Favorite Books/Authors

[Sgt Floyd]

Never heard of either of them, but I'll try to check them out ^_^

 

[Starchamberfall]

I am not an American. Sometimes I think it is too bad Donald Justice is so little known over there: he seems to me the great American poet of his time: the post-war years (he died in 2004). He is a poet whose poetry is for reading, not just studying.

Here is one of his poems, Sadness :

1
Dear ghosts, dear presences, O my dear parents,
Why were you so sad on porches, whispering?
What great melancholies were loosed among our swings!
As before a storm one hears the leaves whispering
And marks each small change in the atmosphere,
So was it then to overhear and to fear.

2
But all things then were oracle and secret.
Remember the night when, lost, returning, we turned back
Confused, and our headlights singled out the fox?
Our thoughts went with it then, turning and turning back
With the same terror, into the deep thicket
Beside the highway, at home in the dark thicket.

3
I say the wood within is the dark wood,
Or wound no torn shirt can entirely bandage,
But the sad hand returns to it in secret
Repeatedly, encouraging the bandage
To speak of that other world we might have borne,
The lost world buried before it could be born.

4
Burchfield describes the pinched white souls of violets
Frothing the mouth of a derelict old mine
Just as an evil August night comes down,
All umber, but for one smudge of dusky carmine.
It is the sky of a peculiar sadness—
The other side perhaps of some rare gladness.

5
What is it to be happy, after all? Think
Of the first small joys. Think of how our parents
Would whistle as they packed for the long summers,
Or, busy about the usual tasks of parents,
Smile down at us suddenly for some secret reason,
Or simply smile, not needing any reason.

6
But even in the summers we remember
The forest had its eyes, the sea its voices,
And there were roads no map would ever master,
Lost roads and moonless nights and ancient voices—
And night crept down with an awful slowness toward the water;
And there were lanterns once, doubled in the water.

7
Sadness has its own beauty, of course. Toward dusk,
Let us say, the river darkens and look bruised,
And we stand looking out at it through rain.
It is as if life itself were somehow bruised
And tender at this hour; and a few tears commence.
Not that they are but that they feel immense.

 

[newsmanfan]

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Very nice. If you like that, try Conrad Aiken's "Preludes."

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[Muppet fan 123]

I'm surprised no one said J.K. Rowling

 

[animalrescuer]

I mostly like to read animal books, mostly books that have dogs:
Marley and Me-John Grogan
Merle's Door-Ted Kerasote
A Big Little Life-Dean Koontz
A Dog's Purpose-W. Bruce Cameron
Books about cats:
Homer's Odessey-Gwen Cooper
Dewey-Vicki Myron
Chicken Soup for the Soul series featuring animals

While we're on the subject of animals, Sgt. Floyd, I love your avatar and I love the Kratt Brothers!

 

[ilovemusic]

Hm, interesting.
I have lots of favourite books, I read through the whole library...
Lemme try:
The Hunger Games series (but I especially like 'Catching Fire'), The Artemis Fowl series (again, I have a favourite one, 'Opal's deception'), The A House Of Night series, Devil's Kiss (woohoo for angels of darkness), Kiek (there's no way to translate that, really, it's a real weird Frysk name), Wings & Spells, Gone...
Usw.

 

[ZeppoAndFriends]

I'm surprised no one said J.K. Rowling

Okay, J. K. Rowling.

My favorites library currently consists of The Percy Jackson & the Olympians Series, The Heroes of Olympus and The Kane Chronicles, all by Rick Riordan, Beyonders: A World Without Heroes by Brandon Mull, A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket and Harry Potter by the previously mentioned Joanne Rowling (a name which I like much better than J. K.).

 

[Sgt Floyd]

I'm surprised no one said J.K. Rowling

I'm not, considering the age of most people here...

 

[newsmanfan]

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I'll admit to liking Rowling, and yes, I read the whole series, and yes, I found that her stories AND her writing skills improved considerably by the last few. Enjoyable all the way through. I've heard from younger folks that Riordan is good; I'm just pleased for him that after a failed attempt at becoming a mystery writer he found his niche with young adult adventure. Good for him and a second chance!

Looking forward to snagging a copy of Jim Lehrer's new book about presidential debates, since he's moderated a number of them expertly (wonder if he'll get called on for 2012? wonder if he'd do it again, now that's he's retired as an anchor?).

For anyone who likes wry fiction, many of Lehrer's fiction books are great fun. "The Last Debate," "The Franklin Affair," and "Fine Lines" and "Purple Dots" (the last two being about ex-CIA agents) are all wonderful.

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[Ozymandias]

Since the last post was November 9, I hope I'm not necroposting, but my all-time FAVORITE fiction author has to be Markus Zusak, followed by Joan Bauer. Zusak's stuff is AMAZING, especially "The Book Thief" and "I am the Messenger". Bauer's stuff is a bit more simple, but it's really down-to-earth and simplistic, and I love it when author's do that and make the ordinary events of everyday life (like selling shoes or being a waitress at a diner) seem extraordinary.