Y2/D293- Holiday
Jan. 3rd, 2022 09:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatWe had today off for New Year's, go back into the office tomorrow, then out remote, then in again, then out again, and so on until January 15. Stupid workplace. Also, if I had COVID, I could work remotely full time until I get better. But I don't have it - I tested negative.
Going to wing it tomorrow - hopefully I won't cough on the trains, platforms or in the office. Didn't cough in the pharmacy today.
Almost finished with Yellowjackets, the psychological thriller airing on Showtime. I'm watching a free month's subscription on Showtime via Apple TV. It's up February 3.
I've seen the first seven episodes. Only eight have aired. The last two air within the next two weeks. Season 1 has 10 episodes apparently. It's kind of overrated. Twitter and the Millenial critics like it better than I do, but I've admittedly seen and read more stuff than they may have. They think it is the next Lost. It reminds me more of Lord of the Flies meets Alive by way of the Blair Witch Project, with a similar narrative structure to Lost. Lost was nicer, not as gruesome, and the people more likable. This one is more gruesome, a touch darker, and the characters less likable.
Also the writing isn't nearly as sharp. Nor is the acting. And God, Juliette Lewis has not aged well, she looks ragged.
Like the Lost Daughter, not a lot happens in some of these episodes, and the narrative is rather drawn out - it could be a lot tighter. There's a touch too much navel gazing among the middle-aged female characters - making the section in 2021 drag. The bit in the wilderness moves at a faster clip, which is in 1996. Although there are little problems that requires suspension of disbelief. Where are they - it appears to be Maine or Canada. There's a huge lake and it seems odd no one has found them yet.
Characters disappear from the screen for a bit...yet they are all together in the same spot. And its not clear how many got rescued. For a while I wondered what happened to the kid brother of one of the male characters. There are three male characters in the wilderness with the girls, a kid, a teen who is their age, and their crippled coach. Also it meanders over things that I don't care about - such as various romantic relationships that go nowhere. Like I said, the writing could be tighter.
I'm sticking with it because I'm curious about what happened to the other girls, and who survived. But if they don't answer any of that in the first season, I may give up. It's getting a second season - but the writers haven't figured it out yet. Also the plotting feels a touch weak. Lost, it ain't, or for that matter Lord of the Flies or Alive ( Alive was a true story about the Uruguayan Rugby team (who were alumni of Stella Maris College), and their friends and family who were involved in the airplane crash of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571. They survived by resorting to cannibalism.
The plane crashed into the Andes mountains on Friday, 13 October 1972. Of the 45 people on the flight, only 16 survived in sub-zero temperatures. After numerous days spent searching for survivors, the rescue team was forced to end the search. Consequently, the survivors had to sustain life with rations found in the wreckage after the plane had crashed. The rations did not last long, and in order to stay alive it became necessary for the survivors to eat the bodies of the dead. This was possible because the bodies had been preserved with the freezing temperatures and the snow. The book was published two years after the survivors of the crash were rescued. The author interviewed many of the survivors as well as the family members of the passengers before writing this book to obtain facts about the crash. He wanted to write the story as it had happened without embellishment or fictionalizing it.
Per Wiki
Alive wasn't that bad. In this one, the survivors after being lost for about 19 months, go batshit crazy. The pilot opens with a scene from the wilderness where eight people dressed in pelts (faces not visible) hunt and trap a girl, kill her, and eat her. Outside of one of the people - whose face is revealed in about the sixth episode, we have no idea who they are or who the girl they've trapped and killed is.
The rest of the series is kind of a puzzle to see how they got there, what happened afterwards, how they survived, who survived, and who did it.
I'm hoping some of those questions get answered in the last three episodes. They've not really been answered to date. It's kind of gruesome but no more so than other things I've seen. And tamer than the 100, seriously the 100 makes this seem rather tame and G-rated by comparison.
***
I get to go back into the office tomorrow. I'm nervous. Not about COVID, more about coughing on the train or at work. I've a lot to do. More than I care to think about. I kind of put my work on hold for two weeks. Enough time to miss it, and to get tired of being lazy.
