Omphaloskepsis (go ahead, look it up)

I have The Voice and I'm almost done with the Tremayne book for this evening.

Susan Hill, in her book HOWARD'S END IS ON THE LANDING, was contemplating what 40 books she would have on her permanent bookshelf if only allowed those 40 books for the rest of her life. I have come up with six so far:

THE HUNGER GAMES, CATCHING FIRE, and MOCKINGJAY by Suzanne Collins
In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, "The Hunger Games," a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed. Wonderfully told young adult dystopian story with themes of personal freedom, power, class, spectacle, sacrifice, rebelling against an oppressive totalitarian government, love, and propaganda just to name a few.

WHY NATIONS FAIL: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson.
Based on fifteen years of original research Acemoglu and Robinson marshall extraordinary historical evidence from the Roman Empire, the Mayan city-states, medieval Venice, the Soviet Union, Latin America, England, Europe, the United States, and Africa to build a new theory of political economy with great relevance for the big questions of today. This book is amazing; I learned so much about why some nations are rich and others poor, divided by wealth and poverty, health and sickness, food and famine. Should be required reading.

DUNE by Frank Herbert.
This is the story of Paul Atreides, who would avenge the traitorous plot against his noble family. He might be the end product of a very long-term genetic experiment designed to breed a super human; he might be a messiah. It is a tale of a desert planet called Arrakis, the focus of an intricate power struggle in a byzantine interstellar empire. Arrakis is the sole source of Melange, the "spice of spices." Melange is necessary for interstellar travel and grants psychic powers and longevity, so whoever controls it wields great influence. Themes of religion, politics, and power, and control over the most important and valuable substance in the universe.

PERSUASION by Jane Austen.
Anne Elliot let the love of her life get away. In this case, she had allowed herself to be persuaded by a trusted family friend that the young man she loved wasn't an adequate match, social station-wise. The novel opens some seven years after Anne sent Captain Wentworth away, and she's still alone. But then the man she never stopped loving comes back from the sea and seeking someone younger. Love, true worth, and second chances. 

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster