Please play along with your own favourites. Any book title, or the surname of an author, as long as it begins with an ‘H’.
I have to start with the American writer, Thomas Harris. He has given us a new villainous character who became one of the best known in the world, once his books were adapted into the hugely popular films. In ‘Red Dragon’, ‘The Silence of The Lambs’, and ‘Hannibal’, Harris displayed a detailed knowledge of forensics, and a real talent for bringing the serial-killer into the public imagination. Hannibal Lecter became the ruthless killer we all grew to actually admire, with his impeccable taste, and huge intelligence. Harris also provided wonderfully complex characters to try to bring the killer to justice, in Will Graham, and Clarice Starling. He also used locations perfectly, with his talent for description making them familiar to the reader.
In this genre, Harris has no equal.
No ‘H’ would be complete without mention of Ernest Hemingway. This hard-living novelist and journalist travelled the world, and wrote his experiences down in novels, non-fiction books, and articles. His subjects included Fishing, Bullfighting, World War One, and The Spanish Civil War, and he made sure to have first hand knowledge of everything he wrote about. He didn’t write as many books as most of us imagine. However, ‘The Old Man and The Sea’, ‘A Farewell To Arms’, and ‘For Whom The Bell Tolls’ remain as some of the most widely read books in modern literature.
Written in 1931, but set in the year 2540, ‘Brave New World’ by Aldous Huxley was a vision of the future that is already familiar, long before the 26th century. Artificial childbirth in baby factories, with indoctrination of the young, and a drug given to all citizens to keep them calm and compliant. A rigid caste system, the eradication of disease, and a society of outcasts, living beyond the influence of a world state. This was written long before WW2, and events since its publication have confirmed that Huxley’s vision of the future might become all too real.
Another novel which makes a realistic prediction for the future, and one that feels all too possible too. ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ by Margaret Attwood looks at a not too distant America, where Christian fundamentalists have overthrown the US government, and imposed a regime based on the strictest laws found in The Bible. In a militaristic society ruled with an iron hand, homosexuality, adultery, and defiance, are all given the death penalty, strictly enforced. Minor infringments are also given harsh punishment, such as the removal of an eye, or a hand.
With most females now sterile, children are taken away from their mothers, and brought up in state-run institutions, or given to those in power. The women still capable of childbirth are trained as ‘handmaids’, given over to local Commanders, to bear children by them. This is all the more chilling as a novel, because it is very easy to see how this might happen today. A powerful book indeed.
My top pick for today is from the work of the marvellous English writer, Thomas Hardy. I came late to Hardy, having disliked D.H.Lawrence, and for some reason, considering him similar. I then saw the film ‘Far From The Madding Crowd’, and decided to explore Hardy’s writing. I was overwhelmed by the period feel, and once again by the painstakingly detailed descriptions that allowed me to visualise everything, from a tent at a fair, to the unseen features of the protagonist. ‘The Mayor of Casterbridge’ is one of the ‘Wessex’ novels by Hardy, and my favourite. It deals with regret, reconciliation, greed, shame, and as usual, betrayal. It is soap-opera on a grand scale, and at a higher level, with writing to relish.
There is so much more to discover in ‘H’. I will await your own choices with interest.
I’m going to go with an H book written by an H author!
Victor Hugo’s first novel (1823) was the romantic and picturesque “Han d’Islande,” whose story unfolds mostly in Norway (not Iceland, as the title may imply). This book is not nearly as well known as “Notre-Dame de Paris” (“The Hunchback of Notre-Dame”) or “Les Misérables,” and Hugo himself called it “flawed,” but it’s still a great read.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, David. You managed a Double-H! Well done.
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person
My book club just read Handmaid’s Tale! Such a fascinating read with many layers. I’m interested to watch the show, especially as i really like Elizabeth Moss and the show did so well at the Emmys.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It has a really atmospheric feel, and you can actually imagine something like that happening. Moss was also good in the Australian/NZ series ‘ Top of The Lake’, which I can recommend.
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLike
So many great books and authors are mentioned
I will add Peter Hoeg (a Danish writer), Johann Peter Hebel (he belongs to the German literature of the world), Hermann Hesse (in 1946 he received the Nobel Prize in literature) an Wolfgang Hohlbein (born in 1953, is one of the most successful German writers).
LikeLiked by 1 person
Jaq D. Hawkins writes some great Fantasy and Steampunk.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t think I have ever read a Steampunk book, Pam. But I have seen a Japanese anime film in that genre. https://myanimelist.net/anime/565/Steamboy
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLike
I know Hesse, but not the others. Thanks as always for playing along, Irene.
