Books of the Week: Top 15 Banned Literary Classics

I remember the day I first picked up a copy of Huckleberry Finn. I was in the eighth grade, and I remember how fascinated I was that such a famous literary classic was banned. If I am correct, it is still banned today, though for much different reasons than when it was first published. I've read a handful of the books on the banned list, and I've concluded that the term 'banned' when applied to books really means 'generally not approved', but these are wonderful books nonetheless. And really, who ever has been able to resist something that's off-limits?

1. Ulysses by James Royce

2. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

3. Candide by Voltaire

4. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

5. Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell

6. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

7. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck - I realize that I have done this book before, but I did not write the list of top 15 banned books. Besides, it's worth a second read.

8. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

9. Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

10. The Lord of the Flies by William Golding

11. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

12. Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck - a note, this story was drafted at the same time as Of Mice and Men

13. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

14. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

15. The Crucible by Arthur Miller

And just in case your wondering which of these I've read: 2, 7, 10, 13, 15

Books of the Week: Steampunk!

Cover of The Court of the Air

Okay, I got a little bored and began browsing through some of my favorite steampunk websites and forums until I was able to assemble a modest list of highly recommended novels. I have peeked at a few myself (though unfortunately I do not have the time to commit to reading them right now), and I must say I can't wait to read more!

The Difference Engine – by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling

Airborne – by Kenneth Oppel

The Court of the Air – by Stephen Hunt

Annubis Gate – by Tim Powers

Dr. Eckner’s Dream Machine – by Douglas Botting

Nomads of the Time Stream – by Michael Moorcock

Perdido Street Station – by China Miéville

For some more ideas on Steampunk fiction and authors Extraordinary Engines is a book filled with those.

Unfortunately, none of my usual sources seem to have these books as a free download, so you're on your own if you wish to find a copy to read. For a preview of the first few pages though, you can try Amazon.

Camping; Books of the Week

I've just gotten back from the craziest school function ever. 3 days, 2 nights of camping, hiking, and biking. 16 kids, 2 chaperones. Fun time, and a disaster.

Our first day started at 10 AM at the campground parking lot. We all unpacked and set up, and three hours later, after some bike repairs, we went on our first ride. The trip to the trail was five miles alone. Once we were on the trail one boy flipped over his handle bars, and the group was separated. One boy was left behind from his group and lost in the woods for a few hours, through two large thunderstorms. During said storms I was with the three other girls and one of the chaperones, dogding hail stones after clambering out of trees.

Yeah, it was pretty insane. And that's only the short version of the story. By the morning 3 campers had already gone home, surprisingly the one that was lost in the woods decided to stay. Good thing he did, we ended up having an awesome time the next day. We slept in, went for a hike. It was nice.

And at night we built a huge fire. Teen guys screwing around. We found some racoons raiding our camp, so the guys took a huge branch that had been the fire poker, set the end on fire and tried lure the racoons into the camp with hot dogs, and chase after them with the branch. It was crazy, and hilarious.

Oh well, enough of that. Because it started early Monday morning I was unable to post the books of the week, so here they are:

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien (it had to happen eventually, and you knew it)

A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett (link)

Loss of Breath by Edgar Allen Poe (short story)

Gulliver's Travels by Jonathon Swift (link)

The Inferno by Dante Alighieri (this is the first part of Divine Comedy)

Well, that's it for now. Read and enjoy!

Books of the Week: 6/1/2009

I have assembled here a short list of books that I recommend or have been recommended to me. I have added links to where you may read them for free, if I have found such places. Hope you enjoy them! (These are all young adult through college reading level)

-Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (link)

-Atherton: House of Power by Patrick Carmen

-Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne (link)

-Of Mice and Men by Jonathon Steinbeck

-The Angel of the Odd--An Extravaganza by Edgar Allen Poe (link)

-The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (link)

-Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (link)