Susan's Place Transgender Resources

From what I've observed, I feel like the book forum doesn't get enough lovin', so let's have a broad topic. I apologize if a thread like this already exists, as it seems to me it would. But I digress:

What's your favorite book, and why is it your favorite?

Hard question, I know.

My favorite is Til We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis. It showed me a sad perspective on love, one that I'd never thought of before; and I can't help but relate a little bit to how to main character tries to strengthen herself by being more male: "My aim was to build more and more that strength... by learning, fighting, and laboring, to drive all the woman out of me."

Also, Hemingway. I have to love his books, because he was my kind of man. Boxing, fishing, bull fighting? Nothing better, haha.   ;)

And you?

I have several favorites...

Little Women, by Louise May Alcott

Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Caroll

The Physics Lectures, (one and two, and three - also gathered as The Feynman Lectures on Physics) Richard Phillips Feynman

Cosmic Canticle, Ernesto Cardenal

Quote from: tekla on January 01, 2009, 08:46:10 PMAlice in Wonderland, Lewis Caroll

Have you heard about the upcoming Tim Burton adaption: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1014759/ (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1014759/). I'm a big fan of Alice of Wonderland as well (I collect movies). I hope Burton'll do a well job, but I've never liked his films, so it's hard to trust.

Bah! See me, talking about movies in my own book thread...

I'd much rather have it read to me then watch it.

Most of Neil Gaiman's books.  Especially Good Omens (with Terry Pratchett), American Gods, and Neverwhere
So Long and Thanks for All the Fish - Douglas Adams
The Name of the Wind - Patrick Rothfus
The Dark is Rising - Susan Cooper

Yeah, I'm an unabashed fantasy Geek.  ;D

Ooooh ... just one?!

Probably the book that has most influenced me was "Rebels and Devils: The Psychology of Liberation". It's a collection of essays, interviews and the like about reality and freedom and our relationship to those concepts by various people ranging from Aleister Crowley, Austin Spare and William Burroughs through to Peter Caroll and Timothy Leary. The essays on ethics and morality and on how language limits our thoughts literally changed my life.

"We Are Everywhere: The Irresistible Rise of Global Anti-Capitalism" is another anthology of pieces about anarchism, anti-globalisation, parecon and other concepts striving for a fairer, more equitable world. Along with that documentary "The Corporation", this very much shaped my political and economic beliefs.

Sorry. These at least also deserve honourable mentions:

Lyall Watson - "Supernature" and "Beyond Supernature"
Carl Yung - Pretty-much all his work, but especially his biography "Memories, Dreams and Reflections"
Brian Greene - "The Elegant Universe" and "The Fabric of the Cosmos".

Mina.

I don't really have a favorite book per se, and haven't had a chance to read much but College assigned stuff.

In high school I read a lot of Lyall Watson's books, and before that Lois Lowry's books had my interest.

Quote from: Jamie-o on January 02, 2009, 05:04:44 AMMost of Neil Gaiman's books.

I agree Jamie, about Neil Gaiman: American Gods is a masterpiece. Weirdly, I didn't like it when I was reading it, but afterward it dawned upon me how amazing it was. Have you ever read The Sandman? Or Anansi Boys? Anansi Boys is perhaps the only Gaiman, aside from a great many of his short stories, that I don't like.

My favorite book? OMG that is sooo difficult to answer, for I have so many that I love.  But one of them is You can't go home again by Thomas Wolfe simply because it is one of the saddest and truest books I have ever read.  I think that most people who have transsexed and disappeared into society after transition can certainly identify with it.


tink :icon_chick:

Lots of different books for lots of different reasons.

Alanna by Tamora Pierce. It was my first fantasy book and the first time I was exposed to the concept of crossdressing, even if the girl in question wasn't really trans, just pretending to be male.

The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck. Not much to say, it's just an absolutely touching story about a guy trying to bring himself and his family up in the world. I definitely identify with him...

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. The story of a boy searching for his purpose-I could idenitfy with it in 7th grade when I first read it, and still can.

Dangerous Angels by Francesca Lia Block. Set pretty much in my neighborhood, it opened my eyes--I never saw the city as anything but a place where I lived before I read DA.

Those are the main ones.

My favorite book is 'Where the red fern grows'- Wilson Rawls.  It made an impression on me when my teacher who was reading in class, starting crying.

'Master of Whitestorm', Janny Wurtz.
A singularly epic fantasy tale of legendary proportions. It has everything that a fantasy masterpiece needs.

I think it's still Pride and Prejudice, that's one of the few books I've read more than once, and one of only a couple I've read multiple times. 

Unlike movies and other media, I think some novels actually have the ability to change your life.  Turn you into a different person.  Now, I have a degree in literature, and I have read 20-30 novels per month at times.

Out of all the books I've read so far, there are three books that stand out as having had a significant impact on the way that I perceive and process information.  One of those was Ralph Waldo Ellison's "Invisible Man."  Another was Herman Hesse's "Siddhartha."  The third was a bit of a surprise.  It's a science fiction novel by Elizabeth Moon entitled "Speed of Dark."

Some that deserve honorable mention are anthing by Philip K. Dick, and Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World."

Out of all these books, "Speed of Dark" is perhaps least known, so I am promoting it.

Quote from: Reese on January 02, 2009, 02:03:53 PM

Quote from: Jamie-o on January 02, 2009, 05:04:44 AMMost of Neil Gaiman's books.

I agree Jamie, about Neil Gaiman: American Gods is a masterpiece. Weirdly, I didn't like it when I was reading it, but afterward it dawned upon me how amazing it was. Have you ever read The Sandman? Or Anansi Boys? Anansi Boys is perhaps the only Gaiman, aside from a great many of his short stories, that I don't like.

I liked Anansie Boys (and I have a personalized, signed copy of it.  Ahem. *polishes fingernails on shirt, and looks oh-so smug*  ;)) but I agree, it wasn't his best.  I don't have much patience for all the pictures in graphic novels (I'd rather create my own mental images) so I haven't actually read any of the Sandman books.  I like Gaiman enough, though, that I'll probably check them out eventually.

On the favorite books front, I'd have to throw in Clive Barker's Abarat series, as well.  Clive Barker has an amazing, visual style of writing that I just love.  He can make the most horrible things sound beautiful.  Unfortunately, I often don't like what he writes.

I have too many favorites to list... well, actually, I'll try. What the heck.

Demian by Hermann Hesse-- Amazing story, and while I didn't like Siddhartha, this book is just incredible.

A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick-- One of the trippiest, funniest, darkest looks at life I've ever read. In a word, brilliant. Sadly, though, it makes Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep seem like a children's book.

Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury-- An essential book for writers and, in fact, anyone traversing the wide road of life. Even has some of his little-known poetry in the back.

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens-- An oldie but a goodie. My mom first read this book to me when I was far too young to understand its implications (I was somewhere between 5 and 7). I have read it probably 6 times since, and every time I read it, it both brings back memories and brings new revelations about the story and my life.

On the Road by Jack Kerouac-- This is kind of clicheed, but oh well... I also love The Dharma Bums and Big Sur. On the Road, however, launched my love of travel to new heights.

The Drifters by James Michener-- Echo the love of travel. Throw in an obsession with the 60s.

The Minds of Billy Milligan by Daniel Keyes-- Incredible true story of a man with 24 distinct personalities, beautifully crafted by the author of Flowers for Algernon.

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis-- While I must admit I prefer the film version, the book is written in a haphazard, quasi-poetic prose that adds even more insanity to its titular character.


There are plenty more... but who wants to read about me? Ah, whatever...

SD

This one's easy for me, because not many books can make me laugh and cry at the same time.

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, by Dave Eggers

Simply put, this books needs to be read.  Eggers speaks of the struggle of all of us, to find a life worth living.  Through all his foolishness, he still manages to discover something that most people don't:  that life is about more than just getting your next paycheck.

