It’s Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by the folks at the Broke and the Bookish. This week: Top Ten Books That Make You Think (About The World, People, Life, etc.). A good topic for a day when I think most of us do some thinking and reflection about the world, people, and life.
1-2. This often comes up on my list, but The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood. I follow Atwood on Twitter and in the last week or two, she retweeted someone’s remark about “living in the Handmaid’s Tale” seeing the debates about and challenges to women’s reproductive rights in the news lately. HT makes you think anyway, but it’s definitely been more on my mind. I’ve also been thinking about The Blind Assassin, but more because I can’t seem to remember the plot…I know the outline, but not the twists and turns…driving me crazy!
3. Prep, by Curtis Sittenfeld. I just read this a few weeks ago and it definitely made me reflect on my teenage years and experiences in school.
4. The Help, by Kathryn Stockett. This made me think about American history and the American experience from a different perspective.
5. Read My Pins, by Madeleine Albright. I liked seeing how Albright described expressing herself through her pins. It runs through my mind when I pick out items of clothing or jewelry.
6. In the Woods, by Tana French. The puzzles in this book keep me thinking about what happened exactly.
7-8. What to Eat, by Marion Nestle and In Defense of Food, by Michael Pollan. Both of these writers make me consider my eating habits and patterns and how they might affect my health or the lives of the people/animals producing it.
9-10. Status Anxiety by Alain de Botton and Money: A Memoir, by Liz Perle. Why do we need things? What purpose does keeping up with others serve, and what is my relationship to money?Unsurprisingly, these books kept these topics in my mind when I read them.
What books make you think and what do they make you think about?
yes, today is a day when we all think back to where we were when we heard the tragic news…unforgettable.
this is a great top ten topic, zo! now you have given me the idea of following atwood on twitter – thanks!
i didn’t really like the book, but “the five people you meet in heaven” really impacted me (i read it about 4-5 years ago)…you just never know when a small kindness or a friendship will make a difference.
i really like running books – dean karnazes, for example. while i don’t aspire to do his distances, it makes me think that anything is possible for our goals and dreams!
Yes, I like Atwood’s tweets..I follow her, Jennifer Weiner, Marian Keyes..and I’m sure I’ll find others.
I haven’t read any Mitch Albom…mr. sc’s nephew had to read “5 people” for school though.
I do look at the running books sometimes, but so far I haven’t read any.
This is a great list, and I need to read some of them still! I really loved the Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and Sarah’s Key as impactful books – but there are so many!
I definitely want to read Immortal Life…that looks fascinating!
I need to read The Help as I’ve only seen the movie so far but I loved it. Great choice.
My TTT.
Thanks. I’ve yet to see the movie!
Very reflective today. I want to glue myself to the TV because I wasn’t able to do it that day. I have “American Wife” by Curtis Sittenfeld in my suitcase to read when I finish what I’m reading now. Hope it’s good, I’ve heard it is.
Yes, it’s weird going about thinking..11 years ago…
American wife is also in my pile and I’m really looking forward to reading it.
I was SO young when I read Handmaid’s Tale but old enough to be freaked out by it.
I just finished In the Garden of Beasts which is a non-fiction on the first American ambassador during Hitler Germany (pre WWII). Something in a million years I wouldn’t pick up on my own and I still got a lot out of it. It made me wish history was taught better. We tend to divide: US, State, World, Religious etc. when studying history, but even in reading just this book I saw more of tie in what was going on with us, Germany, society, the Soviet Union, etc. and helped understand how some of what happened was even allowed to happen. Made me think a lot…not to mention what we tend to repeat in history.
Have a great morning.
I’ve read the Devil in the White City (also by Erik Larsen). It is amazing when someone brings history to life (funny, I gave devil to a friend and he didn’t realize it was nonfiction!)
I heard that is a good book as well. Because he is a journalist I think he does a good job treading the story in the history. There was some disjointed parts to this book, but still gave a nice “feeling” of the time.
The Handmaid’s Tale is very popular today, I’ll have to make a plan to read that! Coming from South Africa, The Help was also a great read for me.
I saw HT was actually on the Broke and Bookish list. It really is an amazing book..haven’t read it in years, but I suspect I would find it even eerier (that looks weird) than I did then