Fifteen of the best opening lines in literature

One title on the Independent's list of the fifteen best opening lines in literature:

The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald

“In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since. Whenever you feel like criticising any one, he told me, just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.”

Read about the other entries on the list.

Also see: Robert McCrum's list of ten of the best opening lines of novels in the English language.

The Great Gatsby appears among Molly Schoemann-McCann's list of five of the lamest girlfriends in fiction, Honeysuckle Weeks's six best books, Elizabeth Wilhide's nine illustrious houses in fiction, Suzette Field's top ten literary party hosts, Robert McCrums's ten best closing lines in literature, Molly Driscoll's ten best literary lessons about love, Jim Lehrer's six favorite 20th century novels, John Mullan's lists of ten of the best clocks in literature and ten of the best misdirected messages, Tad Friend's seven best novels about WASPs, Kate Atkinson's top ten novels, Garrett Peck's best books about Prohibition, Robert McCrum's top ten books for Obama officials, Jackie Collins' six best books, and John Krasinski's six best books, and is on the American Book Review's list of the 100 best last lines from novels. Gatsby's Jordan Baker is Josh Sorokach's biggest fictional literary crush.

--Marshal Zeringue

Top ten books that could change the way you understand modern cities

At io9, Annalee Newitz tagged ten books will help you untangle the mysteries of today's city life, including:

Aerotropolis: The Way We'll Live Next, by John D. Kasarda and Greg Lindsay

Business analyst Kasarda and journalist Lindsay teamed up to write a book that explores one of the key reasons why cities get built where they do: transportation systems. Previous generations built cities on waterways, next to ports, and adjacent to train stations. Today, we build them around airports. Published in 2011, this book takes for granted what Sassen explained in her work on global cities. In a global economy, one of the city's greatest assets is an airport — a physical connection to the rest of the world. Kasarda and Lindsay explore how modern transit infrastructure have created a new generation of global cities whose lifeblood runs through the air itself.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Ten notable children’s books that celebrate diversity

At The Barnes & Noble Book Blog Molly Schoemann-McCann tagged "ten favorite beautifully illustrated children’s books that embrace a wide spectrum of children and families of different colors, cultures, abilities, and nationalities," including:

Donavan’s Double Trouble, by Monalisa DeGross

African American fourth grader Donavan thought this was going to be his year—but instead, he’s having trouble in school (spelling is no problem, but math is eluding him), and problems at home, where his beloved Uncle Vic has returned from the war in a wheelchair with both legs missing. Will his younger sister have to tutor him in math? And what are his friends are going to think when they see Uncle Vic in his wheelchair at a school event? Donavan’s perseverance in overcoming his problems with math and in repairing his relationship with his uncle will inspire and delight kids, particularly those who have struggled in school or at home. (Ages 8–12)

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Five notable books about lost (and found) artifacts

Ayelet Waldman is the author of Love and Treasure, Red Hook Road and the New York Times bestseller Bad Mother: A Chronicle of Maternal Crimes, Minor Calamities and Occasional Moments of Grace. Her novel Love and Other Impossible Pursuits was adapted into a film called The Other Woman starring Natalie Portman. Her personal essays and profiles of such public figures as Hillary Clinton have been published in a wide variety of newspapers and magazines, including the New York Times, Vogue, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal. Her radio commentaries have appeared on “All Things Considered” and “The California Report.”

One of Waldman's favorite books about lost (and found) artifacts, as shared at Goodreads:

The Messiah of Stockholm by Cynthia Ozick

Lars Andemening, the tormented, deluded, and often (inadvertently) hilarious hero of this gem of a novel, has managed to convince himself that he is the son of Bruno Schulz, the Polish artist and writer murdered by the SS in the town of Drohobych in 1942. A young woman throws Lars's delusions into disarray by appearing with a copy of what she claims is Schulz's legendary lost manuscript, The Messiah. And like Lars, she claims Schulz as her father. To describe the novel as a philosophical musing on literary influence and on the losses and displacements of the Holocaust is accurate but insufficient. Its pleasure lies in its wit and in Ozick's manipulation of realism and surrealism in a way reminiscent of Schulz himself.

Read about the other books on the list.

Visit Ayelet Waldman's website.

Writers Read: Ayelet Waldman.

The Page 69 Test: Love and Treasure.

