Hi, my name is Dana, and I’m an addict. I seem to have this crazy addiction to (*gasp*) books! Fortunately, I’m not alone in my suffering. David shares the same addiction, which qualifies both of us as enablers. As a result, our house is quickly turning into the Stelsel Library. We even have our own electronic card catalog; ridiculous, I know, but increasingly necessary. I think we’ve logged more than 400 books housed in our bookcase right now, with more to come!I know we’re not alone in our passion for reading, so I want to highlight some of our favorites. Now, keep in mind that I only read fiction (with the exception of the rare celebrity’s autobiography) AND I have strange taste in books that runs the gamut of genres. So consider yourself warned.
If you’re interested in history, sociology/culture, or business, you’ll need to talk to David. He has quite the collection of bestsellers in these areas. Scroll down to see David’s picks.
Dana’s Picks
King of Horror. If you know me at all, you know I have a wicked fascination with Stephen King. I love (almost) everything he writes. My absolute favorite is The Shining, but It, Pet Sematary, and the 7-book Dark Tower series are top picks as well. He’s not gruesome, but he is disturbing in a psychological “oh-my-gosh-where-does-he-come-up-with-this” kind of way.
Heartfelt Stories. Jodi Picoult is another all-time favorite. She writes uncomfortable character dilemmas with a personal touch. When you read a Jodi book, you walk in her characters’ shoes, and that’s an amazing feat for an author. She makes you think, “What would I do in this situation?” My favorites are My Sister’s Keeper, The Pact, and Perfect Match, although I like them all.
For the Funny Bone. If you’ve never laughed out loud while reading a book, you've never met Stephanie Plum. Janet Evanovich writes the Stephanie Plum series, which follows the life of a New Jersey twentysomething who takes up bounty hunting as a career. Her family (including gun-toting grandma), friends (including a ghetto fabulous ex-prostitute), and her AARP card-carrying neighbors get involved as Stephanie tries to solve local mysteries, and hilarity ensues. I laugh out loud at every book, sometimes to the point of snorts, tears, and aches in my side. You don’t want to miss these!
Chick Lit. I don’t read a lot of chick lit (i.e., books that cater to the female variety, like the literature version of chick flicks), but there are a few series that I really enjoy. Emily Giffin is particularly good at telling stories of love, heartache, and everything in between. Her stories have a natural flow with characters that are relatable. Check out Something Borrowed, Something Blue, Baby Proof, and Love the One You’re With. Another favorite is Sophie Kinsella’s Shopaholic series. Kinsella follows the oftentimes disastrous foibles of a young Brit with an addiction to shopping. These are fast, lighthearted reads. My mom hates them, but I think they’re good for a laugh or two, if you don’t mind the superficial and ditzy nature of the main character. Kinsella’s Undomestic Goddess is worth reading as well; probably better than her Shopaholic books.
Bloodsucker Tales. I have a new interest in vampire novels. Not sure where it comes from, but I can’t stop. My favorite series: Laurel K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake series and Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse series. Both are intriguing, sexy tales of heroines living in a world where supernatural beings live alongside humans. These are not your Twilight-saga variety; not suitable for younguns.
Hi, my name is David and I have a problem. Not only am I addicted to reading, I also like to buy books that I will read at some undetermined point in the future. I know, I know not that big of an issue. That is unless you buy books faster than you can read them. In a typical year I tend to read around 20 books, but buy/receive close to 50. My collection consists mostly of non-fiction. In the end my portion of the bookcase has over 300 books in all but only half have been processed by my mind. But enough about what I have not read; let me introduce you to some of the best that I have read.
David’s Picks
Shortish Classics. While I did my share of “classics” reading in school I have found that the majority of my favorite “classics” come from the 20th century and tend to be on the shorter side. They also tend to make a statement about the plight of the individual. My favorite book of all time is Catcher in the Rye, about an individual trying to find his place in a world he has distaste for. Others that I thoroughly enjoyed include A Clockwork Orange (the individual’s place in the social order), Animal Farm (individuals and power), 1984 (the loss of identity), and The Scarlet Letter (the human condition).
Pop-Anthropology and Pop-Sociology. I like to explore why we are the way we are as humans. I have found two methods of tackling this: reading popular anthropology and sociology works. This has included books by anthropologist Jared Diamond (Guns, Germs and Steel, The Third Chimpanzee, and Collapse) as well as diatribes on modern pop culture from Chuck Klosterman (Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs), Morgan Spurlock (Don’t Eat This Book), and Bret Ellis (American Psycho).
Oddball Fiction. I tend to like the absurd and modern fiction that is at once both funny and tragic. This has led me to read and now recommend books by Chuck Palahniuk (Choke), Douglas Adams (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series), Joseph Heller (Catch 22), and Kurt Vonnegut (Slaughterhouse Five and Breakfast of Champions).
Thinking Man’s Fiction. This is a relatively new fascination of mine. While I was thoroughly entertained reading Dan Brown’s popular novels I have found even greater enjoyment from reading books from Umberto Eco (Foucault’s Pendulum) and Ayn Rand (Atlas Shrugged). The former is a historical adventure somewhat like that which takes place in the Da Vinci Code, but Eco forces the reader to use the old noodle a bit more. The latter is role of the individual in society.
Trials and Tribulation of Capitalism. It is no secret that I like both history and business. Combining the two passions has led me to discover great works recounting the roller coaster that is modern capitalism. Whether it is the rise and fall of a company written by Roger Lowenstein (When Genius Failed) or the near collapse of the financial system in 2008 recounted by Andrew Ross Sorkin (Too Big to Fail) I enjoy reading the particulars about the gears behind the machine. A few other recommendations include Kenneth Rogoff (This Time is Different), Michael Lewis (Liar’s Poker), and Mohamed El-Erian (When Markets Collide).
If you’re still reading this, well, we thank you for your commitment to our ramblings. Happy reading! :)
