On Favourite Books

Feeling decadent whilst listening to Portishead last night, I decided to compose a list of my favourite five books. This took alot longer than I expected. Let me begin by telling you about my bookcase. It arrived raw pine, in a kit, from my mother three years ago. I finished, varnished and assembled it myself, and I am so proud that what was once a pile of bare wood is now a huge, elegant showpiece in my lounge room.  Anyway, I spent about 2 hours last night in front of it, taking books down and returning them, muttering "Yes...no...how can I leave this out...I don't like this that much..." etc.

After all that, I finally arrived at the list, in alphabetical order:

Paula 

Isabel Allende (non fiction)
I adore Allende's evocative, dramatic prose dancing on the edige of magical realism, and never more so here, even as she faces the most unmagical of situations - her daughter's deathbed. Allende spins beauty from ashes as she entwines memoir with grief. The book's conclusion is my favourite ending of any book.

Pride and Prejudice 

Jane Austen (fiction)
What could I say about this book that hasn't been said already? It sparkles.

Wild Swans

Jung Chang (non fiction)
A staggering epic of a family and a nation's history, by far the best of all the Chinese personal histories. By turns heart-breaking, moving, funny, thought provoking, it practically reads itself.

First Abolish the Customer : 202 Arguments Against Economic Rationalism 

 Bob Ellis (non fiction)

Far from a dense tome of poltical theory, this is Intensley readavble, almost breezy in its way; yet the understandable analogies displaying the misery, loss of human potential that is the inevitable result of the economic anorexia of economic rationalism aka neo-liberalism had a massive impact on my political awareness and view of the world when I first read this age 19, and still do. 

The Virgin Suicides

Jeffrey Eugenedies (fiction)
Please don't let the mediocre movie put you off this luminous, enigmatic story. The tale of the five sisters and the boys who are obsessed with them will haunt you long after you've turned the final page.

Fever Pitch 

Nick Hornby (non fiction)
This is hilarious - Hornby is one of my all time favourite writers. It's also extremely well written, contains lots of insightful social commentary, and is well worth reading even if you hate soccer (or, if like me, you hate Arsenal - beat your asses at the FA Cup, ha ha!).

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