--Marshal Zeringue

Ten of the best books that make heroes out of readers

Niall Williams, a Dublin born writer, has lived in Kiltumper, Co Clare in the west of Ireland for the past 30 years. He is the author of eight novels, three stage plays, four non-fiction works and several screenplays. His new novel is History of the Rain.

One entry on Willaims's list of ten of the best books that manage to make heroes out of readers, as shared at the Guardian:

Possession by AS Byatt

It's 1986. In the Reading Room of the London Library, (perfect bookworm setting) Roland Michell, a post-doctoral research student, (perfect bookworm job) is turning the pages of a book that once belonged to his hero, the Victorian poet, Randolph Henry Ash. The book is thick and black and covered with dust. Its spine broken, it is bandaged and tied together with a bow. But among its pages Roland finds two unsigned letters written in the unmistakeable hand of the poet. The letters suggest a love affair. So begins one of the great bookworm-as-detective novels.

Read about the other entries on the list.

Possession also appears on Kyle Minor's list of fifteen of the hottest affairs in literature, Emily Temple's list of the fifty greatest campus novels ever written, John Mullan's lists of ten of the best fossils in literature, ten of the most memorable libraries in literature, ten of the best fictional poets, ten of the best locks of hair in fiction, ten of the best graveyard scenes in fiction, and ten of the best lawyers in literature, and on Rachel Syme's list of the ten most attractive men in literature, Christina Koning's critic's chart of six top romances, and Elizabeth Kostova's top ten list of books for winter nights.

--Marshal Zeringue

Three of the best books on China

At the Guardian, Pushpinder Khaneka named three of the best books on China. One title on the list:

The Garlic Ballads by Mo Yan

Blood, sweat and tears – and the pungent smell of garlic – run through Mo's gritty tale of penury and powerlessness in rural China.

The story, set in the late-1980s, is inspired by a real incident. Poor farmers in the ironically named Paradise County are encouraged by officials to plant garlic. But when a glut ensues, the corrupt officials, who have lined their pockets, refuse to buy any more of the crop and it is left to rot in the fields.

Facing ruin, the enraged farmers riot and burn down the county offices. Official retribution is swift and savage. The "revolt" is crushed, and the alleged ringleaders beaten and jailed.

Among those held are villagers Gao Yang and Gao Ma – the latter involved in a passionate but doomed love affair – who tell their stories through flashbacks.

Mo vividly portrays the peasants' harsh existence and the greed that corrupts families and bureaucrats – and ruins lives. His powerful, lyrical prose and tempered rage make The Garlic Ballads a rattling good read.

Mo Yan, a pen name that means "don't speak", was a controversial winner of the 2012 Nobel prize. Critics said the former army officer was too close to the state. This novel, however, was banned for a time.

Read about the other books on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Top ten books to read aloud to children

William Sutcliffe is the author of five adult novels, including the international bestseller, Are You Experienced?. His first novel for Young Adults, The Wall, was published in 2013 and has had much critical acclaim, including being longlisted for the Guardian Fiction Prize and shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal. Circus of Thieves is his first novel for younger children.

One title on his top ten list of books to read aloud to children, as shared at the Guardian:

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

There is something magical about this book, which works beautifully for pre-verbal children. This is a "story" that is actually all about the music of the words, and the way they fit with the unique and mesmerising pictures. Every baby should have a copy of this book as one of their first possessions.

Read about the other entries on the list.

Also see: Mal Peet's top ten books to read aloud to children.

--Marshal Zeringue

Top ten time travel books

Damian Dibben is the creator of the internationally acclaimed series The History Keepers published in over 40 countries and translated into 26 languages.

One of his top ten time travel books, as shared at the Guardian:

Percy Jackson And The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan

I consider this a time-travel book as elements of a mythic past come crashing into the modern day America. I have always been a fan of the Percy Jackson books – the mix of adventure, myth and humour is absolutely perfect – but this is my top choice. In this fifth installment, Percy, the demi-god son of Poseidon, has turned sixteen and the fate of the world is upon him. (That's what it feels like when you're sixteen!) Ultimately he and his friends must put up a final stand to protect Mount Olympus, the home of the gods. Threaded through sequences of non-stop action, there are many twists and mysteries, along with a triumphant and very emotional conclusion. What's not to like?

Read about the other titles on the list.

Percy Jackson is among Casey Lee's ten favorite book series.

