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Books That
Changed My Life
and More from Classics Corner
by
Richard H. Cracroft
Association
for Mormon Letters Awards Best LDS Books of 2001
Many of you will be interested in the Association for Mormon
Letters Book-of-the-Year Awards for 2001 presented on February 24
at the annual meetings of the AML. These books we judged by professionals
to be the best Church of Jesus Christ books of 2000:
Novel: Margaret
Blair Young and Darius Gray, Standing on the Promises, Vol.
I: One More River to Cross.
Short Fiction:
Darrell Spencer, Caution: Men in Trees
Drama: Margaret
Blair Young, I Am Jane
Essay: President
Gordon B. Hinckley, Standing for Something
Devotional Writing:
Patricia Holland, The Quiet Heart
Literary Criticism:
Benson Parkinson, for his editing of the AML-List (on-line discussion
of Mormon Literature)
Invitation
to Recommend the Greatest Non-English Novels
Featured in the April Classics Corner will be a selected
list of the best twenty novels in non-English languages (Russian,
German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese, etc.) Although
I will present my own gleanings, as I did in earlier columns, I
welcome suggestions (I won't publish comments this time, just authors
and titles) by March 23. Remember, this will be a selection of books
which readers might wish to add to their libraries-and not a comprehensive
list as I have given in British and American fiction; I reserve
the right of editor to pick and choose among an obviously rich slate
of choices! For May-thinking ahead-the Greatest Science-Fiction
of All Time. And for June: The Greatest Mystery Novels.
February
American Novels and Novelists List Re-Visited
Thanks for the many reader responses to my list of 114
American Novels and Novelists. The responses ranged from "thank-you"
to "How could you have left ____off the list?" to Cindy Mizer's
gentle reminder that Margaret Atwood is Canadian (gulp!); to Shawn
Cordner's "I'm sorry: the phrase 'the best American novels' is an
oxymoron. There are none, and looking over your list just reinforces
this. Just my opinion." Ah, Shakespeare's "infinite variety." At
any rate, I've received some compelling suggestions for an addendum
to my list. Here it is:
Baum, Frank
L. The Wizard of Oz, etc.
Clark, Walter
Van Tilberg, The City of Trembling Leaves; The Ox-Bow Incident
DeForest, John
W. Miss Ravenel's Conversion
Hillerman, Tony.
Any of his Navajo and Hopi mysteries.
Herbert, Frank.
Dune
Kingsolver,
Barbara. The Bean Trees; Poisonwood Bible
Glasgow, Ellen.
The Battle Ground
McCaig, Donald.
Jacob's Ladder
Pynchon, Thomas.
The Crying of Lot 49
Thurber, James.
My Life and Hard Times
Wiesel, Elie.
Night
Books
That Changed My Life
by The Astute Readers of Meridian
Henry David
Thoreau wrote in his chapter on "Reading,"in Walden, "How
many a man has dated a new era in his life from the reading of a
book." So it seems to have been with many of you. Here, then, as
promised, a list gleaned from the many responses from you readers
of "Books That Changed My Life," with brief statements about reasons
for your selection. I have made only slight and necessary editings.
I present the first choice of all who responded, and list in a group
the other choices of those who simply could not limit the books
to only one book. I find the list fascinating and provocative; I
agree with the "right-on" nature of most of the choices, and I will
undertake to read the several recommendations which I have not yet
read. Inevitably, there is some repetition. Here is the list, alphabetically,
in instances of several submissions, I have listed the favorite
novel first. :
Added Upon,
Nephi Anderson, "brought comfort to me and reinforced the Plan of
Salvation during a difficult time in my life. I also chose Angel
Children: Those Who Die Before Accountability, Mary V. Hill,
for that same reason. One of my all-time favorites is The Prisoner
of Zenda, Sir Anthony Hope, for its message of putting duty
before self." (Shanna Miller)
The Agony
and the Ecstasy: A Biographical Novel of Michelangelo.
Irving Stone (J. Weinert)
Anthem.
Ayn Rand; The Far Pavilions. M.M. Kaye. (Susan
Cropper)
Atlas Shrugged,
Ayn Rand. "This novel, grounded in a strong defense of selfishness,
nevertheless clearly shows the folly of the Egalitarian, Do-Gooder
approach to Economics, Government, etc. One thing about Rand-they
are no grey areas-those with White Hates and Black Hats are readily
identified." (Dale H. Johnson)
The Chronicles
of Narnia, C.S. Lewis; The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R.
Tolkien; A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Betty Smith; To
Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee; A Wrinkle in Time, Madeline
L'Engle; The Giver. Lois Lowry'; The Chrysalids, John
Wyndham:"What these books all have in common, I think, is ordinary
characters who struggle with extraordinary challenges, and despite
their fears, discouragement, temptations, obstacles, choose the
right, even when they don't kn ow for sure what that is, as in the
case of The Giver." (Jeff and Susan Horner)
The City
of Trembling Leaves, Walter Van Tilberg Clark: "An evocation
of time and place that touched me deeply and personally." (Steve
Merchant)
Cold Sassy
Tree. Olive Ann Burns (Nan L. H [no further i.d..)
