Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Top Ten "Older" Books I Don't Want People To Forget About





Nobody is hyping these books.

Nobody is reviewing these books.

Nobody is reading these books
because nobody knows how wonderful they are.



They are.
They are wonderful.






The World is Not Enough
by Zoe Oldenbourg

First published in 1949,
this book is the story of Alis and Ansiau
in twelfth century France.
A must-read for anyone who loves 
history or historical fiction.
And even if you think you don't,
you will after you read this book.





Window
by Jeannie Baker

It's marketed as a children's book,
but it is so much more.
It makes me cry,
just typing the title.
So beautiful. 
And poignant.




The Thirteen Clocks 
by James Thurber

A wicked Duke sends the endless line of suitors
for the hand of his beautiful niece
off on impossible quests.
Neil Gaiman calls this book
"one of the great children's books of the last century."






Adam of the Road 
by Elizabeth Janet Gray

Eleven-year-old Adam sets off
to become the best minstrel in England
during the medieval times.
Action and adventure like 
we don't often find in contemporary 
children's fiction.






Cider With Rosie
 by Laurie Lee

Lee tells delightful stories of the childhood of
a boy in a rural village in England
during the time before the first World War.





The Grass Harp 
by Truman Capote

Newly orphaned Collin goes to 
live with his two eccentric aunts.
When the aunts quarrel, 
Aunt Dolly and Collin go to live 
in a treehouse.





My Family and Other Animals
by Gerald Durrell

Naturalist Gerald Durrell
tells stories of his childhood living on the island of Corfu, 
with his quirky family and their various assorted pets,
including an owl, gulls, a tortoise, and spiders.





The Mouse and His Child 
by Russell Hoban

A beautiful story of a pair of wind-up mice,
a father and his son, who are joined at the hands,
and who set off to become self-winding.





Hank the Cowdog:
The Case of the One-Eyed Killer Stud Horse
by John Erickson

Hank the Cowdog and his sidekick, Grover,
must defend their West Texas ranch
from Tuerto, the one-eyed killer stud horse.
You have to listen to the audio version of Hank
to fully appreciate this fabulous series.





If the World Were a Village 
by David J. Smith

Smith makes our world more understandable to children
by imagining our world of 6.8 billion people
as a village of 100 people.
Mesmerizing.



Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

35 comments:

  1. Wow, so many of these sound so wonderful, I'm ashamed to admit I haven't heard of ANY of them! "Window" and "The World is Not Enough" especially sound like books I would have enjoyed as a young reader!

    Thanks for sharing your list!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was all the details in World is Not Enough that made me feel like I was right back in that time. Not a happy time, then, so glad I was able to visit only via the book.

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  2. Oh, so glad I stopped by. I would love to have all these books especially 13 Clocks by James Thurber and Adam of the Road. I remember always being attracted to Adam of the Road while on the bookmobile at school. Wonderful treasures, thanks for sharing them.

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    Replies
    1. I'd have read Adam, I think, had I seen it on the bookshelves when I was young.

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  3. I have not heard of ANY of these! Totally going to check them out! I used to raid my grandmother's bookshelf as a younger teen and read all the "older" books! So I'm definitely into looking up these ones.

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    Replies
    1. My grandfather was an enormous reader despite his limited formal education, so I have great memories of Sunday afternoons browsing his shelves.

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  4. Fantastic list! :D I have now all of them on my wishlist. The World is Not Enough
    by Zoe Oldenbourg sounds particularly good!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'd love to see a comeback of The World is Not Enough.

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  5. Great list I love all the books that are being suggested thus week I think it will help them to not be forgotten

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Maybe publishers should have a policy where so many new books are released each year while so many out-of-print books are reissued.

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  6. Great list I love all the books that are being suggested thus week I think it will help them to not be forgotten

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  7. I wonder if any are still in print? It's so sad when great books from previous decades just slip quietly away. Sometimes you can find them in libraries but they don't seem to hang on to them anymore, either. :(

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  8. a good few books there I wasn't aware of, but have read Cider with Rosie & Durrell's book although I prefer His brother Lawrence Durrell & a book that has a great title as well as being a fun read is Cider With Roadies by Stuart Maconie

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  9. Wow, I haven't heard of these books! I need to check them out.

    My TTT

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  10. I have actually never heard of any of these, and they look good! I think I'll start with Cider with Rosie.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I ran across a lot of these through BookCrossing. Unfortunately, we don't get many books on the bookshelves of libraries around here that are published outside the US.

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  11. I, too, haven't heard of any of these. I'll have to check out The Thirteen Clocks, Neil Gaiman is quite an endorsement. My TTT.

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  12. Well didn't my TBR just grow by 9????? I think this may be your best ever Top 10 young lady! I've read Window, and I agree it's wonderful. I know that I read Gerard Durrell as child but really don't remember it, and have vaguely been thinking about rereading it- perhaps as an out loud book to my son? The Mouse and His Child is already on the TBR, but I'm very intrigued by The Thirteen Clocks- I feel a 2013 read coming up. I've never heard of If the World Were a Village- I know my son would love it. I suspect that I will order that in the morning. The World is Not Enough sounds quite amazing, but sadly appears to be out of print.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I want to reread both Thirteen Clocks and Mouse and His Child.

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  13. Ha, I haven't heard of any of those! They do really sound like books I would've love to read when I was younger!

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  14. I think I need to pick up If The World Were A Village.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was happy to see there's a new edition of this book.

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  15. Isn't My Family and Other Animals simply one of the best books? I adore it! So glad you agree! Horribly I haven't heard of any of the rest of these- not once! It's awful! I'm glad they're all ones you're passionate about!

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    1. It was nice to visit other blogs and see what books from the past others love.

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  16. This is a great list! It prompted me to add several to my TBR pile, and at least one was ALREADY on there. New follower!
    JNCL
    The Beauty of Eclecticism

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Top Ten is a wonderful way to add new titles to your TBR!

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  17. Wow, I haven't heard of any of these books! Thanks for bringing them to my attention! This has been an excellent TTT week (though my TBR list keeps growing and growing!)

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  18. Hi Deb, I wanted to thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment on David's review. He was so happy to read the wonderful-kind words people left for him. You are awesome!! Thanks, it really meant a lot to me and him. :)

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  19. Oh by the way, wow ..can't say I've ever heard of any of these books. I'll have to check them out some time. Thanks.

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  20. OMG!! I haven't heard of any of these! Well, actually I'm familiar with Hank the Cowdog but only because my college roommate used to refer to her dog as Hank.

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