“A good book should leave you slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading it.” William Styron
It might sound elementary-school-teacher-ish, but here it is: I believe in the power of books. I always have in a way; as a child I always had my nose stuck in one, sucked in not only by the story but by the language and the way the words flowed together on the page. From this love of reading came a desire to create my own stories. In fact, I can distinctly remember turning in a short story to my english teacher in the seventh grade several weeks late due purely to the fact that I was actually writing a full length epic novel instead of the assigned ten-to-fifteen pages. As an adult, I think we can all admit to not finding enough time to get through a whole book. It was becoming this way for me at least, until fall 2007 when Dave and I moved to Birmingham UK with no money, no job, no friends, and a lot of time. One of the best things we did in those few months when money/work was scant was signing up for a library card, and it opened up our worlds. Call me a geek if you want, but there you have it. I love love love libraries!
In my life at least, books have had the power to inspire me, to grow me, to teach me, to change my attitude, to give me another perspective, to take me on an adventure…basically, to add something of value to my life. For 2010 I have made it my goal to read more books. I didn’t keep track of how much I read in 2009, but I would like to be able to get through twenty novels this year. One of the big changes I want to make for 2010 is to read more business/creative/instructional books, to help grow me in my business savvy and inspire my creativity.
I wanted to share my top reads of 2009 with you in the hopes that through these books that have inspired me, enriched me, entertained me, and taught me, that you too can experience these things because of them.
Saturday by Ian McEwan (2005)
I bought this book for $3 at a used book sale only because I loved McEwan’s Atonement (also recently made into a major motion picture in 2007, which was equally good). What I love about McEwan is that he writes about typical things. There is nothing particularly exotic or adventurous about his stories; they are stories that could happen to any one of us. But he somehow manages to weave something extraordinary into them. He makes me truly care for the characters, because I think he so accurately gives his characters such relate-able (made up word? I think so.) characteristics. Saturday is the story of one ordinary Saturday in London, and follows the life of a highly accomplished neurosurgeon and his family as they go about what should be, and in many way is, a very average day in a post-911 world. A day that could be anybody’s day. But events conspire to create a dramatic and thought provoking look at where the world around us is going and brings home the point that life can change in a mere instant.
Favourite quote: “How luxurious, to work it all out at home in the kitchen, the geopolitical moves and military strategy, and not be held to account, by voters, newspapers, friends, history. When there are no consequences, being wrong is simply an interesting diversion.”
For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway (1940)
This book may be one of my favourite books of all time. It’s that good. Oh, just the way it’s written is like magic, it just pulls you in. I was so intensely engrossed in the lives of these few people hiding out in the hills of Spain during the civil war (of which I knew next to nothing about prior to reading this book) that I actually at times felt like I was there, hearing what they were hearing, feeling what they were feeling. Like I was another person in that dark cave watching tensely while Robert Jordan told Pablo how it was going to be around the smoky fire. Someone said after reading this book after it was first published “if the function of a writer is to reveal reality, no one ever so completely performed it.” It’s so true about For Whom the Bell Tolls. This story is the complete story, dealing so eloquently and nobly about things so brutal as war and death, a definite recommendation for anyone and everyone.
Favourite quote: “Dying was nothing and he had no picture of it nor fear of it in his mind. But living was a field of grain blowing in the wind on the side of a hill. Living was a hawk in the sky. Living was an earthen jar of water in the dust of the threshing with the grain flailed out and the chaff blowing. Living was a horse between your legs and a carbine under one leg and a hill and a valley and a stream with trees along it and the far side of the valley and the hills beyond.”
Waiting for the Barbarians by J.M. Coetzee (1980)
Another winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, this is a shorter read and just drew me in so much that I had a hard time putting it down. A truly great allegory if ever there was one, Coetzee managed to write an entire novel void of names: the story is told by the elderly “Magistrate” of a small frontier settlement on the edges of the “Empire”, and the style just lets your imagination run free in terms of where the story is actually taking place and how many situations it does/did/could apply to. This is a story centered around a few very basic human instincts, instincts that are often so raw that many of us never truly think of them and explore them in the way Coetzee forces us to: things like fear, sympathy, control, and decency. So poetically written and such an original way of telling a story, this is one of the most beautiful books I’ve read.
Favourite quote: “In the shelter of our homes, with the windows bolted and bolsters pushed against the doors, with fine grey dust already sifting through roof and ceiling to settle on every uncovered surface, film the drinking water, grate on our teeth, we sit thinking of our fellow-creatures out in the open who at times like this have no recourse but to turn their backs to the wind and endure.”
My So-Called Freelance Life by Michelle Goodman
This is a great little “how-to”, full of ideas and things to consider for anyone looking to make the leap into the freelance world. With lots of tips, perspectives, insider info and wisdom, this is a book I wished I had read a few years ago when I was first starting my business, when I was at a loss for where to go next. The most useful sections for me were the tips she gives on how to organize your time and approach as someone who is self-employed. The only downside is that the information found in this book is all American – while most things still apply to us Canadians, things like taxes and some websites listed are just not applicable. But it’s still a great overall read.
A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words by Phillip Sexton and Tricia Bateman
What a cool idea for a book! I picked this one up while browsing at Chapters and after flipping through it, I had to buy it. This book is for aspiring writers, designed to kick your butt into gear and just get writing! Filled with tons of photos, this book uses images as prompts for writing. Attached to each image is an exercise focused on one of the key elements to writing a story, such as beginnings, dialogue and character development. You look at the photo, and from the photo you write something. The take-away message is that the world around us is an endless source of prompts for great writing. Every room you walk in, conversation you overhear, news piece you see, they can all become the wellspring for a story. Ideas are abundant and are right there in front of you. I love that!
An honourable mention must go out to Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers. I thought it had some great ideas and anecdotes, but to be honest, was a little disappointed by the quality of the writing. I think the biggest thing I took away from this read was the idea of the 10,000 hour rule, which states that no one becomes successful at something without having achieved 10,000 hours of practice at their skill. This inspired me to shoot WAY more :)
Happy reading everyone :)
