Today’s category was a challenge to fill out. Finding
favorites from Genres I Don’t Usually Read is difficult because there’s a
reason I don’t usually read those genres—they don’t resonate with me, and
therefore favorites are hard to come by. BUT—I managed, and I’d recommend all
of these books even if you don’t normally enjoy these genres either.
A Dream of Flight by Kate Willis – (Science fiction) This one was actually a very easy choice. It was a candidate for my favorite indie books, too, but I needed it for this category. I’ve never read a sci-fi book I’ve loved more, and it’s hard to imagine I’ll ever find one. Set in our solar system with an extra planet or two, the wonderful characters and the thought-provoking Jewish elements in this YA novel make it a forever favorite.
Monster by Frank Peretti – (Thriller) I don’t have a problem with reading thrillers; they’re just not my go-to. I tend to appreciate
slower-paced novels more. But this book makes me think I should read more of
them, I enjoyed it so much. With a clear Christian theme and a literally
heart-pounding mystery about Bigfoot sightings in the Pacific Northwest, this
book gave me delicious thrills I still remember years later.
Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare – (Play) Again,
I’ve read my fair share of plays, but they aren’t my go-tos or my favorite
reads. However, I do have a favorite play now, having read it earlier this year. Twelfth Night seems to be one
of Shakespeare’s more accessible works. The plot is easy to follow, the humor
is easier to grasp (and not bawdy like some of his other plays), the
characters are very memorable and enjoyable, and the dialogue is by turns
poetically beautiful and sharply clever. Plus, it’s a comedy, so no tragically pointless
deaths here.
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy – (Russian literature)
This one comes with a caveat because it’s part of a category that I hope to
read much more of. Anna Karenina was my first work of Russian
literature, and I’m hooked. It wasn’t what I expected. Some of us might worry when we hear that it’s about
an adulterous woman, but there are no scenes that need skipping. It’s about far
more than the eponymous character and her bad choices. With a host of superbly drawn characters and
multiple plots, not to mention beautiful and incisive writing (if you read the
right translation; I recommend the one by Pevear and Volokhonsky), this novel plumbs the depths of the human experience, to
use a fitting cliché. It’s from a moral and Christian worldview and will leave
you pondering long after you close the book.
Jane Austen’s Letters; edited by Deirdre Le Faye –
(Letters) I’m usually too busy reading the books by authors I love instead of
their collected letters, but in my quest to read everything that Jane Austen
wrote that’s still extant, I couldn’t pass up this book. It’s an interesting
insight into her life and family, her views and personality, with tidbits of
daily life and neat little details about what she thought of her stories.
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