Five Books i'm dying to read

"Wear the old coat and buy the new book"
    - Austin Phelps


No 5:     Jesus’ Son – Dennis Johnson

from the reviews I’ve read on this book it is one of those where you feel as though the author could not have done a better job even if his life depended on it and when I hear things like that my interests are immediately sparked.
I am hoping this book lives up to all the hype I have attached to it as a result of the reviews.  Some of the things I have heard being said about this book and its author include phrases like; “Johnson writes like a slummin angel” and “The writing made my heart ache”. I can’t wait to get myself a copy of this book and once I again, I hope it lives p to the hype I have constructed around it.

No 4:     I Know why the caged bird sings – Maya Angelo

 I actually find it hard to believe that I haven’t read this book. Maya Angelou is a fantastic writer and is counted amongst my favourites. One rewiever on Khalahari.net  named  James Baldwin had this to say about the book “This testimony from a black sister marks the beginning of a new era in the minds and hearts of all black men and women... I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, liberates the reader into life simply because Maya Angelou confronts her own life with such a moving wonder, such a luminous dignity. I have no words for this achievement, but I know that not since the days of my childhood, when the people in books were more real than the people one saw every day, have I found myself so moved... Her portrait is a biblical study in life in the midst of death.“ After reading such a heartfelt testimonial, I don’t know why you wouldn’t want to pick this up and delve head first into it.

No 3:     1984 – George Orwell

I, like many others have read Goerge orwell’s Animal Farm either as prescribed reading in school or of our own accord and if 1984 is as beautifully written then I am sure to have a splendid time reading this book. Published in 1949, this book is acclaimed for its futurist tellings (well not literally a view of things in the future, but…)

No2:      Metamorphosis – Franz Kafka

 Dubbed on of the 20^th century’s seminal reads, Metamorphosis tells the tale of a travelling salesman who wakes up one morning to find that he has gone through a change in his physical appearance. This is just one example of the word “Kafkaesque” which has been used to describe surreal situations reminiscent of those found in his writing
 Kafka has penned countless other books including The Great Wall of China, Description of a Struggle, Amerika and Letter to His Father all of which were thought to be highly influential books and has thus been hailed as one of the greatest authors of the 20^th century.
I personally cannot wait to see what all the hype is about.

No 1:     A Thousand Splendid Suns – Khaled Hosseini

 I have intended to read this book for the longest time and I keep letting myself down in that I never get around to it. What with all the James Frey obsessions I have, it is a miracle I have the time to read anything else. I have however made a vow that it is most definitely going to be my next read.
 The book’s title is taken from a line in the Josephine Davis translation of the poem "Kabul", by the 17th-century Iranian poet Saib Tabrizi which reads as follows;

        Every street of Kabul is enthralling to the eye
        Through the bazaars, caravans of Egypt pass
        One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs
        And the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls.

Let’s get to reading!!!