Welcome to Triple Choice Tuesday. This is where I ask some of my favourite bloggers, writers and readers to share the names of three books that mean a lot to them. The idea is that it might raise the profile of certain books and introduce you to new titles, new authors and new bloggers.
It’s Australian Literature Month, so who better to compile his Triple Choice Tuesday than Melbourne resident and debut novelist Graeme Simsion.
I reviewed Graeme’s brilliantly funny novel The Rosie Project yesterday, which is a bestseller in Australia. It is due to be published in the UK in hardcover by Michael Joseph next week (11 April) — and more than 30 other countries in due course.
Graeme also writes screenplays, short stories and short plays. And if that’s not enough, he occasionally produces films, teaches consulting skills and is an expert in data-modelling (his first book, published in 1994, became the standard reference on data modelling and is now entering its fourth edition).
He is married to Anne, a professor of psychiatry who writes erotic fiction. They have two children.
You can follow Graeme on Twitter @GraemeSimsion. The lead character from The Rosie Project, Don Tillman, is also on Twitter @ProfDonTillman.
Without further ado, here are Graeme’s Triple Choice Tuesday selections:
A favourite book: A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
Few books can make me laugh out loud. John Irving’s books of this period managed to do that, as well as engage me emotionally and intellectually. There’s a sense of heightened reality in both characters and events, but never to the extent that the story becomes unbelievable.
A book that changed my world: The Unkindest Cut by Joe Queenan
In 1998, I read film critic Joe Queenan’s story of how he set out to make a feature film for $7,000 and decided to emulate him, having had no previous experience in film-making or even screenwriting. Nine crazy months later, I had a film – and a new direction in life.
A book that deserves a wider audience: A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
A wider audience for a book that’s already sold 300,000 copies? Because everyone should read it. To pass through life without appreciating what we understand about the universe and life seems a great opportunity missed. Most science books written for a supposedly general audience are far too difficult (and I say this as a physics graduate). Bill Bryson is about as clear and entertaining as you can get.
Thanks, Graeme, for taking part in my Triple Choice Tuesday!
What do you think of Graeme’s choices? Have you read any of these books?
Reading Matters 
some great choices ,I ve a few Irving books on my tbr have read this one thou and it is wonderful I agree ,all the best stu
LikeLike
I trust you and your review, so I ordered “The Rosie Project” yesterday. I hope it lives up to the hype; I think I won’t be disappointed. Thank you for the recommendation, keep up the good “work.” –Bink Owen
LikeLike
I bought my father that Bill Bryson title for Christmas – perhaps I should steal it back off him 😉
LikeLike
I thought Owen Meany was a great book too. I bought the Bryson book years ago but not read it yet. Lovely to discover Graeme’s choices. I loved The Rosie Project.
LikeLike
I used to read a lot of Irving, and “Owen Meany” remains my favorite of his, pure excellence…
LikeLike
I really loved A Prayer for Owen Meany when I read it years and years ago. And the Bill Bryson book is fabulous, too. He has such a fantastic way with words that I copied bits of the book to my A-level students to get them to visualise the workings of a cell. Good choices!
LikeLike