Next up on my list is The Chronicles of Narnia, (each book) read in the proper order. I purchased the whole large collection (I have a weird thing for collections) this weekend on a random trip to Borders (a new Borders I just found when I randomly decided to drive to Frederick, Maryland for no reason at all only to purchase a milkshake at McDonalds and turn around to wind up at Borders). This might be my new favorite Borders though the distance is a bit much for a trip to a bookstore. But these words are irrelevant.
I started the book Sunday night and am now a few chapters into The Magician's Nephew and I am absolutely loving it. The last time I tried to read any of the Narnia books was when I was in sixth grade. I found The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe to be insanely dull and vowed to stay far, far from Lewis. But after seeing the movies (which, truth be told, I did not love but do find myself oddly enthralled by and will stop whenever I see them though I will not purchase or rent on my own), I've decided I wanted to read the whole series. It's exactly the kind of book I love. Magic, mysterious old people, odd friendships, secret passages. It's perfect. I'm excited to get deeper into this new world.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
The Order of Odd-Fish, James Kennedy
This weekend I finished The Order of Odd-Fish. I picked it up because I came across James Kennedy's blog and found him to be hilarious. The book did not disappoint in that regard.
The book begins in a home that I would very much like to visit, The Ruby Palace. It belongs to our protagonist's (Jo) aunt who was a successful film star in her younger days before she disappeared for forty years. She returned to her home with no recollection of where she had been and found a baby with a note that that alerts her that the baby is Jo and she is dangerous. Now Jo is 13 years old and her aunt is throwing another wild party. Jo is hiding and watching people when she notices a strange man dressed as a colonel and he seems to be looking for her. This is the beginning of a journey that takes them out of the desert, into the belly of a fish, to finally wind up in Eldritch City.
The author is really great at characterization. Each character has his own peculiarity and I was never confused as to who was speaking. Each time a new character was introduced I felt immediately drawn to that character and his or her back story. Unfortunately, only a few lived up to the potential they had been set up for. The book was, at times, overly silly. But in context it worked well and was easily forgiven.
For being a middle-grade book, I was a little embarrassed by how many of the words I did not know. This is great for those in the intended age range. James Kennedy is obviously very intelligent and very creative. I think it is a great read for those still in school and while I found it enjoyable (enough so that I would read anything else he writes), I don't necessarily think it's one that adults will enjoy in the same way as other younger reader books.
Wow, please forgive these elementary school reviews. I promise for the next book to have something of substance that actually mentions something about the book!
The book begins in a home that I would very much like to visit, The Ruby Palace. It belongs to our protagonist's (Jo) aunt who was a successful film star in her younger days before she disappeared for forty years. She returned to her home with no recollection of where she had been and found a baby with a note that that alerts her that the baby is Jo and she is dangerous. Now Jo is 13 years old and her aunt is throwing another wild party. Jo is hiding and watching people when she notices a strange man dressed as a colonel and he seems to be looking for her. This is the beginning of a journey that takes them out of the desert, into the belly of a fish, to finally wind up in Eldritch City.
The author is really great at characterization. Each character has his own peculiarity and I was never confused as to who was speaking. Each time a new character was introduced I felt immediately drawn to that character and his or her back story. Unfortunately, only a few lived up to the potential they had been set up for. The book was, at times, overly silly. But in context it worked well and was easily forgiven.
For being a middle-grade book, I was a little embarrassed by how many of the words I did not know. This is great for those in the intended age range. James Kennedy is obviously very intelligent and very creative. I think it is a great read for those still in school and while I found it enjoyable (enough so that I would read anything else he writes), I don't necessarily think it's one that adults will enjoy in the same way as other younger reader books.
Wow, please forgive these elementary school reviews. I promise for the next book to have something of substance that actually mentions something about the book!
Sometimes I Lie...
Watership Down! I read it! It was....okay. I have more complete thoughts written on paper, but I am just ready to do this and forget about it. So please forgive my elementary book report.
I was skeptical immediately. A book written from the point of view of rabbits? Seriously? It suddenly made sense why this book was assigned to middle school and junior high classes (though not my middle school or junior high). The plot was simple. Fiver has a sense that alerts him to danger so he rounds up his brother, Hazel, and a few random rabbits and guides them to safety. The encounter danger and obstacles (I never knew rabbits were so violent). They persevere. They tells stories and have their own God and myths and language.
