Books in a Family Library

[bobtheenchantedone]

http://theboard.byu.edu/index.php?area=viewall&id=57888

In the past couple of years (not now, as anyone who has heard me whine about not wanting to get a real job will know), I have had access to both bountiful money and huge discounts on new books. So I started working on my family library. My parents and siblings were a little confused when I started buying books that we already owned, but I explained that they were books I wanted a copy of to take with me when I moved out (whenever that happens...).

So far, I have taken care to purchase:
Sir MacHinery
It Happened in America
The Scarlet Pimpernel (Which I actually didn't read until college, but wished I had read earlier)
Redwall series
Artemis Fowl
Terry Pratchett books
Complete works of Jane Austen
Complete set of Sherlock Holmes
Those cool pop-up -ology books (Egyptology, Dragonology, Wizardology, etc.)
Books by Cornelia Funke
Books by Patricia C. Wrede
Books by Diana Wynne Jones
Books by Roald Dahl
Various picture books
Various Disney books

Then there are books that I have for whatever reason and am holding on to whether or not I want to read them again.
365 Simple Science Experiments
The Blithedale Romance
To Kill a Mockingbird
Various Shakespeare plays
Compilations of English and American literature
Scripture study guides from seminary
Language books (English, Spanish and Gaelic)
Books on acting
Various textbooks I was too lazy to return for monies
ACT study books

And of course, I have an extensive set of books on writing.

[xkcd ***]

I have been on a YA kick.

I would add:

The Dark is Rising Series by Susan Cooper

The Once and Future King by T.H. White

The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke

Anything by Robin McKinley

Anything by Natalie Babbitt

Yeah... I love when libraries sell the books they don't have need of anymore.

[xkcd ***]

Oh! And Cormac McCarthy.

But not Child of God. I wouldn't wish that book on my enemies.

[Marduk]

Let's see, what should a good Mormon family have in their family library?

A good cookbook or three
A few works of Soren Kierkegaarde, particularly Fear and Trembling
The Republic
Animal Farm
Atlas Shrugged
A few works of Franz Kafka
The standard works
The Qur'an
To Kill a Mockingbird
Motorcycle Diaries


There's many, many more, but that'll do for now.

[Unit of Energy]

I have a collection of books that is constantly added to by DI trips.

My current Library Includes
The Nancy Drew Series
Well written LDS historical fiction such as Gerald N Lund and Dean Hughes
Fairy Tale collections
Chicken Soup books
Various textbooks
Name books
A couple books on writing and writing exercises

I also have three complete sets of the Standard works
A military size Book of Mormon
A military size D&C/Pearl of Great Price
Every manual used in relief society since 2006
And a collection of alternate translations of the bible.

[FauxRaiden]

Let's see, what should a good Mormon family have in their family library?

A good cookbook or three
A few works of Soren Kierkegaarde, particularly Fear and Trembling
The Republic
Animal Farm
Atlas Shrugged
A few works of Franz Kafka
The standard works
The Qur'an
To Kill a Mockingbird
Motorcycle Diaries


There's many, many more, but that'll do for now.

Everything but that. Come on, Atlas Shrugged? Ayn Rand is a doofus, and this is coming from a philosophy major. As much as I think that everyone deserves their soapbox, she does nothing more than epitomizes pseudo-intellectualism. It's mildly entertaining, but it doesn't deserve to stand with works like The Republic.

[Marduk]

I include it as an analysis of human nature, and I think it tends to drive much of current economic thought (at least in this country).

It isn't about how strong or persuasive the argument is (in this case), it is about how ubiquitous it is.

[FauxRaiden]

I include it as an analysis of human nature, and I think it tends to drive much of current economic thought (at least in this country).

It isn't about how strong or persuasive the argument is (in this case), it is about how ubiquitous it is.

Well re-reading your list I can kind of see the point you're getting at. If nothing else, Ayn Rand teaches you to refute arguments rather than just going along with a so-called authority on the matter. I remember when I read through Descartes' Meditations and how much me disagreeing with his philosophy turned me into something of a philosopher.

Alright, I'll give you credit for that. But for a family library? I'm not so sure it belongs. If anything let other works by people like Kant, Nietzsche, whatever else come first and then go for Ayn Rand.

[C is for]

Huh.

Well, inside information leads me to believe that the family library The Factress is thinking of building is one full of books that her kids will want to read while growing up. Like The Boxcar Children and Harry Potter. Unless you all read Ayn Rand at age 8 or whenever. Maybe our family is just not very cultured.

[Marduk]

I first read Atlas Shrugged at age 12. (Even then, I found the arguments very contrived and self serving, although, reading it later, I recognize that is partly intentional.)

I would recommend Animal Farm to any elementary school student. I think the foundation of encouraging individual thought and willingness to defy authority when we feel it moral to do so is beneficial, even before that authority has sufficiently dogmatized to require it. I didn't read Animal Farm until about age ten, and I wish I had read it earlier.

