Friday Favorites

Happy Friday, friends!  For this week's edition of Friday Favorites, I wanted to share a collection of our most favorite books of all time.  When polling our book club group, I really expected to get at least a few duplicate mentions; but everyone listed different books and there's such a variety here.  I think you'll enjoy this list, and enjoy learning why these books are so loved. 

Here it is:
The Red Tent, by Anita Diamant - Anisa said this is one of her favorites.  Amazon.com Review says this fiction novel "offers an insider's look at the daily life of biblical sorority of mothers and wives, and their only daughter, Dinah."  The Amazon.com Review goes on to say the book shares sensual and emotionally charged stories of the women surrounding Dinah, Jacob's daughter, who only gets a brief mention in the book of Genesis. 


The Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood ,by Rebecca Wells - Another favorite of Anissa's, this is the ultimate girly book that tells the story of a begrudged 40-year-old daughter of a "steamy Thornton City, Louisiana" mother whose voice is the narrator of the book, and who is described as being "part Scarlett, part Katharine Hepburn, and part Tallulah."  I'm embarrassed to say that I have not yet read this book (am I like, the ONLY person left?) but I'm adding it to my to-read list!

In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash, by Jean Shepherd, which Cara would also like to use as her book club selection next time she hosts.  Described as being a "beloved, bestselling classic of humorous and nostalgic Americana," Shepherd writes of a time long ago, when life was slower and simpler, and apparently he has it all wrapped up in a funny little package. 

Breaking Dawn (The Twilight Saga, Book 4), by Stephenie Meyer - Cara loves the entire Twilight Series, but has dubbed this one her favorite.  I don't do vampires, so I have not read this one, nor any of the other in its series, so I'm taking Cara's and the rest of the world's word for it that this is an addictive series once you get started. 

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, by Kate DiCamillo - Stacey said she realizes this is a young adult book, but it's beautifully written and has an amazing story.  Barnes & Noble says the book is a "piercingly beautiful story about love, loss, and the power to love again."  It sounds really sweet, so I'm going to buy it for my own book collection and I'm having my son read it, too.

To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee - Ok, this one is actually a duplicate, because it's one of my favorites, too.  Sunday puts this one at the top of her list.  If you didn't read it in high school, run out and buy it and read it now.  If you did read it in high school, run out and buy it to read again.  That's what I'm doing and I'm so happy about that decision.  I enjoy it much better this time around; now that I'm older I can really appreciate the intricacies of the relationship between father and daughter.  This is Sunday's favorite aspect of the book, too.  This is the 50th anniversary of the book's publication, so HarperCollins has published a special 50th anniversary hardcover edition.

The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak - Sunday loves this book just as much as To Kill a Mockingbird.  In fact, she says, ".... I love the idea that books/reading can change yourworld, even during horrible times in your life.  I love the relationshipsin this book. They really touch me." 

The Hunger Games Trilogy, by Suzanne Collins - Having read this entire series twice during the last 6 months, Sunday loves-loves-loves these young adult books because of the way the author tells of the "future."  She says it's also just a great story of "overcoming who you think you are and who you can be."  My son has read the trilogy and he says the same thing:  you can't put it down once you start. 

The Little House on the Prairie, by Laura Ingalls Wilder - Sunday was hesitant to admit this one, knowing she would get slack.   And while I'm usually on the look-out for any opportunity to give someone slack, especially Sunday, I can't in good conscience rib her about this one.  I haven't read any of the books, but I was religiously perched in front of the television every single afternoon of my 8th grade year, learning about real life right along with Laura.  Ma taught us how to mend our brothers' breetches, Pa taught us how to milk our cows....  many of the things I learned from Little House on the Prairie I use to this very day.  Sunday says she has so many fond memories of her mom reading the books to her and her sister.  Her particular favorite is The Long Hard Winter.  And I can see why:  because living here in Texas, we absolutely MUST know as many survival tips and tricks as possible to surviving long, hard winters.

A Horse and His Boy, by C. S. Lewis - this is one of the seven books in the Chronicles of Narnia series.  Sunday loves the entire series, but this book especially because of her love for horses, and because in this story the horse can not only talk, but ultimately rescues the human.  She says she also loves the angle Lewis used in writing this story: the boy belongs to the horse, not the other way around. 

Some really great ideas to add to your list of to-reads.  Happy Friday!

Enjoy reading!
~Kristan