Mary's Highly-Recommended Favorite Books

Because I love to read even more than I love to write, I'll list some of my very favorite books, some of which might be familiar to you, others quite unknown. This listing is in no particular order of favorites; it's just a random selection.

• Wind, Sand and Stars by Antoine de Saint Exupery. (Translation by Lewis Galantiere.) This aviator and writer was one of my early heroes, someone who flew mail planes in the dangerous route between southern France and West Africa in the late 1920's and early 30's. He is also the author and illustrator of The Little Prince.
• The Little Prince, which is loved by children of all ages and whose profound message is even better understood at an adult level. (Translation by Katherine Woods.)
• The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. My hardback edition has both color and black-and-white illustrations by Ernest Shepard, and it's one of my treasures. For some reason I missed reading this lovely book as a child, and finally discovered it as an adult. It's a delight at any age, taking you away to a wonderful, enchanted land. This is a masterpiece of story-telling.
• Some Tame Gazelle by Barbara Pym. Actually any book by Pym would do, but start with this one if you aren't familiar with her work. She has been called a modern-day Jane Austen, but funnier. Eudora Welty has praised her novels as being "sheer delight, and all of them companionable. Quiet, paradoxical, funny and sad, they have the iron in them of permanence too."
• The Leopard by Giuseppe de Lampedusa. This powerful novel, in translation from the Italian, takes place during the time of Garibaldi. It is the story of the life and loves of a Sicilian prince and his family.
• West with the Night by Beryl Markham. I still have a hard time believing this aviatrix wrote such a perceptive, moving book. Recent information I have read on the Internet seems to point to her writer husband as the actual author, as I have suspected.
• Kim by Rudyard Kipling. I first read this as a teenager, and it deserves re-reading as one grows older. Kipling was always one of my favorite writers; if you can find an anthology of his short stories, they're worth the search. One of them, "Without Benefit of Clergy," is one of his best, in my opinion.
• The Sea Hawk by Rafael Sabatini. One of my teen-age favorites, this has it all: treachery, pirates, fights among sea galleons, tender romance. It's another of those books that deserve re-reading as an adult. Don't confuse this with a movie of the same title made in the l940's with Errol Flynn; that film had nothing to do with Sabatini's novel. My research reveals that there was a silent movie made in the early l920's which seemed to follow the plot of Sabatini's work. If any film producer out there is looking for a great idea for a movie, all he or she has to do is read this book. The screenplay is right there, written out for them; they don't have to change a word, they can rate it PG, and the audience will love it.
• Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. If du Maurier had written nothing else, she would be forever remembered for this novel.
• Beyond the Chestnut Trees by Maria Bauer. A relatively unknown book by an unknown writer. I found this book of interest only because of my Czech origins. It is the story of a well-to-do woman refugee and her family who fled from Prague to France and then to England during the Second World War. There are interesting descriptions of Prague life before the war and later, during the days of Communist repression.
• The Accidental Tourist by Ann Tyler. A great, quirky book by one of my favorite modern authors. Tyler is a prolific writer, but there are a few of her books that stand out. This is one of them. It deserves an occasional re-reading, just for fun.
• The Persian Boy by Mary Renault. I have read several of Renault's historical novels of the ancient world and think this is the most poignant. It is a long, intimate look at the life of a servant and lover of Alexander the Great.
• A Passage to India by E. M. Forster. This book is believed by many to be his greatest work. A perceptive novel which examines the clash of cultures in early 20th century India.
• All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot. This is a book for all who love, enjoy, and have sympathy for our animal friends.
• Saratoga Trunk by Edna Ferber. I wish I had read the book before I saw the movie, so I wouldn't in my mind's eye keep seeing Ingrid Bergman as Clio Dulane. (A true casting mistake, so typical of movies made in that era.) The first half of the book, with the New Orleans setting, is the best part, for me.
• The Good Earth by Pearl Buck. Her masterpiece. I will always associate Buck with this novel, which brought China of the l930's to American readers.
• The I Hate to Cook Book by Peg Bracken. A change of pace for serious readers, this book is funny as well as informative for cooks, or those who hope to be without putting too much effort into the process.
• Blue Highways by William Least Heat Moon. (a.k.a. William Trogdon) The author, after losing his college-instructor position, decided to drive around the U.S. using the lesser roads, always shown in blue on old maps. He takes the reader along, describing the countryside and his meetings with locals, many of whom are enjoyable eccentrics. It's an absorbing "road" book.
• Lost Horizon by James Hilton. This is a short, suspensful book that captured me from the beginning. It brought the words "Shangri-La" into our lexicon.
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. My edition to this book has an introduction by William Dean Howells, no mean writer himself. He states: "My delight in Pride and Prejudice is so manifold that I hardly know how to begin telling it...." And then he goes on for page after page in praise of its wonderfully ironic, humorous, and insightful prose and its incomparable author. As for me, every book I've read by Austen has been a delight, but this one is by far the best.

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