Reading IS fundamental

Back in the Dark Ages when I was a kid, there were a series of TV ads, aimed, I would expect, at increasing literacy among American children. The tagline for the ads was always "Reading Is FUNdamental", which I always thought was somewhat clever in the sense of being a reasonably good play on words. In accenting both the essential need for literacy in getting by in the modern world along with an appeal to self-gratification by selling it as fun, it basically provided the carrot and the stick, all in three words. Also, by including a somewhat sophisticated word in its use of fundamental (remember, we're talking about a literacy problem here), it didn't simply talk down to its audience. And of course I'm inclined to agree with both angles of that campaign: everyone does need to know how to read, and there's a great potential for good times to be had in a great book or story.

Now I don't know that my love of reading takes any of its origins from those commercials, because I was increasing my vocabulary and enthusiasm almost daily through the use of comic books from the age of about six. So maybe the RIF message I kept seeing was only reinforcing a stance I'd already bought into on my own, for all I know. But I wonder how many other kids picked up a book (or asked a parent to) who might not have otherwise. In the more recent past, I think the Harry Potter books have at least potentially had a similar effect, creating a desire in kids' hearts to be able to decode those letters and words and sentences for themselves, hopefully leading those same young readers to eventually seek out other material beyond the world of Hogwarts. There's just so much good stuff out there to read that's just waiting to be discovered, and then added to, by each new generation.

All of which is a terribly long introduction into my first Favourites List. Why blog, or more specifically, why blog favourites? No particularly good reason beyond putting it out there. Maybe I'll get a kick out of looking back at the list in the future, or maybe somebody, somewhere, will someday see the list and one of the items on it will intrigue them and they'll pick it up (in data crystal format or whatever they're using in the 22nd Century...)

So here are my favourite books, as I'd define them today, and allowing for the possibility that I'll overlook two or three really good ones simply because I did it off the top of my head. They're not in any paricular order, other than the order in which I think of them.

The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells - In these pages you'll find the original alien invasion story, but I've yet to read a better one. The tale's told in first person narrative form, through the eyes of an everyman character who learns of the unearthly developments in fits and starts, and brings the reader along with him. Some of his descriptions are so matter-of-fact as to belie the scale of the situation, whereas other passages range from chaotic horror to sleep-deprived delirium as the narrator moves across the English countryside, trying to stay under the radar of the Martians. Two major motion pictures, and a TV series, have been made based on this material, but none of them have equalled the book.

Dune by Frank Herbert - One of the first grownup books I ever tackled, this remains one of my favourites for a number of reasons beyond nostalgia. Each reading of it has revealed new elements to me. First time through it was a rollicking adventure tale, set on a couple different planets, that occasionally got a bit too talky for my tastes. Years later, on a second pass, I noticed all of the political intrigue that had gone over my head the first time, as well as the luxurious word choices that Herbert employed throughout. On the second occasion I also read the rest of the trilogy, as that's what it was at the time (Dune, Dune Messiah, and Children of Dune). And still later, re-reading it as part of a refresher leading up to the fourth installment coming out (God Emperor of Dune), I was struck by the religious themes and Herbert's take on prescience. By now there are even more books in the series, including prequels written by Herbert's son (following his father's death) but the original was always the best (of the ones I read). The 1984 theatrical release by David Lynch was almost unwatchable, but the more recent mini-series based on it was pretty good, though still considerably watered-down compared to the original.

The World According to Garp by John Irving - Some of the most memorable scenes I've ever read came from this gem, including Garp's unique conception, his first sexual experience behind a bush, and the heartbreaking drive home from the movie theatre. From Garp's mother Jenny and her unconventional foray into Girl Power, to the transsexual ex-football player and man-hating character from Garp's past, each person in this book is fleshed out to the point of breaking your heart at times. And who can forget Garp's habit of chasing down cars that sped through his subdivision and verbally abusing the drivers? The Robin Williams movie made of the book is actually quite good, at least in terms of capturing the feel of the novel. It only included a small percentage of the great scenes, though, so you should consider it a mere whetting of the appetite.

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller - For years I wasn't entirely sure if the expression catch-22 came from this novel, or whether it already existed and Heller simply provided such a delightful explanation for it in his novel. A check of it on Wikipedia reveals it was the former, which speaks to the power of the story that its title has become part of popular culture. Anyone who ever reads this laugh-filled and yet heart-wrenching story, featuring Allied pilots serving in Europe during World War II, will carry around in their heads a hilarious series of unforgetable examples of the famous no-win situational logic indicated by the title. Captain Yossarian, one of the main characters, desperately wants a discharge before he gets killed flying increasingly dangerous bombing missions, but the air force shrink assigned to his unit tells Yossarian that his desire for self-preservation actually shows that he's sane. You'd have to be crazy to want to fly those missions, he points out, so wanting to get out of them proves you're not crazy. Catch-22! And so it goes, for several hundred terrific pages. One of the chapters, The Eternal City, remains one of the most evocative passages I've ever read. Interestingly, a major movie was made of the book in 1970, featuring an all-star cast and an off-kilter directorial style that oddly suited the story.

The Sheep Look Up by John Brunner - Of all the books on this list, this is probably the most difficult to read (but I've done so three times). Brunner, a longtime Science Fiction writer of fairly straight-forward tales, developed a new style in the late 60s and early 70s that he used on (at least) three novels: this one, Stand On Zanzibar and Shockwave Rider. Possibly influenced by the work of (Canadian) Marshall McLuhan around the same time, Brunner's work during this period poured large casts of characters, news broadcasts, newspaper articles and advertisements into a blender and set it on Puree. McLuhan's famous catchphrase, the medium is the message, must've been at least part of the impetus behind Brunner's brilliant intermixing of media in these novels. Regardless, in The Sheep Look Up, the reader is introduced to a near-future world (for the early 1970s, when it was published) in which pollution is finally starting to get out of control. The novel covers one year, during which the thin veneer keeping the average US citizen from being aware of just what he or she has done to the planet slowly peels away to reveal the rotten core. On a personal note, this story probably had more to do with the evolution of my feelings toward environmentalism and conservation than other other single thing. Unlike the rest of the items on this list, Sheep has never been made into a movie (but did have a local band named after it, at least for awhile). And yet its message is probably the most topical right now, and the one that most needs to get out there.

And of course there are lots of other great books I've read: The Great Train Robbery and Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon, The Cider House Rules by John Irving, The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham, and anything Neil Gaiman's ever written, just to name a few.