A Taste of Life and Love in Australia by Margaret Lynette Sharp

I’ve read and enjoyed other books by Garcia Marquez but this is the one that stays in my brain.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez‘s Chronicle of a death foretold: It’s all about the tone. I have read this three times, and will read it again. Can’t ask more than that from a writer I reckon.Īlbert Camus‘ The plague: Oh, this one fed my youthful idealism, except I don’t think I’ve ever grown out of the belief that Camus’ Rieux is right when he says “that there are more things to admire in men than to despise”. I can read (and have read) her books multiple times – and every time I find something new. I love all Austen’s novels and really can’t pick a favourite, but this is the one that started it all. Jane Austen‘s Pride and prejudice: A great read on multiple levels that introduced me to Austen. The book functions as both a wake-up call – we can never rest on our laurels while injustice and inequality remain in our world – and a great read.

Margaret Atwood‘s The handmaid’s tale: Such an astonishing evocation of what might happen should extremist fundamentalist views be taken to their, hmm, logical conclusion. So here goes, in alphabetical order by author – it’s hard enough limiting the number (to a self-imposed arbitrary number of ten) without ranking them too! It’s going to be hard to keep my list short – as you litbloggers and litblog readers will surely understand. I think it’s still worth doing – for my benefit, if not for anyone else’s. Somehow life got in the way, and I am only getting back to it now. May marked my third year of blogging and I started this post then, thinking to mark the moment by reflecting on the books that have most impacted me (in some way or another).

I’m not sure that any book has quite changed my life though many have opened my eyes to other ways of seeing and being in the world. I was going to title this post “Life-changing reads” but decided that that wasn’t quite right.

A Taste of Life and Love in Australia by Margaret Lynette Sharp