MARTIN'S RECOMMENDED READING

As an English teacher, people are always asking me, "What do you read?" It's a fair question. Just for fun, here is a list of my ten favorite books of all time (in no particular order).  Please be aware that some of these books may contain material that is not particularly suitable for young and delicate readers. 

1. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (Anything by Dickens, for that matter.  No other writer has achieved what Dickens did in regard to range of character and social commentary.  He combines pathos and humor unlike any other.)

2. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky (Way ahead of his time in terms of understanding of the criminal mind.  This story is internal conflict at its best.  The forerunner of virtually ALL realistic crime and mystery novels.  Freud was even impressed!)

3. Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy (One of the most beautifully worded violence I've ever read in a book. McCarthy is rightlly touted as a combination of William Faulkner and Louis L'amour.  BTW, he won the Pulitzer Price for The Road this year, another slobberknocker of a book!)

4. Frankenstein by Mary Shelly (The most touching and poignant monster story ever told.  Everytime I read it I find another layer.  Hard to believe it was written by an eighteen-year-old girl on a bet!)

5. Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy (You can't beat Hardy for setting and characterization.  His plots are so rich and human, it is hard to believe they were written in the nineteenth century)

6. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (One of the most profoundly moving books of the twentieth and twenty-first century so far. A little dark, but totally engrossing.)

7. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (More of a novella, really. Interestingly enough, this was the inspiration for one of my favorite films, Apocalypse Now)

8. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens ( I told you anything by Dickens!  This may be the perfect short novel. I have probably read this book more times than any other book I've read.  The characters, the tone, the description, the supernatural elements, etc. Awesome!)

9. Dubliners by James Joyce (Pure genius. "The Dead" is one of the most profound and poetic short stories I have ever read.  The last paragraph gives me chills everytime I read it.)

10. Dracula by Bram Stoker (Okay, the second most poignant monster story ever told!  The atmosphere and overall mood of this book is so thick you can cut it with a stake!  I must admit, I like the scary stuff when it is done tastefully.)