It's cold here. In the 20s. Which means I'm not hot inside, outside of the hot flashes (which I've got to do something about).
My father keeps bugging my mother about going somewhere. The other day he had an imaginary telephone conversation with a travel agent, complete with imaginary phone. Today - she went over photos with him, which her sister suggested. I suggested she bring the audio book that I gave them last Christmas and play that on a portable CD player, and only play it when she visits - give them something to do together.
***
Having technical difficulties tonight - my computer was freezing on me. Seems to be working fine now - after I rebooted it. Am considering buying myself a Microsoft Surface - mainly because it will interface better with my workplace. Not sure I want another Apple at the moment. My co-workers swear by the PCs.
***
The New Times Book Review - to celebrate it's 125th Anniversary (seriously, its been around that long?) - determined the best book in 125 years.
Best Book in 125 Years along with nominees, and other's voted on
" In October, as we marked the Book Review’s 125th anniversary, we invited readers to nominate the best book published during that time. This was a nod to our history: In its first few decades, the Book Review often asked readers to anoint the best books, the best short stories, the best poems. We wanted this project, like those early ones, to reflect readers’ tastes and preferences.
Responses began pouring in from all 50 states and 67 countries. In November, we presented a list of the 25 most-nominated books (one per author) for a vote. After tallying more than 200,000 ballots, the winner, by a narrow margin, is …"
The Winner
To Kill a Mockingbird
By Harper Lee
“I grew up in a small, insular, white, Protestant town in the West, and this book first exposed me to the cruelty of racism. I do believe it changed my life and made me a person who cares about social justice. Plus, it is beautifully written with characters I have loved my whole life. I always wanted to be Scout.”
Nancy Foxley, Fort Collins, Colo.
“I am 52. I grew up in public housing, on welfare, parented by angry, erratic alcoholics, with little guidance and even less continuity. Atticus, Jem, Scout, Calpurnia and Dill taught me everything I needed to know about life, love, friendship and honor. These lessons reverberated throughout my life and I truly believe that my path would have been very different without them.”
Corina Jensen, Stanhope, N.J.
“Each time I read it with my students, I find in the author’s words something brilliant and entirely new to discuss with my classes. ‘You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view … until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.’”
Ronnie Madanick, Dade County, Fla.
“I grew up in a small, insular, white, Protestant town in the West, and this book first exposed me to the cruelty of racism. I do believe it changed my life and made me a person who cares about social justice. Plus, it is beautifully written with characters I have loved my whole life. I always wanted to be Scout.”
Nancy Foxley, Fort Collins, Colo.
“I am 52. I grew up in public housing, on welfare, parented by angry, erratic alcoholics, with little guidance and even less continuity. Atticus, Jem, Scout, Calpurnia and Dill taught me everything I needed to know about life, love, friendship and honor. These lessons reverberated throughout my life and I truly believe that my path would have been very different without them.”
Corina Jensen, Stanhope, N.J.
Our critic reconsiders “To Kill a Mockingbird”
When you revisit in adulthood a book that you last read in childhood, you will likely experience two broad categories of observation: “Oh yeah, I remember this part,” and “Whoa, I never noticed that part.” That’s what I expected when I picked up “To Kill a Mockingbird,” which was voted the best book of the past 125 years by readers in a recent New York Times poll. Two decades had passed since I’d absorbed Harper Lee’s 1960 novel. And yes, there was a huge amount I’d missed on my first time through, ranging from major themes (the prevalence of child abuse) to minor details (unfamiliar words, like “flivver”).
Inexcusable lapses in reading comprehension also surfaced, such as the fact that I hadn’t realized Mrs. Dubose — the cranky neighborhood villain — was a morphine addict. (“Mrs. Dubose is a morphine addict,” Atticus states in the book. In my defense … well, I have no defense.) As an adult, I can perceive why the novel might hold enduring appeal for many and enduring repulsion to perhaps just as many. I cannot fathom the complexities of teaching it to elementary school students in 2021, especially after reading online accounts from teachers on both the “pro” and “against” sides.
