Want something to read (Top 10 Books)

Member Name: January

Product:	Top 10 Books
Date:	20/05/03 (143 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Entertaining, You may learn something

Disadvantages: may not interest you

To me reading is one of the wonders of life, an intimate communication between author and reader, each book has a different story or topic, to pass from the page to the eye to establish itself into your brain and filter through to your imagination.
A book is a very powerful way of communication, magical words and letters can hold you captive for hours on end, new understandings can be born and the ideals and thoughts of the author can be transported in print to thousands upon thousands of people.

Reading to me is magic and here are some of my favorite books, one's which have captured my thoughts, given me new worlds to play in and expanded my mind, to shape me into the person I am today.
These are my most treasured books which take pride of place on my bookcase.

1. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol

When Alice follows the white rabbit down the rabbit hole a whole new world opens up to her, talking animals and a grinning cat comes into her adventure to keep you compelled to read on, her quest to find out where the white rabbit is going and what he is up to leads Alice forever onwards into new and crazy adventures within the book.
Mad hatters tea parties. Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. The Duchess. The Caterpillar and the Queen of Hearts all bewilder and amaze Alice in this magical story which grips you from beginning to end. I first read this book at the age of eight and remember the feeling of wanting to go into this other world.
I carried this book around with me at every spare minute I had of the day and couldn't put it down untill the end. Brilliant work from a man who will definitely be remembered in history.
Alice has been imortalised for future generations to enjoy both in story and in film.


2. One flew over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey

This is a story of a man called McMurphy, who is sent to a mental institution when he should have been sent to prison. He soon becomes involve
d with the other patients and connects with them, much to the dissagreement of the staff.
His rebelious streak and independent thought is seen as a threat to the system of the instituition and when he plans an escape, with the help of some female friends who he sneaks into the hospital, all hell breaks lose.
A night of alchohol and partying with the girls ends with the staff returning in the morning to discover they have all passed out and the escape has failed.
As a result, McMurphy is sent down the block for electric shock therapy, a tragic end to a man who reaches out during the book to connect with the reader.
Another twist to the tale is that one of the inmates of the book a Chief Bromden, who the staff believe to be deaf and dumb becomes good friends with McMurphy, who is the only person to discover the Chief can really talk and hear and when he sees his friend all wiped out with the shock therapy, goes into the bathroom and rips the wash stand from the floor to fling it through the window and escape.
The book ends on a tragic note but the inpact of it stays with you. This has been made into a film and the lead character played by Jack Nicholson who portrayed the role superbly. One of my favorite all timers.


3. Bury me in my boots by Sally Trench

When I was taking my exams at school we had to chose a topic to do a project on in English. I chose Homelessness a subject which interested me, I got in touch with Shelter an organisation for the homeless and went off to the library to look for books on the subject. This is the book I found which has stayed in my mind all these years. If you manage to find a copy sit and read it, this was the first book to leave me in tears at the ending.
A true story of a young girl who encountered the homeless, tramps, street people and tried to make a difference.
Sally took the time to get to know these people, sneaked out of her room at night to be with them and joined the salvat
ion army to help to go round with the soup kitchens to feed them.
As she became part of their cold nights on the streets, they too became part of her life. A determination against the wishes of her family she became involved with the people who we all forget live on this planet too.
She goes round squats with food, medicine and just sits with the homeless sometimes keeping them company.
A brave and determined young girl in an uncaring system.
When a fire burns down one of the squats, sally tries in vain to help get the tramps and wineo's out. As the flames leap higher one man is trapped. He shouts to her to get out before she is hurt. As she is dragged from the building she hears him shout..Sally bury me in my boots.
This book came into my life in my teenage years and it did make me care about homeless issues and I still do.

4. Culpeper's Complete Herbal

This book is my herbal bible, if your ailing anything at all the herb and remedy will be inside these pages.
It tells you the plant and the discription of the plant so that you know what your looking for, then it tells you where to go to find it growing. As well as the amount you need to take to cure yourself. It also tells you whether you need an infusion or poultise ect. I wouldn't be without this book for all the tea in china.

5. Tales from the Arabian Nights

This is another one of my childhood classic books, I often get it down from the bookcase and open it randomly to read a funny or classic tale.
As the first story tells, Scheherazade the kings new wife is under threat of death, as the king has had his heart broken by a previous wife who betrayed him and to stop this happening again the king takes a new wife every night and has her exectuted the next day. Scherazade however is very clever and tells the king a story which ending is the beginning of a new story, thus ensuring that the tales span over the period of a thousand and one nigh
ts.
In which time the king has both been entertained, intrigued enough to listen each night and also fall in love with her. These tales save her life.
Aladdin, Sinbad and The Caliph of Bagdad are amongst some of the tales, these captured my imagination when I was little and I have read them to my children too.

