Friday Five Favorites From Phyllis T.

  

Every Friday we are going to highlight one of our book club members, their 5 favorite books, and why these meant something to them. This will allow you to get to know us, what we've read, and what stuck with us. And if you're lucky, It just may give you some recommendations to look into and check out... 

Our next member's Five Favorites is from Phyllis T.

OK. Here goes - my 5 selections for personally memorable books.

 

Cathedral by Raymond Carver: this collection of short stories is perfection. The story “A Small Good Thing.” might be the best short story ever written,. No wonder so many other writers mention Carver as an inspiration, as well as numerous musicians, including John Prime and Lorde.

 

The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen: Books that skewer middle class values usually get a good reception. And this novel, about an elderly Midwestern couple and their three adult children, definitely resonated with this former Midwesterner. Franzen has a truly wicked sense of humor. The late 1990s prove a worthy target.

 

Absalom, Absalom by William Faulkner: Sometimes, its not just the book but also when and where I read the book that makes the book so memorable. In this case, the place was our summer vacation in Wisconsin when I was too young to have a real summer job but old enough to want to plan my own diversions - mainly, reading this complex, poetic book in a hammock under all those white birch trees. Now, were used to books and screenplays that have multiple points of view, unreliable narrators, and narratives that move back and forth in time. However, Faulknerʼs novel, published in 1936, was notable for not following the rules, perfect for a petulant 14 yr. old.

 

Poisonwood Bible. by Barbara Kingsolver: This saga about a family of 4 daughters who are relocated to The Congo in the late 1950s with their mother and missionary father just sweeps you up into their world. We read this in my decades old book club - with 2 members who are from families of 4 girls, one with a minister father, the other who graduated from Emory medical school, just like one of the characters in the book. The book is memorable on its own, but our discussion was one of our most meaningful.

 

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel: I read this book a few years ago - its an amazingly prescient book for 2020. The book takes part in the Great Lakes region after a pandemic, known as the “Georgia flu” (really) has killed off most of the population. A band of actors called The Symphony travels throughout our post-apocalyptic landscape, performing Shakespeare for remaining settlements. The book is very cinematic and, yes, has been made into a mini-series.

Posted by book lover: Phyllis T.