The Runners-Up
2. The Fellowship of the Ring By J.R.R. Tolkien
“The depth of lore for an imagined world and the story of friendship that it accompanies lay the foundation for the rest of the fantasy genre that would follow. Yet few stories live up to the standards set by Tolkien.” Owen Clarke, Provo, Utah
The Fellowship of the Ring
3. 1984 By George Orwell
“It still resonates with us up to this day, around 70 years after it was written. Its warning against the excesses of human pride and hunger for power and its challenge to use our love of freedom to guard against these problems are timeless and universal.” Kathlynn Rebonquin, Mandaluyong City, Philippines
1984
4. One Hundred Years of Solitude By Gabriel García Márquez
“As a piece of literature, it was an earthquake moment, shattering the expectations of a typical realist novel and spawning influences in authors and works from Japan to India and beyond. Out of all the works to have emerged in the last 125 years, none has created a ripple effect, or changed the landscape of literature, as much as this has.” Rizowana Hussaini, Guwahati, India
One Hundred Years of Solitude
5. Beloved By Toni Morrison
“It’s not a bump in the night, subtle haunting. It’s loud and sick. There are images and emotions from ‘Beloved’ that are stuck in my mind now permanently. This ghost story has taught me more about the legacy of slavery than history books ever did.” Brontë Mansfield, Chicago, Ill.
Beloved
The Nominations
The story of the nominations we received is not consensus, but diversity — not just in the sheer number of books that readers nominated, but in the ways that they interpreted what “best book” meant. Of the more than 1,300 books nominated, 65 percent were nominated by only one person. And only 31 percent nominated a book that made it to our list of 25 finalists. Here are some titles that speak to the breadth of readers’ choices.
Science Fiction
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
“A bone-chillingly beautiful and heartbreaking tale of exactly what could happen if we don’t take steps now as a society to address social inequalities and the climate crisis.”
Courtney Daron, Anaheim, Calif.
Nonfiction
The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
“A beautifully written, sweeping history of the past century in America. Never heavy-handed, Wilkerson’s storytelling places real people in real places, making it possible for any reader to grasp the various impacts of inequality and inequities that still plague America.”
Patricia Methe, Cincinnati, Ohio
Horror
Dracula by Bram Stoker
“Grabbing the dark corners of one’s imagination for 125 years.”
Eleanor Najjar, San Francisco, Calif.
Cookbook
The Joy of Cooking by Irma S. Rombauer
“It may be thin on plot or character, but it opened new worlds to me and my family.”
Cody Clark, Houston, Tex.
Children’s Book
Watership Down by Richard Adams
“Yeah, yeah, I get it — James Joyce, Toni Morrison, Yasunari Kawabata, Clarice Lispector, Gabriel García Márquez —they're all great, they changed fiction forever. You’re not wrong. But answer me this: How many of them wrote a book entirely about rabbits that could make you laugh, cry, get angry and question the deeper meaning of life?”
Brian Dowd, Edgartown, Mass.
Self Help
The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck
“His opening sentence, ‘Life is difficult’ affirmed my real-life experience. His wise insights into discipline, grace, love, and sin offered hope when I needed it. I ultimately attended seminary and became a pastor who often gifts this book.”
Marcia Bilyk, Knowlton Township, N.J.
Many people nominated children’s books — especially the ones that fostered a lifelong love of reading.
“From cadence and rhythm to the art and story itself, “Where the Wild Things Are” is the most perfect book. This is a hill I will die on.”
Sara Beth West, Chattanooga, Tenn. on “Where the Wild Things Are,” by Maurice Sendak
Some readers prized lyrical writing above all.
“Silko wonderfully mixes narrative forms, incorporating poetry, rituals and Native American creation stories in a web-like structure that mirrors Pueblo Indian identity and perspective. … Her spectacularly descriptive language, the depth with which she portrays the human condition and the melancholy tone inspire readers.”
Dana Raja Wahab, Miami, Fla. on “Ceremony,” by Leslie Marmon Silko
For others, an author’s imagination was everything.
“It propels the Modernist advances of books like ‘Ulysses’ into the postmodern world, kicking and screaming. It’s a book of superlatives: It’s the smartest, stupidest, most sacred, most profane, most profound, phantasmagoric, lyrical, direct, demanding, rewarding book I’ve ever read.
