Michael Armstrong's Top Ten Books

Some notes before we begin. I’d like to reemphasize that this is the list of today. Probably would be different depending on the day. Most of these would stick around, but there are a couple borderline books that would rotate in and out depending on mood and what I’ve read recently. I also decided that no matter what, there would only be one book by each author allowed. Another note. I read books like a weirdo. I read way too fast when I’m reading for pleasure. This leads to a sieve-like memory in this case. I reread books all the time, going back through favorites to refind pieces of each book. So with that in mind, I’ve mostly chosen the books that made such an impression that they hang around in my head.

Here we go!

Last Continent - Terry Pratchett (1998)

Preaching to the choir here, but Pratchett is amazing. Ridiculously consistent, one of the funniest writers out there, and flat out brilliant. A complete toss up in terms of favorite book of his. I’m a big fan of Sam Vimes, Lu-Tze, Death, Granny Weatherwax, and Moist von Lipwig, but the book that won out today is about Rincewind and the wizards’ destruction of Australia. Anyway, he’s the kind of author that I could pick up any of his books at any time and start reading. I am constantly going back through these books.

Wind-Up Bird Chronicle - Haruki Murakami (1995)

Murakami has been a more recent obsession of mine, but I’ve been working my way through his books and have yet to be disappointed. This could easily be Kafka on the Shore or Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World, but Wind-Up Bird was the first one I ever read. A sprawling book with some dry parts amidst a great deal of good, the strangeness and almost tangible atmosphere makes it one of my favorites.


American Gods - Neil Gaiman (2001)

For me, this one was actually a pretty easy choice. American Gods is definitely my favorite out of his works, though the rest are great. Shadow’s journey is incredibly fascinating to me and the depth of mythology and the skill in using it to create a cohesive story are unmatched.

Mossflower - Brian Jacques (1988)

The first author I felt ownership of, the first that I was constantly waiting for his next book to come out. Also the first time I felt like I was really reading a novel. The first non-kids book if you will. Incredibly challenging when I started reading it with its various British dialects and expansive vocabulary. Right up at the top of my list of books that I would recommend to a kid.

Summerland - Michael Chabon (2002)

“The fundamental truth: a baseball game is nothing but a great slow contraption for getting you to pay attention to the cadence of a summer day.”

Absolutely captures the feel of summer and baseball, the cultural and almost mythological aspects of the game, and the whimsy of young adventures. I also reread this every couple of years during Spring Training.


Cat’s Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (1963)

I think I may actually like Sirens of Titan better, but my inclination is to go with the first book of Vonnegut’s that I read, the one that got me hooked on his uniquely black, but optimistic sense of humor and deliberate writing style. I completely understand anyone who can’t get into these books or finds them too depressing, as maybe this quote will show, but I can’t help but find them both funny and absolutely human.

“Well finish your story anyway."

“Where was I?"

“The bubonic plague. The bulldozer was stalled by corpses."

“Oh, yes. Anyway, one sleepless night I stayed up with Father while he worked. It was all we could do to find a live patient to treat. In bed after bed after bed we found dead people.

And Father started giggling," Castle continued.

“He couldn't stop. He walked out into the night with his flashlight. He was still giggling. He was making the flashlight beam dance over all the dead people stacked outside. He put his hand on my head and do you know what that marvelous man said to me?" asked Castle.

Nope."

'Son,' my father said to me, 'someday this will all be yours.”


End Zone - Don DeLillo (1972)

DeLillo has been one of my favorites from college on with his shared interest in cultural geography and deconstruction. In End Zone the theme is small town college football and one part of it has always stayed with me. The kids on the team play a game on campus that is essentially mock assassination. Hands as a gun if you see them shoot you, then you have to pretend to die in the most elaborate and dramatic fashion possible. Some part of this silent game on a small campus in the harsh Texan heat really stood out to me. Like many of the other books on this list it’s about creating an atmosphere and inner monologue that really grabs you.


Last Voyage of Somebody the Sailor - John Barth (1992)

Maybe the best book I’ve read in terms of craft, just incredible writing. The book overall is pretty good, and the created feel stays with me, but it is a long, rambling book with parts that work and parts that don’t. Even with that, this is one of my favorites to read based on his ability to turn a phrase and write with intelligence and humor.

Phantom Tollbooth - Norton Juster (1961)

Maybe this is where my love of puns and wordplay comes from. If you revel in words and language you should read this book. It might be intended as a book for grade school kids, but it is intelligent, entertaining, and whimsical.

“Have you ever heard the wonderful silence just before the dawn? Or the quiet and calm just as a storm ends? Or perhaps you know the silence when you haven't the answer to a question you've been asked, or the hush of a country road at night, or the expectant pause of a room full of people when someone is just about to speak, or, most beautiful of all, the moment after the door closes and you're alone in the whole house? Each one is different, you know, and all very beautiful if you listen carefully.”

Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life - Bryan Lee O’Malley (2004)

Rounding out this list is the first book in the Scott Pilgrim series for its wonderful combination of video game, music and comic book touch stones along with endlessly entertaining characters. While the movie may not have shown this, Wallace Wells is awesome. The series starts out much stronger than it finishes, but it is one that I would probably be rereading all the time if I owned them.


Honorable Mention
Goosebumps - RL Stine
Cursor Series - Jim Butcher
Sayonara Gangsters - Genichiro Takahashi
Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card