I'm a great fan of books and do not have a favourite book as I have read thousands of books and authors. My favourite authors include Issac Asimov, Sidney Sheldon, Anne Rice, Robert Heinlein, Tom Clancy, William Shakespeare, Jean Auel, Stephen King, Jacqueline Susann, J.R.R. Tolkien, Anne McCaffrey to name a few.

These people have, to me, captured my fevered imagination, taken me to worlds far beyond my own, and opened my mind to new and exciting possibilities and perchance, even to dream!

Quote from: tekla on January 01, 2009, 08:46:10 PM
I have several favorites...

Little Women, by Louise May Alcott

Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Caroll

The Physics Lectures, (one and two, and three - also gathered as The Feynman Lectures on Physics) Richard Phillips Feynman

Cosmic Canticle, Ernesto Cardenal

oh love little women! my mom got me on that one when i was little.

My favourite book is The Princess Bride by William Goldman, it balances over the top romanticism and harsh cynicism to lovely effect.

Special mention to Cyrano de Bererac by Edmond Rostand, who swept me off my feet with humour and panache and the grounded humanism of Kurt Vonnegut, especially in Timequake, Bluebeard and Slaughterhouse Five.

Michel de Montaigne's Essays and Samuel Pepys' Diaries win the non fiction awards, for both being witty, funny, tragic and human.

Quote from: Pica Pica on January 13, 2009, 04:41:12 PM
My favourite book is The Princess Bride by William Goldman, it balances over the top romanticism and harsh cynicism to lovely effect.

Special mention to Cyrano de Bererac by Edmond Rostand, who swept me off my feet with humour and panache and the grounded humanism of Kurt Vonnegut, especially in Timequake, Bluebeard and Slaughterhouse Five.

Michel de Montaigne's Essays and Samuel Pepys' Diaries win the non fiction awards, for both being witty, funny, tragic and human.

* raises eyebrow* Which part of Cyrano did you find humorous?

Most of the fights, when cyrano is waiting for roxanne at raganneus',the bit when he delays de-guiche and confuses the priest into performing the marriage ceremony, when roxanne turns up at the camp with food...It's often a bitter angry humour, a defiant humour...but cyrano is a defiant person...right to the end, and that bit always makes me cry.

Quote from: Pica Pica on January 13, 2009, 04:57:24 PM
Most of the fights, when cyrano is waiting for roxanne at raganneus',the bit when he delays de-guiche and confuses the priest into performing the marriage ceremony, when roxanne turns up at the camp with food...It's often a bitter angry humour, a defiant humour...but cyrano is a defiant person...right to the end, and that bit always makes me cry.

okay. have to agree on de guiche's delayment. that was pretty funny.
as for the crying at the end, i do too. but not for the same reason. i cry because he didn't fight for roxanne. he just let her go. it's totally contradictory to his nature (and yet of course there wouldn't be a story if he did fight for her).

he didn't fight for her because  she was the only thing he really wanted, that paralysed him.

Quote from: Pica Pica on January 13, 2009, 05:16:35 PM
he didn't fight for her because  she was the only thing he really wanted, that paralysed him.

doesn't make sense. and once he knew he had won her, and she loved him and not nevalette (sic) and nevalette died, he should've told the truth.

Quote from: tekla on January 01, 2009, 08:55:48 PM
I'd much rather have it read to me then watch it.

awww, thats a sweet thought.

I've recently started re-reading "The Annotated Alice', which was given to me about 15 years back. This is my third reading, and I wish someone would read it to me. :)

My faves, Carlos Castanada, Tolkien, and anything referential. I find that novels are hard to keep reading, where referential texts are easy to pick up/read something/gain something/put down/repeat.

To answer the question directly, I think one of the best novels I've read was "The Man in the Tree", kinda a spirit like the healer in "The Green Mile', but diffierent.

The Vampire Series by Anne Rice.  I love the characters involved.
The Necromancer by Brian Lumly.

