...cos it's what I do best I suspect. I set myself what I thought was a simple task, five books; all of which I must have read more than once [several times being optimal] and which had "
something other" than just being a good read. The first bit was easy, I have the memory of...anyway the second bit caused all sorts of problems, I had to reject
Lord of the Rings for example, great book, read it maybe four or five times but...no "
something other", at least for me. So finally, here is the list, in no particular order:
The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists by Robert Tressell - I've been a Socialist, or at least tried to be, for most of my life, and this book keeps me as honest as I can be, not an easy read given the style and period of writing, but well worth the effort.
Shadow Falls by Simon R Green - To add to my faults I'm an Atheist, but if I had to have any faith at all, or had to simply accept without proof, Simon Green creates just the kind of place I could cope with, and even have a little faith in.
Legend by David Gemmell - Let's be honest, probably any book by the late David Gemmell, he created characters like no other author I have ever read, dragged you into their lives and made you actually care what happened to them, and always left you feeling a little bit friendlier towards the human race as a whole, if only for a little while.
HMS Ulysses by Alistair MacLean - Although it's been quite a while, technically I think I have read this one the most often, well past a dozen, this book played a minor role in my deciding to join the Royal Navy when I was 16, as part of my escape plan at the time from the Isle of Man, and given that it wasn't too bad a decision, I remain grateful to it.
And last but certainly not least
Skallagrigg by William Horwood - If I was going to tell anyone to read anything, this would be the one. This book presses every emotional button you might think you own to, and probably several more you might be unaware of. If this book doesn't shock your world, clinically you're dead. This book was, and remains the most difficult-to-read book I know of, even after reading it several times. I confess my younger sister suffered a similar condition to some of the characters in the book which could be my "
something other" but it isn't, this book does it all on it's own merits.
Your turn, if you can be bothered, just play it by the rules above. Incidentally "
The Ragged Trousered Philantropists" is freely available from Project Gutenberg [in various formats] here:
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3608
