The IBIC Guide to Books By Tom Sharpe
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October 24, 1994
During the course of my 4-year marathon through the evening
program at Wayne State University Law School I have listened to
quite a few books on tape. After some experimentation I found
that novels are the best drivetime listening. If I lose the
thread of a nonfiction book--which is easy to do with all the
distractions of driving--it is hard to get it back, and I hate
to rewind a tape and listen to parts over again. Novels seize
and hold my interest. Best of all is a funny novel.
WILT and
THE
WILT ALTERNATIVE (Books on Tape, Inc.) describe the
misadventures of Henry WIlt, a humble English school teacher
with an astonishing capacity for secretly being the only
reasonable man in an insanely funny situation. These two books
stand out as two of the most enjoyable book on tape experiences
I have had in the 4 years x 40 class weeks x 3 class days x 80 =
38,400 miles I've put into this stupid credential. I laughed
out loud not once but many times.
This prompted me to go to
the library and read WILT
ON HIGH, the most recent novel in the Wilt series (Random
House, 1984) and PORTERHOUSE
BLUE (The Atlantic Monthly Press, 1974)--sort of like C.P.
Snow's STRANGERS AND BROTHERS on acid (incredibly, these
wonderful books are out of print). I've read all of
Sharpe's books at one time or another, and they're all on the
same level--bizarre and just insanely funny. Lensman
material.
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Editor's Recommendations, Summer 1996
In this inaugural edition of IBIC's Featured Books, I'd like to
draw your attention to several titles which have helped to shape my life
and thinking.
- When I was around fifteen, I came across Larry Niven and
Jerry Pournelle's science fiction novel, INFERNO. This '70s remake of Dante's
classic describes science fiction writer Allen Carpentier's
descent into Hell. It's still a very fresh, accessible take on
the classic. What a great movie it would make!
- The Niven/Pournelle INFERNO
immediately inspired me to read the original Divine Comedy.
I've read a number of translations over the years, but my
favorite is the one by Dorothy Sayers (INFERNO;
PURGATORY;
PARADISE). The notes
are excellent, and Sayers had such a knowledgeable and witty mind that reading
her prose is a pleasure in itself. (For those interested in a more contemporary translation, I should mention that Robert Pinsky received excellent notices for his 1995 THE
INFERNO OF DANTE : A NEW VERSE TRANSLATION; it's a very handsome book.)
- I also want to tell you about the late Henry Fairlie's THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS TODAY,
which probably did more than any other single book to galvanize me into a lifetime interest
in Christianity that led me, eventually, to faith. Ironic, because Fairlie was a self-proclaimed agnostic socialist! But
reading between the lines of this insightful and deeply feeling book, one realizes
that the love of God cannot have been far from Fairlie's heart.
- Finally, I should draw to your attention a more recent
acquisition, the very handsome NIV
STUDY BIBLE (10TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION) from Zondervan, indexed and bonded in leather in
IBIC's theme color, burgundy (black
and brown
are also available). The notes to this Bible are amazing. They
appear to provide you with a very substantial portion of what you need to
know to have an intelligent layman's appreciation of the
linguistic and historical issues involved in understanding
Scripture.
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