Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Top Ten Terrific Tales {no. 2}

Sorry, I know it's awful . . . I couldn't resist :)
  1. Anne of Windy Poplars by L.M. Montgomery. I don't like this one as much as her other Anne novels, mainly because as time passed her writing style deteriorated--at least for me. She used too many ellipses and wasn't as funny. But I still advocate reading the whole Anne series :)
  2. Black Beauty by Anna Sewell. Don't we all wish our horses could speak to us and be as eager to please as dear Black Beauty! And don't we wish we remembered his story better as we got pettishly angry with our valiant steed for running too fast or too slow, or refusing to counter bend, or. . . . (Although I don't think Splash can really be called a "valiant steed." Doesn't suit her very well.)
  3. The White Stag by Kate Seredy. A Newbery Award winner, it is very short. While it says it's for ages 8-12, I personally think anyone could benefit from this tale of Attila the Hun.
  4. A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks. The sweet romance between two seventeen-year-olds: one careless, half-reckless, typical high school boy, and one close-to-perfect, everyone-laughs-at-her-because-she-constantly-reads-her-Bible girl. It does have a couple bits of language, a little crudeness (not bad), and, obviously, the romance, so a teen is probably the first age to which I would recommend this. Note: I tried to read Sparks's A Bend in the Road and it was nasty--that's all I'm going to say, but I will not recommend any of his other books. A Walk to Remember is most likely the only worthwhile one he has.
  5. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Obviously! (Everyone recommends this book.) While not my favorite work of hers (I hear you heaping on the criticism, Darcy and Lizzy lovers! . . .), it's definitely still worth your time. Any good classic is worth your time :)
  6. The Market Square by Miss Read. It's funny and evocative and interesting and different . . . but as a warning, I think there's at least one divorce in this one. The Howards of Caxley, its sequel, is worse, with divorces left and right, and remarriages and they didn't care about getting divorced and remarried . . . yeah, you get the idea. That and I'm guessing Miss Read was probably an agnostic or atheist or at least didn't care about God, because her MCs don't seem to. Anyway, I liked it (which sounds awful, I know).
  7. Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Everybody in my audience has probably read this one :) I'm ashamed to say it, but I haven't read the whole series by myself. Mom read them to us when we were little, but I think I've only read three of the nine on my own. I may have to try to amend that this year. . . .
  8. Left Behind by Tim LaHaye & Jerry B. Jenkins. One of the more famous Christian novels out there, I think all Christians should read LaHaye and Jenkins's thoughts on the "cataclysmic event" that left Rayford Steele without a wife and son.
  9. The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. It's much harder to read than The Chronicles of Narnia. It's creepy how many ways demons can find to manipulate us . . . but Jesus always wins! A couple people of my acquaintance have tried reading this but haven't gotten it or thought it was creepy or etc., etc. I didn't get all the way through the first time, either, when I was fourteen--I think the time I succeeded I was fifteen. It pays to be older sometimes!
  10. Spiritual A.D.D. by Hank Kunneman. Definitely one of my biggest recommendations for Christians. You may not even know you have Spiritual A.D.D., but it could be dragging the joy out of your life as a Christian. Read read read it :)
There's list number two! How many of these have you read? Which ones haven't you? Which ones sound the most interesting? I always love your comments :)

9 comments:

  1. I've read most of these (yet again). Our tastes are drastically similar:) And yes, that picture is awful. But I still love it:)

    Layla.

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    1. Nice. That picture was found on Pinterest and I repinned it to my Books board . . . I needed an image so I used that one :)

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  2. I dearly love the Anne books, Little House in the Big Woods, and Pride and Prejudice. Though, I haven't read the others. And oh goodness, that picture. Haha.

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    1. I love the Anne books too! I just finished the series last year, and really enjoyed them. Glad you thought the picture was funny :)

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  3. Well the only one I've read out of this list is Pride and Prejudice. Which I've actually read twice! I have been wanting to read the Screwtape Letters for a long time. Thanks for reminding me about that!

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    1. You're welcome :) I've only read Pride & Prejudice once . . . I should read it again sometime!

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  4. I just realized that I've read Black Beauty too! I don't know how I forgot because I really enjoyed it!

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