[Giovanni Schwartz]

Our family owns approximately 5 copies of Ender's Game. And approximately 4 of HP7. And 2 of HP6.

[bobtheenchantedone]

Our family owns approximately 5 copies of Ender's Game. And approximately 4 of HP7. And 2 of HP6.

We have (as far as I know):
4 copies of HP 1
2 copies of HP 2
3 copies of HP 3
3 copies of HP 4
3 copies of HP 5
3 copies of HP 6
2 copies of HP 7

Reasons: having both a hardcover and paperback copy, older copies starting to fall apart, buying really cheap copies from library sales (mostly because they were cheap, no other reason), and kids with money buying their own copy.

We also have about 4 copies of Sir MacHinery, but that's because the book is out of print so my dad buys it whenever he sees it at DI.

[ahem.]

I first read Atlas Shrugged at age 12.

I didn't read Animal Farm until about age ten, and I wish I had read it earlier.

I read the unabridged Les Miserables at 12, and while I don't really regret it, I kind of do.

First, it was a hard book for me to get through at that age and made me really frustrated trying to grasp all the nonlinear-ness of it. It kind of turned me off of the classics for a while. I buried myself in light and fluffy YA fiction, which I didn't come out of for a couple of years.

Second, I developed weird interpretations of certain plot points/characters/whatever because I didn't completely understand, and now it's harder to correct those unless they're specifically pointed out to me. Even after rereading it, it's hard to break those old thought patterns because that's what I'm expecting to see happen.

On the other hand, it did give me a deep sense of satisfaction over finishing it.

Anyway, I don't know where I'm going with this. Let your kids read what they want when they're ready for it.

[Unit of Energy]

My family has certain books that we weren't allowed to read until certain maturity levels. Mostly Harry Potter, but there were others on occasion.

[bobtheenchantedone]

We have books of all levels all over the house, and we're all encouraged to read whatever we want. While we mostly stick with stuff on our level (usually about two or three grade levels above where we're supposed to be), if we're bored, we'll go with whatever we can find.

[FauxRaiden]

I think the Ender's Game series oughta be thrown in there. It's a good read for a younger crowd. In fact, I think that book series was what pulled me into serious novel reading and the like.

Also the Orson Scott Card book "Treason" is a good one too. I just liked that one.

[Tao]

Agreed with Ender's Game. Also I think a good library should contain numerous selections that may never get cracked. I just now got around to actually reading Arabian Nights, but had been prone to randomly pick up some of the less likely novels and read them as a youth.

I think more vital than what is in a library is what is done with it. One of my most cherished novels as a youth was The Magic Green Glasses by Hummer Zo-zo. Each of us kids had our own copy and we have read that book to death, individually and as a family.

Concerning Ayn Rand: If you get the chance, take Phil 450 (?) Metaphysics from Dr Arts. I gained profound respect for him throughout a study of Objectivism, and a massive disdain for the chronic guest lecturer that plagued the class with his asinine assertions. (One quick to mind was that the ideology of Mother Theresa is what caused 9/11.... if only the world were more self-serving....)

Sigh, good times...

[ahem.]

I read all of the Little House on the Prairie books over the course of several years because a family I frequently babysat for had them. When all the kids were asleep and I was just waiting around for the parents to come home, I read them. I don't think they ever realized it, though.

I bought my own set a few years ago, along with all the Anne of Green Gables and Chronicles of Narnia books. I hope my kids read those and love them as much as I did. Err... do.

[krebscout]

My favorite books as an elementary and middle schooler were The Giver, Ender's Game, The Phantom Tollbooth, and The Hobbit. The first novel I ever read by myself was 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and I loved it. Finishing the book was such a bittersweet, transcendent moment that I still remember it. Pretty sure I cried.

My dad used to read us James and the Giant Peach on Sundays. I want the Roald Dahl collection for my kids. Love The Twits.

[Dead Cat]

I first tried to list all the books/series off the top of my head, but it was getting too long. So instead, here are authors that everyone should have at least one book by:

The Church (includes all ancient and modern prophets)
J.K. Rowling
Orson Scott Card
Brandon Sanderson
Eoin Colfer
Carolyn Keene
Franklin W. Dixon
Jasper Fforde
Stephenie Meyer
Rick Riordan
John Flannagan
Scott Westerfeld
Nancy Farmer
Tamora Pierce
Paulo Coelho
Patricia C. Wrede
Meg Cabot
William Goldman
Diana Wynne Jones
Robin McKinley
David Lubar
Laurie R. King
David Eddings
Jodi Picoult
John Green
Yukiru Sugisaki
CLAMP
Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
Katherine Patterson
Garth Nix
Cornelia Funke
C.S. Lewis
and everyone's favorite, Dr. Seuss.

A few notable single books that I couldn't remember the authors for and am too lazy to look up right now:

Devil in the White City
The Westing Game
On My Honor
Flatland
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Heidi
The Secret Garden
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
The Phantom of the Opera
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
From First Date to Chosen Mate

The last one is supposed to be helpful, but it is so hopelessly out of date, it's hilarious.