Overall, the book was well-written and well-researched. Richard Adams must have spent months observing rabbits. I found myself growing bored with their stories by the end (the stories of El-Ehairah and Prince Rainbow) and never really found a relevance to the main story. I rolled my eyes a few times at various words and phrases (written down on paper as examples, but not here...sorry) as human characters would never even speak in that way. The rabbits kept reminding the reader that they were only merely rabbits and therefore did not understand certain things (such as water and boats), and I don't believe it was necessary.
I'm sure there is more to this book. Something about community and trust. Maybe something about courage. But whatever it was was buried and did not leave the book with me.
Final opinion - it was okay. I'm not sorry that I read it, but I certainly wouldn't recommend it or reach to read it again.
I was skeptical immediately. A book written from the point of view of rabbits? Seriously? It suddenly made sense why this book was assigned to middle school and junior high classes (though not my middle school or junior high). The plot was simple. Fiver has a sense that alerts him to danger so he rounds up his brother, Hazel, and a few random rabbits and guides them to safety. The encounter danger and obstacles (I never knew rabbits were so violent). They persevere. They tells stories and have their own God and myths and language.
Overall, the book was well-written and well-researched. Richard Adams must have spent months observing rabbits. I found myself growing bored with their stories by the end (the stories of El-Ehairah and Prince Rainbow) and never really found a relevance to the main story. I rolled my eyes a few times at various words and phrases (written down on paper as examples, but not here...sorry) as human characters would never even speak in that way. The rabbits kept reminding the reader that they were only merely rabbits and therefore did not understand certain things (such as water and boats), and I don't believe it was necessary.
I'm sure there is more to this book. Something about community and trust. Maybe something about courage. But whatever it was was buried and did not leave the book with me.
Final opinion - it was okay. I'm not sorry that I read it, but I certainly wouldn't recommend it or reach to read it again.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Because I am a slacker on this blog, I bring you a meme! Tonight I will be back with something good. A review of Watership Down! Stay tuned. And until then, read this.
1. What author do you own the most books by?
This would go to either Neil Gaiman or David Foster Wallace.
2. What books do you own the most copies of?
I've downgraded things a bit so I got rid of any multiple copies. There are a few books I've had two copies of... Alice in Wonderland I had in paperback and in my Collected Works of Lewis Carroll. Romeo and Juliet existed on its own and as part of my Collected Works of Shakespeare. I have two copies of Price and Prejudice - one in e-reader and the other in paperback but only because the e-reader copy was free.
3. What fictional character are you secretly in love with?
My girl crush on Elphaba from Wicked is certainly no secret. As for others...I definitely went through a Harry Potter phase. And an Edward Cullen phase. But mostly I fall for the fictional characters that my teenage self would have fallen for. I can't think of any amazing male characters I have had crushes on. I'll have to work my way through my bookshelves and find someone.
4. What book have you read more than any other?
Gone With the Wind. I used to read it once a year. It's a thrift store copy, the cover is held on with Scotch tape, it's old and yellowed and I absolutely love it.
5. What was your favorite book when you were ten years old?
Either Just as Long as We're Together by Judy Blue or A Ring of Endless Light by Madeline L'Engle.
6. What is the worst book you have read in the past year?
Others have been afraid to say, but I am not afraid. The Road. NOTHING HAPPENED. I've heard people say the end was very moving, etc., but one can only be moved if she can actually make it to the end. I did not make it to the end.
7. What is the best book you've read in the past year?
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. The characters are exceptional, the story is exceptional, everything about this book is exceptional. The story is moving and I didn't even have to suffer through to the end (which I did anyway, though I'd hardly call it suffering). It's real and gritty and beautiful.
8. If you could tell everyone you tagged to read one book, what would it be?
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien. Why are so many of my favorites centered around a war?
9. What is the most difficult book you have ever read?
Infinite Jest. Oh, the footnotes. I had to keep a separate bookmark in that section so I could keep flipping back. The subjects range from grammar to physics to tennis and filmography. The speaker constantly changes and they are all in separate corners of the narrative. It took a long time to read and the ending was abrupt and did not feel final, but it was great and so worth the effort. I think I would read it again. Many years from now.
10. Do you prefer the French or the Russians?
I would say the Russians.