Yes i like Gothic like off stories.

Janet

My favorite author is Terry Pratchett, but if I had to choose a favorite book, it'd probably be The Giver, by Lois Lowry.  I know she's considered a children/young adult author, in that her language is pretty simple.. but the themes and the way they're expressed are heavy.  It's the sequel/companion to Gathering Blue, which I've also read and is also very good.

It describes another world, one where everyone's lives are planned out for them in childhood, and there's no real choice or deviation.  They can't even perceive color anymore, because color would give people more choice.  "The Giver" is the one person in the village who has memories of another time, a time where there was love and color and choice, and it's a highly respected and important role in the community.  Then a young boy is chosen to be the next Giver, and receives small snippets of memory in sessions with the Giver, but.. problems develop, and a dangerous plan is hatched.  Excellent book!  The kind that makes me really think every time I read it.  Lowry's a really good author.

I also love The Chosen, The Tao of Pooh, The Woman in the Wall, aaaand yep just about anything by Pratchett, lol.  I think I've read The Hogfather about five times.

Posted on: Today at 06:37:06 pmPosted by: TamTam
The Tao of Pooh,

But of course,,, AA Milne, and his students.

Some of my fave fiction books are Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz (talk about humour >:-)), The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo (I'm half Frollo, half Quasi), and Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery (childhood favorite).

Quote from: Nero on January 13, 2009, 05:22:41 PM

Quote from: Pica Pica on January 13, 2009, 05:16:35 PM
he didn't fight for her because  she was the only thing he really wanted, that paralysed him.

doesn't make sense. and once he knew he had won her, and she loved him and not nevalette (sic) and nevalette died, he should've told the truth.

he  thought he could protect her from the confusion and feeling of betrayal.

Now I'm going through my library, and I found Kafka's Metamorphosis. Time to read that again,,,

Quote from: Pica Pica on January 13, 2009, 05:43:31 PM

Quote from: Nero on January 13, 2009, 05:22:41 PM

Quote from: Pica Pica on January 13, 2009, 05:16:35 PM
he didn't fight for her because  she was the only thing he really wanted, that paralysed him.

doesn't make sense. and once he knew he had won her, and she loved him and not nevalette (sic) and nevalette died, he should've told the truth.

he  thought he could protect her from the confusion and feeling of betrayal.

it would've been better to let her know she didn't have to grieve for her love; he was right there.

but other than that, how could he be all that he was and have so little self-love?

cos all the stuff he did and was, was a result of being ugly. 'Instead of spurs, I let the truth clash out' etc..etc.. And he never compromised, so it was roxanne's love or no-ones. I can't see what he saw in her particularly.

Quote from: Pica Pica on January 13, 2009, 05:49:53 PM
cos all the stuff he did and was, was a result of being ugly. 'Instead of spurs, I let the truth clash out' etc..etc.. And he never compromised, so it was roxanne's love or no-ones. I can't see what he saw in her particularly.

well, that's actually something i can see. he spent all his life being abused and laughed at by women and she had been nice to him when they were kids. other than my mom (who is an angel), i've spent a lifetime being abused by girls, so if one girl said a kind word to me, i'd follow her around like a puppy dog.

Anne of Green Gables!  Loved that book.  I read the whole series while my mom was in the hospital, it was part of what kept me sane.  The latter books are less fun, though.. Anne was better as a spunky kid and spunky teen, not a mom.

spose so, like a baby chicken

Quote from: Pica Pica on January 13, 2009, 05:57:27 PM
spose so, like a baby chicken

baby chicken?  ???

oh i can't believe i forgot this - my favorite author of all time is Scott O' Dell.
There's really nothing more beautiful than Island of the Blue Dolphins or the King's Fitfh.

I just finished Young Men and Fire by Norman Maclean today, it was an awesome book, both in the characters, but also in what you will learn about Western American wildfires.

 

Quote from: tekla on January 13, 2009, 09:48:12 PM
I just finished Young Men and Fire by Norman Maclean today, it was an awesome book, both in the characters, but also in what you will learn about Western American wildfires.

That's interesting, if only for the fact that I've been thinking about getting into the wildfire prevention profession. I'll  have to look it up at the local libraries.

the singer's crown by elaine isaak (it's fantasy). i loved it, first of all, because even though it has a standard fantasy plot, it has a twist that redeems it. i couldn't put it down. and the cover, unlike so many others of its genre, is very unpreposessing. no vast conquering armies, or dragons, or muscled out warriors and half naked damsels in distress. it was very intriguing.

Well, since everyone seems to be citing more than one book, I just have to say that I totally get lost in the magical realism of Gabriel Garcia Marquez; hence, he's always on my must-read list (i.e. Cien años de soledad, El amor en los tiempos del cólera,  Crónica de una muerte anunciada, El general en su laberinto, La Mala Hora)  I also love Mario Vargas Llosa (Peruvian author)...e.i. La casa verde. La Tia Julia y el escribidor, Los cuadernos de don Rigoberto, Lituma en los Andes, etc.. but I have to admit that he is a bit...ummm....depressing sometimes.  Okay, most of the time.  :P


Katia:  hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii  :icon_wave:  :)


tink :icon_chick:

i really enjoy the english translation of a hundred years of solitude

I had absolutely fallen in love with The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.  The book is absolutely hilarious!  The one thing that I will advise is that you read the book before seeing the movie, or else the movie just seems like nonsensical crap.

All of the books in the series are absolutely hilarious.

whatever you do......Don't Panic.  And have your babel fish handy.

Janet

The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins

It is my favorite because his logic is spot-on

"Creatura di Sabbia" - Tahar Ben Jelloum

Wonderful and mystical transgender novel set in Morocco.

There's also a part two called "Notte Fatale".

Maybe available in English, the original was written in French.

"The Lord of the rings" by JRR Tolkien, I have probably read more than 20 times.

"No Death, No fear" by Thich Nhat Hahn, is a primer on living life without fear and in peace.

Colin Wilson 'The Occult'
Camille Paglia 'Sexual Personae'

Wilson's book is the most influential of my life - it led me into numerous other classic authors who influenced me immeasurably, and Wilson had a way of weaving strings in a sort of metaphysically positive and entertaining way.

Paglia's book reveals the mask, the masked, the self.

Quote from: Yochanan on January 02, 2009, 09:34:31 PM
Dangerous Angels by Francesca Lia Block. Set pretty much in my neighborhood, it opened my eyes--I never saw the city as anything but a place where I lived before I read DA.

That is my all-time, must-have, top of the top five most favourite books ever! I've never actually met anyone who's ever read it before either, but I must have bought about a dozen copies for friends since highschool. Dangerous Angels and Girl Goddess #9 completely changed my life.  :D

Other books would be the short fiction of Amy Hempel (Reasons to Live, The Dog of the Marriage, At the Gates of the Animal Kingdom and Tumble Home), The City of Shy Hunters by Tom Spanbauer and probably anything by Marquez.

I always have my nose in someone's books.  :)

I forgot to mention four novels written by Pramoedya Ananta Toer which are known as "The Buru Quartet".

Apart from being a wonderful writer the truly amazing thing about these novels are that he had no way of writing them down while confined as a political prisoner on Buru Island and recited them orally to his fellow prisoners. ( http://www.iht.com/articles/2000/03/15/jak.2.t_0.php (http://www.iht.com/articles/2000/03/15/jak.2.t_0.php) )

The translation into English is absolutely brilliant and the novels tell the story of the awakening of the Indonesian Independence movement through firstly a love story and then finally through the eyes of an oppressor. What is beautiful is how there is a subtle progress from romance to political consciousness accompanied along the way by a humane treatment of the many issues Indonesia suffered and continues to suffer.

http://www.amazon.com/This-Earth-Mankind-Buru-Quartet/dp/0140256350/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236089410&sr=8-1 (http://www.amazon.com/This-Earth-Mankind-Buru-Quartet/dp/0140256350/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236089410&sr=8-1)



    Bumi Manusia (This Earth of Mankind) (1980)
    Anak Semua Bangsa (Child of All Nations) (1980)
    Jejak Langkah (Footsteps) (1985)
    Rumah Kaca (House of Glass) (1988)

Oh! I'm glad I decided to start lurking around in other forums!  I <3 books!

Dance, Dance, Dance by Haruki Murakami.  I like all of his books and he is by far my favorite author, but this one is absolutely my favorite (and it seems to be the one no one has read).  I highly recommend him to anyone who hasn't read him.  He's brilliant.  (particularly Norwegian Wood, Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, and Kafka on the Shore.  Very surreal, cynical, and funny.  One of his books was described as "verbal anarchy".  :D

I also love Gaiman, although I couldn't get through American Gods.  I should try again.  Love Good Omens, love Sandman, love Neverwhere.

Diana Wynne Jones is another favorite author.  Howl's Moving Castle and all of the Chrestomanci books are my favorites.

I can't believe I forgot this one!  I'm writing a paper on it.  Now Is the Hour by Tom Spanbauer.  There aren't even words to describe how beautiful his writing is.  I want to take a Dangerous Writing course now...

Mine include:

A Scanner Darkly - Philip K. Dick
The War of The Worlds - H.G. Wells
The Secret History - Donna Tartt
Mona Lisa Overdrive - William Gibson

and many others - yes, I'm a Sci-Fi nerd

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig
This book amazes me each time I read it. It's just the story of a father/son motorcycle trip. Or maybe it's an encapsulation of western philosophy, form versus function, and the author's obsession with "Quality." Pirsig sent the outline of this book to more than 700 editors before one accepted the project. And I'm not surprised-- who would have thought he could make it into a book worth reading.

The Moorchild by Eloise McGraw
This book is dedicated to anyone who has felt Different. It's the story of a girl who is half fairy, half human and must deal with her own strangeness amid cruel village folk. I thought the ending was a little too tidy.

---

Post Merge: October 28, 2009, 12:44:01 PM

---

Flatland by Edwin A. Abbot
This is a 19th century fable about a 2-dimensional being in a 2-dimensional world who encounters a sphere.

The sphere initially appears as a circle changing size over time. I often look at the changes our world produces over time and wonder what sphere my "2-dimensional" eyes are not seeing.

I liked The Time Machine.  Mostly because I want to go back in time as well.  I would never like to go into the future though.   :o

Anything H.G.Wells is awesome.  I love War of the Worlds.


Janet

Of the books I've read, my favorite is still "Trinity" by Leon Uris.  I also very much enjoyed "Exodus" by the same author.

So Many

My Family and Other Animals. Gerald Durrell. Kept me from leaving this world as a teenager, 'cos it kept me laughing.

Recently I read Wind in the Willows (Kenneth Grahame) again after (cough) 40 plus years, a nice book but it's been censored according to my memory :'(,there was no piper at the gates of dawn, but maybe my memory fails me. Tolkein for escapism. Peter Medawar for scientific truth, David Gemmell for fantasy. Spike Milligan for just straight out stomach hurting painful aching laughter.

Cindy

Cindy

The hitchhikers guide to the galaxy series would have to be my favourite series of books, I found it amusing how Arthur Dent found himself in one ridiculous situation after another. I also found it interesting how it used humour to point out some very serious flaws in society.

I love so many, but if I had to pick the one I just could not live without - The Complete Illustrated Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle, illustrated by Sidney Paget.  It's sorta cheating cos there's so many different stories all in one book, but hey! I just adore Sherlock Holmes stories cos they're pure escapism and adventure - but also, Holmes reminds me of me cos he has both light and dark sides to his character, and he loves music.  In fact, when I was little I used to play being Sherlock Holmes, in the campest way ever! Because of course the other reason he is like me is cos he is so obviously a big gay - come on, you thought him and Watson were just good friends?!  ;)