Literature – mtadkins https://www.mtadkins.com Thu, 30 Jun 2022 18:16:30 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://www.mtadkins.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/cropped-12917834_1163724020327828_2043764134_n-1-32x32.jpg Literature – mtadkins https://www.mtadkins.com 32 32 Ten Books https://www.mtadkins.com/2013/9008/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ten-books Fri, 20 Dec 2013 23:48:07 +0000 http://www.matt-adkins.com/?p=9008 Joining in on the annual list-making frenzy, with my “top 10 (most meaningful) books”, in a kinda-sorta-chronological order:

  • Something Wicked This Way Comes (Bradbury) ~ What Bradbury means for me: October. Halloween. Carnivals. Magic. Aging…  This story smells like dry leaves & used bookstores.
  • Dune (Herbert) ~ In a 3-way tie with STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND & FOUNDATION as the finest of all ‘science fiction’ for me.
  • Cat’s Cradle (Vonnegut) ~ SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE might be better, but this was the first Vonnegut I read. It skewed me, no doubt.
  • Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (Stoppard) ~ Is there any other literary work that blends homage, cleverness, fun, & inspired genius better than this? No.  (Truthfully, I’ve recently come to love & appreciate ARCADIA far more.)
  • Tao of Physics (Capra) ~ Changed my life. For realz. The book on this list that had the most impact on me, by far. It altered the wiring of my brain. The ‘physics’ was out-dated even when I read it (1993), but its still a beautiful story.
  • Et Tu, Babe? (Leyner) ~ My sense of humor…a sheer delight on so many levels.
  • JR (Gaddis) ~ Mind blowing. Almost incomprehensible, but once you give up & allow it to swallow you whole…it’s a beautiful symphony on the page.
  • A People’s History of the United States (Zinn) ~ A hard slap to your pudgy, entitled face. I named my son after Howard Zinn, who’s such a goddamned American hero he should be on a postage stamp.
  • His Dark Materials (Pullman) ~ Cheating a bit by including a trilogy…but by the end I found this to be a haunting, emotional story. It resonated with me far more than Harry Potter, et al.
  • Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid On Earth (Ware) ~ A staggeringly detailed portrait of disconnection, human loneliness, & need.

If you haven’t read them, tsk tsk.


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