Eisentower30's 5 Favorite Books
Well, after the fun weekend we just had, now we've got to sit around for a month waiting for something fun to happen again. The NBA's second half is underway. I don't care. NASCAR is starting up. I don't care. Golf is back. I sort of care. March Madness? That starts in a month. I'll care then. So we must find new and intriguing things to discuss.
I'm not sure what it is you do in your "down" time, but I tend to watch movies and play video games. I'm doing it while I can. While I'm still a "kid." Every once in a while, I like to start a new book. So in honor of those readers out there, wherever you are, I'm bringing you Eisentower30's top 5 favorite books. They all just happen to be fiction, too. Criticize me if you must, but the Bible isn't one of them. It may be the Good Book or the best book according to history, but it's just not one of my favorite reads. Deal with it.
5) Anything by William Shakespeare:
The guy is a writing machine. Everything he puts on paper is not only interesting, but also deep and thought-provoking. I know this is the top 5 books, but everything he has written is gold to me. Want me to pick one? I'll go with a tie between Twelfth Night and Othello. I'll be working on a screenplay during the upcoming baseball season and I'd be lying if I said Shakespeare won't have a profound influence on my writing.
4) Heart Of Darkness:
Joseph Conrad's novella about one man's journey into the Congo to bring a "lost" colonel back home. The beauty of this work is the story within a story complex. Even better, it's one of those few pieces written in 4th person, where the narrator is giving you the main character's story as the main character relayed it to him. If you've ever seen the intensely amazing movie Apocalypse Now, you may be interested to know it is the film version of this book. Watch that movie after reading Heart Of Darkness and then come back to me and say it's a boring movie.
3) Fahrenheit 451:
Are you going to start calling me a Communist now? This is some truly great writing. Author Ray Bradbury really gets into a rarely touched subject of American society from a science fiction standpoint. Written during the beginnings of the Cold War, it was, and still is, a thrilling insight into what America has and may soon become. I believe the messages sent throughout the book resonate to every generation from now until the future.
2) 1984
1984 is similar to 451 because of its attempt to provide some sort of warning to society of where it is heading and what it could be. I doubt many books have been more of an influence into the world of movies than 1984. It may not seem that way, but the thought of a "big brother watching you" has been subtly used in hundreds of great movies. The funny thing is George Orwell's vision of a future so vastly advanced from when he wrote the book in 1948. Yet, we are still struggling to meet the expectations that his book has put on the world. Terrorism has put a new stranglehold on society in a way that Orwell had rallied to prevent. New American laws are passed every year that give "big brother" more power over the everyday person.
1) Paradise Lost:
The most intriguing, though-provoking, well-written work I've ever laid my eyes on. If you haven't read Paradise Lost, you need to. If there has ever been a (non-Bible) reason to use your mind, Paradise Lost is it. It's difficult to say this epic poem by John Milton isn't in some way related to the Bible because of it's central issue. The story of Satan's fall and his creation of Hell in an attempt at revolution. It truly opens eyes at the perception of man's fall. Sometimes it shows God as the all-knowing figure with the foresight to recognize pure evil before it has shown itself. At other times it portrays Satan in a way that shadows, in my opinion, the very fabric from which America was created; revolution. At times it is difficult to get through the long-winded sentences and overdone dialogue, but that's just how epic poems go. Just read the damn thing.
I'm not sure what it is you do in your "down" time, but I tend to watch movies and play video games. I'm doing it while I can. While I'm still a "kid." Every once in a while, I like to start a new book. So in honor of those readers out there, wherever you are, I'm bringing you Eisentower30's top 5 favorite books. They all just happen to be fiction, too. Criticize me if you must, but the Bible isn't one of them. It may be the Good Book or the best book according to history, but it's just not one of my favorite reads. Deal with it.
5) Anything by William Shakespeare:
The guy is a writing machine. Everything he puts on paper is not only interesting, but also deep and thought-provoking. I know this is the top 5 books, but everything he has written is gold to me. Want me to pick one? I'll go with a tie between Twelfth Night and Othello. I'll be working on a screenplay during the upcoming baseball season and I'd be lying if I said Shakespeare won't have a profound influence on my writing.
4) Heart Of Darkness:
Joseph Conrad's novella about one man's journey into the Congo to bring a "lost" colonel back home. The beauty of this work is the story within a story complex. Even better, it's one of those few pieces written in 4th person, where the narrator is giving you the main character's story as the main character relayed it to him. If you've ever seen the intensely amazing movie Apocalypse Now, you may be interested to know it is the film version of this book. Watch that movie after reading Heart Of Darkness and then come back to me and say it's a boring movie.
3) Fahrenheit 451:
Are you going to start calling me a Communist now? This is some truly great writing. Author Ray Bradbury really gets into a rarely touched subject of American society from a science fiction standpoint. Written during the beginnings of the Cold War, it was, and still is, a thrilling insight into what America has and may soon become. I believe the messages sent throughout the book resonate to every generation from now until the future.
2) 1984
1984 is similar to 451 because of its attempt to provide some sort of warning to society of where it is heading and what it could be. I doubt many books have been more of an influence into the world of movies than 1984. It may not seem that way, but the thought of a "big brother watching you" has been subtly used in hundreds of great movies. The funny thing is George Orwell's vision of a future so vastly advanced from when he wrote the book in 1948. Yet, we are still struggling to meet the expectations that his book has put on the world. Terrorism has put a new stranglehold on society in a way that Orwell had rallied to prevent. New American laws are passed every year that give "big brother" more power over the everyday person.
1) Paradise Lost:
The most intriguing, though-provoking, well-written work I've ever laid my eyes on. If you haven't read Paradise Lost, you need to. If there has ever been a (non-Bible) reason to use your mind, Paradise Lost is it. It's difficult to say this epic poem by John Milton isn't in some way related to the Bible because of it's central issue. The story of Satan's fall and his creation of Hell in an attempt at revolution. It truly opens eyes at the perception of man's fall. Sometimes it shows God as the all-knowing figure with the foresight to recognize pure evil before it has shown itself. At other times it portrays Satan in a way that shadows, in my opinion, the very fabric from which America was created; revolution. At times it is difficult to get through the long-winded sentences and overdone dialogue, but that's just how epic poems go. Just read the damn thing.
Comments