Books, Part Two

Continuing with the Top Ten Books list, two books that start in the Jazz Age:


Number Nine: Auntie Mame, an Irreverent Escapade by Patrick Dennis

The book that is credited with introducing "camp" to the mainstream. This collection of anecdotes about growing up with an eccentric aunt is as heartwarming as it is funny--and it's VERY funny. The basis of two stage shows and two movies (one musical and one non-musical of each medium), it also spawned a sequel entitled Around the World with Auntie Mame, which is also a favorite. This book should be required reading for schoolchildren everywhere as a primer on "be who you are, not who others tell you that you should". I can't sing the praises of Madcap Mame enough. She's the crazy aunt that everyone wishes they'd had; but even more, the wise inner child each of us harbors, and should let out to play more often. Inevitably, re-reading this book leads to a re-viewing of Auntie Mame on DVD starring the incomparable Rosalind Russel, but the discussion of that wonderful movie is fodder for another blog post entirely.

Number Eight: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Ah, the jazz age classic of intrigues, forbidden loves, and the mysterious title character as viewed by an "objective" outsider in the form of Nick Carraway (who narrates). I read this book on the recommen-dation of my High School English teacher when I couldn't decide on a "classic" to read for a book report. He thought I'd like it, and he was right. It's a classic for a reason. It's very well crafted and engaging. And it always makes me crave a mint julep in a silver cup. The unexpected plot twists, and convergence of story lines, Gatsby's longing, and the ending where no one seems to be happy, or even capable of happiness, is all so tragically beautiful.

More from the top ten list soon . . .