C. Bleakley, Milan, Italy on “Gravity’s Rainbow,” by Thomas Pynchon
Many nominated novels expanded the kinds of stories told in literature.
“I first read this book in high school in a rural town in New Hampshire. I was one of about 10 people of color in the whole town. This book was the first time I felt seen in an English classroom in white America. The narrator’s impotent rage, and this unshakeable feeling of being a blank slate for others to place their own expectations and guilt ("No don’t worry, you’re one of the good ones."), all resonated with me. This is one of those books that awaken something in you, and it did in me.”
Ruth Ramjit, New York City on “Invisible Man,” by Ralph Ellison
Other readers considered a book’s influence and legacy.
“It exploded the idea of what literature can be.”
Susannah Breslin, Burbank, Calif. on “Ulysses,” by James Joyce
Other popular authors included James Baldwin, Margaret Atwood and Virginia Woolf, who each had five books nominated.
And readers nominated four of Joan Didion’s books: “The Year of Magical Thinking,” “Slouching Towards Bethlehem,” “The White Album” and “Play It as It Lays.”
Finally, so many nominations we received spoke to deeply personal relationships with books.
“I’ve never been more engrossed in the minutiae of nature. Reading this book nudges and reminds me to slow down and absorb the utter beauty surrounding me each day.”
Brandon O’Connor, Chicago, Ill. on “Pilgrim at Tinker Creek,” by Annie Dillard
“The Nobel Prize winner’s novel evokes the best of modern literature, whilst keeping the classics’ heart and soul at the center of it. The central love story involves not only the two main characters, but the city of Istanbul as well (if not above), thus making it simultaneously intimate … and part of something grander.”
Dalila Sadinlija, Bosnia and Herzegovina on “The Museum of Innocence,” by Orhan Pamuk
“It’s a book … no, THE book about books, celebrating a seemingly idealized (but true!) relationship between a reader and a bookseller. There’s no better epistolary, literary memoir, bathed in the glow of wartime and mid-century New York City, looking eastward to romanticize a ration-booked London that knows its classic authors.”
Darren Sextro, Kansas City, Mo. on “84, Charing Cross Road,” by Helene Hanff
“This book captures what it means to be human. The writing is exquisite — you feel the pain and joy of the characters. The world building is subtle but profound. It is simply stunning.”
Chelsea Brislin, Lexington, Ky. on “Never Let Me Go,” by Kazuo Ishiguro
“Because it rails against darkness. Because it’s a testament to the enduring power of love to carry us and transcend death itself. Because it taught me to keep the fire burning, always.”
Max Widmer, New York City on “The Road,” by Cormac McCarthy
“I’ve never been more engrossed in the minutiae of nature. Reading this book nudges and reminds me to slow down and absorb the utter beauty surrounding me each day.”
Brandon O’Connor, Chicago, Ill. on “Pilgrim at Tinker Creek,” by Annie Dillard
“The Nobel Prize winner’s novel evokes the best of modern literature, whilst keeping the classics’ heart and soul at the center of it. The central love story involves not only the two main characters, but the city of Istanbul as well (if not above), thus making it simultaneously intimate … and part of something grander.”
Dalila Sadinlija, Bosnia and Herzegovina on “The Museum of Innocence,” by Orhan Pamuk
After reading the above, I think "BEST" is a misnomer, it should be "FAVORITE". This begs the question - why do we use the word best when in reality what we mean to say is our "favorite" or "most appreciated or loved"? Why remove the subjective context? The word "Best" is a lie, and worse is aggressive and competitive. It puts objects that have little in common outside of being words on a printed page, in competition with one another. The human need to win to earn a prize or compete, seems counterproductive in some settings.
Anyhow, my favorite...I don't really have one. It would be like choosing a favorite child or cat or parent or loved one. I love them differently and I find it impossible to choose just one or ten or a 100.
What can I say? I'm a culture junkie and book addict.
***
Random photo of the night...
Going to wing it tomorrow - hopefully I won't cough on the trains, platforms or in the office. Didn't cough in the pharmacy today.
