”Emily, you should read some real books,” my Mother told me.
I knew exactly what she meant. Everything I read begins with the words, “How to” and ends with “in Five Easy Steps.” It’s time for me to come out of the closet and let the world know… I’m addicted to self-help books.
But lately, I have been working with a writer writer (no, that is not a typo). Her name is Christeene Fraser, and her use of the English language inspires me. Her verbiage, phrasing, and symbolism shout, “I am a real writer!”
As I was explaining this to Mom, she said, “Christeene is a good writer because she’s a good reader. You need to read books that will improve your writing.” So of course, I asked Christeene what to read. In a matter of seconds, she spouted ten books that every real writer should read.
I am challenging myself to read them all. If you want to improve your writing, try the Ten-Book Challenge below:
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1. Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Unrequited love that carries through a lifetime. Lush Colombian riverscapes, the decay of the urban aristocracy, and a plague that threatens to wipe out a generation. Marquez dazzles with his trademark magical realism, and poetic phrasing that leaves a would-be writer salivating. If you’ve ever read The Notebook, imagine that Noah and Ally rekindle their childhood romance after almost a lifetime apart–after marriage, children, aging, and change–all the while, carrying their love across the sea of time that has separated them, and you have Love in the Time of Cholera. Difficulty = 6
2. The Sound and The Fury, William Faulkner
The Sound and the Fury takes its title from Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Act 5 Scene 5: “it is a tale, told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” The Sound and the Fury tells the story of the Compson family, and opens through the eyes of Benjy, a mentally-disabled young man describing a large and destructive world through his own simple and sometimes shocking observations: abuse, incest, despair, and love. A literary feat and definitive Modern classic, this novel is most notable for its use of stream-of-consciousness technique, Freudian psychology, and first person narrative. Difficulty = 9.5
3. The Great Gatsby, F.Scott Fitzgerald
Perennially required reading for a reason–The Great Gatsby is often lauded as the book that captured the essence of the Jazz Generation. Wealth, love, fidelity, society, and morality are brought into question and chronicled through the narrative of Nick Carraway, a middle-class journalist caught in the schemes of his upper-crust cousin Daisy Buchanan, and the men who love her. The Great Gatsby reveals both the beauty and brutality of the American Dream–set in the roaring excess of New York society in the 20′s. Difficulty = 5
4. The Awakening, Kate Chopin
When this novel was first published in 1899, protesters assailed it with seething indignation for its frank discussion of female sexuality, and the unorthodox views on motherhood and marriage as described by its protagonist, Edna Pontellier. It is now seen as one of the most preeminent books written by a woman in the 18th century, and a definitive work in feminism studies. I read this book as a 17 year old girl, and it changed my life; it was as poignant to me in 2001 as it was in 1899. Difficulty = 5
5. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
Infidelity. Betrayal. Longing. Russian politics. This epic novel carries the reader into the world of Anna Karenina, a Russian socialite who–after enduring a loveless, sometimes stifling, but otherwise pleasant marriage of status–falls in love with a young soldier and runs away from her former life. We watch as she blossoms and then burns in the heat of her own passion. Difficulty = 7, only for the length!
6. The Giver, Lois Lowry
The only children’s/Young Adult book on my list, The Giver is the winner of the 1994 Newbery Medal. A light science-fiction novel, it tells the tale of a seemingly utopian society where all differences, hatred, war, and even emotions have been eradicated in favor of a carefully controlled world of peace, predictability, and proper placement–each child is given his or her occupation at a special ceremony. Jonas, our main character, is chosen to be the apprentice of the Giver, the one man who holds the memories and emotions of the former world. The Giver transmits these memories to Jonas, and life as he knows it is forever changed. In my opinion, this is one of the best books ever written. Difficulty = 4
7. Mrs. Dalloway, Virginia Woolf
Another important novel in feminism studies, Mrs. Dalloway is a tale about a Post WWI British woman of society whose life is defined by parties, flower arrangements, and the haunting memory of a love she forsook in her youth. This is a novel about choices, about marriage, and about the pressures women face. Difficulty = 6
8. Seven Types of Ambiguity, Elliott Perlman
I don’t often read contemporary authors–but anyone clever enough to come up with a title like this deserves a chance, and Perlman does not disappoint. Beyond the plot–about a love-lorn ex who kidnaps the child of his former girlfriend to win her back–Perlman’s characterization is some of the best I’ve ever seen, placing him with literary giants. By the first chapter you will become enamored with the protagonist–a deeply introverted, intellectual, and sorrowful man. For me, Perlman’s characters felt as real and convincing as someone I’d met in real life; I was attached to them, worried for them, angry for them, in love with them. Difficulty = 7
9. Lord of the Flies, William Golding
People want to believe that children are inherently pure or untouched in some fundamental way. But is it really nature or society that keeps them this way? Golding believed that man was inherently evil, and The Lord of the Flies is a story of unraveling, of throwing away all pretense as a group of British school boys are shipwrecked on an island and left to govern themselves. When devoid of society, authority, they are allowed to show their true nature: both good and evil, hunter and hunted. Characters take on Biblical symbolism in this novel of savagery. Difficulty = 5
10. Wide Sargasso Sea, Jean Rhys
Caution: if you ever read or watched Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, you will never look at it the same way after reading this novel. Written as a pre-quel to Jane Eyre, this novel tells the story of Edward Rochester’s marriage to his first wife, Bertha (Antoinette) Mason in post-colonial Jamaica. In Jane Eyre Bertha Mason is only seen as the crazy woman in the attic, a shameful secret that must be locked away; here, she is seen as the woman brought literally to insanity by her passionate and hasty marriage to a cold man who does not love her. This novel is a veritable gold mine provoking discussions of race, class, marriage, and female identity. Utterly stunning. Difficulty = 6
For more from Christeene, check out her blog at http://christeenefraser.blogspot.com/
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