6. The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test. By Tom Wolfe

This has to be the best book of all my favorite's on my bookcase. I'm not sure if you can get a copy of this any more, but it's definately a great read.
Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters travel around America on The Bus, taking the acid test to the people. Drop out, tune in and turn on.
LSD is served at these music, lights and atmospheric gigs in Kool Aid juice for anyone to join in.
The Acid test was Keseys baby, recorded on camera, video and in writing as an experiment in the LSD experience.
Tom Wolfe puts into print the adventures of the people on The Bus.
He records events, the drugs they took, the music played by The Grateful Dead, the party they had with The Hells Angels, the places they travelled to and lots of crazy people doing crazy things out of their minds on LSD and DMT, amongst other things.
If your into this sort of thing then this book is a must to read.

7. Weaveworld by Clive Barker.

I also love fantasy and sci fi books, this one is captivating and an original idea.
A magical world is hidden cleaverly woven into a carpet, guarded by a chosen keeper of the carpet.
Unfortunately the keeper of the carpet has died and as the her house is being emptied by the removal men, a young man named Cal is desperately trying to balance on the garden wall to catch his fathers escaped homeing pigeon. As he nearly falls he looks around to see the removal men rolling out the carpet in the back yard. He gets an arial view of the magic land within the carpet which sets him off on a quest to find out it's secret.
The c
arpet people are in hiding, they have got the looms to weave them into the carpet for protection, but now the carpet is being hunted.
The keeper has died and the keepers granddaughter is trying to find out where the carpet has been sold to by the removal men. She has to take over the job of keeper, but Cal having seen the carpet is obsessed with finding out if it really exists, they meet up and the adventure begins.
Teaming up together they find and guard the carpet, but all is not well, people come from the carpet to join them in the adventure and the struggle of good verses evil has begun.
I won't go to much into detail of the story but if you get the chance to have a read do so. It's a gripping story well written and hard to put down.

8. Jack Kerouac On The Road

Dean Moriaty is the charater in the book who travels around America in the 60's.
He's on the road, meeting new people experiencing lots of crazy things, taking drugs, going to jazz clubs and having the freedom to go wherever the whim takes him. An interesting book about the generation of the Beatniks of that day.
Their carefree way of life, living day to day on the whatever happens happens, or the wherever the road takes us, is refreshing to read in a day and age nowadays where stresses and strains seem to be the norm.
I loved the way of life and have lived it myself relate to this book, maybe this book influenced me more than I realise, but travelling around the countryside gives you the freedom of thought and the ability to meet opportunities which you wouldn't otherwise come across.
An alternative view in a set society of robotics.


9. The Active Side of Infinity by Carlos Castaneda.

This is the last book carlos castaneda wrote about his adventures with his shaman teacher Don Juan. Whether these are real life experiences is not known, his other books will tell you of out of the world things, magic, hallucination
s, witches, other dimentions and realities as well as the way of spiritual enlightenment.
This book is an overall summery of the experiences of his life with Don Juan another journey with the shaman to discover the path of life and death.
If you're an alternative thinker with the tendancy to yearn for knowledge of spiritual guidence and open mindedness, then any one of Carlos castaneda's books will set you off on that path. They could even alter the way you behave towards your fellow man, giving you wisdom and a self assured knowledge of how to tune into the universe your in. Learning inner peace and tollerance, patience and all the things we all need to practise to become more enlightened.
If your set in your ways, then they aren't for you.

10. Practical Candleburning Magic Rituals by Raymond Buckland.

This is one of my most recent additions to my bookcase. I spotted it on a day trip out to Wales and something made me buy it. I don't often buy new books on magick by new authors. Most of the magick I know has been passed down to me and is in my head.
I do have tarot cards, but the ritual magick I practise I do it through what I know and not read.
This book is quite interesting and the author has got an understanding of the craft.
Candle magick is a subtle magick. It can heal and it can aid other spells in their potency.
I shalln't go into the discription of these candle rituals, as I'm a firm believer that a little knowledge can sometimes do a lot of harm, so I prefer to leave out the rituals incase there are youngsters or anyone reading this who is not sure of what they are doing.
I like the out lay of this book, it is easy to read and the rituals are simple to follow. There is nothing dark or sinister about the rituals in this book, but it has protection and happiness spells, love spells and all the usual commercial things to attract the sale of the book.
As a first book to get you i
nterested in the understanding of rituals, this one is quite straight forward and if this interests you I'd get a copy of something like this, it's not to heavy to absorb and the magick is more gentle than some.

I hope this has interested you in some way, these are my favorite's and if you get the chance to read any of them don't pass it up.

Bye for now.

Summary: