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Well classmates – No surprise, Southwest 62 is a class of good readers….and a lot of mystery lovers! Thanks to all of you who have sent in recommendations. I have organized them as follows:
Other: Fiction, poetry, non-fiction (if not mentioned in comment section)
Some books and/or authors will appear in comment section and list section because they were recommended in both. I’ve indicated how many times they were mentioned (if more than once) (my apologies if I, mistakenly, haven’t included a recommendation)
Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod, a non-fiction book written by Gary Paulsen. I could not put it down, constant humor, a man's passion for the absurd, his devotion to his team of dogs, and the charm of our last frontier--all of which I have experienced in small ways and would repeat more fully if I had another life.
I like Dick Francis novels because they combine my love for England and my love of horse racing. (mystery)
Forget all your bad memories of Silas Marner. George Eliot's Middlemarch tells you all you need to know about the human condition.
Jeff's book, The Jewel Trader of Pegu is a marvelous novel and Greg Curtis's book, The Cave Painters is an amazing account of the discoveries of the ancient cave paintings and it reads like a mystery novel. Both books are completely engrossing. Right now I'm reading a beautiful book by another friend, Douglas Foster, After Mandela: the Struggle for Freedom in Post-Apartheid South Africa.
Three books absolutely not to miss. Somewhat cerebral but very accessible 1) Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance ( Robert Pirsig); 2) The Snow Leopard (Peter Matthiessen); 3) The Confessions (Augustine)…and 4) There's also a bawdy and by all appearances completely trashy book by a Charles Gorham entitled "McCaffrey". While intrigued, I confess I've never read it and suggest others follow my example. Still my favorites are the books by Jeff Hantover and Creg Curtis.
Mrs. Bridge (1959) and Mr. Bridge (1969) by Evan S. Connell. While both are works of fiction, they can be hauntingly real to most of us. Set in the Country Club Plaza area of Kansas City, the books are a fascinating sociological study of Kansas City in the 30's and 40's. After rereading them, for once I am glad that I am over 60 years removed from that era, and I am happy to allow the characters to repose between the covers of a book.
Meanwhile, if you like James Lee Burke, (me too, though I don't usually gravitate toward mysteries) I think you'd really enjoy William Boyd's Waiting for Sunrise, Ordinary Thunderstorms, etc., as well as Possession by A.S. Byatt, The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes and The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski.
Okay, below are some "don't miss" books, along with some authors I like. On our reunion website, I also listed as favorites The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery and The Poet of Tolstoy Park by Sonny Brewer. Defining Jacob by William Landay was incredible. I want to discuss Jacob and his parents AND the ending with everyone who has read it.
I love Asian writers including Lisa See and Gail Tsukiyama. Yoko Ogawa's The Housekeeper and the Professor is profound. Jamie Ford's first novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is a beautiful book. I like Joseph Kanon's books including The Good German and The Prodigal Son. Simon Mawer's The Glass Room was awesome. Then there is South of Broad for Pat Conroy's beautiful writing as well as Richard Russo's Bridge of Sighs. This is a long book, 561 pages, about a murder mystery set in Venice with a lot of history and art. I could go on forever but I will end with Daniel Silva. I have read and loved all of his Gabriel Alon novels. They are so much fun, an art restorer who works for Mossad and works in the major capitals and art museums in Europe. They are a treat and Gabriel has become an old friend.
Nerds never change. I still love the classics, Shakespeare, Dickens, Hardy and all. For a modern fiction writer, I am crazy about Barbara Kingsolver. In particular, Poisonwood Bible, Bean Trees, and Animal Dreams. My favorite nonfiction writer is Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild, Into Thin Air, and Under the Banner of Heaven. For mystery/thrillers, you can’t beat Lee Child and his Jack Reacher character.
I love reading authors with a main character who develops over a series of books.
"John Adams" by David McCullough is the best book I have ever read. Truman by McCullough made me homesick for the old Plaza
Isn't our own Jeff Hantover's The Jewel Trader of Pegu everyone's favorite?!
I have always loved Steinbeck's Cannery Row for the cadence and beauty of the language as well as the poignancy of the characters. Devil in the White City by Erik Larson and (In the Garden of Beasts) reads like a page-turning fiction novel, but it is actual-factual account of the Chicago World Fair in 1893.
Wallace Stegner Angle of Repose--beautifully written -of complexities of love & marriage/settlement of the west James Agee A Death in the Family--a tender book of love & family
Books by Barbara Tuchman like "A Distant Mirror" and "The Guns of August", David McCullough's book "Mornings on Horseback" and "John Adams," and more recently the book by David Hoffman "The Dead Hand." Ok. Among my favorite authors are Robert B. Parker (Spencer series), James Joyce (Ulysses), and Tony Hillerman (Navajo police series). Terry Hoyt Evans photo books – unbelievable! What a joy to own them. Greg Curtis’ books are fascinating. I enjoyed both.
Light and lovely books – anything by Matthew Quick. His latest is Boy21. Most any book by Mark Salzman. My favorite is one of the first: The Soloist. The Book Thief by Zusak was considered a young adult fiction. NO WAY. Tis wonderful. More Favs (I will confine myself to just a few). This is an amazing history and biography of cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies, by Siddhartha Mukherjee (what a name). Most recent: The Submission by Amy Waldman – a fictional take on the committee who decides to pick an architect for the 9/11 memorial. It turns out to be a Muslim. Old Filth (Filth = Failed In London Tried Hong Kong) – Jane Garddam. Not one wasted word. Fab. Mr Bridge and Mrs Bridge by Evan Connell. Simply beautiful portrayals. They take place in KC. Mrs. Bridge was written several years before Mr.
#2 Mystery/Crime as one classmate wrote: “I love mysteries but I have so many authors that I enjoy that it is hard to find just a few to comment on”
Lee Child. (6 mentions) Harlan Coben (2) Michael Connelly (3) Tana French Camilla Lackberg Steig Larson Woman in White by Wilkie Collins Robert B Parker (2) Henning Mankell (2) Tony Hillerman (2) James Lee Burke (4) Daniel Silva Dick Francis (2) John Sanford David Rosenfelt Ridley Pearson Sue Grafton Janet Evanovich Thomas Perry (Metzger’s Dog, Butcher’s Boy) J.A. Jance
#3 Other Recommendations
Poems by Stephen Dunn Poems by Billie Collins
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese (2) The Nightwoods by Charles Frazier The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes (2) Bel Canto by Ann Patchett and Patron Saint of Liars(2) Widow of the South by Robert Hicks Unbroken Fifty Shades of Gray The Help Harry Potter Reading Lolita in Tehran Oh, The Places You'll Go! Dr. Seuss Hemingway
Wallace Stegner (2) Somerset Maugham Graham Greene John Steinbeck Barbara Kingsolver (2) Annie Proulx Cormac McCarthy (2) Isabelle Allende Annie Dillard John Updike Julian Barnes Phillip Roth Sebastien Faulks John Irving Julian Fellowes Evelyn Waugh Nick Hornby Bill Bryson Nadine Gordimer David Sedaris Sarah Vowell Rick Bragg Anna Quindlen
Non Fiction: David McCullough Bill Bryson Steve Jobs Krakauer (2)
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