Almost finished with Yellowjackets, the psychological thriller airing on Showtime. I'm watching a free month's subscription on Showtime via Apple TV. It's up February 3.
I've seen the first seven episodes. Only eight have aired. The last two air within the next two weeks. Season 1 has 10 episodes apparently. It's kind of overrated. Twitter and the Millenial critics like it better than I do, but I've admittedly seen and read more stuff than they may have. They think it is the next Lost. It reminds me more of Lord of the Flies meets Alive by way of the Blair Witch Project, with a similar narrative structure to Lost. Lost was nicer, not as gruesome, and the people more likable. This one is more gruesome, a touch darker, and the characters less likable.
Also the writing isn't nearly as sharp. Nor is the acting. And God, Juliette Lewis has not aged well, she looks ragged.
Like the Lost Daughter, not a lot happens in some of these episodes, and the narrative is rather drawn out - it could be a lot tighter. There's a touch too much navel gazing among the middle-aged female characters - making the section in 2021 drag. The bit in the wilderness moves at a faster clip, which is in 1996. Although there are little problems that requires suspension of disbelief. Where are they - it appears to be Maine or Canada. There's a huge lake and it seems odd no one has found them yet.
Characters disappear from the screen for a bit...yet they are all together in the same spot. And its not clear how many got rescued. For a while I wondered what happened to the kid brother of one of the male characters. There are three male characters in the wilderness with the girls, a kid, a teen who is their age, and their crippled coach. Also it meanders over things that I don't care about - such as various romantic relationships that go nowhere. Like I said, the writing could be tighter.
I'm sticking with it because I'm curious about what happened to the other girls, and who survived. But if they don't answer any of that in the first season, I may give up. It's getting a second season - but the writers haven't figured it out yet. Also the plotting feels a touch weak. Lost, it ain't, or for that matter Lord of the Flies or Alive ( Alive was a true story about the Uruguayan Rugby team (who were alumni of Stella Maris College), and their friends and family who were involved in the airplane crash of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571. They survived by resorting to cannibalism.
The plane crashed into the Andes mountains on Friday, 13 October 1972. Of the 45 people on the flight, only 16 survived in sub-zero temperatures. After numerous days spent searching for survivors, the rescue team was forced to end the search. Consequently, the survivors had to sustain life with rations found in the wreckage after the plane had crashed. The rations did not last long, and in order to stay alive it became necessary for the survivors to eat the bodies of the dead. This was possible because the bodies had been preserved with the freezing temperatures and the snow. The book was published two years after the survivors of the crash were rescued. The author interviewed many of the survivors as well as the family members of the passengers before writing this book to obtain facts about the crash. He wanted to write the story as it had happened without embellishment or fictionalizing it.
Per Wiki
Alive wasn't that bad. In this one, the survivors after being lost for about 19 months, go batshit crazy. The pilot opens with a scene from the wilderness where eight people dressed in pelts (faces not visible) hunt and trap a girl, kill her, and eat her. Outside of one of the people - whose face is revealed in about the sixth episode, we have no idea who they are or who the girl they've trapped and killed is.
The rest of the series is kind of a puzzle to see how they got there, what happened afterwards, how they survived, who survived, and who did it.
I'm hoping some of those questions get answered in the last three episodes. They've not really been answered to date. It's kind of gruesome but no more so than other things I've seen. And tamer than the 100, seriously the 100 makes this seem rather tame and G-rated by comparison.
***
I get to go back into the office tomorrow. I'm nervous. Not about COVID, more about coughing on the train or at work. I've a lot to do. More than I care to think about. I kind of put my work on hold for two weeks. Enough time to miss it, and to get tired of being lazy.
It's cold here. In the 20s. Which means I'm not hot inside, outside of the hot flashes (which I've got to do something about).
My father keeps bugging my mother about going somewhere. The other day he had an imaginary telephone conversation with a travel agent, complete with imaginary phone. Today - she went over photos with him, which her sister suggested. I suggested she bring the audio book that I gave them last Christmas and play that on a portable CD player, and only play it when she visits - give them something to do together.
***
Having technical difficulties tonight - my computer was freezing on me. Seems to be working fine now - after I rebooted it. Am considering buying myself a Microsoft Surface - mainly because it will interface better with my workplace. Not sure I want another Apple at the moment. My co-workers swear by the PCs.
***
The New Times Book Review - to celebrate it's 125th Anniversary (seriously, its been around that long?) - determined the best book in 125 years.
Best Book in 125 Years along with nominees, and other's voted on
" In October, as we marked the Book Review’s 125th anniversary, we invited readers to nominate the best book published during that time. This was a nod to our history: In its first few decades, the Book Review often asked readers to anoint the best books, the best short stories, the best poems. We wanted this project, like those early ones, to reflect readers’ tastes and preferences.
Responses began pouring in from all 50 states and 67 countries. In November, we presented a list of the 25 most-nominated books (one per author) for a vote. After tallying more than 200,000 ballots, the winner, by a narrow margin, is …"
The Winner
To Kill a Mockingbird
By Harper Lee
“I grew up in a small, insular, white, Protestant town in the West, and this book first exposed me to the cruelty of racism. I do believe it changed my life and made me a person who cares about social justice. Plus, it is beautifully written with characters I have loved my whole life. I always wanted to be Scout.”
Nancy Foxley, Fort Collins, Colo.
“I am 52. I grew up in public housing, on welfare, parented by angry, erratic alcoholics, with little guidance and even less continuity. Atticus, Jem, Scout, Calpurnia and Dill taught me everything I needed to know about life, love, friendship and honor. These lessons reverberated throughout my life and I truly believe that my path would have been very different without them.”
Corina Jensen, Stanhope, N.J.
“Each time I read it with my students, I find in the author’s words something brilliant and entirely new to discuss with my classes. ‘You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view … until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.’”
Ronnie Madanick, Dade County, Fla.
“I grew up in a small, insular, white, Protestant town in the West, and this book first exposed me to the cruelty of racism. I do believe it changed my life and made me a person who cares about social justice. Plus, it is beautifully written with characters I have loved my whole life. I always wanted to be Scout.”
Nancy Foxley, Fort Collins, Colo.
“I am 52. I grew up in public housing, on welfare, parented by angry, erratic alcoholics, with little guidance and even less continuity. Atticus, Jem, Scout, Calpurnia and Dill taught me everything I needed to know about life, love, friendship and honor. These lessons reverberated throughout my life and I truly believe that my path would have been very different without them.”
Corina Jensen, Stanhope, N.J.
Our critic reconsiders “To Kill a Mockingbird”
When you revisit in adulthood a book that you last read in childhood, you will likely experience two broad categories of observation: “Oh yeah, I remember this part,” and “Whoa, I never noticed that part.” That’s what I expected when I picked up “To Kill a Mockingbird,” which was voted the best book of the past 125 years by readers in a recent New York Times poll. Two decades had passed since I’d absorbed Harper Lee’s 1960 novel. And yes, there was a huge amount I’d missed on my first time through, ranging from major themes (the prevalence of child abuse) to minor details (unfamiliar words, like “flivver”).
Inexcusable lapses in reading comprehension also surfaced, such as the fact that I hadn’t realized Mrs. Dubose — the cranky neighborhood villain — was a morphine addict. (“Mrs. Dubose is a morphine addict,” Atticus states in the book. In my defense … well, I have no defense.) As an adult, I can perceive why the novel might hold enduring appeal for many and enduring repulsion to perhaps just as many. I cannot fathom the complexities of teaching it to elementary school students in 2021, especially after reading online accounts from teachers on both the “pro” and “against” sides.
The Runners-Up
2. The Fellowship of the Ring By J.R.R. Tolkien
“The depth of lore for an imagined world and the story of friendship that it accompanies lay the foundation for the rest of the fantasy genre that would follow. Yet few stories live up to the standards set by Tolkien.” Owen Clarke, Provo, Utah
The Fellowship of the Ring
3. 1984 By George Orwell
“It still resonates with us up to this day, around 70 years after it was written. Its warning against the excesses of human pride and hunger for power and its challenge to use our love of freedom to guard against these problems are timeless and universal.” Kathlynn Rebonquin, Mandaluyong City, Philippines
1984
4. One Hundred Years of Solitude By Gabriel García Márquez
“As a piece of literature, it was an earthquake moment, shattering the expectations of a typical realist novel and spawning influences in authors and works from Japan to India and beyond. Out of all the works to have emerged in the last 125 years, none has created a ripple effect, or changed the landscape of literature, as much as this has.” Rizowana Hussaini, Guwahati, India
One Hundred Years of Solitude
5. Beloved By Toni Morrison
“It’s not a bump in the night, subtle haunting. It’s loud and sick. There are images and emotions from ‘Beloved’ that are stuck in my mind now permanently. This ghost story has taught me more about the legacy of slavery than history books ever did.” Brontë Mansfield, Chicago, Ill.
Beloved
The Nominations
The story of the nominations we received is not consensus, but diversity — not just in the sheer number of books that readers nominated, but in the ways that they interpreted what “best book” meant. Of the more than 1,300 books nominated, 65 percent were nominated by only one person. And only 31 percent nominated a book that made it to our list of 25 finalists. Here are some titles that speak to the breadth of readers’ choices.
Science Fiction
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
“A bone-chillingly beautiful and heartbreaking tale of exactly what could happen if we don’t take steps now as a society to address social inequalities and the climate crisis.”
Courtney Daron, Anaheim, Calif.
Nonfiction
The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
“A beautifully written, sweeping history of the past century in America. Never heavy-handed, Wilkerson’s storytelling places real people in real places, making it possible for any reader to grasp the various impacts of inequality and inequities that still plague America.”
Patricia Methe, Cincinnati, Ohio
Horror
Dracula by Bram Stoker
“Grabbing the dark corners of one’s imagination for 125 years.”
Eleanor Najjar, San Francisco, Calif.
Cookbook
The Joy of Cooking by Irma S. Rombauer
“It may be thin on plot or character, but it opened new worlds to me and my family.”
Cody Clark, Houston, Tex.
Children’s Book
Watership Down by Richard Adams
“Yeah, yeah, I get it — James Joyce, Toni Morrison, Yasunari Kawabata, Clarice Lispector, Gabriel García Márquez —they're all great, they changed fiction forever. You’re not wrong. But answer me this: How many of them wrote a book entirely about rabbits that could make you laugh, cry, get angry and question the deeper meaning of life?”
Brian Dowd, Edgartown, Mass.
Self Help
The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck
“His opening sentence, ‘Life is difficult’ affirmed my real-life experience. His wise insights into discipline, grace, love, and sin offered hope when I needed it. I ultimately attended seminary and became a pastor who often gifts this book.”
Marcia Bilyk, Knowlton Township, N.J.
Many people nominated children’s books — especially the ones that fostered a lifelong love of reading.
“From cadence and rhythm to the art and story itself, “Where the Wild Things Are” is the most perfect book. This is a hill I will die on.”
Sara Beth West, Chattanooga, Tenn. on “Where the Wild Things Are,” by Maurice Sendak
Some readers prized lyrical writing above all.
“Silko wonderfully mixes narrative forms, incorporating poetry, rituals and Native American creation stories in a web-like structure that mirrors Pueblo Indian identity and perspective. … Her spectacularly descriptive language, the depth with which she portrays the human condition and the melancholy tone inspire readers.”
Dana Raja Wahab, Miami, Fla. on “Ceremony,” by Leslie Marmon Silko
For others, an author’s imagination was everything.
“It propels the Modernist advances of books like ‘Ulysses’ into the postmodern world, kicking and screaming. It’s a book of superlatives: It’s the smartest, stupidest, most sacred, most profane, most profound, phantasmagoric, lyrical, direct, demanding, rewarding book I’ve ever read.
C. Bleakley, Milan, Italy on “Gravity’s Rainbow,” by Thomas Pynchon
Many nominated novels expanded the kinds of stories told in literature.