Also see Michael Brooks's top ten list of time travel books.

--Marshal Zeringue

Simon Sebag Montefiore's six best books

As a historian, Simon Sebag Montefiore's works include Jerusalem: The Biography, Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar, and Young Stalin, which was awarded the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Biography, the Costa Biography Prize (UK), and Le Grand Prix de Biographie Politique (France). His novels include the critically acclaimed Sashenka and the newly released One Night in Winter.

One of the author's six favorite books, as shared at The Week magazine:

Eugene Onegin by Alexander Pushkin

In my novel, teenagers in a Moscow reading club play out the duel scene from Pushkin's novel in a game that goes horribly wrong. But Pushkin's masterpiece is really about an adulterous love that cannot be. When Onegin meets his beloved at the end, she says she loves him too but can't be unfaithful to her husband: In my novel, which is really about love, an adulterous wife sends her lover that passage to say goodbye.

Read about the other books on the list.

Also see Simon Sebag Montefiore's five best books about Moscow.

--Marshal Zeringue

Top ten orphans in children's literature

Katherine Rundell grew up in Africa and Europe and was elected a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford. She is the author of Girl Savage and Rooftoppers.

At the Guardian, Rundell named her top ten orphans in children's literature. One entry on the list:

Mowgli, The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling

Mowgli's parents are eaten by a tiger, and he is taken in by a family of wise and friendly wolves. Freed from restraints of civilisation, he is allowed to consort with haughty panthers and anxious bears. The Disney film is fantastic, but the book – which is earnest and witty by turns - is even better.

Read about the other orphans on the list.

The Jungle Book is among President Kennedy's favorite books as a child.

--Marshal Zeringue

Thirteen of the most dysfunctional parents in literature

Julia Fierro's new novel is Cutting Teeth.

One entry on the author's list of the most dysfunctional parents in literature, as shared at the Huffington Post:

Mr. & Mrs. Lisbon in The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides, 1993

My heart goes out to Mr. and Mrs. Lisbon, parents of the five beautiful Lisbon girls--13-year-old Cecilia, 14-year-old Lux, 15-year-old Bonnie, 16-year-old Mary, and 17-year-old Therese. The Lisbon family dysfunction reads like a tragic fairy tale. I can imagine that, as daughter after daughter slipped through Mom and Dad Lisbon's prayer-clenched fingers, the parents in Eugenides' novel felt certain they were cursed, forsaken by the God they worshipped so obediently and whose image was found throughout the Lisbon house in the form of rosaries and crucifixes and holy water. Poor Mr. and Mrs. Lisbon, whose fatal mistake--imprisoning their ethereal daughters in what they thought was the safety of their home--while borne by good intentions, may have been the very thing that smothered the girls and led them to destruction. The Virgin Suicides offers its readers a melancholy dysfunction, the mood of which lingers long after the last page is read.

Read about the other entries on the list.

The Virgin Suicides is among Rosa Rankin-Gee's ten top novellas about love, Kate Finnigan's top ten fictional fashion icons, Patrick Ness's top ten "unsuitable" books for teenagers, Cathy Cassidy's top ten stories about sisters.

--Marshal Zeringue

Five books that changed Vikram Chandra

Vikram Chandra is the author of three highly acclaimed works of fiction, most recently Sacred Games, which won the 2006 Hutch Crossword Award, and the nonfiction book, Geek Sublime: The Beauty of Code, the Code of Beauty.

One of five books that changed him, as shared with the Sydney Morning Herald:

VANITY FAIR
William Makepeace Thackeray

Two young women - the amiable Amelia Sedley and the aptly named Becky Sharp - leave school to discover the world, and the reader gets an ebullient ride through the pageant of Regency England. I read Vanity Fair when I was in graduate school, and was dazzled by its colour and variety.

Read about the other books on the list. 

Vanity Fair also appears on Joanna Trollope's six favorite books list, Maddie Crum's top ten list of fictional characters who just might be psychopaths, Allegra Frazier's list of five of her favorite fictional gold diggers, John Mullan's list of ten of the most memorable governesses in literature, Stella Tillyard's list of favorite historical novels, John Mullan's lists of ten of the best fat men in literature and ten of the best pianos in literature, and Thomas Mallon's list.

Also see: Chandra's top ten computer books.

--Marshal Zeringue