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLike
Definitely joining you on Handmaid’s Tale. Also The Help by Kathryn Stockett and all the Harry Potters.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I haven’t read any Harry Potter, nor ‘The Help’. Though I did see the film adaptation of the latter, and thought it was well done.
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLike
forgot to mention Susan Hill….’The mist in the Mirror’ , ‘The man in the Picture’, and most of all ‘Strange Meeting’ which was inspired by one of Wilfred Owen’s poems…..
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for those extras, Sue.
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Have you read ‘Strange Meeting?’….. It’s a great read
LikeLiked by 1 person
No I haven’t. But it is now added to this ever-growing list, fortunately.
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Very good!
LikeLiked by 1 person
not sure I can add much to the selection. I love Atwood and the Handmaid’s Tale is a great novel (I would find it difficult to choose one of hers). Heart of Darkness is fabulous. I only read the first one of the Hunger Games but agree it’s a very good read. Hawthorne has very good books, and although I love The Scarlet Letter, I have a soft spot for The Marble Faun (perhaps it’s the emigrés living in another country….) Thanks for the recommendations, Pete!
LikeLiked by 1 person
My pleasure, Olga. happy to have you playing along.
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLike
this may come a bit late Pete. I haven’t seen this post earlier. I have these on my list:
Nadia Hashimi
– The Pearl that Broke Its shell
– When the Moon is Low
– A House Without Windows
Khalid Hosseini
– Kite Runner
– A Thousand Splendid Suns
– And the Mountains Echoed
Mitch Albom
– Have A Little Faith
Dale Carnegie
– How To win Friends and Influence People
Suzanne Collins
– The Hunger Games
Paula Hawkins
– The Girl On the Train
Ernest Hemingway
– A Farewell To Arms
Colleen Hoover
– It Ends With Us
Aldous Huxley
– Brave New World
Noel Hynd
– Flowers From Berlin
Kathryn Stockett
– The Help
–
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for a good list, Arlene. I have also read The Kite Runner.
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person
All very fine choices, but I can only assume that no one has read The Humanure Handbook by Joseph Jenkins! A must read for all aspiring middle aged hippy wannabes 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
A fine double- H with perfect ecological credentials, Eddy. You could even use it next time, with the ‘J’ for the author. Spread the word, as you spread the manure!
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLike
I completely applaud your choice of “Brave New World” and anything by Hemingway. I must add “Harry Potter”, one of the best written series of books.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Rowling has her legions of fans. I think she could get elected, if she was interested in politics. But I have never read any of her books. Over here at least, the hype was just too much. It bordered on hysteria, and really put me off.
I might need to read ‘Brave New World’ again one of these days though.
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think you would be pleasantly surprised at how good Rowling’s writing is. Like you, my husband would not read Harry Potter for the same reason- until he saw a brilliant coworker reading the book on his lunch break, someone who would never read anything but excellent literature. The rest of the story is history. I think
I should read Brave New World again, too. Best to you, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am happy to take that recommendation from you, Jennie. I have no doubt that Rowling must be an excellent writer, but I was never captivated by the idea of schoolboys and wizards. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Neither was my husband! 🙂 Best to you, Pete!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha, agreed Pete!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pete, I’m going to have to take a year off to get through some of these books. I need a desert island with a good lending library, not too hot, deserted but with comfortable chairs and a well-stocked pub, and good Cantonese take-out.
Thomas Hardy – I’ve only read “Mayor of Casterbridge” and it was excellent, it’s funny to feel affection for a book that has such regret and sadness in it.
I see “Heart of Darkness” “Holes” and “The Haunting of Hill House” already listed .
If not already listed, I’d add: Tony Horwitz = Confederates in the Attic” “Midnight Rising” Joseph Heller = Catch-22, Tony Hillerman = excellent mysteries set on the Navaho reservation. Reginald Hill = Dalziel and Pascoe mysteries.
Richard Hofstadter = a historian trying to understand the U.S.A. cheers, Robbie
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sadly, none of us have time for every book, even all those in these A-Z lists of mine, But it is always nice to see something new, or share the memory of a book jointly loved.
Thanks for your additions, Robert, and for continuing to play along with these themes.
