Top Ten
It is now Day 11 of the vicious virus at our home. Talk about overstaying your welcome! We are all looking forward to casting off the chains of sickness as we are learning to be grateful for the small things, like how good an ice cold glass of water tastes when one has a fever, or the delicious crunch of a juicy apple after…well, we won’t say here.
My weary brain is not feeling very clever about commenting on the world around me, and since the world around me has been very small of late, I think I will give you a peek at one of my top ten lists. My children and I had a lot of fun one time writing down all of our top ten favorites in many categories. My lists are not static. I will only post one tonight…if you are interested in more, perhaps I can be persuaded to share them if I hear again from some of my loyal readers (Dad, where are you?) If I get either five emails or comments asking for more lists, I will give more next week. Deal?
Since this website originally began because of my love for books (and I will be adding more related to this subject to my website in the next weeks, stay tuned), I will tell you my top ten favorite authors (in no particular order):
G.K. Chesterton
Dorothy Sayers
Jane Austen
John Buchan
C.S. Lewis
Charles Williams
L.M. Montgomery
P.G. Wodehouse
Elizabeth Goudge
Charles Dickens
You win a prize if you are the first to tell me what all these authors have in common. As Dave Barry says, I am not making this up. (small print: family members excluded)
February 1st, 2003 at 11:09 pm
Hi Carmon,
By the way, "what you’re cooking" sounds really great!
Now I know I probably won’t be the first, but I just have to say that the most obvious thing your authors have in common is that they are on Your list! oh come on, now, I know that IS NOT what you wanted to hear. Okay, I will venture a guess and say they are all British novelists. Can’t wait to hear the real answer!
Thanks for posting about Cmdr. Husband…what a tragedy for all the families…I was glad to hear President Bush say that though they aren’t returning to Earth, we can all pray that they have arrived safely Home…I do pray that is true.
Hoping you’re past the worst of it (the virus)…
Shirlee
February 2nd, 2003 at 12:17 pm
They all have at least 5 things in common…(there WERE going to be more, until I remembered that the P.E. Islanders have the misfortune to be Canadian instead of British subjects…*scowls at L. M. Montgomery*)
(1) they are all dead (you didn’t think I would notice this, did you? but I’m awfully good at these sorts of things, as you can already see)
(2) they all wrote poetry (even Dickens! I was amazed)
(3) all except E. Goudge lived in
the 19th century for at least part of their lives (I think she should count too, since life begins before birth, and she was born in 1900…more likely than not she WAS alive in the 19th century…barely)
(4) none were Americans (I CAN get around the not-all-British bit if I try!)
(5) I suspect they all had some sort of a following of some of the other nine, though I haven’t the time to figure it all out right now…for example, C. S. Lewis was a friend of G. K. Chesterton, who wrote about Charles Dickens. Dorothy Sayers admired Chesterton and was friends with C. S. Lewis and Charles Williams…and so on.
(I could also say that all 10 have avid readers in the Friedrich family, but I thought that that wasn’t quite what you meant)
Aren’t you impressed? I am…amazing all the stuff you can find out when you try *grin*
February 2nd, 2003 at 1:35 pm
Wow, great responses! Shirlee, since she was first and got the right answer, is the winner of my little contest. But I still need to hear from 3 more people before I post any more top ten lists.
I’m going to send Shirlee a copy of John Buchan’s The 39 Steps, one of my favorite books.
All my authors were born British subjects. L.M. Montgomery, although born on Prince Edward Island, was born British. Canada did not become independent from Britain until 1867. Montgomery was born in 1874, but P.E. Island did not become a Canadian province until the early 1900’s.
February 2nd, 2003 at 3:24 pm
We are all looking forward to casting off the chains of sickness as we are learning to be grateful for the small things, like how good an ice cold glass of water tastes when one has a fever, or the delicious crunch of a juicy apple after…well, we won’t say here. (I’m taking a chance here and assuming html works in the comment section.)
We? Who’s we? I’m feeling just fine. I’ve been eating…well, I’ve been eating peanut butter, and eggs, and milk (and cheese) happily, contentedly, and without fear of seeing any of the above a second time.
I hope you guys get well. It sure is nasty being sick. Thankfully, when a person has a (I can’t think of the word I want…umm…hmm…) properly developed immune system, and habits more refined and civilized and hygienic than those of an ape, it is much easier to ward off infection.
February 2nd, 2003 at 3:27 pm
Oh, yeah.
If family members count, then go ahead and post more top ten lists up here. Actually, (assuming family members count) you can use my go-ahead as one of the five previously mentioned go-aheads on the condition that you post my book reviews up here like you’ve been talking about doing…
I’ll bet once you’ve posted my book reviews, your following will double in a week.
February 2nd, 2003 at 6:50 pm
Well then, I guess you just got lucky, Pieter.
I’ll get to the book reviews when Dad is able to help me…he’s kinda busy making money so you can eat all that peanut butter and other stuff!
February 2nd, 2003 at 7:02 pm
I’d like to see more of your top 10 lists….
How about one like this: Your top 10 "underknown" favorite books. Books you consider to be wonderful, but not generally popular to hoi polloi. For example, on my list I would include Melville Davisson Post’s _Uncle Abner, Master of Mysteries_. I’d like to hear about not just jewels of fiction, but also biography, history, children’s picture books, etc. I could write more, but no more room!