Cry the
Beloved Country, Alan Paton: "There is a woman in the story
who, when the o9ld priest thanks her for helping him, responds,
'For what are we born?' The thought has stayed with me for about
30 years." (Ellen Benac Sorenson)
The Dollmaker,
Harriet Arnow, and all of the following are "Must Reads": The
Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien; The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara
Kingsolver; Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, Mildred Taylor;
1984, George Orwell; Shantyboat, Harlan Hubbard; Gift
of the Good Land, Wendell Berry: "Opened my eyes to the Natural
World around me and how Man affects the environment and culture";
Mahatma Ghandi, Fisher: "It re-awakened my spiritual self
and sent me on the journey that eventually led to the Mormons."(Lady
Mogenhan)
Fine Old
High Priests. Donald Smurthwaite: "heart-warming and seems
to hit the core of what we experience in the mortal journey"; Pride
and Prejudice, Jane Austen: "This is my yearly re-read to jumpstart
my heart"; "The Chosen, Chaim Potok: "The challenges and
courage of youth are motivating"; A Town Like Alice, Nevil
Shute: "The courage of one is magnificent"; Glimpses: Biography
of Marjorie Hinckley""A definite re-read, as it reminds me
that being a human and a woman can be a wonderful experience." (Su
Jones)
Gift from
the Sea, Anne Morrow Lindbergh. "When I feel overwhelmed as
a mother of seven [this book] calms me and reminds me of the simple
life we should all try to obtain." (Susan C. Brown)
The Giver,
Lois Lowry. "This book is very touching and makes me feel very thankful
for my life and the freedom I have." (Robin Openshaw)
Gone With
the Wind, Margaret Mitchell: "Although Scarlett O'Hara is the
most colorful of all the characters, I found Melanie to be the true
heroine and the one worthy of emulations."(Edwina Wright)
How Green
Was My Valley, Richard Llewelyn: "This book is so beautiful
in language, characterization, insights into women, and an era long
since gone that it should never be left off any list of novels to
read. I was sad to have finished it and would that I could have
whisked myself back in time and into that novel. I would have."
(Pam Roder)
The Hiding
Place. Corrie ten Boom. "This reaffirmed to me the necessity
of enduring our trials in faith." (Karen Chapman)
I Dare You,
William Danforth: From the book: "Our most valuable possessions
are those which can be shared without lessening; those which when
shared multiply. Our least valuable possessions are those which
when divided are diminished." Coene Bagley
Les Miserables,
Victor Hugo. "Jean Valjean's 'mighty change' in a black and white
world inspires me to do the same every day." Little Princess,
A. Frances Hodgson Burnett (also wrote The Secret Garden).
"...shows the power of choice in our lives, and that we CAN live
happily in whatever our circumstances, if we choose to do so!" (Kristen
H. Openshaw)
Les Miserables,
Victor Hugo. "I feel a longing for each character, as the book portrays
spiritual teachings of unconditional love, good vs. evil, and mercy's
effect on justice." (Pamela Moore)
The Lord
of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien. "Because of Tolkien,
my whole perception of nature changed
and came alive: trees had eyes, mountains had brooding thought;
and because the whole story is a metaphor of life, all that I have
read since 'Rings' with added meaning and symbolism." She also lists
C.S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia; Franz Kafka, "Metamorphosis,"and
"The Castle"; Antoine de Saint-Exupery, The Little Prince;
George Ritchie, Return from Tomorrow; Lucy Maud Montgomery,
Ann of Green Gables; the essays of Ralph Waldo Emerson;
Thornton Wilder's Our Town and The Skin of Our Teeth;
the writings of Hugh Nibley, and the poetry of Blake, the Brownings,
Tennyson, Whitman and e.e. cummings.(Carma M. Brown).
Lest Innocent
Blood Be Shed: The Story of the Village of Le Chambon and How Goodness
Happened There, Philip P. Hallie. "An account of a village
in Nazi-occupied France that opened my eyes to a new dimension of
peaceful, forceful, courage that is made possible through faith
in and commitment to God." Flight of the Dove, the Story of
Jeannette Rankin, Kevin S. Giles. "The story of Rankin's life
and her courage to stand for what she believed in, in spite of tremendous
social pressure and the mistakes she made, shines through the author's
imperfections. A remarkable and little-known story." (Mary Bliss)
Pride and
Prejudice, Jane Austen: "My all-time favorite book. I read
it about once a year. Her characters get better the more I come
to know them." (Heidi Swinton)
Principle-Centered
Leadership, Stephen Covey. "It changed forever the way I perceive
the actions of others, the motivation behind those actions, and
the way I react to those action, by increasing my understanding
and empathy for others." (Barbara Davis)
"Revelation,"
Flannery O'Connor, "humbles me. I love the part where she says that
even their virtues were being burned away'"; "The Beast in the Jungle,"
Henry James, "taught me to live now
and not wait for some illusion of the future"; Pickwick Papers,
Charles Dickens, "always cheers me and renews my faith in humankind.
I read this every year." (Kathy Farrier)
Why the
Church is as True as the Gospel, Eugene England. "For helping
me understand why I go to church with (and am so fond of) all of
these weirdos." (Jerry Engstrom)
The Wizard
of Oz, Frank L. Baum. "As a youth, I read every book in our
little Port Byron Illinois Carnegie Library, and each summer for
five years I would re-read every one of Baum's Oz series.
They opened my mind to fantasy and a world outside my little town."
(Andre Mostert)
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