Day 31: The complete list, plus 30 "Honorable Mentions" and 10 "Bodies of Work"

Here is the complete list of 30 Books in 30 Days, plus another 30 that I couldn't seem to fit into any one category, but deserve to mentioned regardless:

30 DAY BOOK CHALLENGE

Day 1: Favorite book: The Distant Hours by Kate Morton
Day 2: Least favorite book: The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Day 3: Book that makes you laugh out loud: We're just like you only prettier by Celia Rivenbark
Day 4: Book that makes you cry: A long way gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Baeh
Day 5: Book you wish you could live in: Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
Day 6: Favorite young adult book: Before I fall by Lauren Oliver
Day 7: Book that you can quote/recite: MacBeth by William Shakespeare
Day 8: Book that scares you: The Kindness of Strangers by Katrina Kittle
Day 9: Book that makes you sick: Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
Day 10: Book that changed your life: Our Town by Thornton Wilder
Day 11: Book from your favorite author: Blackbird House by Alice Hoffman
Day 12: Book that is most like your life: Cancer is a Bitch: I'd rather be having a Midlife Crisis by Gail Konop Baker
Day 13: Book whose main character is most like you: An American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld
Day 14: Book whose main character you want to marry: The Girl with No Shadow by Joanne Harris
Day 15: First “chapter book” you can remember reading as a child: The Melendy Family by Elizabeth Enright
Day 16: Longest book you’ve read: Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
Day 17: Shortest book you’ve read: "I regret I could not attend your holiday party" by Dan Domench
Day 18: Book you’re most embarrassed to say you like: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
Day 19: Book that turned you on: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
Day 20: Book you’ve read the most number of times: The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
Day 21: Favorite picture book from childhood: Old Turtle by Douglas Wood
Day 22: Book you plan to read next: Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks
Day 23: Book you tell people you’ve read, but haven’t (or haven’t actually finished): The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Day 24: Book that contains your favorite scene: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Day 25: Favorite book you read in school: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Day 26: Favorite nonfiction book: Come to the Edge: A Memoir by Christina Haag
Day 27: Favorite fiction book: Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan
Day 28: Last book you read: Looking for Salvation in the Dairy Queen by Sue Gregg Gilmore
Day 29: Book you’re currently reading: Vaclav and Lena by Haley Tanner
Day 30: Favorite coffee table book: Photographs by Alma Lavenson

30 Honorable Mentions in no particular Order:

1. The Lake of Dead Languages by Carol Goodman

2. The Gathering by Anne Enright

3. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

4. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

5. Empire Falls by Richard Russo

6. The Magus by John Fowles

7. More than you know by Beth Gutcheon

8. Grange House by Sarah Blake

9. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

10: The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

11. If I stay by Gail Forman

12. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle  by David Wroblewski

13: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

14: Atonement by Ian McEwan

15: Interpreter of Maladies byJhumpa Lahiri

16: Testimony by Anita Shreve

17: Red Hook Road by Ayelet Waldman

18: History of Love by Nicole Krauss

19: The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

20: Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult

21: Family Pictures by Sue Miller

22: Ovid: Metamorphoses

23: Evening by Susan Minot

24: The Eight by Katherine Neville

25: Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow

26: Time and Again by Jack Finney

27: The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff

28: Middlemarch by George Eliot

29: Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe by Fannie Flagg

30: Kaaterskill Falls by Allegra Goodman




Finally: 10 Authors whose work is so evocative that I can't pick just one book
1. Tracy Chevalier
2. Joanna Trolloppe
3. Elizabeth Berg
4. Michael Ondaatje 
5. Kate Atkinson
6. Leslie Kagen
7. Jennifer Niven
8. Susan Vreeland
9. Sarah Durant
10. Pete Hamill

  

Day 30: Favorite Coffee Table Book: Alma Lavenson: Photographs

There are always two people in every picture:  the photographer and the viewer.  ~Ansel Adams

Day 30: Favorite Coffee Table Book: Alma Lavenson: Photographs by Susan Ehrens

I think Coffee Table books have gotten a bad rap. Many people think of them as 'throw away' gifts...something you buy when you don't know what to give someone. Lots of people will smile politely and then regift them. Unfortunately, this means that there are many, many wonderful books out there, filled with extraordinary stories and images, that simply linger on the shelves of used book stores and thrift shops....or in doctor's offices where patients will ignore them in favor of reading the latest "People" magazine.  When I travel, I like to buy coffee table books as souvenirs. Some of my favorites have been from museum gift shops and have allowed me to bring little bits of my trips home with me.