11. Shakespeare, Milton, or Chaucer?
Hm...In college I took a Shakespeare class and a Milton class, but never felt a great love for either. I've only read one story from The Canterbury Tales and I don't even remember which one it was...is there a woman from Bath in there? I guess I'll go with Shakespeare based solely on William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet with Leo and Claire.
12. Austen or Eliot?
Austen. I have never read Eliot. That should have been on my 100 list...
13. What is the biggest or most embarrassing gap in your reading?
The Canterbury Tales. Everyone has read The Canterbury Tales. That or The Pilgrim's Progress.
14. What is your favorite novel?
I hate this question. Next!
15. Play?
The Glass Menagerie or A Streetcar Named Desire
16. Poem?
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock - T.S. Elliot
17. Essay?
I can't remember the title, but it's in David Foster Wallace's A Supposedly Funny Thing I'll Never Do Again and it's about fiction writers/television and Joe Briefcase.
18. Non-Fiction?
Does Stephen Colbert's I am America (And So Can You) count as non-fiction?
19. Graphic Novel?
The only graphic novel I have read is Bottomless Belly Button by Dash Shaw. I liked it and if I could be led to more in that vein I would try reading them.
20. Science Fiction?
Slaughterhouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut
21. Who is your favorite writer?
Neil Gaiman (currently)
22. Who is the most over-rated writer alive today?
See above "worst book read this year" for the answer. Cormac McCarthy. I just don't get the appeal. I hated The Road, I didn't read the book but I hated the movie No Country for Old Men. Two of the most boring stories I have ever encountered. I must be missing some underlying themes or brilliance...
23. What are you reading right now?
The Order of Odd-Fish by James Kennedy, Children of the Holocaust and World War II: Their Secret Diaries by Laurel Holliday, and whatever I pick up next for my 100 list.
24. Best memoir?
I don't typically read memoirs...though I totally want to read Tori Spelling's books.
25. Best history?
Uh...I need to broaden my reading horizons.
26. Best mystery or noir?
And, see above.
1. What author do you own the most books by?
This would go to either Neil Gaiman or David Foster Wallace.
2. What books do you own the most copies of?
I've downgraded things a bit so I got rid of any multiple copies. There are a few books I've had two copies of... Alice in Wonderland I had in paperback and in my Collected Works of Lewis Carroll. Romeo and Juliet existed on its own and as part of my Collected Works of Shakespeare. I have two copies of Price and Prejudice - one in e-reader and the other in paperback but only because the e-reader copy was free.
3. What fictional character are you secretly in love with?
My girl crush on Elphaba from Wicked is certainly no secret. As for others...I definitely went through a Harry Potter phase. And an Edward Cullen phase. But mostly I fall for the fictional characters that my teenage self would have fallen for. I can't think of any amazing male characters I have had crushes on. I'll have to work my way through my bookshelves and find someone.
4. What book have you read more than any other?
Gone With the Wind. I used to read it once a year. It's a thrift store copy, the cover is held on with Scotch tape, it's old and yellowed and I absolutely love it.
5. What was your favorite book when you were ten years old?
Either Just as Long as We're Together by Judy Blue or A Ring of Endless Light by Madeline L'Engle.
6. What is the worst book you have read in the past year?
Others have been afraid to say, but I am not afraid. The Road. NOTHING HAPPENED. I've heard people say the end was very moving, etc., but one can only be moved if she can actually make it to the end. I did not make it to the end.
7. What is the best book you've read in the past year?
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. The characters are exceptional, the story is exceptional, everything about this book is exceptional. The story is moving and I didn't even have to suffer through to the end (which I did anyway, though I'd hardly call it suffering). It's real and gritty and beautiful.
8. If you could tell everyone you tagged to read one book, what would it be?
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien. Why are so many of my favorites centered around a war?
9. What is the most difficult book you have ever read?
Infinite Jest. Oh, the footnotes. I had to keep a separate bookmark in that section so I could keep flipping back. The subjects range from grammar to physics to tennis and filmography. The speaker constantly changes and they are all in separate corners of the narrative. It took a long time to read and the ending was abrupt and did not feel final, but it was great and so worth the effort. I think I would read it again. Many years from now.
10. Do you prefer the French or the Russians?
I would say the Russians.
11. Shakespeare, Milton, or Chaucer?
Hm...In college I took a Shakespeare class and a Milton class, but never felt a great love for either. I've only read one story from The Canterbury Tales and I don't even remember which one it was...is there a woman from Bath in there? I guess I'll go with Shakespeare based solely on William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet with Leo and Claire.
