Can you give a brief review of a favorite, but perhaps little known, book you frequently reread?
I just started rereading (again) New York Times best seller "The Persian Boy" on Kindle. This is a first person narrative by the young Persian boy, Bagoas, who was kidnapped, castrated, and sold to King Darius of Persia as a eunuch lover, then after Alexander the Great conquered the Persians, Bagoas was offered to him, and became Alexander's (besotted) lover.
Amazing writing by Mary Renault, as usual, and historical accuracy
Squirrel seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris. I don't know how well known or not known it is, but I find it hilarious. A collection of short stories about human behavior portrayed through animals.
On the inside flap of the book cover:
If animals were more like us,
if mice kept pets and toads could cuss,
if dogs had wives and chipmunks dated,
sheep sat still and meditated,
then in the forest, field, and dairy
you might find this bestiary,
read by storks, by rats and kitties,
skimmed by cows with milk-stained titties,
"I found the book to be most droll,"
might quip the bear, the owl, the mole.
Others, though, would be more coarse.
"Bull," could say the pig and horse.
As to the scribe, they'd quote the hen:
"Trust me, he's no La Fontaine."
Flashman! Any of those books are wildly funny
Two Years Before The Mast: Richard Henry Dana.
TYBTM is an account of Dana's time as a common sailor "before the mast," living and working on a hide ship plying the coastal waters of California in the 1830's collecting cowhides for the shoe business in Boston. Dana chronicles the hardships of the life of sailors of the era, and the oppressive conditions under which they sailed. He later went on to finish law school, and was instrumental in crafting legislation which led to the betterment of maritime life on ships where captains were considered gods. A true American hero, was Dana. This is probably the most well written book I have ever read, and I reread it every few years.
I think I read that one, but maybe not, since I don't remember details from it.
@birdingnut what I like about it is that it's true, and Dana's story is that of what, to me, the United States should be about, in the story of one man's life. He started out at something of a disadvantage and went on to do noble and compassionate things to better the life of a downtrodden class of people. Truly a hero in my book.
@Condor5 I've read similar books, such Herman Melville's Billy Bud, so wasn't sure, but I just now read a summary of Two Years Before The Mast, and now I remember it. I read them back in my late teens.
What a wonderful book. I haven't re-read it but might have to now that it's in my head. I lived near Dana Point in CA for a few years and the book meant a lot to me after my CA experience. It Californians like to have laborious tasks done for them.
Not re-read yet, but read: the book thief by Markus Zusak. & don't know that it's little known, having been made into a movie already, as I just discovered.
it is a historical novel, following the experiences of a young girl through the nazi horrors of germany.
the narrator of the story is death, in a detached, yet tender way.
the jungle books rudyard kipling followed by kim . india has not changed much
I read Kim when I was eight, in Haiti, and LOVED it. I reread it many times, but an adult, I began to feel uneasy about the white privilege and colonialism in Kipling's works.
I used to think I was the only person who had read The Persian Boy. And re-read it. Glad to hear that you have enjoyed that wonderful book as well. I used to re-read the Hobbit and the Lord of the Ring series annually, but it has been a few years since that has happened. I am terribly fond of several of books by Iain M. Banks, particularly the Culture series. The final book in that series is The Hydrogen Sonata. (Sadly, he died a few years ago...) Barry Hughart's Bridge of Birds comes out for a re-read every once in while. I tend to re-read books that are complex and dense because I can usually get something new out of it. Some books, like Bridge of Birds, simply make me happy.
One of my favorite books is from C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia: The Horse and His Boy.
First of all, it played with my boyhood dreams. Shasta, the main character has a horrible father, runs away, discovers that he was adopted, and his real father was a king. In the process, he meets Aslan, one of the most interesting characters I've ever read.
To this day there are parts of that book that stick out to me. For example, Shasta asks Aslan why something happened to a friend of his but not to him. Aslan informs Shasta that what happened is her story, not his. That has stuck with me to this day.
It's one of those stories that I used to escape my reality, and now that I'm an adult, it takes me back to the place I used to run to.
I love that book also! Our family wore out several sets of Chronicles of Narnia book series, after wearing out the library copies. The kids were taking their turns reading chapters aloud from four and five years old. Now, however, my favorite C.S. Lewis book is Till We Have Faces.
I still like his work, even though I don't agree with him anymore. He seemed like a kind man, and committed to helping his readers become better people.
@Benthoven Same here, which is why I switched my C.S. Lewis favorite book to Till We Have Faces, since it not only makes no reference to Christianity, but implies that we are the actual "gods" running our lives. I recently reread it and it gave me chills.
I re-read very few books, but I recently re-read Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series for the first time. They're about a Chicago-based PI named Harry Dresden who is also the only wizard in the phone book. They're urban fantasy laced with lots of humor, all-around good yarns.
My "comfort food" books are Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson and Partners in Necessity by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller. Snow Crash is near-future science fiction, published back in the early '90s with many predictions recognizable right now. I find it hilarious. Partners in Necessity is an omnibus version of three novels set in Lee & Miller's Liaden Universe: Conflict of Honors, Agent of Change, and Carpe Diem. They remain my favorite of Lee & Miller's novels, though there are many more in that series now. I'd label them space opera with some romance tossed in as a bonus.
I'm really fond of Charlaine Harris's work. The books true blood was based off of and her other series as well. Her characters are nuanced,dialogue is first rate and her storylines are entertaining. The Dresden files are fun too. I am juvenile,I know.
I have read Herman Hesse's Siddhartha a few times, and will probably do so again someday. It's about the life of Siddhartha Goutama, the person who eventually became known as the Buddha. It is at once spiritual and blessedly free of any supernaturalist drivvel. It it the book I give most often as a gift.