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m coming to this a bit late today, so many of my choices have already been listed. I’d definitely have Hemingway, Huxley, Thomas Harris, Hawthorne, Susan Hill, Hardy, The Handmaid’s Tale, Hearts of Atlantis, the Harry Potter series, The Historian, The Hitchiker’s Guide To the Galaxy,and The Hobbit. I’d also include:
The Haunting of Hill House -Jackson
Harriet the Spy -Fitzhugh
Hatchet – Paulsen
Holes – Sachar
Hoot – Hiaasen
Hotel New Hamphire -Irving
The Hours – Cunningham
House of Mirth – Wharton
House of Sand and Fog – Dubus
How Stella Got Her Groove Back – McMillan
How the Grinch Stole Christmas – Seuss
The Help – Stockett
How To Eat Fried Worms -Rockwell
Howard’s End – Forster
The Hunt For Red October – Clancy
The Human Stain – Roth
Authors: Arthur Hailey, Margaret Peterson Haddix, Joe Hill, Maguerite Hamilton, Dan Handler, aka Lemony Snicker, O. Henry, S. E. Hinton, Patricia Highsmith, Homer, Victor Hugo, Anthony Horowitz
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks for all of those, Kim. especially ‘The House of Mirth’. A great book, and a wonderful film with Gillian Anderson too. Good to see Highsmith too.The ‘Ripley’ books were great.
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I wound up buying The House of Mirth movie because I loved it so much. Gillian Anderson is a brilliant actress!😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes! Hatchet and Harriet the Spy… how did not mention these winners?
LikeLiked by 2 people
Missed the “I”in “How did I…”
LikeLike
I think they sprang to my mind Jennie only because I was a children’s librarian. Although Harriet was a particular childhood favorite of mine.😊
LikeLiked by 2 people
I’m glad they did, because they are excellent books. I’m always encouraging adults to read these great books, and of course children.🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
I’m 52 and still indulge my inner child by reading children’s and YA books.😊
LikeLiked by 2 people
That is terrific. They’re my favorite reads.
LikeLiked by 2 people
“Hearts In Atlantis” by S. King; “Horatio Hornblower” – and tell Pam, YES – “The Historian” by Elizabeth Kostova is very good.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, GP. I have read some Hornblower books in my youth. Very stirring!
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s on the tbr!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Well, from New England, Nathaniel Hawthorne. I actually prefer his short story “Young Goodman Brown” as a wonderful expose of the dark underbelly of Puritan life.
LikeLiked by 1 person
A good choice of a very ‘American’ writer, Elizabeth.
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great choices, Pete. You left out Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy – his best book ever! I loved The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. I will add the Horrid Henry books for children – they are just two naughty and funny, and the Horrible History books.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for the children’s choices, Robbie. I have watched Horrid Henry on TV with our grandson.
I like most Hardy books, but always had a fondness for ‘Casterbridge’, so it got a mention.
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLike
I nominally gravitated to the books you mentioned and several others in the comments today. As I read the comments, I was surprised that no one suggested The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. To my mind, it is up there with Foundation and early Sci-Fi works by a number of the authors in that genre.
Warmest regards, Theo
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Theo. I have not read ‘The Hunger Games’, though I suspect it was better as a book, rather than the forgettable film franchise that followed.
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLike
No “Hobbit” by Tolkien? I first tried reading it when I was about 12 years old but struggled. Read it later on whilst hitching around Europe and loved it.
Another author I have recently discovered is David Hewson who has turned The Killing TV programmes into novels. House of Dolls is the first in a series featuring Pieter Vos, a detective in Amsterdam.
I also enjoy the Norwegian crime writer Anne Holt
LikeLiked by 1 person
Some good crime selections there, Jude. I had to read The Hobbit in my last year of primary school. I didn’t really get into the fantasy at the time, and now I don’t even watch the LOTR films.
Best wishes, Pete. x
LikeLike
The Hobbit was classed as a children’s book but it really isn’t. I think you have to be older to understand it and the Gollum character is so well done. I remember seeing a cartoon version of LOTR in London back in 1979 which I hated. The new films are actually very, very good, though I do think the Hobbit could have been just one film and should have come first.
LikeLiked by 1 person
So many great books, from you Pete as well as all of your contributors – hard to top so I won’t try – except to point out two non-fiction books: the first is called “Hellraisers” by Robert Sellers – it’s the story of the band of British Actors who raised hell – Peter O’ Toole and Richard Burton among them – and “The Happy Isles Of Oceania” by legendary Travel Writer Paul Theroux – he decided to paddle by canoe around the South Pacific – one of my favorite “wanderlust” stories
LikeLiked by 1 person
I like reading Paul Theroux too, but struggled with Oceania for some reason. Maybe time to give it another go!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Intersting – I read it at least 5-6 years ago and wanted to read it again – but I have also been reading his older books as well – more from a historical perspective as the trips is no doubt so much different today!
