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General Reading: Fiction Editor: Erna Colebrook |
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| LIST OF RECOMMENDED BOOKS |
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OTHER
TOPICS
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The intention of this section of the Resource Pack is to include a list of books in the field of fiction, near fiction and fantasy that have been recommended by GreenSpirit members as providing inspiration and a depth of insight that only works of the imagination can supply.
I. Books for Children of All Ages
Kenneth Grahame. The Wind in the Willows
(HarperCollins, 1994), pp. 272. ISBN 0 00 647926 X
The adventures of Mole, Ratty, Badger, Toad and
the River.
Text
available on-line.
Ursula La Guin. The Earthsea Quartet
(Penguin Books, 1993), pp. 691. ISBN 0 14 015427 2
Comprising A Wizard of Earthsea, The
Tombs of Atuan, The Farthest Shore and Tehanu.
As a young dragonlord Ged, whose use-name is Sparrowhawk, is sent to
the island of Roke to learn the true way of magic. Ged becomes an
Archmage and helps High Priestess Tenar escape from the labyrinth of
darkness. But as the years pass, true magic and ancient ways are forced
to submit to the powers of evil although these are finally overcome by
the dragon Kalessin.
Rudyard Kipling. Just So Stories
(Penguin Books, 1998), pp. 160. ISBN 0 14 062113 X.
How the Camel got its Hump, The Beginning of the Armadillos, The cat
that Walked, The Butterfly the Stamped and many more stories of
beginnings.
Text
available on-line.
C S Lewis. The Chronicles of
Narnia (Diamond Books, HarperCollins
1997).
Boxed set comprising:
The
Magician’s Nephew; The Lion, the Witch and
the Wardrobe; The Horse and his Boy: Prince Caspian; Voyage of the
Dawntreader;
The Silver Chair; The Last Battle.
The history of the world of Narnia and of the
sons of
Adam and daughters of
Eve who became kings and queens there.
Phillip Pullman.
Northern Lights (Scholastic Press,
1995), pp.
416.
The Subtle Knife (Scholastic Press,
1997), pp.
352.
The Amber Spyglass (Scholastic Press,
2000),
pp. 560. [Review]
The complex plot is driven by an affirmation of physicality and also of
consciousness. The 'Dust' which streams through the story's parallel
universes without communication with intelligent beings will leak out
into nowhere. If you want to know how this and kindred themes are woven
into a narrative with a wonderful variety of living characters, read
these books!
Dan
Simmons.
Hyperion (Bantam Books, 1990), pp. 482.
ISBN 0 553 28368 5.
The Fall of Hyperion (Bantam
Spectra,
1991), pp. 517. ISBN 0 553 28820 2.
Endymion (Bantam Books, 1996),
pp.
624. ISBN 0 553 57294 6.
The Rise of Endymion (Bantam
Books,
1998), pp. 709. ISBN 0 553 57298 9.
J R R Tolkien. The Lord of the
Rings (Harper Collins, 1993), pp. 1137. ISBN 0 261
10325 3.
Comprising
The Fellowship of the Ring, The
Two Towers and The
Return of the King.
The story of the quest to destroy the Great Ring as told by Bilbo and
Frodo of
the Shire.
"The English-speaking world is divided into those who have read The
Lord
of the Rings and those who are going to read them." The
ecological
aspects of these stories is studied in Patrick Curry. Defending
Middle-Earth
(HarperCollins, 1998).
II. General Fiction
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Aldous
Huxley. Island (Grafton Books, 1976), pp. 336, |
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Barbara
Kingsolver. Prodigal Summer
Paperback: (Faber
&
Faber, 2001), pp.453,
ISBN 0571206484 |
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William
Fiennes. The Snow Geese
(Picador, 2002), pp. 250, ISBN 0 330 37579 2 Snow geese spend their summers in the Canadian Arctic. Each autumn they migrate south, to Delaware, California and the Gulf of Mexico, and in the spring they fly north again. One year William Fiennes decided to go with them and to write the story of his travels. The result is a mesmerizing story about the joy of being alive, of being on the move and – above all – of returning home. |
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Ursula
Le Guin. Always Coming Home.
(University of California Press), pp. 524, ISBN 0 520 22735 2 The people in this book might be going to have lived a long, long time from now in Northern California. The main part of the book is their voices speaking for themselves in stories and life-stories, plays, poems and songs. |
| Reviews of some of the books | |
