Tens

A friend, who is rapidly becoming a good friend, recently asked about my favorite books. What follows is a list of some that I would rank among the best I've ever read, along with reasons, if I can give them. No links 'cause it would take forever and a day.

^ Almost a Gentleman by Pam Rosenthal - not to every taste, this is an exquisitely rendered account of a fantastic method of dealing with very real pain.
~ Avoidance by Michael Lowenthal - ah, God, lovely and so sad. Lots like Alexander Chee's Edinburgh, but really exponentially more beautiful. (But Chee's book is quite good, too.)
^ The Brothers K by David James Duncan - I sometimes think that the subtle goal of my life is to influence everyone I care about to read this book. It says as much about me as it does about its acknowledged subjects (baseball, religion, fishing, family, Vietnam).
~ Cardiofitness by Alessandra Montrucchio - the only popular Italian fiction I've read, but if this is the standard of quality, I shouldn't read anything else. Mesmerizing.
^ Cry No More by Linda Howard - although I generally like what she's written, I thought this was really fantastic.
~ Cupid & Diana by Christina Bartolomeo - emotional but smart
^ Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler - the book that made me a fan
~ Faking It by Jennifer Crusie - just damned funny
^ Good-Bye to All That by Robert Graves - the finest memoir ever written. Perhaps the finest nonfiction work ever written.
~ Housewrights by Art Corriveau - a study in understatement, triangularity, and the challenges of proper behavior
^ Hunter’s Moon by Karen Robards - this comes pretty close to "trashy novel", but it's damned good, too.
~ The Inn at Lake Devine by Elinor Lipman - charming and funny, but deeply meaningful and heartfelt. A very close second to The Brothers K for primary space in my heart.
^ The Last Chance Saloon by Marian Keyes - a book that I want to force my friends to read, so they can understand my pain and confusion, but also what their friendship means.
~ The Long Gray Line by Rick Atkinson - one of the best books about the Vietnam era, and about individual soldiers, and about West Point.
^ A Married Man by Catherine Alliott - yes, it looks like de rigeur Brit chick lit (the cover is a very fashionable woman sitting in an oversized spoon - yargh!), but it's much deeper than that. Reminiscent of The Dominant Blonde by Alisa Kwitney - looks can be deceiving.
~ Martin Sloane by Michael Redhill - I'm not sure that this is a "10". It might be a "3". But it was definitely worth reading, if only to decide whether you love it or hate it.
^ Nice by Jen Sacks - God, I wish I'd written this book!
~ Night Magic by Karen Robards - a spy novel with twists that's funny and hot.
^ A Passion for Books: A Book Lover’s Treasury of Stories, Essays, Humor, Lore, and Lists on Collecting, Reading, Borrowing, Lending, Caring For, and Appreciating Books, edited by Harold Rabinowitz & Rob Kaplan - reading this made me want to quit my job, find a crappy apt. on the Mississippi, and devote myself to writing. Which is what I truly intend to do...when I grow up.
~ Picturing Will by Ann Beattie - not a "happy" book, or comfortable, but it gets under your skin.
^ The Reader by Bernhard Schlink - I read it before it was an Oprah book, and I liked it anyway.
~ The River Why by David James Duncan - hmm. Duncan, river. I sense a theme in my life.
^ A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf - when I read this in college (for my History of Modern England class), I hated it. I, an overconfident and thoughtless child, resented this old crazy lady telling me what it meant to be a real, adult, independent woman. Over time, however, I came to realize that I hadn't had a clue, and that there was more to being an adult than getting away with things - than having one's parents not find out when one made poor decisions. And £500 a month and a room of my own (or what that represents) means more and more to me as time goes forward.
~ Silence in October by Jens Christian Grøndahl - the most difficult, complex, and philosophical thing I've ever read. It took about 6 months for me to get through it. I loved it, but it scared me. And as soon as I finished it, I wanted to start it over, knowing what I then knew.
^ Spin Cycle by Sue Margolis - light and funny.
~ The Story of Jane by Catherine Cusset - unforgettable. Reinforcement of the importance of writing in my life.
^ Time After Time by Sue Haasler - perfectly encapsulates what it means to have lived in the late 80s - and to now miss it, at least a little.
~ The Writer’s Life: Intimate Thoughts on Work, Love, Inspiration and Fame from the Diaries of the World’s Great Writers, edited by Carol Edgarian & Tom Jenks - a lot like A Passion for Books, this makes me want to weep for the writer I could have been.

So, there you have it. What do y'all like?