12. Austen or Eliot?
Austen. I have never read Eliot. That should have been on my 100 list...
13. What is the biggest or most embarrassing gap in your reading?
The Canterbury Tales. Everyone has read The Canterbury Tales. That or The Pilgrim's Progress.
14. What is your favorite novel?
I hate this question. Next!
15. Play?
The Glass Menagerie or A Streetcar Named Desire
16. Poem?
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock - T.S. Elliot
17. Essay?
I can't remember the title, but it's in David Foster Wallace's A Supposedly Funny Thing I'll Never Do Again and it's about fiction writers/television and Joe Briefcase.
18. Non-Fiction?
Does Stephen Colbert's I am America (And So Can You) count as non-fiction?
19. Graphic Novel?
The only graphic novel I have read is Bottomless Belly Button by Dash Shaw. I liked it and if I could be led to more in that vein I would try reading them.
20. Science Fiction?
Slaughterhouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut
21. Who is your favorite writer?
Neil Gaiman (currently)
22. Who is the most over-rated writer alive today?
See above "worst book read this year" for the answer. Cormac McCarthy. I just don't get the appeal. I hated The Road, I didn't read the book but I hated the movie No Country for Old Men. Two of the most boring stories I have ever encountered. I must be missing some underlying themes or brilliance...
23. What are you reading right now?
The Order of Odd-Fish by James Kennedy, Children of the Holocaust and World War II: Their Secret Diaries by Laurel Holliday, and whatever I pick up next for my 100 list.
24. Best memoir?
I don't typically read memoirs...though I totally want to read Tori Spelling's books.
25. Best history?
Uh...I need to broaden my reading horizons.
26. Best mystery or noir?
And, see above.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Too Many Books on my Shelves
I recently downgraded from one and a half bookcases (five shelves each and each shelf stuffed to capacity) to just one bookcase (full and stuffed to capacity to the point of exerting effort to pull one out). I thought, I have a Kindle now. I will rarely buy real books. Then this weekend I purchased four books.
Interestingly (or maybe not) each of these books is about the Holocaust. Three were intentional, having been purchased at the Holocaust Museum. The other one, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, was purchased in Barnes and Noble. That's irrelevant though. I don't think that saying I am fascinated by the Holocaust is an appropriate phrase, but it's such an interesting period of time. It's close enough that most of us know people who were alive when it happened making it one of the first major events that my generation can relate to. My grandparents (though not together at the time) were in the Ukraine when the Nazis invaded and for fear of being rounded up (as dark-haired Ukrainians they were afraid they'd be mistaken for Jews) they fled the Ukraine and ended up in a German work camp. They met and took an Army boat to Ellis Island before settling in Pittsburgh. My grandmother tells me all the time about how much she used to love to sing and how the Germans loved it when she did. I just hope I have more time to listen to her stories. They are not all as happy as that one, but they are essential to our history and must not go untold. Even if it is just for family.
A (fiction) book essential to any reading about the Holocaust is The Book Thief. Such a ridiculously amazing book. It brings tears to my eyes just to think about it. Read it. It will forever change your life.
Interestingly (or maybe not) each of these books is about the Holocaust. Three were intentional, having been purchased at the Holocaust Museum. The other one, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, was purchased in Barnes and Noble. That's irrelevant though. I don't think that saying I am fascinated by the Holocaust is an appropriate phrase, but it's such an interesting period of time. It's close enough that most of us know people who were alive when it happened making it one of the first major events that my generation can relate to. My grandparents (though not together at the time) were in the Ukraine when the Nazis invaded and for fear of being rounded up (as dark-haired Ukrainians they were afraid they'd be mistaken for Jews) they fled the Ukraine and ended up in a German work camp. They met and took an Army boat to Ellis Island before settling in Pittsburgh. My grandmother tells me all the time about how much she used to love to sing and how the Germans loved it when she did. I just hope I have more time to listen to her stories. They are not all as happy as that one, but they are essential to our history and must not go untold. Even if it is just for family.
A (fiction) book essential to any reading about the Holocaust is The Book Thief. Such a ridiculously amazing book. It brings tears to my eyes just to think about it. Read it. It will forever change your life.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman
Last night I finished Neverwhere as part of my quest to read every book Neil Gaiman has written (with the exception of the graphic novels). All good stories contain a journey, and Neverwhere contains my favorite type.