“I first read this book in high school in a rural town in New Hampshire. I was one of about 10 people of color in the whole town. This book was the first time I felt seen in an English classroom in white America. The narrator’s impotent rage, and this unshakeable feeling of being a blank slate for others to place their own expectations and guilt ("No don’t worry, you’re one of the good ones."), all resonated with me. This is one of those books that awaken something in you, and it did in me.”
Ruth Ramjit, New York City on “Invisible Man,” by Ralph Ellison
Other readers considered a book’s influence and legacy.
“It exploded the idea of what literature can be.”
Susannah Breslin, Burbank, Calif. on “Ulysses,” by James Joyce
Other popular authors included James Baldwin, Margaret Atwood and Virginia Woolf, who each had five books nominated.
And readers nominated four of Joan Didion’s books: “The Year of Magical Thinking,” “Slouching Towards Bethlehem,” “The White Album” and “Play It as It Lays.”
Finally, so many nominations we received spoke to deeply personal relationships with books.
“I’ve never been more engrossed in the minutiae of nature. Reading this book nudges and reminds me to slow down and absorb the utter beauty surrounding me each day.”
Brandon O’Connor, Chicago, Ill. on “Pilgrim at Tinker Creek,” by Annie Dillard
“The Nobel Prize winner’s novel evokes the best of modern literature, whilst keeping the classics’ heart and soul at the center of it. The central love story involves not only the two main characters, but the city of Istanbul as well (if not above), thus making it simultaneously intimate … and part of something grander.”
Dalila Sadinlija, Bosnia and Herzegovina on “The Museum of Innocence,” by Orhan Pamuk
“It’s a book … no, THE book about books, celebrating a seemingly idealized (but true!) relationship between a reader and a bookseller. There’s no better epistolary, literary memoir, bathed in the glow of wartime and mid-century New York City, looking eastward to romanticize a ration-booked London that knows its classic authors.”
Darren Sextro, Kansas City, Mo. on “84, Charing Cross Road,” by Helene Hanff
“This book captures what it means to be human. The writing is exquisite — you feel the pain and joy of the characters. The world building is subtle but profound. It is simply stunning.”
Chelsea Brislin, Lexington, Ky. on “Never Let Me Go,” by Kazuo Ishiguro
“Because it rails against darkness. Because it’s a testament to the enduring power of love to carry us and transcend death itself. Because it taught me to keep the fire burning, always.”
Max Widmer, New York City on “The Road,” by Cormac McCarthy
“I’ve never been more engrossed in the minutiae of nature. Reading this book nudges and reminds me to slow down and absorb the utter beauty surrounding me each day.”
Brandon O’Connor, Chicago, Ill. on “Pilgrim at Tinker Creek,” by Annie Dillard
“The Nobel Prize winner’s novel evokes the best of modern literature, whilst keeping the classics’ heart and soul at the center of it. The central love story involves not only the two main characters, but the city of Istanbul as well (if not above), thus making it simultaneously intimate … and part of something grander.”
Dalila Sadinlija, Bosnia and Herzegovina on “The Museum of Innocence,” by Orhan Pamuk
After reading the above, I think "BEST" is a misnomer, it should be "FAVORITE". This begs the question - why do we use the word best when in reality what we mean to say is our "favorite" or "most appreciated or loved"? Why remove the subjective context? The word "Best" is a lie, and worse is aggressive and competitive. It puts objects that have little in common outside of being words on a printed page, in competition with one another. The human need to win to earn a prize or compete, seems counterproductive in some settings.
Anyhow, my favorite...I don't really have one. It would be like choosing a favorite child or cat or parent or loved one. I love them differently and I find it impossible to choose just one or ten or a 100.
What can I say? I'm a culture junkie and book addict.
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Random photo of the night...
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Date: 2022-01-04 12:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-01-04 11:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-01-05 01:57 am (UTC)That's the problem with these types of shows - it's kind of obvious who will be killed off - it's just a matter of when. Also, a lot of these characters that aren't developed - the writers often forget about. There's this kid who kind of disappeared for a few episodes, to the point in which I found myself wondering okay what happened to the kid? Then up he pops in about the seventh episode carving a little wolf out of wood.
I don't see myself making it past S1.