Lists of Books (updated)

5 most depressing books:
1) Ethan Fromme - Edith Wharton
2) Sex and the City - Candace Bushnell
3) The Rise and Fall of Courtesans - Balzac
4) Hunchback of Notre Dame - Victor Hugo
5)

5 recommendations:
1) The Joy Luck Club
2) Darwin's Radio (new recommendation)
3) Wildly Sophisticated
4) Now, Discover Your Strengths
5) Cyteen

10 favorite authors:
1) C.J. Cherryh
2) J.R.R. Tolkien
3) Tolstoy
4) Thackeray
5) Greg Bear
6) Amy Tan
7) Louisa May Alcott
9) James Tiptree
10) James Herriot

5 books I most want to read:
1) Mrs. Edgeworth's Tales
2) The New Testament
3) Adam Smith
4) Peter Pan
5) The Secret Garden

10 childhood favorites (junior high or earlier):
1) Pigman by Zindel
2) Arm of the Starfish by L'Engle
3) I am Not a Short Adult
4) Lord of the Rings Trilogy
5) Mustang, Wild Spirit of the West
6) Narnia Series
7) Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
8) Little Women, Little Men and Jo's Boys
9) Macbeth
10) Angus and the Cat

6 great quotes:

1) Sex and the City - Candace Bushnell
"Who was that man you were kissing in the cab?" Skipper asked.
"Just another man I either don't want or can't have," Samantha said. "Like you."
"But you can have me," Skipper said. "I'm available."
"Exactly," Sam said.

2) The Prince and Pauper - Mark Twain
A sounding blow upon the prince's shoulder from Canty's broad palm sent him staggering into goodwife Canty's arms, who clasped him to her breast and sheltered him from a pelting rain of cuffs and slaps by interposing her own person. The frightened girls retreated to their corner; but the grandmother stepped eagerly forward to assist her son. The prince sprang away from Mrs. Canty, exclaiming:
"Thou shalt not suffer for me, madam. Let these swine do their will upon me alone."
This speech infuriated the swine to such a degree that they set about their work without waste of time.

3) The Bonesetter's Daughter - Amy Tan
I imagined two people without words, unable to speak to each other. I imagined the need: The color of the sky that meant "storm." The smell of fire that meant "Flee." The sound of a tiger about to pounce. Who would worry about such things?
And then I realized what the first word must have been: ma, the sound of a baby smacking its lips in search of her mother's breast. For a long time that was the only word the baby needed. Ma, ma, ma. Then the mother decided that was her name and she began to speak, too. She taught the baby to be careful: sky, fire, tiger.

4) The Joy Luck Club - Amy Tan
There were also fine points of chess etiquette. Keep captured men in neat rows, as well-tended prisoners. Never announce "Check" with vanity, lest someone with an unseen sword slit your throat. Never hurl pieces into the sandbox after you have lost a game, because then you must find them again, by yourself, after apologizing to all around you.

5) Chanur's Home-Coming - C.J. Cherryh
For the first time panic hit her, real fear. This was the hero-stuff, being number one charging up the stairs into that mess. It was where her rashness and the possession of that illegal AP had put her. "Hyyaaaah! she yelled in raw terror, and rushed the stairs, because running screaming the other way was too humiliating.

6) Vitals - Greg Bear
I was hoping for Eden. Prince Hal Cousins, scientist, supreme egotist, prime believer in the material world, frightened of the dark and no friend of God, was about to pay a visit to the most primitive ecologies, searching for the fountain of youth. I was on a pilgrimage back to where the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil had taught us how to die. I planned to reclaim that fruit and run some tests.