There are, however, coffee table books that are so exceptional, they should be front and center in every book collection. These books are the truly exquisite ones...the ones you want to curl up with on a snowy day and just lose yourself in the books words and images. My favorite of these is "Alma Lavenson: Photographs" by Susan Ehrens. Alma Lavenson was a contemporary of Ansel Adams and was instrumental in capturing the images of post Gold Rush Northern California. Her richness in subject matter, her innovative use of juxtaposition and her artistic eye make for compelling viewing. She was decades before her time when it came to photography as a high art medium.

As fate would have it, Alma Ruth Lavenson also happens to have been a distant cousin. I have felt a kinship with her work since the first time I saw it. The fact that we were born in San Francisco 70 years apart also tells a bit of a family history story. She was born in a pre-Earthquake San Francisco. I was born at the height of the "City of Love" days. She experienced the art community in the Bay Area, as did I, thanks to my mom and my Grandma. I feel honored that such a remarkable woman is in my family tree.

So...is Alma Lavenson not in your family tree? No problem. This compilation of her work, as well as her story, should be treasured as a unique, and spectacular, piece of American history.

Day 29: Book you're currently reading: Vaclav and Lena by Haley Tanner

We swallow greedily any lie that flatters us, but we sip only little by little at a truth we find bitter.  ~Denis Diderot


Day 29: Book you're currently reading: "Vaclav and Lena" by Haley Tanner.


It's funny how books and readers find one another. Because I tend to surround myself with fellow readers, I am constantly loaning my books out...and am being given wonderful books in return. A friend might tell me "You have got to check out this novel from the library!" one day on the phone, and most of the time, I'll be at the library that same day to get my name on the waiting list. Other times, I'll stumble across a writer whose style, or subject matter, particularly speaks to me. When this happens, I become voracious...gobbling up everything this man or woman has written. Far more rare are those serendipitous times in which I'm browsing through a bookstore, not really looking for any one novel, but just waiting for my eyes to see something that might just be worth picking up.


This last, and most fleetingly delicious of circumstances, is how I discovered my current book. I was literally between books. I say this as another woman might say she was between lovers. But, in my case, it feels much the same way. I feel at loose ends when I'm between books. It's as if I don't quite know what to do with myself when I don't have a new one to fall in love with tucked into my purse. I was wandering around my local shop, aimlessly, hoping for the 'next big thing' to sweep me off my feet. Little did I know how correct this expression would be for me. What caught my eye wasn't the "Highly Recommended" sign above the novel, the colorful graphics on the cover or the fact that the woman in front of me had picked up the novel and placed it back down. I, quite honestly, tripped over my own feet in front of "Vaclav & Lena" by Haley Tanner. I came down on my 'good' knee a bit too hard. So hard, in fact, that tears sprang to my eyes and the wind was knocked out of me. Because I was incredibly embarrassed, I tried to play my stumble and crash off as something I honestly MEANT to do. In order to try to play up this ruse, I grabbed the first book that caught my eye, right above my head (and stinging knee)...the one the woman in front of me had glanced at and rejected.


The first thing I noticed was the the second name in the title, Lena, was my great grandmother's name. It's also a variation of my own name. I read the back cover, still trying to pretend as if I had fully intended to pirouette onto the ground and just happened to find the book I was looking for there. The story of two Russian immigrant children, who become best friends, in Brighton Beach, NY struck me as interesting, so I began reading the first few pages. After 20 minutes of sitting on the floor, with other customers stepping over me and the saleswoman shooting me evil looks between ringing up her paying guests, I decided I needed to buy "Vaclav & Lena". I had fallen in love once again.


I wish I had more information to write about this book. I'm only about halfway through right now, but I just love it. There is the Russian-into-English syntax that I know very well...I remember my mother telling me funny stories about how my other great-Grandmother, not Lena, but Anna, spoke. Although I never met either of these women, I have always felt a kinship with both, based on family lore. I can feel the awkwardness that Vaclav and Lena experience in being completely different from the other kids in their public school...even within their ESL class. I can sense of passionate, fierce love that Vaclav's parents have for him, and sense the truly terribly undercurrents in Lena's home life. Most of all, I can physically sense the deep friendship the two children have. Vaclav's innocent admiration for the great American magicians, his determination to become one himself (with Lena as his lovely assistant, of course) and his belief that writing lists will guarantee success are all endearing. Lena's terrible fear, her horror at the terrors in her daily life, her sense of not belonging anywhere are heartbreaking.


I have fallen in love with both of these children. I've read enough books. I know that things will get worse before they get better. And yet, I know I have to read all the way to the very end, when I'm confident things will improve for them....'this for true'.

