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01/22/2005: "Recommended Books"
Below is a list of books I recommend. It's rather an long list already and I'll keep adding to it.
Enjoy.
Recommended Books
Fiction
NEW Oryx and Crake - Margaret Atwood
see 5/9/05 post http://www.selenathomason.com/bblog/archives/00000047.html
and 4/20/05 post http://www.selenathomason.com/bblog/archives/00000031.html
The Eyre Affair - Jasper Fforde
Think Douglas Adams (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) meets Shakespeare and Jane Eyre). Hilarious and literary. Gotta love it. Plus there’s time travel.
Grendel - John Gardner
Beowulf told from the monster’s point of view. I love to hear a well-known story retold from the point of view of a character from the periphery. See also Wicked, The Red Tent, and The Mists of Avalon.
Wicked – Gregory Maquire
You know the story of Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz, now hear it from the point of view of the Wicked Witch of the West. This is a biography of that “wicked witch.” Not to be missed.
The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood
Margaret Atwood is a brilliant writer and this is my favorite of her books. It is terrifying in an intellectual, “this could be your future” way. It takes existing trends and extrapolates them to a possible and horrifying conclusion. For instance, women named for what man they belong to – Offred, Ofglen. Uggh. And that’s only a slice of the horror that awaits you in Atwood’s dystopia. I’m getting chills just remembering it.
The Red Tent – Anita Diamant
The Bible stories of Jacob and his sons retold from the point of view of Dinah, one of his daughters. Again, love hearing a story retold from the sidelines. This one is a compelling account of the daily lives of women during biblical times.
The Dress Lodger – Sheri Holman
I don’t normally like historical novels, but this one got me. (Actually maybe I just don’t think of myself as someone who likes historical novels because I notice a couple on this list. Maybe it’s because I don’t generally like history or books on history. That’s terrible, I know.) Heartbreaking poverty. Cholera before the science of infectious diseases was understood.
Slammerkin – Emma Donoghue
Another historical novel where the protagonist makes a living the old-fashioned way, the really old-fashioned way - i.e. as a “lady of evening.”
The Mists of Avalon – Marion Zimmer Bradley
Again a retelling of a known story – this time Arthurian legend – from the point of view of the people on the fringe – this time the women in the story. Really great stuff. Kind of goes along with the nonfiction book The Alphabet Versus the Goddess.
Psychology
Learned Optimism – Martin Seligman
One of the defining books of my life, one I have read over and over again, and continue referring to and applying to my everyday life. In a nutshell, success in life can be predicted by explanatory style. Optimists tend to succeed more than pessimists. Part of the reason this is true is that when faced with negative events, optimists explain those events in a way that is impersonal, temporary and specific. For example, my boss yells at me today and I say “He’s just in a bad mood today.” Impersonal, i.e. not my fault. Temporary, i.e. only this morning. And specific, i.e. just this one person at just this one time. Pessimists on the other hand explain negative events as personal, permanent, and pervasive – it’s all my fault, it will last forever, and it will affect everything I do. That’s a particularly hurtful explanatory style. The good news is that you can learn to change your explanatory style. Read it. Seriously. It’s good for you.
What Happy People Know - Dan Baker
Favorite quote from this book: "When people fail to live up to their values, the first thing they feel is disappointment in themselves, which creates a lot of stress."
(See blog entry Primary Values 2-13)
Religion
A Woman’s Journey to God: Finding the Feminine Path - Joan Borysenko
A great book, although perhaps not for everyone, perhaps not for people who have very traditional, conservative, patriarchal views about religion. Still, I loved it and found it both helpful and inspiring. Different things bring different people closer to the divine. You gotta go with what works for you and let others go with what works for them. I don’t think God cares so much what route you take so long as you get there.
In Memory of Her: A Feminist Theological Reconstruction of Christian Origins – Elisabeth Schüssller Fiorenza
In college I took a great class called “Women in the Christian Tradition.” This was one of the books we studied. I love it for its depiction of early Christianity as a “discipleship of equals” where men and women were equal before God and the only father/authority figure you had to answer to was God. It talks about how the patriarchal structure got added on after in order to make the movement more socially acceptable. Again, this book is perhaps not for everyone, but it certainly worked for me.
Who Needs God – Harold Kushner
Science
NEW Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers: The Acclaimed Guide to Stress, Stress-Related Diseases, and Coping - Robert M. Sapolsky
see posts at http://www.selenathomason.com/mt-static/archives/books/index.html (6/23/05)
and http://www.selenathomason.com/bblog/archives/00000030.html
(part of the lost ones, so it’s far down the page, the 3-11 post)
The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language – Steven Pinker
Another great book I was exposed to in college.
How the Mind Works – Steven Pinker
OK, so anything by Steven Pinker is probably worth reading.
The Age of Spiritual Machines – Ray Kurzweil
Fascinating book on future science and technology. Also a really good source of ideas if you’re a science fiction writer like me. There are hundreds and hundreds of good story ideas in there. Seriously. I don’t have time to write all of them, so help yourself.
Writing
A Writer’s Book of Days – Judy Reeves
The novel I’m working on now started as writing practices using prompts from this book.
There’s a prompt for every day of the year, plus a lot of encouragement along the way.
The Pocket Muse: Ideas and Inspirations for Writing – Monica Wood
Another really good book of writing prompts.
Anything by Sark. A Creative Companion, Succulent Wild Woman, Transformation Soup, Eat Mangos Naked
Other non-fiction
The Alphabet Versus the Goddess - Leonard Shlain
One of all-time favorite books.
The Tipping Point – Malcolm Gladwell