Top Ten Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.I’ve been meaning to participate in this for a while and now that I actually scheduled things thanks to Bloggiesta, I am! I’m using the term “older” books loosely in my list, mainly to mean back-listed titles.
Top Ten Older Books To Remember
- Pedro and Me: Friendship, Loss, and What I Learned by Judd Winick
: You may remember Judd Winick as a cast member of Real World: San Francisco (the Puck season). Even if you don’t, Winick’s graphic memoir about his friendship with fellow cast mate and AIDS activist Pedro Zamora is beautifully moving.
- The Cat Ate My Gymsuit by Paula Danziger
: A young adult novel originally published in 1974. Marcy is a shy outcast until her English teacher, Mrs. Finney, uses new teaching methods to engage the students. Then Mrs. Finney is fired, partly because of her refusal to teach the way the School Board wants her to and partly because she refuses to say the Pledge of Allegiance. The students ban together to try to save her job. It’s a great little book that’ll renew your belief in the power of good teachers.
- Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War by Tony Horwitz
: It won the Pulitzer Prize and it is a masterpiece. If you ever need to an engaging, interesting book about the Civil War, you can’t go wrong with this one.
- I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak
: This book frequently gets passed by in favor of Zusak’s other novel, perhaps you’ve heard of it, The Book Thief. I loved I Am the Messenger even more.
- The Partly Cloudy Patriot by Sarah Vowell
: I love Assassination Vacation so much that I frequently forget how much I enjoyed The Partly Cloudy Patriot, too. Vowell is pretty much the best.
- The Working Poor: Invisible in America by David K. Shipler
: One of the best books on the working poor I’ve ever come across.
- Gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson
: So smart and funny. It’s a book that’s outside of my usual reading scope but I loved it just the same.
- Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn:
My favorite of her books, including Gone Girl.
- The Coldest Winter: America and the Korean War by David Halberstam
: It’s really hard to find a good history of the Korean War. This is an excellent accessible read.
- Land’s End: A Walk in Provincetown by Michael Cunningham:
I lived in Provincetown for a summer and I love returning to Cunningham’s little book and feeling back at home.
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Top Ten Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.I’ve been meaning to participate in this for a while and now that I actually scheduled things thanks to Bloggiesta, I am! I’m using the term “older” books loosely in my list, mainly to mean back-listed titles.
I have to get Gods In Alabama! I read Back Seat Saints and did not realize that it pulled characters from GIA.
I still haven’t read Back Seat Saints, I really need to do that!
I remember seeing The Cat Ate My Gym Suit when I was a kid but never read it. I should try to find it now. Great list.
It’s a really great book and holds up surprisingly well for how old it is. Hope you get a chance to check it out!
Do you hear that? It’s the sound of my wish list getting longer. Great list!
lol! Glad to hear it
Thank you!
I think I read The Cat Ate My Gym Suit! It sounds familiar, but I don’t really remember anything about it.
I’m sure you’ve come across it at some point!
I only know of a couple of these, and reckon I should know more as a good few ring a bell. The Zusak is on my list since The Book Thief, which I loved, but you saying it frequently gets passed over – that’s pretty much my personal experience, in that I keep forgetting to pick up a copy yet never forget The Book Thief.
I hope you check out I Am the Messenger! It’s a great book.
I can honestly say that I have not read a single book on this list. But I will. I promise.
I’m going to hold you to it!
Oh man … I could not disagree with you more on I Am The Messenger. It left me cold! But each book has its readers! : )
I know what you mean. I didn’t particularly care for the Book Thief (except for the ending which was fantastic) and I am obviously quite in the minority there.