Favorite Books of All Time
In an effort to further our knowledge and keep o learning new things, my friend Matt Knouff and I have had a challenge recently where we choose a book, a movie and an album for the other person, which they haven’t heard before. We listen, read and watch, and then at the end of the month we talk about them, whether we liked or disliked them, and why. We are 6 months into this challenge so far, and it has been absolutely brilliant. One of the things I have enjoyed most about it was that it forces you to think of what are your favorite books, movies and music, and why. With this in mind, I wanted to share my top books of all time, and I suggest that if you haven’t already, that you give them a read.
Frankenstein
It still blows my mind that Mary Shelley was just 18 years old when she wrote this cautionary tale of the power of men, and its limits. The book actually started out as part of a ghost writing competition which she and her contemporaries held, whilst on holiday in Switzerland. So good was Shelley’s offering that her husband and fellow worker Percy Byshe Shelley, employed her to continue the story and write a book. If you aren’t aware, the story follows Dr. Frankenstein as he seeks to create life, before rejecting the beast which he creates. The story is filled with amazing imagery, lessons for man and some truly horrific turns of events. A great book that you’ll never forget.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Hunter S. Thompson as an author who was one of a kind, the pioneer of Gonzo journalism whereby the author would be the centerpiece of the story and one of his generation’s greatest minds. With Fear and Loathing, Hunter and his sidekick attorney head to Las Vegas on a trip to find the heart of the American Dream. During their mad few weeks they manage to consume more drugs than the rest of the US, wreck hotels, sink into depression, attend an anti-drugs conference and through of all this, try to write an article about a motorbike race. If anyone else wrote this book, you would think it was fiction, with Hunter however, there is no guarantee of that.
Translations
Irish playwright Brian Friel wrote this masterpiece about the colonization of Ireland which raised questions about the importance of language, and how it becomes the centerpiece of culture. Set in a small Irish town, the English arrive on a map-making mission which in actual fact is about renaming the places, and thus taking over the culture. The book is smart in its use of dead languages such as Latin and Greek, spoken by the elders, and the main love affair in the book, between an Englishman and an Irish girl, is one of the best examples of the effects of colonialism on individuals and emotions.
What are your favorite ever books? Let us know in the comments below, we’d love to hear from you.
Author: James Daniel
