Saturday, May 19, 2012

Lauren's Booklist- Favorites So Far


Well, here it is: I’ve finally composed a list of books I have read and thoroughly enjoyed! I had to do this while I had a break from school- its hard to find any time to read between classes and the loads of homework I have during the semester. I’ll be making another booklist in the future I’m sure, after I’ve had time to read even more good books (very likely, many listed from the rest of the Harrelson family!), but for now, maybe this will give everyone a lead on the next book they want to read, if indeed you haven’t read these already.

Love y’all!
~Lauren


Redeeming Love
This is one of my all-time favorites! It’s a novel that is analogous to the story of Hosea in the Bible, but the author Francine Rivers adds a bit of her own flare of fiction to the account. It tells the story of a prostitute named Angel during the time of the Gold Rush, and how she is swept away by a man named Michael- a man whom God has told that he must marry Angel and take her away from this life of prostitution. Naturally, she resists- she doesn’t understand unconditional love. But this novel is a journey that Michael and Angel take (separately and together) to discover what true, redeeming love really is. I loved this one so much I read it twice. 

Water for Elephants
I read this book on my flight back from Thailand in January of this year. I found that once I started I couldn’t put it down! Its always fun to read about something as exciting as the circus, especially when its got a love story tied into the plot. I just adored Rosie the elephant and all her mischief, and although the movie tried to measure up, it just couldn’t completely capture how charming she was, and how captivating the romance between Marlena and Jacob was. I’d definitely recommend reading if you haven’t done so yet.

Black, Red & White
These 3 books are a series by Ted Dekker. Its an enthralling story about a man named Thomas who is living in 2 worlds- our modern world, with which he is familiar, and another intriguing world, where he has lost his memory and struggles to recollect the details of his life in this beautiful, perfect place. When he falls asleep in one world, he wakes up in the other. However, as the three books progress, both worlds are threatened. Our world faces a deadly virus that could wipe out the human race. The other world faces a great war between the humans and the evil forces that once dwelled in the black forest. Its allegorical fiction, and again was a series I could hardly put down.

Harry Potter series
Of course- how could this not make the list?! What started as a children’s book became one of the most imaginative and epic book series I have ever had the pleasure of reading. I started listening to the series on tape/cd during the long car rides I had between Dothan and Oxford. The narrator, Jim Dale, did the many voices for all the different characters, and the way he read made it impossible to get bored on the 7-hour drive! I LOVED getting to know the characters more and more through each book, and I’m just astounded at the imagination and genius of J.K. Rowling throughout the series. The movies are fun to watch as well, but they leave out so many fun, great details from the books that just shouldn’t be lost! If you still haven’t jumped on the Harry Potter bandwagon, drop your pride and jump on now- you won’t regret it! (And if you aren’t afraid of being a little extra nerdy, Pottermore.com is a fun way to relive the books and get extra details about characters’ background stories and even where Rowling got some of her inspiration from. You can even get sorted into your House at Hogwarts J  Only the first book is currently up on the website, but the 2nd is soon to follow.)

Hunger Games
I’m already halfway through Catching Fire even though I just started it this morning. I listened to the first book on CD, even though I had a hard copy I had purchased, intending to read it on my journey to Thailand. Since I finished the Harry Potter series and had nothing to listen to on my way home this time from Oxford, I purchased The Hunger Games on Amazon and enjoyed the audiobook the whole ride home! Can’t report on the rest of the 2nd book or the 3rd, but I can tell you I’m enjoying it so far! The characters and the plot are wonderfully crafted, and again I find a book series I can hardly stop reading to eat or sleep.

Tom Robbins books
Chris, you may be right- reading Tom Robbins might make me into a hippie. But it’s a risk I’ll have to take. Couldn’t pass up his books on Amazon, some for only one cent each! I plan to read Jitterbug Perfume first, as Meghan said this is one of her favorites. He’s quite a quirky writer, to say the least, but I think it’ll make the adventure through his books that much more fun. Maybe my next entry on the Harrelson Family Blog will be all Tom Robbins books once I’ve finished them! J

Fahrenheit 451
I’ve read this book twice- once in 9th grade for my English class, and another time after I started college for my own pleasure. This story is set in the future, when firemen start fires instead of putting them out. The government doesn’t want people to think for themselves anymore, so the firemen ignite books to keep the authorities in complete control of the public. One fireman, however, begins to see that this world built of television screens, huge billboards, and people speeding by everywhere they go, is not quite the ideal world the nation’s leaders have tried to make it seem… Very thought-provoking, I really enjoyed it both times I read it.

Bears in Pairs
This was my favorite book as a child. Filled with fun illustrations, it shows a variety of bears making their way to a tea party. I HAD to put this on my booklist, because it’s sentimental for so may reasons. I swear my parents must have read this to me every night when I was a little girl. So often, in fact, that I had the words on the pages memorized based on what the bears looked like. Ganmama was astounded when I sat down with her and opened the book, and began to say what was on the page. “Silly bear, frilly bear!” I’d exclaim as the page turned and I saw the pictures. Ganmama thought I could read at age 2! 

