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A Newbie's Introduction: My Top 10 Novels

Bacardi Jim said:
My momma used to say that if something is worth doing, don't do it half-assed. So I am jumping in with both feet and introducing myself to the forum with an illustrated list of my ten favorite novels, along with commentary about why I love them. I know it may sound bold... daring... even mad for a newbie to attempt something so ambitious.

They called me "mad" at the University. Muahahahahahahahaha

Anyway, once I'm finished, you friendly folk will be able to direct me to the sub-forum in which I will find the most like-minded souls... or a good shrink.
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n00bs rule!

Also, so does Watership Down. I read it when I was a teen, but remember it very much in the way you describe.

Finally...being called MAD is a complement of the highest order. Sanity is for fucking accountants!
 
Bacardi Jim said:
#5 Dancing Aztecs - Donald Westlake

Despite almost never cracking the bestseller lists, Donald Westlake is one of the most successful American fiction authors of the last 40 years. He is primarily known for his "comic caper" novels, particularly his Dortmunder series, which tell hilarious stories of a gang of NYC crooks and their various heists. The Hot Rock, Bank Shot and Jimmy the Kid are all from the Dortmunder series and have been turned into movies of varying success. Westlake also writes the occasional screenplay, notably Payback (which he adapted from his own novel) and The Grifters, which earned him an Oscar nomination.

Though not one of the Dortmunder books, Dancing Aztecs sits as the jewel in Westlake's crown as King of the Comic Crime genre. It tells the story of a small-time hood who stumbles upon a plot to smuggle a priceless South American relic into the States in a crate with several plaster copies. When the real statue gets passed out along with the copies at an celebratory banquet, it becomes a madcap chase over all of New York as an ever-increasing number of people race each other to track down the Real McCoy.

Though many of the cultural references are now a bit dated (the book was written in 1976), the humor remains untarnished today. This is one of only a few actual laugh-out-loud hilarious books I've had the pleasure to read... and re-read... and read yet again.
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Don is my neighbor. :) He's nice.

And, Jim, I am very impressed with your enthusiasm. It's really great. I hope you stick around and get into some discussions.
 
novella said:
And, Jim, I am very impressed with your enthusiasm. It's really great. I hope you stick around and get into some discussions.
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Absolutely! Jumping in with both feet is great to see. I'm a HUGE John Irving fan, and for sentimental reasons The Cider House Rules is my favourite, I think. It was the first Irving book that I read, rather like you with Garp, I guess. I only picked it up because the film intrigued me, and I never see a film without reading the book first. So I read the book in 1998, and never actually got around to seeing the film until January of this year :D . I got so much more out of that film (which I believe was a very good adaptation) because I read the book.

My favourite quote from the book:

"What is hardest to accept about the passage of time is that the people who once mattered the most to us are wrapped up in parenthesis."
-John Irving, The Cider House Rules​
 
Both feet in is the best way!

Like your picks. The only ones I haven't read are the Goldman, Wilson and Westlake. I'll be looking for them on my next trip to the bookstore.

I agree with your view of Watership Down. I encourage people, young and old, to read it whenever I get the chance. It's NOT just a children's book, people.
 
Ell said:
Both feet in is the best way!

Like your picks. The only ones I haven't read are the Goldman, Wilson and Westlake. I'll be looking for them on my next trip to the bookstore.

I agree with your view of Watership Down. I encourage people, young and old, to read it whenever I get the chance. It's NOT just a children's book, people.
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You won't have much luck finding older Wilson. Only The Tomb, a couple of his medical thrillers, and the other Repairman Jack novels are still in print. The rest of the Adversary Cycle went out of print a while back.

Except....

The entire Adversary Cycle series has recently been reprinted in a limited run by Borderlands Press. More information at http://www.borderlandspress.com/adversarycycle.htm
 
Ell said:
I agree with your view of Watership Down. I encourage people, young and old, to read it whenever I get the chance. It's NOT just a children's book, people.
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That's for sure. Definitely lots of stuff for adult readers. Great character and plot development, and the world he creates for the characters is pretty fantastic. And it's fairly violent in some places, if I remember correctly - if you're into that.

What I'm trying to say - read it!
 
Ell said:
At $60 for the limited edition and $250 for the lettered, I think I'll pass. :D
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I picked up the five out-of-print books in the series through online purchases and spent less than $22 altogether, including shipping. But I got lucky and got a couple of them from the same seller, saving on shipping.
 
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