Writer's Block: Three Books

[snogged]

I have no doubt in my mind that this will be tough, but as a bookworm, I feel it can't hurt to try. Keep in mind that I see this list as ever-changing as I continue to read more and more books.

What are the three best books you have ever read and what are the three worst? What made them so good or bad?



Best:
1. Matilda by Roald Dahl. He was one of my favorite authors as a kid. And this story was clever and funny and a bit disturbing all at the same time. In a way, I wanted to be Matilda because she read all the books in the library!

2. Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Piccoult. I know the standard favorite for her is My Sister's Keeper, but the impact this one brings hits a little bit closer to my heart.

3.Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk. I remember finding this one more intensely palpable than Fight Club. And it was wonderfully descriptive too.

Honorable Mention:
Bread Givers by Anzia Yezierska. We got this assigned to us in one of my classes and I couldn't put it down for a second. A great coming of age story!

How To Make Love Like A Porn Star by Jenna Jameson. It was captivating, sexy, heartbreaking, and funny. Definitely an easy read.

Worst:
1. I've seen this on other lists, but I think it bears repeating. Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer is easily one of the worsts. As much as I hate the sparkling vampires, the attitudes she portrays in this book just make everything worse.

2. Taste of Salt by Frances Temple. It was a book we had to read for my freshman English class and it bored me to tears.

3. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. It may be a classic, but it just didn't do it for me. I like to be captured when I pick up a book, and this book just made me feel like I was trudging through quick sand.

Honorable Mention:
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory McGuire. I love Oz stories but this did not capture my interest at all.

Comments

[tempestdance.livejournal.com]

I so agree with you on Wicked. I loved the musical (might have been because it was Stephen Schwartz) but hated the novel. Did not know what the hell was going on.

If I'm not wrong, I think Jodi Piccoult is also the author who wrote Tenth Circle? I absolutely loved that novel (I kinda sorta half admit that I read it after I saw the Lifetime version of the novel... :D)

[snogged.livejournal.com]

I liked the musical too. But yeah, I think part of it is definitely due in part to my Baum love.

And yep, Jodi was the one who wrote Tenth Circle :)

[jewelledfairy.livejournal.com]

My thoughts on Wicked are split. When I was little, I read all of the Oz stories by Baum, so I understand the world of Oz more than just someone who had only seen the movie(s). I thought the story of Wicked was ok, but it was revisionist history. The story completely re-writes the Oz world. It was an interesting take on the story but they way it fits into the larger world I didn't like.

[snogged.livejournal.com]

If it means anything, I really enjoyed the musical

[jewelledfairy.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed the musical, too. velvetwhip is a Baum purist, and I sort of feel the same way. I thought that the story of Wicked was a good story, but not fitting in with the Baum world that he created.

[velvetwhip.livejournal.com]

I'm a purist when it comes to my Oz - I like Baum, Baum, and nothing but Baum. I am a passionate devotee of his lovely stories!

Atlas Shrugged makes a marvelous doorstop, but Ayn Rand redeemed herself with Anthem. Oh how I love that book.


Gabrielle

[snogged.livejournal.com]

Baum is definitely made of win :)

And it's good to know that Ayn Rand has some redeeming qualities.

[secondmezzanine.livejournal.com]

I love Bread Givers. It's one of my favorite books. In fact it's in my stack-to-reread right now.

[snogged.livejournal.com]

OMG! YAY!

I'm so glad there are other people out there who know that book :)

And most of all, I'm glad you're one of 'em!

[idioticonion.livejournal.com]

Invisible monsters ROCKS

[snogged.livejournal.com]

yeah it does :)