Booklist
Reading is an infinite activity. Our government, through its agent, The Library of Congress, insures this. In the Library of Congress, books are everywhere and new ones are coming in all the time. The shelves are sagging with books of all sorts - from He Doesn't Know I Care to A Modest History of the Universe. Comic books to encyclopedias. books written by dedicated men and women of literature, compulsive egoists, celebrity Bar-B-Que masters, and people who didn't even realize they were writing a book.
Imagine how large this library must be. Curiosity trembles at the thought of this much information. Eyelids grow heavy and breathing slows. The mind can not encompass the existence of this many books. This is why we must read them one at a time.
Reading is an activity that can help put our feet on the ground, while at the same time, it takes us to places faraway. It expands our vision. If you live in Minnesota, reading can give you a sense of Texas or Tasmania. And, if you live in Texas or Tasmania, you can learn the difference between Minneapolis and Saint Paul and other fascinating things, which you had no idea could make a difference. Outer Space is just pages away and you can come back any time you want. The past exists in the present and you can be a part of it. The opportunities are limitless.
Reading calms us down. Although it can be done, reading while walking or driving is not recommended. It is a reflective act. And reflecting at stoplights or on sharp curves can be dangerous. When we read, we are (most of us) sitting down. This, in itself, is beneficial. It keeps us from constantly doing errands. We leave behind the world as we know it and travel instantly to places we have never been and to places that may never have existed. This saves not only time, but also airfare. If you get lost, you can just go back a few pages and orient yourself. Unlike Television, which is anything but reflective, we can travel at our own pace and to wherever we want. On the way, we need not worry about hamburgers or our cars or whether we're on the correct long-distance plan.
Reading is a cooperative act. As a reader, you and the author together, design new buildings, create hairdos, and resolve conflict. You can toy with affections, fly an airplane, and outwit the enemy. You can help bake a cake, bait a hook, or beat the system. It's endless. Just when things seem to be falling into that ditch called Routine, you can revive yourself with a new adventure, a new skill, a new direction.
One of the few things from school that made a lasting impression on me was summer vacation. And, when summer vacation was approaching, we would be presented with a reading list that contained suggestions of books of all sorts. This was the kind of homework assignment I could understand. No pressure - just suggestions. No tests. No reports. Just the pursuit of knowledge and happiness.
Teachers, freed from the daily restraints of the school system and the need for discipline, seemed to finally relax. They included books that they liked. Old favorites. Books that were important to them as people, not just as teachers. Reading the list excited me. All those possibilities.
Any list of books can only be a partial list. The ones that come to mind at the moment. The ones that have made themselves known. The ones that have jumped off the shelf this afternoon.
Remember - No pressure, no tests, and no reports.
Winters Tale, A Soldier of the Great War, etc. - Mark Helprin
Cosmicomics – Italo Calvino
Harold and the Purple Crayon – Crockett Johnson
Alba – Delacorta
Up in the Old Hotel, Joe Gould’s Secret – Joseph Mitchell
Wise Children - Angela Carter
Jumpers, Arcadia, Rosencrantz and Guilderstern are Dead – Tom Stoppard
The Horse’s Mouth – Joyce Cary
The Incredible Voyage – Tristan Jones
The Art of Drowning, The Trouble with Poetry – Billy Collins
Pigs Have Wings – P. G. Wodehouse
Sailor Song – Ken Kesey
A Humument – Tom Phillips
Little Green Men – Christopher Buckley
The 21 Balloons – William Pene Dubois
A Trip to the Stars, Franklin Flyer - Nicholas Christopher
Any Human Heart - Wm. Boyd
My Family and Other Animals - Gerald Durrell
Tales of a Dalai Lama - Pierre Delaitre
Elephantoms _ Lyall Watson
The Jukebox Queen of Malta - Nicholas M. Rinaldi
Hotel Eden - Ron Carlson
Pretty Birds - Scott Simon
Go Ask the River - Evelyn Eaton
Rules for Old Men Waiting - Peter Pouncey
Long for This World - Michael Byers
Mr. American - George MacDonald Frasier
Everything - Alexandre Dumas
Franky Furbo - Wm. Wharton
Fugitve Pieces - Anne Michaels
Mister Christian - Wm. Kinsolving
Naked is the Best Disguise - Sam Rosenberg
Bride of the Wilderness, Old Boys - Charles McCarry
With Fire and Sword, etc. - Henryk Sienkiewicz
This Earth of Mankind, etc. - Pramoedya Ananta Toer
Transit of Venus, The Great Fire - Shirley Hazzard
Freddy the Pig, etc. - Walter R. Brooks
Jerusalem Quartet - Edward Whittemore
A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
With any author you like, it’s usually worthwhile to check out his other books. Like those above and those below.
James Thurber
Hendrik Van Loon
J. D. Salinger
Jonathan Carroll
Robert Anton Wilson
Patrick O’Brien
Tom Robbins
Dorothy Dunnett
Kazantzakis
Ryokan
Ikkyu
Robert B. Parker
Starling Lawernce
Paco Ignacio Taibo II
John Crowley
Garrison Keillor
]James Hilton
David Ives
Roald Dahl
Natalie Goldberg
Thornton Wilder
Stoddard King
Rafael Sabatini
Kurt Vonnegut
Laurens van der Post
Timothy Findley
Wm. Maxwell
Eric Kraft
Raymond Chandler
Carson McCullers
Gore Vidal
E. B. White
Anton Chekov
Wm Kotzwinkle
Robert Frost
e.e. cummings
