Top Ten Tuesday : Books I Had VERY Strong Emotions About

When I consider what it means to have VERY strong emotions about a book, I immediately think about books in which I was deeply engaged while reading and continuously connected to long after I had finished reading them. A book provokes strong emotions when I am directed into an argument with the author over an idea or topic, or the author provides so much significant substance for me to praise her, as I will discuss in a moment. There are many of these kinds of books in my history, but since I have to choose ten, I did my best to zero in on the most engaging books I have ever read.

1. Atwood: The Handmaid's Tale

What gives me strong emotions about The Handmaid's Tale are the strong emotions that the story provokes in other readers. They get uptight and believe that we're right around the corner from Gilead. And all for fear that men are going to force us into childbearing because we can't have legal abortions. Meanwhile, there is very little outrage over men commandeering women's sports, magazines, dressing rooms, and beauty contests. Also, Atwood wrote this story partially because of the history of how Muslims treat women, and a lot of these crazy women are now supporting Palestine, home to the Muslim religion that promotes inequality and mistreatment of women. Go figure. 

2. Austen: Persuasion

This isn't a love story of passion and bliss. It is mature love at its best. 

And that love letter.

3. Hardy: Jude the Obscure or Tess of the D'Urbervilles 

Almost anything by Hardy makes me emotional. He creates the absolute worst circumstance on earth and places a poor, helpless character smack in the middle of it. Only to utterly crash at the end. 

It's all hopelessness.

4. Hawthorne: The Scarlet Letter

Overall, The Scarlet Letter is an excellent piece of literature. But come on, Hawthorne! I think his great-great grandfather was a Puritan who judged the people of Salem during the witch trials, and it perturbed Hawthorne to have that kind of stain on his history. That's just my opinion. But in truth, Hawthorne harbored personal enmity against the Puritans. Their morality and strict obedience to God's law bothered him, and in The Scarlet Letter, he made them out to be hypocrites. All of them!  

5. Angelou: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

This memoir made me angry simply because of the racism and prejudices Angelo endured. But her grace shines through, as she rose above the injustice.

6. Nafisi: Reading Lolita in Tehran

Nafisi's excellent memoir about what it was like to survive the Iranian Revolution, which was not really a revolution, but and step backwards for everyone, especially women. And they are still stuck there today. 

7. Douglass: all three of his biographies

Anything I have read by Frederick Douglass pleases me. I suppose My Bondage and My Freedom is my favorite because he wrote more extensively about what it was like to be a slave while a young child. For example, the thing that broke my heart the most was when he described being cold as worse than being hungry. And yet, he went on to be an historical giant. To me, he is one of America's greatest statesmen. 

8. Wiesel: Night

This short biography or memoir was so well written and shocking that I read it the first time in one sitting. Young people should be exposed to this story so they can see how human beings treated other humans because of the hatred for Jews. History is always repeating itself. There is such ignorance in the world. 

9. Wells: Crusade for Justice

This exceptional woman, mother, and journalist kept a personal diary of her career exposing the crimes of lynching of black men in the south, to the deaf ears of the authorities. Once she herself was thrown off of a train, literally. She went on to marry and have five children, which did not stop her campaigning for justice and truth, to which she said not enough people cared enough to stand up for. I believe it wasn't until after her death that her daughter had her diaries published as her autobiography. Not enough people know about Ida B. Wells.

10. Popov: Tortured for His Faith

Absolutely shocking story of a Christian pastor who would not compromise his faith for the Russian Communists who controlled Bulgaria after WWII. He spent the next thirteen years in prison, tortured and starved, unable to see his wife and children. God kept him alive. When he was released, he founded an underground church. And later he was reunited with his wife, and then continued their work of bringing the gospel to the world. 

P.S. Miller: The Crucible

I had fun reading The Crucible. Like The Scarlet Letter, it is a great piece of literature. And also like The Scarlet Letter, this play takes place in the time of the Puritans and the Salem Witch Trials. But Miller wrote this because he was being pointed out as a Communist sympathizer along with many other artists. The simple fact was that there were a lot of Commie sympathizers in America, and they didn't like that they were found out. Miller wrote this play as if to cover himself and others by calling the whole thing a "witch hunt." The rooting out may have become more extensive than necessary, but it didn't take away from the fact that Miller and many artists like him had tinkered with the political ideology of Communism. And if you don't think that's a big deal, then you have no understanding of how devastating Communism has become to our Constitution, the only thing defending Americans and standing between our liberties and a rogue regime of wicked men and women.