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Books for Valentines Day


I stumbled upon Time Magazine's "Top 10 Romantic Books," in which the listed the following novels as the most romantic works:
  1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
  2. Troilus and Criseyde by Chaucer
  3. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
  4. Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
  5. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
  6. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
  7. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
  8. Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
  9. The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje
  10. The Feast of Love by Charles Baxter

I'm familiar with one, three, five and six. And I wouldn't argue against those. I can't ever forget Ms. Bennett or Mr. Darcy, or Gatsby and Daisy, or Catherine and Heathcliff. 

May I propose another to this list that is more well-known than some listed above: Gone With the Wind. I realize those characters were extremely frustrating and debatebly more selfish than romantic, but there's some iconic romantic moments there...

And I have a feeling several Nicholas Sparks could be proposed to this list. Perhaps they didn't make the list because TIME was choosing those that have survived the test of time. Do you think any of Sparks's novels will become classics? If nothing else, I would argue that The Notebook will be a timeless movie.



Do you think this list is accurate, good, or is something missing? 

Oh yes, and Happy Valentines Day! 

-Hillary

ALA Awards


The winners of the children’s book awards were announced by the American Library Association on Monday and as with other years there were big surprises as well as satisfying acknowledgement of many of my favorites.  
image via ala.org

Each year there are a few winners that I strongly disagree with and it reminds me that one of the things I love about books is that there is always something for everyone.  Some of my favorite book group discussions have been when opinions were the most polarized and vehement.  

This year’s Newbery winner, The One and Only Ivan, was not one of my top ten.  Although I have enjoyed the author, Katherine Applegate, the same K.A. Applegate who authored the Animorph series, and have felt for years that she deserved more attention. 

Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage, one of three honor books was one of my favorites of the year.  
This is Not My Hat, illustrated and written by Jon Klassen is the Caldecott winner and I think won on the merits of the preceding book, I Want My Hat Back.

I do enjoy both books but I think the first is the strongest.  Five is an unusually large number of Caldecott Honor Books but I found Extra Yarn, written by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Jon Klassen to be charming. Creepy Carrots, illustrated by Peter Brown, written by Aaron Reynolds has been a huge hit with children.  

Sleep Like a Tiger, illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski, written by Mary Logue, another Caldecott Honor Book is a gentle, simile filled bedtime book that elicits the warm, snuggly feelings perfect for falling into sweet dreams.

I won’t try to list all the award winners but if you are interested take time to log onto the ALA website and check them out:



What are your favorites?

-Anita