"A philosopher never gets quite used to the world. to him or her, the world continues to seem a bit unreasonable - bewildering, even enigmatic. Philosophers and small children thus have an important faculty in common. You might say that throughout his life a philosopher remains as thin-skinned as a child." ~ Sophie's World p. 20
Tracey and I share a love of books so writing about a couple of our favorite books seemed like a good idea at the time. As I sat down to write, the task seemed a little more difficult. When I take a mental stroll through all of the books that I have read and that have impacted my thinking in some way or another, how can I narrow down the choices? I started with the “long list.” Once compiled, my first thought that the list with eclectic and weird. Like the variety of music in my iTunes library, my list of favorite books makes me look a little like I have multiple personalities, a few of which are kind of strange!
Let me first start with what I don’t read. With the exception of Walter Miller Jr.’s A Canticle for Leibowitz, which is a surprising favorite of mine, I do not enjoy much science fiction or fantasy. I may be the only living person who has not read a single Harry Potter book. I know; this makes me certifiably culturally illiterate. I’ll have to live with that label. I also don’t read vampire books or horror stories. I guess that in addition to being culturally illiterate, I am also kind of a wimp!
All that said, I do enjoy a good piece of fiction, but I have to make a conscious effort to read it because my natural tendency is to gravitate toward non-fiction and poetry. For this post however, I decided not to include anything from either of those genres. Perhaps we can dedicate a future post to each of them.
I am a big fan of children’s literature. Many of the books that are written for children speak volumes to us as adults. One of my all-time favorites is the 1997 Newberry Award winner A View from Saturday, by E. L. Konigsburg. It is the story of a middle school quiz bowl team the defies the odds to win their state championship. Throughout the story, the characters encounter all kinds of differences in people - ethnicity, family structure, disabilities, age - and they realize that sharing such differences enriches their lives. They also learn about the importance of community. I’m not sure how many times I have read this book, but each time I do, it speaks to me in a fresh and meaningful way.
My absolute favorite piece of fiction is Sophie's World, by Norwegian author Jostein Gaardner. Through the fictional life of Sophie Amumdsen and Alberto Knox, a philosopher, Sophie's World chronicles the history of western philosophy. At age fourteen, Sophie begins to receive a letter every day that poses some philosophical question. Later in the day a package appears containing pages that offer insight into the day's questions. Sophie's education in philosophy begins with ancient myths, and continues from Democritus through to Berkeley, at which point there is a plot and perspective shift. It is hard to say too much about the story without giving away the plot. Sophie's World is a book that, in my mind, is one that is to be experienced, not just read. At the outset of the story, Alberto, the philosopher in the story, tells Sophie that philosophy is extremely relevant to life and that if we do not question and ponder our very existence we are not really living. I can not help ponder my very existence as I read and thus become part of Sophie's world.
Sophie's World is a definitely a "heady" read; this is why I love it so much; I like books that make me think...a lot. This affinity may be why I have a minor in philosophy. LOL. That said, my head cannot always handle this kind of "headiness." When I am looking for an easy read but also an engaging story, I am never disappointed by anything written by Jodi Piccoult. She is a masterful storyteller who creates meaningful subtexts in her novels.
I am fortunate that I have a daughter who is a librarian and whose passion within that capacity is reader advisory. She knows me very well as a person and as a reader; she also stays current with all that is going on in the literary world, something which I do not. Therefore, she keeps a discerning eye out for books that I will enjoy and appreciate. It is like having a personal shopper, but for books. Her choices have always been perfect for me. I do feel a bit spoiled, but since I don’t have as much time as I would like for reading, I am grateful for someone to do the vetting for me so that I am not investing precious time on something that I may not like or enjoy reading.
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