LikeLiked by 2 people
It must be more like 20 years ago that I tried. I enjoyed the Pillars of Hercules which I had read previously, but just couldn’t get into this one.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Pillars was the second book of his I read and as I was I thought: “Oh, he’s quite the curmudgeon!”
LikeLiked by 2 people
Have you read the Last Train to Zona Verde? I found that quite depressing, and sadly so true.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I actually posted a story about that book – I loved it but yes, it was very depressing – showing why efforts to help in Africa have largely backfired!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Quite. I am going to have to visit your blog 🙂
LikeLike
I know of your love for Theroux of course, but have yet to read any of his books, I confess. The problem with travelogues is that make me envious, and restless too!
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree Pete, but I live vicariously though them – but check this one out – a VERY sobering look at the state of Africa today – much more than a travelogue – https://johnrieber.com/2014/07/16/the-dark-heart-of-africa-paul-therouxs-last-train-to-zona-verde-his-personal-heart-of-darkness/
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for the link, John. I will investigate it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wolf Hall, the 1st part of a trilogy by Hilary Mantel re the life of Thomas Cromwell, fab books.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree with that choice, FR. And the TV adaptation was excellent too.
Cheers, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I will add one of your blog readers, Felicity Harley, not only because the first novel in her SF series, The Burning Years, is brilliant, but also because I discovered your blog and the A-Z Film Challenge through Felicity. And I know you’ve read her book as well, Pete!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Indeed I have, Susan, and reviewed it on Amazon too. Nice to give Felicity that shout, she is a wonderful support to so many bloggers, as well as being an accomplished writer.
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks Susan you yourself have written two great books One Woman’s Island – waiting for O and Island in the Clouds waiting for I!
LikeLiked by 3 people
Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ah, good one with Conrad. The only one of your selections I have read.
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLike
I hear The Historian is very good, though I haven’t read it yet.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I couldn’t get to sleep last night because I kept thinking of ‘H’ titles and authors! Nesbit’s The House of Arden, Susan Hill’s The Woman in Black, His Dark Materials, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, High Fidelity, The Hostage (play) by Brendan Behan, The Honorary Consul, and The Hunting of the Snark (allowed?!). I’d also go with Brave New World and Hemingway, particularly For Whom. I’d give you Hard Times but I haven’t read it! x
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hope you sleep better tonight after that great selection, Sarah.
Best wishes, Pete. x
LikeLiked by 1 person
I absolutely love the books you mentioned, but without the ‘Moveable Feast’ it’s not fully complete ❤
LikeLike
Thanks for that one, Mr Bobinsky. I haven’t read it, so doubly welcome.
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, it beautiful and it gives such an amazing insight on Hemingway’s daily life while still writen like a novel…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Love that you mentioned Hemingway, but my personal fav by him is The Sun Also Rises! It’s a beautiful novel detailing (in the most subtle way possible) the lasting pain and destructive coping mechanisms of vets of WWI. Lady Brett Ashley is one of my fav characters in literature today.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, TTT. There is a fair bit of Hemingway I have yet to read.
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Me too. I have a collection of his short stories, but I’ve only worked my way through a few of them so far. I read so many short stories for school it’s hard to find time to read other ones just for pleasure (not that I’m complaining!)
LikeLiked by 1 person
My first thought for H was, like yours, Ernest Hemingway and the brilliant ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’…wonderful prose.another one, less well known is ‘Across the River and into the Trees’. Then of course, there is Hermann Hesse….and I would choose the rather enigmatic Demian. Now, many years later, I would look at it in a different light…it is, after all, about self-discovery, which perhaps seemed mysterious to my teenage self!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Sue. I struggled with ‘Steppenwolf’ when I was younger, so maybe I should read Hesse again.
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I recall struggling with Steppenwolf many years ago, never revisited it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
My only fiction should be my double….”Hunting Badger” by Tony Hillerman……on the non-fiction side…..I have many books entitled “History Of…..” my choices are “Russia” by Nicholas Raisanovsky and “Arab Peoples” by Albert Hourani and “Terrorism” by Gerard Chaliano…I also have a double in the non-fiction “How To Stage A Military Coup” by David Hebditch……”How To Make War” by James Dunnigan and finally “Hard Lessons”…it is a govt publication on the Iraq situation from 2003. I am finished….some else is up now.>>LOL chuq
LikeLiked by 1 person
A good selection once again, chuq, and most welcome too.
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Finally got to some of the fiction I have read….chuq
LikeLiked by 1 person