Favourites

Since there hasn't been much happening in this particular group, I thought I'd start a thread and see what happens.

So, I want to know some of the nerdfighters' favourite books. I won't ask for your absolute favourites because I know how difficult it can be to pick just one, but tell me about one or two books you really enjoy. What are they about? Why do you like them?

I'll go ahead and start with The Girl In The Box by Ouida Sebestyen. It's about a girl who's kidnapped by someone and locked in what appears to be a cellar with nothing but some old baked goods, a bucket of water, a typewriter, and a ream of paper. The entire book is what she types out to keep from going crazy in the dark room.

I really like it because I honestly haven't seen anything else like it. I also like that the reader knows only as much as the girl does. It's extremely suspenseful and definitely makes you think.

So, how about you guys?

This group has been pretty quiet. I guess maybe all the nerdfighters are busy on the ning. I really enjoyed The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. It's a strange combination of religion and science fiction, two sizable interests of mine. It tells the story of a Jesuit mission to Alpha Centauri. The mission arises because a fellow recognizes a transmission from there as being music - a sure sign of intelligence. He happens to be good friends with a Jesuit priest (the main character: Emilio Sanchez) and a group of other folks who all end up going on the mission because they all have good skills for such a journey.

You know from the beginning that the mission ends tragically because the story is told in two parts. One story line starts at the point at which the sole survivor is being questioned by his superiors about what happened. The other story line follows Emilio and some of the other characters through a variety of experiences that lead up to the mission and then what happens on it. The narrative keeps bouncing back and forth between the two timelines which makes it a bit confusing on the first read-through. However, it also makes it very compelling: what went wrong on this trip and how did it happen?

A major theme involves Emilio's sense that God had a role in setting up this voyage and when it all goes wrong, his faith is shaken badly. Good stuff - very intriguing and thought-provoking!

I have a blog post on the Ning about "eye-opening books" where there are quite a few listed - lots of people played on that one! I started listing and linking all the books but got a bit overwhelmed - I should finish that project one day!

Eye-Opening Books

I so have quit a few favorites but if I had to pick something. The Sunflower is one that I had to read for class and was absolutely touched. It puts life in perspective when you consider what simon wiesenthal had to go through during WWII and he survived to be an old man. Its a short book but very meaningful.

Although if you don't want to cry through the whole book then The Invention of Everything Else by samantha hunt is great. It has 2 stories in it, one starts with the great Nikola Tesla and the other about Louisa, then the two come together. Its starts out slow with a lot of information about Tesla(i love tesla so i didnt care) but it gets better and now matter what you have to find out how it ends.