Jones, Rowling, Griffin and Wilde – Theme

WEEKLY THEME – I couldn’t help myself. I had to answer the call of the weekly theme.

I’m not sure if I could actually pick ONE favorite/best book of all times. I like different books for different reasons.

*** I like The Barbed Coil by JV Jones a lot. I love the way her characters change and mature through the book. I think the story line is really great too. I found that book at an airport bookstore. I had finished whatever book I had brought with me, so I ran into one of those small newsstands and grabbed a book that looked good. Sometimes you can judge a book by its cover. 😉
“You will stay where you are.” There was a cold, deadly authority in Ravis’ voice that Tessa had never heard before. Suddenly she was reminded of what Fray had said about him in Marcel’s cellar: Ravis was a mercenary, a man who trained others to kill. Kings paid for his services. She stepped aside. ~ The Barbed Coil by JV Jones

*** I like Harry Potter (especially 4 and 5) because of the character development. I love watching the gender interaction between Harry and Cho. There is also the constant internal struggle Harry goes through, trying to decipher what is him and what is Voldemort. Its like trying to find the fine line between being bipolar and being me. The struggle is very different, obviously, on the surface, but beneath it all, its somewhat the same. Voldemort will always be a part of Harry. The mark on Harry’s forehead and how he got it is proof of that. But Harry is not Voldemort. He is his own person. Bipolarism will always be a part of me. The marks on my arms and soul and how I got them is proof of that. But I am not just bipolar. I am not just crazy. I am my own person as well.
If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals. ~ Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

*** I love The Brotherhood of War series by WEB Griffin. Its a great historical fiction with romance and action and drama and comedy. I know nothing of what its like to be in the military and these books have shown me a part of what its like. I’ve become committed to those characters – Mouse, Lowell, Hanrahan – and I think of them as real people. They are important to me and their well-being is important to me. I feel like I’m actually a part of their life. Like I could step into the book and become part of the story.
It was the first itme the President had ever seen Colonel Sanford T. Felter in uniform. When Kennedy became President, Johnson had noticed Felter now and again around the White House but had then dismissed him as just one more baggy-suited intellectual, a specialist of some kind on the outer edges of Jack Kennedy’s staff. But he had soon sensed there was more to Felter that what showed. Felter was more even than just another soldier “loaned” to the White House by the Defense Department. For one thing, Bobby Kennedy hated Felter’s ass – as only Bobby Kennedy could hate anyone’s ass; and that meant that Felter had to have Jack Kennedy’s protection. Otherwise he would have been long gone. ~ The New Breed from The Brotherhood of War series by W.E.B. Griffin

*** Alright, I’ll pick one more. Its a classic and I’ve only gotten through it once. Its a book that takes time to sit down and digest. I usually don’t need a ton of concentration to read, but this book demands your full attention. Its cynical, humorous, romantic and dangerous. I constantly find snippets and quotes that apply to me, my life and my thinking. I’m not talking about the Bible, surprised? I’m talking about The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. Its my first Wilde book, but I love his writing style. He presents many ideas that in his time were crazy but today seem perfectly normal. To me his books (and especially this one) borders on the fence between Shakespeare and Dickens. Its a glimpse of that age, but its twisted. Its dark and dreary, yet youthful and enjoyable.
“How dreadful!” cried Lord Henry. “I can stand brute force, but brute reason is quite unbearable. There is something unfair about its use. It is hitting below the intellect.” ~ The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde