Saturday 14 December 2013

Only Ten Books?



Oh, I finally got tagged in that whole "ten books that stayed with you" thing. Truly for someone who loves books and writing so much this is just cruel. But with a modicum of consideration, I think the following books are so close to my heart or psyche as to be inseparable.

1. Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston 2. The Gift - Hafiz (Daniel Ladinsky trans.) 3. Blood Memory - Martha Graham 4. Family - J. California Cooper 5. Rap on Race - James Baldwin and Margaret Mead 6. The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupery 7. The Lonely Doll - Dare Wright 8. Jazz - Toni Morrison 9. Queen of the Desert - Georgina Howell 10. Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson

Needless to say, on a different day a different list. And at least half of those authors could have alternate books listed.

Oh F*&^K! How could I leave out The Great Gatsby, which I re-read constantly and write poems to? And Jean Nathan's amazing biography of Dare Wright? And The Autobiography of Malcolm X? And What We Talk About When We Talk About Love?

And Alice Walker just slightly off list with either The Temple of My Familiar or Possessing the Secret of Joy.

Can I make a new top ten every week?



2 comments:

maidel said...

omg, Mike brought home a copy of The Lonely Doll from a garage sale. What an odd and amazing book!

E. Amato said...

OMG! If you ever find another one…I met her. She was in her 70's or something and she still looked like Edith. She was amazing and encouraging.