9 comments:

  1. Lauren, I read your post to Ganmama and she loved it! She said that PopPop would absolutely love the idea of this family book blog because he was a voracious reader as we all know. I agreed and told her I thought he would really enjoy seeing how much we are all reading and how diverse our tastes are. When we used to live in Etowah, Tn we were only a block and a half from the beautiful town library. Pop Pop ,Aunt Carol, and I used to walk to that library almost every Saturday to return our books and get more. My very first job was in that library when I was in 6th grade. Every summer I hung out in that library and the lovely, elderly librarian, Mrs. Holsclaw, who went to our church, used to let me shelve books and sort library cards for her. When she went to lunch downstairs for 1 hour everyday, I got to sit behind her desk and collect the returned books, collect the fine $ and reshelve returned books. I earned one dollar every day that I did it. I absolutely loved it and her. She was over 80 years old and still working full time as our librarian. I got to know her whole family and fell in love with them all. When no one was in the library and all the work was done, we would sit together on the couch and read quietly to ourselves. I still love that library and go to it's website often.
    Lauren, Keep us posted after you read Mockingjay. Tell Kody I really am interested in what he will be reading this summer and how to write his own blog here. I Love you so much and I love your booklist.

    ReplyDelete
  2. loved your list, Lauren! So glad you posted! I've read most of them, but am intrigued with Red, Black and White, I will have to try them soon.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Very nice Lauren, thanks for posting! Jitterbug Perfume was also my first Robbins and remains my favorite, with Alobar being one of my all time favorite Robbins characters. Robbins' plots are usually a bit strung out but the genius is in the language. The guy just has a knack for stringing words together that is both awe inspiring and often hilarious. His best works will broaden your perspectives on a great many things. Glad Meghan turned you onto him.
    Glad to see you are a fellow potterite as well. When you got sorted at Pottermore....? I'm thinkin...Ravenclaw??
    Love Fahrenheit 451. You should try Orwell's 1984 (i'm sure you've read it before but i find the older i am when i read it the more profound it becomes) and also A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. Very similar to Fahrenheit.
    Also interested in the Decker series. I'll steal them from Mom after she reads em! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ok, Chris, When you get through with the Dekker series I will read them too. Aunt Denise and Uncle Bob are over there reading away and need to get involved so make them, Lauren! Aunt Denise got Calico Joe (j Grisham) on her kindle and a few chapters in realized how much Bob would love the baseball aspect of the book. She turned it over to Uncle Bob and he devoured it in a couple of days. They both recommend this book. It's not just a baseball book it has a great story. If Bob likes baseball books he should read THE ART OF FIELDING which has been a bestseller this year. Hey Kevin, what are you reading? Meghan, What are you reading on your long plane ride from Thailand?

    ReplyDelete
  5. YES Chris! I AM a Ravenclaw! :) hehe, how did you know? You're clever- you must be a Ravenclaw too ;) Can't wait to dive into Jitterbug Perfume now with your recommendation as well. I have not read 1984 yet- its on my list after I read Little Women. My mom has been insisting I read this one! (I honestly can't believe I haven't already.) I have a feeling you will enjoy the series by Ted Dekker- its really intriguing and keeps you on the edge of your seat. Glad I was able to steer everyone toward these!
    Aunt Sandy, thanks for the recommendation for Dad. He really did love Calico Joe, and I'm sure at the mention of baseball I can turn him onto The Art of Fielding ;) We pick at him sometimes because when mom and I read in the backyard on Saturday or Sunday afternoons, he often tends to fall asleep on the "no-gravity" chairs and catch a nap! Not that we blame him- he works so hard during the week, I know catching a nap in the backyard is a luxury he deserves. But I'm sure he'll appreciate a good book if he is not in the napping mood. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Lauren, I wholeheartedly agree with your Mom. Little Women is a classic and I first read it when I was 12. I think this book helps to shape a girl reader; there are lessons of undying ,unconditional love of family in Alcott's book and I have never forgotten this story. I have reread it several times in my adulthood and other titles of Alcott, but Little Women is her shining achievement. PopPop also read it and enjoyed it very much, I am so looking forward to seeing you again before you leave for Ole Miss.Are you busy Saturday afternoon? Or Sunday afternoon? Love you.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I was in the middle of Amy Tan's _Saving Fish From Drowning_ when a trusted friend highly recommended (for the second time) _Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance_ by Robert Pirsig. I traded him a toaster oven & blender for the book he hesitated to part with, and now am in a rush to finish it before Father's Day because I plan to regift it to my dad. Tan is on hold til this one's complete, and it shouldn't take many more days considering I have a 25+ hour journey ahead of me tomorrow. :) It's a father & his 11yr old son on a motorcycle journey across the American West, and the father's mental journey to bury properly the ghost of his former personality (he underwent electic shock therapy years before), sorting through his philosophical ideas about life--how we are currently living it and how we can do better.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I've always meant to read that book, Meg, and now I will just have to get to it since you think so highly of it. I love books about the family dynamic.
    Wow, 25+ hours to get you home. We can't wait to see you. Especially your Mom and Bob. They are excited to get you back. We got to see Lauren on Mother's Day and she really made that day for me. Lauren drove straight to Andalusia from Ole Miss and met your Mom and Bob here. Gamama and I are so very proud of Lauren and the enchanting, savvy, magnetic woman she has become. We see in Lauren a mix of your precious Mom, a huge dose of her Daddy, with lots of her spirited and courageous big sister thrown in. Pop Pop would be so very proud of all of you Grandchildren and the lives ya'll are leading. He always was proud of you all. I will see you very soon Meghan. Love you.

    ReplyDelete
  9. You are so sweet, Aunt Sandy :) It was so wonderful to see you and Ganmama when we went to pick Meg up from the Dothan airport! Love yall so much.
    I finished the Hunger Games series and really really liked it, although I felt like the author was way too ready to wrap up the story at the end of the last book. I thought she would have spent a little more time developing life after the Games, but I still loved the ending and the Epilogue she wrote. Glad I had some time at home to read these. Now, I'm on to Jitterbug Perfume! I started it today... its really weird, haha. I can't quite follow where Robbins is going with everything, but I'm trying to keep up with his crazy brain!

    ReplyDelete