I decided I need to choose on from the remaining four, but was still hesitant to pick one over the others. So I cheated just a little bit and looked ahead at challenges still to come. I feel sure I will use both Potok and Robbins later, so I am now left with John Irving and Pat Conroy, both way too good to pass by. SO....today you get two books. (eh sue me)
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
This book was recommended to me by several friends, to be honest I am not sure which read it first so I have no intention of naming names here, but when I read it I was blown away!! This story is odd and unique and powerful and heartbreaking and...so many, many things. This book was also my first introduction to John Irving, who I now love as a favorite! Many of his books have been turned into movies (this one included although I have not yet seen it and it is, I am told, VERY different and even sports a different name - Simon Birch). He is an amazing author. This is my favorite book by him, but I would say...read whatever you can find!
The Lords of Discipline by Pat Conroy
It was harder for me to chose a "favorite" book by Pat Conroy. Not because he is a lesser writer, but because I have loved them all! I think the one that sticks with me the most, though, is the Lords of Discipline. Pat Conroy attended, and graduated from, the Citadel, which provided the basis for this book. A powerful quote from the book,
...I have a need to bear witness to what I saw there. I want to tell you how it was. I want precision. I want a murderous, stunning truthfulness. I want to find my own singular voice for the first time. I want you to understand why I hate the school with all my power and passion. Then I want you to forgive me for loving the school. Some of the boys of the Institute and the men who are her sons will hate me for the rest of their lives. But that will be all right. You see, I wear the ring...
shows what kind of a book it is! Publishing it caused a great deal of conflict for Conroy with the Citadel, which is a common thread with the publications of most of his books. Conroy is a "Southern" Literature writer and writes, with breathtaking honesty and reality about the south. He is cruel in some ways, but also loving to the culture. Having spent a good deal of my life in the south, but yet always being willing and able to see its deficiencies, makes his book particularly powerful to me. This book also is a testament to the reality of the military, which was also part of my life as an army brat. So obviously it struck me on many levels.
If you have not, read Pat Conroy and John Irving. They are amazing! Be ready for them though....whew!
Karissa's book by a favorite author is another favorite of mine! Check it out!
1 comment:
TWo more that I need to read!
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