101 Books, Number 71

Favorite Books from Throughout My Life

71: Flashman, 1969, by George Macdonald Fraser (1925–2008)

Was it in 1980? I

Am pretty sure it was. A guy

(A colleague*) turned my reading eye

Toward this series that would last

A dozen books (they all went fast)—

And reading them? Delightful blast!

See, Flashman was a coward, who

Looked like a hero, through and through.

But sprint from danger—what he’d do

In every threatening sort of case—

Away from action he would race—

And later, somehow, save his face.

And Fraser puts him in some scenes—

From Light Brigade (and what that means!)—

And Flashman always wets his jeans—

Well, metaphorically, of course,

As he rides off—splendid horse—

And leaves behind the needy force

Though later claims heroics—he

Thus scampered throughout history,

Delighting many readers (me!).

*former Western Reserve Academy colleague Eric Gustavson 

101 Books, Number 72

Favorite Books from Throughout My Life

72: Custer’s Last Stand, 1951, by Quentin Reynolds (1902–65)

A longtime fascination dawned

Some 60 years ago. A wand

Of Western magic waved across

My world—and mixed a saucy sauce

Of action and adventure—fights

That thrilled my days and filled my nights.

And Custer’s tale—in YA form—

Created such a perfect storm

Of interest that I’ve kept alive

Since back in 1955–

Or when it was that I first read

Of General Custer—all those dead.

Since then I’ve visited the scenes—

The grave, the homes—by any means.

I’ve stood upon the battlefield—

Where, finally, he broke and kneeled

While Western tribes swarmed over all

In victory—yes, Custer’s Fall.

I’ve read so many books since then—

They line my shelf, where this one’s been

Since I was but a curious boy

Who learned how conflict can destroy.

101 Books, Number 73

Favorite Books from Throughout My Life

73: A Clockwork Orange, 1962, by Anthony Burgess (1917–93)

I think I saw the movie first—

That Kubrick masterpiece.*

But when I read that Burgess book?

Would wonders never cease!?

“Dystopian”—yes, is the word

We use for darker views

Of our society’s collapse—

Have you seen recent news?

Well, Burgess wrote about a world

Where so much has gone wrong—

Where violence and cruelty

Usurp the human song.

And I proceeded on to read

A lot of Burgess’ work—

His fiction and his essays, too—

Below his surface lurk

The creatures that live in our hearts—

These creatures we must tame

Or all the loveliness of life

Will shrivel in the flame.

*1971

101 Books, Number 74

Favorite Books from Throughout My Life

74: As I Lay Dying, 1930, by William Faulkner (1897–1962)*

I read this book in college years—

And it confirmed my Faulkner Fears:

So many voices tell the tale—

Some are insane—beyond the pale.

I was confused at twenty-one:
I didn’t get this kind of “fun.”

A book should go from A to Z—

Not purely puzzle clueless me.

So what’s the truth? we’re forced to ask.

What creature lies beneath the mask?

To whom should we attend with care?

And does this trip go anywhere?

I grew to love the book—with age—

And found delight on every page …

Delight, disgust, surprise, and pain.

I read the book, again, again

And taught it for a decade, too.

And drove old Mississippi through—

Upon the route the book records—

I saw the farmland, saw the fords

Where Faulkner’s folks and demons met—

Where things occurred I won’t forget—

Where I can say, “Oh, yes, indeed!

Old Faulkner taught me how to read!”

*I'm nearing the end of my journey through all of Faulkner’s novels now.

101 Books, Number 75

Favorite Books from Throughout My Life

75: The Way We Live Now, 1875, by Anthony Trollope (1815–82)

A decade back—or maybe more—

I had a happy “Trollope Phase”;

I read his books—filled nights and days

With fiction I came to adore.

His novels—forty-seven—all

I read throughout my Trollope kick.

A favorite one is hard to pick,

But since I have to make a call,

I’ll go with this one—it has got

Americans—impressive wealth—

And love to please a lonely self—

An intricate and clever plot.

I miss my nights with Trollope now.

Though others came to take his place,*

They never can those years efface

When I before AT would bow!

*Thackeray, Eliot, Collins, etc.

101 Books, Number 76

Favorite Books from Throughout My Life

76: The Eyre Affair (2001), by Jasper Fforde* (1961–)

The novels starring Thursday Next

Could leave you, well, a bit perplexed.

The land of books is where they live,

And man oh man do these books give

A very potent reader’s high—

You’ll find yourself up in the sky

Where reigns all possibility—

Just read a few—oh, you will see.

The land of books—with covers off!—

The characters alive! They cough—

They breathe—they cry—they interact

With visitors—and that’s a fact.

Fforde is a brilliant, funny guy,

Who’s brought these worlds down from the sky.

So read ’em all!—now seven tales.**

You’ll laugh—and bite your nervous nails!

*pronounced ford

**the Thursday Next series

101 Books, Number 77

Favorite Books from Throughout My Life

77: Shelley: The Pursuit, 1974, by Richard Holmes (1945–)

I read this book back at the birth

Of my mad Shelley phase.

’Twas Mary whom I chased, of course,

For thousands of wild days.

But Richard Holmes’s stunning work

Supplied foundations stout—

I learned from Holmes—and felt that I

Knew Shelley inside out.*

Holmes didn’t sit in archives—no.

He traveled everywhere.

And this became the plan I used

With Mary here and there.

See, scholarship, in Holmes’s view,

Is being at the place

Where literary magic was—

Yes, this was Holmes’s chase …**

*Arrogant and presumptuous, I know ...
**And became mine ...