Day 28: Last book you read: Looking For Salvation at the Dairy Queen

You can never go home again, but the truth is you can never leave home, so it's all right.  ~Maya Angelou


Day 28: Last book you read: Looking For Salvation at the Dairy Queen by Susan Gregg Gilmore.


What makes someone's hometown the home of their hearts? How do you tell the people you love the most that the little town just isn't enough for you...that you want more than it has to offer? How do you break away from everyone, and everything, that you've always known, without hurting the people you love the most? What would you do if everything you've believed was true in your life someone is turned upside down? These are just some of the questions that "Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen" tries to answer. Despite the title with a great sense of humor, and some funny moments throughout the novel, "Looking for Salvation" is actually much more of a coming of age story, rather than a laugh out loud comedy.


Catherine Grace Cline is the Baptist preacher's daughter, growing up the tiny hamlet of Ringgold, Georgia. She spends every Saturday at the local Dairy Queen, trying to come up with the perfect escape plan.There is nothing more that she wants than to board a Greyhound bus, move to Atlanta and work in a fancy department store. She doesn't want the quiet, sedate life her father and sister lead. Catherine Grace wants adventure, excitement and anonymity. She doesn't want the entire town knowing her business. She simply wants to move away and forget that she grew up in a place that had one stop light, one church, one Five and Dime and one Dairy Queen. Catherine Grace is motherless, and while her father and her next door neighbor have tried to fill the void left by her mother, she feels as if she's been the 'on display orphan' at every Mother's Day event or each time a classmate brings in cupcakes her mother has made. 


Catherine Grace goes through quite a journey...and not just from the moment she sits on the picnic table, plotting her escape. She learns the power of love, the power of forgiveness and the power of home. This is a terrific book. I enjoyed the authentic Southern voices, but I also felt that it was an incredibly approachable look into the growing up of a young girl in the 1970's.

Day 27: Favorite Fiction Book: Hundred Secret Senses

"If you can't change your fate, change your attitude."  ~ Amy Tan



Day 26: Favorite Fiction Book: Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan.


Asking me to pick my favorite fiction book is, in essence, asking me to pick my favorite book. Since 95% of what I read is fiction, and I read at least two books a week, then it stands to reason that I've read hundreds of fiction books over my lifetime. That being said, I knew, when this particular category came up, the book I chose would be written by one of two authors: Kate Morton or Amy Tan. Why? They both create the most extraordinary worlds with their writing. They take me to England or to China and open up new ideas, new thoughts, and adding in just enough magical twists alongside of complex relationships, they tell compelling stories. 


I should make the point that I happen to feel a strong affinity for China. My family is the same way. My grandmother was one of the very few western women to visit mainland China, when it was essentially sealed off to tourists. One of my favorite photos of her was taken in the late 1960's, as she stood on the Great Wall. My cousin, Jon, holds a Master's Degree in Chinese from Harvard University. My cousin, Lori, has surrounded herself, in her gorgeous home in the Hollywood hills, with all things aesthetic and beautifully Chinese. My mother has exceptional Chinese friends. Despite the fact that we're all of European ancestry, and that our family tree looks a lot more like "Fiddler on the Roof" than it does the Tang dynasty, we seem to have a natural, strong and passionate affiliation with China.  If I believed in reincarnation, I'd have to wonder if the whole lot of us were Chinese in another life. 


Of course, me being me, the Reader, I identify most strongly with the China of literature. No one makes this concept come alive for me in quite the same way that Amy Tan does. The concepts of a western woman drawn to China, Chinese Heaven and reincarnation all feature prominently in "Hundred Secret Senses". The story of two half-sisters, one American and one Chinese, is the story of entangled fates, twisted alliances and sibling dichotomy, "Hundred Secret Senses" is an exceptional book. The embarrassment and frustration that Libby (the American sister) feels for Kwan (the Chinese sister) is counter balanced by Kwan's uncompromising love and faith in Libby. And yet, the magical veil drifts ever so softly over the sisters during their trip to China together. 


"Hundred Secret Senses" is a fabulous book. While it didn't have the "book club" support  that either "Saving Fish from Drowning" or "The Joy Luck Club" garnered, I believe it's Tan's best book. Does it make me want to go to China? Definitely. But, would I be a little nervous doing so...after reading about fate and love and reincarnation? Absolutely. But, I'd still love to go.

Day 26: Favorite Non-Fiction Book: Come to the Edge: A Memoir by Christina Haag

"Come to the edge.' 'We can't. We're afraid.' 'Come to the edge.' 'We can't. We will fall!' 'Come to the edge.' And they came. And he pushed them. And they flew."   ~ Guillaume Apollinaire 


Day 26: Favorite Non-Fiction Book: Come to the Edge: A Memoir by Christina Haag.


I don't read a great deal of non-fiction. So many memoirs and autobiographies are a disappointment. They might be a pitiful justification as to why a person behaved badly. They might contain salacious, juicy tidbits about who was sleeping with whom. They might be untrue, lacking in facts or simply self-aggrandizing tales of pure ego. Few are true. Few are kind. Few are filled with honest self reflection. 


This is why "Come to the Edge: A Memoir" by Christina Haag is such a beautifully written, wonderful book. Told with true humility, gentleness, love and honor, Haag writes about her relationship with John F. Kennedy, Jr. in a way that is refreshing. She doesn't rant or dish. She refrains from name calling or bitterness. Haag's writing is poignant and beautiful. She's managed to skirt that fine line of creating an interesting, readable story, addressing the facts and sharing the truth. She does so in a manner that befits a true lady.


Another aspect that I especially enjoyed while reading "Come to the Edge" was the way in which Christina Haag brought to life a particular time in recent history. By capturing the New York of her childhood, her time at Brown University in Providence and her travels with Kennedy throughout the U.S., I was able to smile at memories I'd had in many of the same places. She writes in such a way that the world, in that moment in time, is captured as one would capture hundreds of photographs, with each one telling an entire story. Even for people who aren't "Kennedy buffs", I believe this novel is worth reading for the evocative manner in which the story is told.


I loved "Come to the Edge" and I hope that Christina Haag writes many more books. She has a true gift, an authentic voice and a beautiful literary style.

Day 25: Favorite Book You Read in School

"There is neither happiness nor unhappiness in this world; there is only the comparison of one state with another. Only a man who has felt ultimate despair is capable of feeling ultimate bliss. It is necessary to have wished for death in order to know how good it is to live.....the sum of all human wisdom will be contained in these two words: Wait and Hope." ~ Alexandre Dumas "The Count of Monte Cristo"


Day 25: Favorite Book You Read in School: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas


I consider myself fortunate among my school peers because I genuinely liked most of the books I read in both prep school and college. "Billy Budd", "The Grapes of Wrath" and "Moby Dick" aside, I truly enjoyed nearly everything I read. If I'm being completely honest, I guess I have to throw "The Lord of the Flies", "Animal Farm" and "A Clockwork Orange" on the least enjoyed pile too. That said, when some of my classmates were moaning their way through "The Sun Also Rises", "A Catcher in the Rye" and "The Sound and the Fury", I reveled in all of them. I enjoyed nearly all of the classics. For the most part, I devoured each of them. From James Joyce to Virginia Woolf, I felt passionate about the books I was reading. 


All things considered, however, if I had to pick one favorite, it would be "The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexandre Dumas. I read this novel in both English and French, for two different classes. I'm proud to say that I gleaned a bit more when I read it in the original French. Regardless of which translation, it's a brilliant novel, and one that carries forward with any of the classics. However, it's not on many of the "100 Novels to Read Before You Die" list. I can't fathom how it didn't make the cut. Innocence and Treacherousness. Love and betrayal. Hope and Despair. Revenge and Forgiveness. These are the dualities that Edmond Dantès must come to grips. He is betrayed by his closest friends, each of whom covet something he has. When he returns from his prison escape, after being convicted of a crime he did not commit, Dantès is a much changed, and powerful and wealthy, man. He isn't recognized by those from whom he's exacting his revenge, one former friend at a time. He ticks them off a list, one by one, removing from their lives what they removed from his. 


Alexandre Dumas may be better known for "The Three Musketeers", but I think "Le Comte de Monte-Cristo" was the better of the two novels. Dumas was a wickedly droll, astute writer. His talent was remarkable, and his success is all the more fascinating because Dumas was biracial...a man who considered "beneath" society on many levels. His savvy, intelligence written dexterity gave him a means to create a place for himself. Despite not making the cut on "The 100 Novels" list, I believe he is better than some of those authors who were included.


"The Count of Monte Cristo" is brilliant. It taught me a great deal about what fuels the human spirit to continue to feel the desire to live, when everything of value has been taken away from a person. I learned about the awesome power of revenge...as well as the more exceptional power to forgive. It's my favorite book I read in school because it showed me the very best, and the very worst, of humanity...and how both can live within a good person simultaneously. These are heady lessons for anyone...adults as well as school kids.