This is a guest post that reviewer and book blogger Karen Laird asked me to write for ShadetreeBlogging. It’s part of her Box of Book series. Thanks for including me, Karen!
http://shadetreeblogging.blogspot.com/2015/01/box-of-books-series.html
One box? One? Oh, the agony! There’s no weight limit for this Box of Books, right? Because while compiling the list I realize my selections are weighty tomes!
My choices clearly reflect my love of learning, metaphysics, art, history, the classics, and the exotic. Hope this Box is sturdy!
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin: Darcy and Elizabeth…their story never gets old! “I’m all astonishment!”
- The Memoirs of Cleopatra by Margaret George: A delicious saga of love, lust, power, and ancient Egypt.
- Vanity Fairby William Makepeace Thackeray: Fun-fun-fun! A Regency era Desperate Housewives. And good for a cry too.
- Bible: King James Version
- The Zohar: This is the guide to ancient Jewish mysticism, aka Kabbalah.
- The Story of Art by E.H. Gombrich: Better than visiting an Art Museum.
- The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon: History! Yummy!
- The Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T.E. Lawrence: A sweeping romantic war story about Lawrence of Arabia.
- The Complete works of Shakespeare: Well, I do have a degree in English literature so not including The Bard is a literary sin!
10: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley: One of my faves. Gothic creepy at it’s finest.
11: The Clothing of the Renaissance World by Ann Rosalind Jones and Margaret F. Rosenthal: Both the detailed descriptions and exceptional woodcut prints in this 500-page text appeal to my fashionista side. Folks knew how to dress back then! (Well, at least the nobility.)
12. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie: I recommend this book to my students. I tell them to memorize it if they want to rule the world. Mwahaha
13. Gardners’ Art Through the Ages by Richard G. Tansey and Fred S. Kleiner: With extensive commentary and beautiful photos it’s a visual and educational feast.
14 & 15: The Far Pavilions volumes 1 & 2 by M.M. Kaye: A tale of love, war, maharajas, the Himalayas, and India.
Now, all I need is Box of TIME to read and reread all these treasured volumes!