In the vein of The Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland, Neverwhere introduces Richard Mayhew who finds himself stumbling along an ordinary existence when he is suddenly plopped into the midst of a life he never imagined existed. This is not a children's fantasy adventure, taking a Gaiman-esque turn for the dark and violent underground as opposed to mad tea parties and wicked witches. Instead we have our protagonists running from hitmen, beasts, sewer people, and beautiful women in velvet dresses. His guide into this life is a girl named Door, the eldest daughter of a powerful family, on her own quest to discover the truth behind her family's brutal murder.
In London Below, the lines of allegiance are blurred and every character seems to owe another a favor. When he is continually learning who to trust and who not to trust, Richard Mayhew must confront his fears and find a strength he had never known. He is on a journey to regain the old life that he once knew all while coming to terms with the fact that this life he had never known might be the one he cares about most. Instead of the nobody Above, he has become the Somebody below and this will make all the difference
In the vein of The Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland, Neverwhere introduces Richard Mayhew who finds himself stumbling along an ordinary existence when he is suddenly plopped into the midst of a life he never imagined existed. This is not a children's fantasy adventure, taking a Gaiman-esque turn for the dark and violent underground as opposed to mad tea parties and wicked witches. Instead we have our protagonists running from hitmen, beasts, sewer people, and beautiful women in velvet dresses. His guide into this life is a girl named Door, the eldest daughter of a powerful family, on her own quest to discover the truth behind her family's brutal murder.
In London Below, the lines of allegiance are blurred and every character seems to owe another a favor. When he is continually learning who to trust and who not to trust, Richard Mayhew must confront his fears and find a strength he had never known. He is on a journey to regain the old life that he once knew all while coming to terms with the fact that this life he had never known might be the one he cares about most. Instead of the nobody Above, he has become the Somebody below and this will make all the difference
Saturday, March 28, 2009
The Book Thief
I have stolen this from another. I have made a list of almost 100 books to get through in a year but realize that is being overly ambitious. So to span it out over five years is an awesome idea. Here is what she says (beginning with describing the directions as she also stole the idea from another):
"She collected a list of 100 books that she wants to have read in her life to fill in some of her reading gaps of classics and great contemporary fiction. She knew it was a monumental task ahead of her--we all tend to choose fun things instead of things we should read, right? At least I do--so she gave herself 5 years to try to get through the list, and gave herself 25% accident forgiveness, meaning if she finishes 75 titles in 5 years, she'll consider herself to have been victorious."
My list was generated by the following criteria:-snobby classics I've always wished I could tell people I'd read, but would never read otherwise because I can't imagine enjoying them (these will probably end up making up the 25)-books that I've bought and owned for a long time, but haven't read because they're reeeeeally long and I am easily daunted by length at time of reading-and some books I've been curious about and keep forgetting to buy/read. Obviously, other books will be read as well, but I will mark each of these off and update my progress periodically. I've kept some of the ones Moonrat has, but edited most. I have not included anything I am predisposed to love. Not that these are all books I think I will hate or have no desire to read. I want to read them. I just keep putting them off in favor of others. But hopefully, over the span of five years, I will get to each.
1. Les Miserables, Victor Hugo
2. Gravity's Rainbow, Thomas Pynchon
3. Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand
4. Watership Down, Richard Adams
5. Three Men in a Boat, Jerome K. Jerome
6. Foucault's Pendulum, Umberto Eco
7. This is Your Brain on Music, Daniel J. Levitin
8. Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison
9. White Teeth, Zadie Smith
10. After Many a Summer Dies the Swan, Aldous Huxley
11. Wonder Boys, Michael Chabon
12. The Art of War, Sun Tzu
13. Girlfriend in a Coma, Douglas Coupland
14. Tender is the Night, F. Scott Fitzgerald
15. Down and Out in Paris and London, George Orwell
16. The Curtain, Milan Kundera
17. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
18. The Wordy Shipmates, Sarah Vowell
19. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, James Joyce
20. The Brothers Karamazov, Fyoder Dostoevsky
21. White Noise, Don DeLillo
22. The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, Tom Wolfe
23. The Trial, Franz Kafka
24. The Razor's Edge, Somerset Maugham
25. The Monkey Wrench Gang, Edward Abbey
26. Don Quixote, Miguel de Cervantes
27. Travelling Mercies, Anne Lamott
28. The Lake of Dead Languages, Carol Goodman
29. Naked Lunch, William S. Burroughs
30. The Professor and the Madman, Simon Winchester
31. Misfortune, Wesley Stace
32. The Divine Comedy, Dante
33. Leaves of Grass, Walt Whitman
34. The Areas of My Expertise, John Hodgman
35. Blink, Malcolm Gladwell
36. The Iliad, Homer
37. The Odyssey, Homer
38. The World is Flat, Thomas L. Friedman
39. Think, Michael R. LeGault
40. How Language Works, David Crystal
41. The Mother Tongue, Bill Bryson
42. The Partly Cloudy Patriot, Sarah Vowell
43. The Fortress of Solitude, Jonathan Lethem
44. Going After Cacciato, Tim O'Brien
45. Survivor, Chuck Palahniuk
46. Cat's Eye, Margaret Atwood
47. The Immoralist, Andre Gide
48. On Beauty, Zadie Smith
49. The Plague, Albert Camus
50. Ulysses, James Joyce
51. Dark Tower, Stephen King
52. Mrs. Dalloway, Virginia Woolf
53. The Rainbow, D.H. Lawrence
54. The Age of Innocence, Edith Wharton
55. The Corner of Bitter and Sweet, Jamie Ford
56. Tropic of Cancer, Henry Miller
57. The Chronicles of Narnia (whole series), C.S. Lewis
58. The Stuff of Thought, Steven Pinker
59. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
60. The Adventures of Augie March, Saul Bellow
61. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tokien
62. A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving
63. Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card
64. Middlesex, Jeffrey Eugenides
65. Rabbit, Run, John Updike
66. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
67. Special Topics in Calamity Physics, Marisha Pessl
68. Suite Francaise, Irene Nemirovsky and Sandra Smith
69. Paris to the Moon, Adam Gopnik
70. Three Lives, Gertrude Stein
71. The Giver, Lois Lowry
72. The Collected Works of Lewis Carroll
73. Life of Pi, Yann Martel
74. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Jean-Dominique Bauby
75. Nation, Terry Pratchett
76. To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf
77. Wise Blood, Flannery O'Connor
78. Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston
79. The Sheltering Sky, Paul Bowles
80. Tobacco Road, Erskine Caldwell
81. Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
82. Wrinkle in Time series (I've only read the first two), Madeline L'Engle
83. Portnoy's Complaint, Philip Roth
84. Fool, Christopher Moore
85. A Spot of Bother, Mark Haddon
86. The Elegance of the Hedgehog, Muriel Barbery
87. Bel Canto, Ann Patchett
88. Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen
89. Man Walks into a Room, Nicole Krauss
90. A Room with a View, E.M. Forster
91. The Naked and the Dead, Norman Mailer
92. Black Boy, Richard Wright
93. Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates, Tom Robbins
94. The Women, T.C. Boyle
95. World War Z, Max Brooks
96. Unaccustomed Earch, Jhumpa Lahiri
97. Netherland, Joseph O'Neill
98. Firmin, Sam Savage
99. The Ghost in Love, Jonathan Carroll
100. Pale Fire, Vladimir Nabokov
I'm pretty sure there are no doubles on that list...
Anyone else want to join in? :)
"She collected a list of 100 books that she wants to have read in her life to fill in some of her reading gaps of classics and great contemporary fiction. She knew it was a monumental task ahead of her--we all tend to choose fun things instead of things we should read, right? At least I do--so she gave herself 5 years to try to get through the list, and gave herself 25% accident forgiveness, meaning if she finishes 75 titles in 5 years, she'll consider herself to have been victorious."
My list was generated by the following criteria:-snobby classics I've always wished I could tell people I'd read, but would never read otherwise because I can't imagine enjoying them (these will probably end up making up the 25)-books that I've bought and owned for a long time, but haven't read because they're reeeeeally long and I am easily daunted by length at time of reading-and some books I've been curious about and keep forgetting to buy/read. Obviously, other books will be read as well, but I will mark each of these off and update my progress periodically. I've kept some of the ones Moonrat has, but edited most. I have not included anything I am predisposed to love. Not that these are all books I think I will hate or have no desire to read. I want to read them. I just keep putting them off in favor of others. But hopefully, over the span of five years, I will get to each.
1. Les Miserables, Victor Hugo
2. Gravity's Rainbow, Thomas Pynchon
3. Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand
4. Watership Down, Richard Adams
5. Three Men in a Boat, Jerome K. Jerome
6. Foucault's Pendulum, Umberto Eco
7. This is Your Brain on Music, Daniel J. Levitin
8. Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison
9. White Teeth, Zadie Smith
10. After Many a Summer Dies the Swan, Aldous Huxley
11. Wonder Boys, Michael Chabon
12. The Art of War, Sun Tzu
13. Girlfriend in a Coma, Douglas Coupland
14. Tender is the Night, F. Scott Fitzgerald
15. Down and Out in Paris and London, George Orwell
16. The Curtain, Milan Kundera
17. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
18. The Wordy Shipmates, Sarah Vowell
19. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, James Joyce
20. The Brothers Karamazov, Fyoder Dostoevsky
21. White Noise, Don DeLillo
22. The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, Tom Wolfe
23. The Trial, Franz Kafka
24. The Razor's Edge, Somerset Maugham
25. The Monkey Wrench Gang, Edward Abbey
26. Don Quixote, Miguel de Cervantes
27. Travelling Mercies, Anne Lamott
28. The Lake of Dead Languages, Carol Goodman
29. Naked Lunch, William S. Burroughs
30. The Professor and the Madman, Simon Winchester
31. Misfortune, Wesley Stace
32. The Divine Comedy, Dante
33. Leaves of Grass, Walt Whitman
34. The Areas of My Expertise, John Hodgman
35. Blink, Malcolm Gladwell
36. The Iliad, Homer
37. The Odyssey, Homer
38. The World is Flat, Thomas L. Friedman
39. Think, Michael R. LeGault
40. How Language Works, David Crystal
41. The Mother Tongue, Bill Bryson
42. The Partly Cloudy Patriot, Sarah Vowell
43. The Fortress of Solitude, Jonathan Lethem
44. Going After Cacciato, Tim O'Brien
45. Survivor, Chuck Palahniuk
46. Cat's Eye, Margaret Atwood
47. The Immoralist, Andre Gide
48. On Beauty, Zadie Smith
49. The Plague, Albert Camus
50. Ulysses, James Joyce
51. Dark Tower, Stephen King
52. Mrs. Dalloway, Virginia Woolf
53. The Rainbow, D.H. Lawrence
54. The Age of Innocence, Edith Wharton
55. The Corner of Bitter and Sweet, Jamie Ford
56. Tropic of Cancer, Henry Miller
57. The Chronicles of Narnia (whole series), C.S. Lewis
58. The Stuff of Thought, Steven Pinker
59. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
60. The Adventures of Augie March, Saul Bellow
61. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tokien
62. A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving
63. Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card
64. Middlesex, Jeffrey Eugenides
65. Rabbit, Run, John Updike
66. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
67. Special Topics in Calamity Physics, Marisha Pessl
68. Suite Francaise, Irene Nemirovsky and Sandra Smith
69. Paris to the Moon, Adam Gopnik
70. Three Lives, Gertrude Stein
71. The Giver, Lois Lowry
72. The Collected Works of Lewis Carroll
73. Life of Pi, Yann Martel
74. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Jean-Dominique Bauby
75. Nation, Terry Pratchett
76. To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf
77. Wise Blood, Flannery O'Connor
78. Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston
79. The Sheltering Sky, Paul Bowles
80. Tobacco Road, Erskine Caldwell
81. Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
82. Wrinkle in Time series (I've only read the first two), Madeline L'Engle
83. Portnoy's Complaint, Philip Roth
84. Fool, Christopher Moore
85. A Spot of Bother, Mark Haddon
86. The Elegance of the Hedgehog, Muriel Barbery
87. Bel Canto, Ann Patchett
88. Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen
89. Man Walks into a Room, Nicole Krauss
90. A Room with a View, E.M. Forster
91. The Naked and the Dead, Norman Mailer
92. Black Boy, Richard Wright
93. Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates, Tom Robbins
94. The Women, T.C. Boyle
95. World War Z, Max Brooks
96. Unaccustomed Earch, Jhumpa Lahiri
97. Netherland, Joseph O'Neill
98. Firmin, Sam Savage
99. The Ghost in Love, Jonathan Carroll
100. Pale Fire, Vladimir Nabokov
I'm pretty sure there are no doubles on that list...
Anyone else want to join in? :)
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