Have you ever found yourself reading a really good book that happens to be really sad? More importantly, did you ever notice that a huge proportion of books ARE really sad?
This is the realization I came to a few weeks ago when a friend came over to La Casa de Hughes (actually, more like La Duplex de Hughes) for dinner. She works as an LPN at a nursing home, and had a depressed patient she was worried about. She thought it would help cheer her if she could spend of her ample free time reading some good books.
“No problem,” I told her, knowing that my husband has fought to keep every single book he’s ever owned, including his textbook on Medieval Russian Literature from his junior year of college. Let me tell you how thrilled I have been to lug heavy boxes across the country in countless moves for books he will never so much as open again. Yet I digress.
What this means is we have one of those huge, industrial shelves that normally hold pots in a restaurant holding books in our office.
So, taking my friend up the stairs, I was sure I’d find something for her patient to read. After all, I had read almost everything on those packed shelves, and there are many wonderful books in there I really love.
“We just need to make sure that they’re not sad,” my friend said. “I tried looking through my books at home, but I couldn't find any that weren't sad!”
I started diving through the spines on the shelf, reading out some of my favorites.
“A Farewell to Arms – sad. The Color of Purple – kind of depressing. Book of Lost Things – gloomy. Marley and Me – God no!”
Textbooks notwithstanding, it seemed almost all of my books were either weird (I love John Irving, the freak) or super sad.
I’m not sure why I didn’t realize this before. I even made the mistake of taking Cormac McCarthy’s The Road to read during our Costa Rican honeymoon last year, only to end up buried for hours in the hammock on our private patio overlooking a magical rainforest, hiccupping sobs of tears with each page I turned. And this is my idea of a good time.
So I settled on Seabiscuit and Memoirs of a Geisha – not entirely uplifting, but at least not bawl-your-eyes-out reads.
The experience got me thinking about good books, and why they’re sad – why they almost have to have some sort of sadness to make them interesting. Perhaps it’s the genre I’m into – I don’t dig the scifi or mystery or romance stuff, so I guess the kinds of books I enjoy must rely on drama to build climax because they can’t rely on other tools of storytelling, such as mystery or a lot of suspense. I love following awesome characters in their stories, and to identify with awesome characters' trials and tribulations, there might be some tears involved.
Below I’ve created a list of books I love and think are great reads, but I’d love to hear about your favorites. Give me your suggestions – and what do you love about the books you love? I can’t wait to hear. I’m always looking to add more to my list, and don’t worry — I’ve got plenty of Kleenex.
Kat’s list of five favorite summer reads (nothing too heavy):
1.) Three Cups of Tea
I’m in the middle of this book right now, but I’m in love. This is such an uplifting and inspiring story of a man’s journey to build schools in war-torn Pakistan. It puts our lives as spoiled Americans in perspective.
2.) Travels with Charley
What a great summer read. The story of John Steinbeck, touring America in his camper with his poodle, Charley. My favorite part? His observation that the interstate system has homogenized the American experience. And this was in 1960.
3.) A Prayer for Owen Meany
This is my favorite book of all time. I love it for the way John Irving pulls you into his weird tales of perfectly ordinary people.
4.) The Secret Life of Bees
A tale of triumph and the female sprit, as well as a lesson in entomology, all wrapped into one heartwarming and empowering story.
5.) Water for Elephants
An enchanting tale of the circus life and the depression, which leads to a lot of action and a fantastic finish.
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