1. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Jane Eyre was the first novel that really moved me and surprised me as a woman. I think this is true for a lot of female readers. Jane Eyre is told from the point of view of a 12-year-old girl in a dreadful situation. She’s an orphan who is adopted by a cruel bunch of people and sent to a horrible boarding school. So it’s about travail, but more importantly, it’s about coming through travail. Jane is a very brave, bold, upstanding girl who always seems able to defend herself, even in terrible situations.
What this book meant to me was that no matter how dark the day may appear, with some courage you can win your way through. Many people think of Jane Eyre as a romance, but that was the least important part of it for me. I was sorry in the end when Jane had to go off with Mr. Rochester, a blind and half-crippled lover. I thought it meant she’d be a nurse for the rest of her life. Luckily that was only a small part of the novel.
2. Emma by Jane Austen
I was late coming to Jane Austen. I read her as a teenager, and I think now I didn’t appreciate her as much as I might have because I was surrounded by a similar sort of dry wit in my family already. I was getting my full dose of that kind of humor. It was only ten years ago at about age 60 that I started re-reading Austen, and, of course, found it wonderfully refreshing, humorous in the deepest sense, and profound. I do think that Austen is an author who rewards re-reading at different stages of life. Many readers are introduced to her in high school or even college, and it doesn’t always work. I think she works best for a much older reader, even though most of what she wrote, she wrote when she was very young.
My favorite Austen novel is Emma. I love the story about a self-beguiled woman who really misunderstands a lot about herself and about the people around her. It’s a very unusual point of view and told with great understanding and humor. I love it. I don’t think there could be anything much better than Emma.
3. Retreat from Love by Colette
Another lifelong influence beginning in my 20s and continuing today are Colette’s novels. I love French literature for the most part. I don’t think Colette is read as much now as she was 30 years ago, but she is an absolutely beautiful stylist. I’ve read Colette both in French and in English, and even in translation her use of words is just superb.
Colette is the author I turn to in romantic hard times because one of the themes Colette handles best is recovering from heartbreak. One short novel of hers in particular, Retreat from Love, is like a healing balm when you’re going through times of romantic misfortune. It’s full of life and humor and hope and the kind of determination and independence that we all have to come back to at some point or another.
4. The Golden Bowl by Henry James
Another author I’ve come to love in the last 20 years is Henry James. Again, he’s not an author for young readers. These days, in particular, I think people are defeated by his style. But as you grow older and become more aware of the complexity of life, as we all do, the complexity of James’ writing style works. I’m thinking especially of his late novel, The Golden Bowl, which is about subterranean relationships: deeply shadowed, mysterious relationships that are difficult to figure out. As you read, it’s hard to know what’s going on sometimes. Life is like that.
I remember the first piece of fiction of his that I read: The Heiress, which was fabulous, but it’s a short story. When I think about the arc of James’ career, from a short story like The Heiress to an enormously long and complicated novel like The Golden Bowl, it’s really impressive. Henry James will be someone I will return to and read over and over again.
5. Rain in the Trees by W.S. Merwin
I also read a lot of poetry. I think there’s a very close connection between writing short stories and writing poetry, not only in the fact that they’re both short. W.S. Merwin is a favorite of mine, and many of his books of poetry are worth picking up. Right now I’m reading his book entitled Rain in the Trees. It’s relatively new. Merwin lives in Hawaii and he has become very deeply involved in the natural history of the islands, so his poems are very evocative of the atmosphere, smells, sights, and weather there. They have a slightly elegiac note which I appreciate. It’s very beautiful.
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If you keep rereading the last chapter, you will never get to the next one..get on with your life.
Do not hide your light so that others won't feel insecure around you. And as you let your light shine, you unconsciously give others the right to do the same.
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Thanks so much for this list, Sallie. I spent much of today visiting the incredible Seattle Public Library and just wanted to sit and read for weeks! Your list reminds me how my perceptions have changed, and how rereading can be every bit as rewarding as reading something new.
I love reading about people’s book choices and they quite often go on my list which is becoming very long. I find the difficulty is trying to keep up with contemporary books that I want to read whilst also wanting to go back and reread or read for the first time the classics which I missed.
I recently read “A View of the Ocean” by Dutch novelist and playwright Jan de Hartog and liked it so much I immediately had to turn back to the beginning and read it again. It is a memoir, but more about his parents than his own life. I enjoyed his treatment of dealing with aging and ill parents and his struggle to find light and enlightenment in a dark time of life. It is a short book and easy to read. Another favorite is “Starting out in the Evening” by Brian Morton. Beautifully written (better than the movie) and also dealing with life’s struggles, especially what we leave behind and how we will be remembered. These may sound a bit dark, but I found them both ultimately uplifting.
As usual once again, I march to the beat of a different drummer. I have read almost everything by
sherman Alexie. I have just finished reading a great book by Hal Borland called When Legends Die and another by Michael Garrett called Walking On The Wind. I am currently reading Mother Earth Spirituality by Ed McGaa. I have read Susn Chernak McElroy’s. All My Relations and Alice Hoffman’s 2nd Nature. In between I read bits and pieces to keep my mind sharp (lol, lol) of John Lennon’s books, Lennon In His Own Write and Spaniard In The Works. Poetry from Blue Horses for Navajo Women and Animal Reiki by Elizabeth Fulton and Kathleen Prasad and one that sticks with me to this day, Prison Writings by Leonard Peltier. Just thought I would pass this on to anyone who may be interested. I don’t read mainstream books.
I was in a book group for over 20 years that eventually died out as the women went back to work or moved away. It was a great opportunity to read titles that I would not have selected or to revisit classics such as Jane Eyre. I would recommend re-reading that as an adult. I know I did not truly appreciate it as a youth. In the book group we had a good balance of fiction and non fiction. I have to say that the non fiction selections were the more interesting. Titles such as the Road from Coorain, Jill Kerr Conway about her path from a sheep station in the outback of Australia to become the president of Smith College. Blackberry Winter by Margaret Mead was pretty amazing! Recently I read the Professor and the Housekeeper ( a Japanese author) which is a sweet story about intergenerational relationships, math and baseball. My recent faves of late are Shadow of the Wind, about rare book collecting and Spanish culture and Just Kids by Patti Smith about her relationship with photographer Robert Mappelthorpe. They each served as muse to one another in this tale of artistc discovery and bohemian life in NYC in the 60′s. Whew!!!!
Thanks Sallie for this excellent list. I’ve also enjoyed re-reading books as I’ve gotten older. It’s like a visit with old friends. For instance, I re-read Little Women because I was wondering how “the girls” are getting along.
I’ve also re-read Good Earth, (Pearl Buck), My Antonia (Willa Cather), and September (Rosamunde Pilcher), to name a few. I’ve noticed that I look at the books a little bit differently now that time has passed. Some of my favorites I couldn’t finish and wondered why I ever thought it was a favorite.
Within the past few months I’ve re-discovered the joy of the short story. I’m definitely going to find Red Car and take it for a spin. (sorry, I couldn’t resist the pun.) I like to feature short stories several times a month on my blog (joyfullyretired.com), especially if they are available online. If not, I’ll feature the whole book. I really like books by authors who are close to my age, i.e., over 50. Their depth of experience makes their stories so much richer.