Monday, June 11, 2012

One Of My Favorite Books

It is an occupational hazard that people frequently ask me to name my favorite book.  It is also an occupational hazard that that answer is never simple.  Typically my response is "that would be like asking me to choose between my children," complete with aghast look.  Seriously though, that is a rather daunting question for someone who reads as much, or as passionately as I do.  My favorite book has been the book I was currently reading, probably 100 hundred times or more in my life.  But of the many books that have been my favorite at one point or another in my life, there are several that will remain some of my favorites forever.  There are those books I would wish to read with fresh eyes again; to experience their wonders as if for the first time again.  Alas this is impossible, and I can only remember the initial experience fondly or suggest them to others as a way of sharing the experience.  

One of these such books, is The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, by Michael Chabon.  This is a book about many things: comic books: WWII, the loss of America's innocence, the Holocaust, illicit love affairs, friendship, escape artists, and love.  I would be unable to describe it adequately without telling people that it simply must be read.  Random House, the publisher of this literally amazing book, has decided to re-release it in paperback, for reasons known only to them.  I would like to think it is because they realize how important this novel is, and that re-releasing it will bring it to the forefront of the American consciousness again, where it belongs.  It will allow this book to be discovered by those who missed it the first time it was released, and give those who enjoyed it the first time an opportunity to share it with those who have yet to read it.  

The book will be available for sale beginning tomorrow.  And I ask that all of you read it in whatever way you can; take it out from the library, buy the ebook, buy if from me, ask for it as a gift, or borrow it from a friend.  This is a book that truly must be read.  If you are looking for a great book look no further, for this is one of the best there is.
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5 comments:

  1. BruceJune 12, 2012 at 4:32 AM

    Let's see wha this is about. How compelling, driven, this book sounds.

    When did this book first appear, in what category (to say "genre" is so pretentious)does it fit, of what else does this author write, sources, first appeared when?

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    Replies
    1. VickieJune 12, 2012 at 4:30 PM

      Genre is not pretentious it is a descriptor. It is a work of fiction, literature if you wish to be specific. As for the second sentence, I'm not quite sure what you are asking. He has written other books, mostly fiction.

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    2. BruceJune 24, 2012 at 10:12 AM

      You just responded to part of the 2nd sentence. The rest of it asks, when did this book first publish?

      And, to me, "genre" is pretentious. I think it was Mark Twain (saying Sam Clemens would be pretentious) who said, "Why use a $20 word, when a 10 cent one will do just as well," and that is not an accurate quote but relays the message accurately.

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    3. VickieJune 24, 2012 at 2:41 PM

      I apologize. If you feel that the word "genre" is pretentious, why would you not just ask, "when was the book published"? I did not understand what you were asking. And what word would you rather I used than the word "genre"? It is a term very common to the book industry, because it is the right word for what we are describing. Words cannot be pretentious, for they are only words. Only people can be pretentious. I guarantee I am not trying to be pretentious when I say it. And if you re-read your initial comment Bruce, I think you may see that it is a bit confusing.

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  2. BruceJuly 5, 2012 at 10:39 PM

    "One mustn't criticize other people on grounds where he can't stand perpendicular himself."
    Mark Twain.

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