the ramble

Quite a long time ago, I created a list of 100 books that I wanted to read. This list included banned books, genres I had never touched, classics I was ashamed to know nothing about, friend recommendations and bestsellers. Not all of them have been read yet, but I have so many new books on my list, I decided to revamp it.

First let me offer up a few things I learned from the first 60 or so that I read: 1) Banned books are frequently very mild in actuality; 2) Harlequin romances are hilarious; 3) Bestsellers tend to be overrated (with some exceptions); and 4) I’m not sure why some classics are considered classic. What’s the requirement anyway?

Having said all that. Here’s a link to the old list and here is the New List:

(Already read in bold, Already own in italics)

1. Atonement (quote)
   
2. Nothing (Henry Green)
3. Three Cups of Tea [02/02: good story, boring writing]
   
4. King Solomon’s Mines
5. Just So Stories
6. The Golden Compass [09/14]
   
7. Arabian Nights [07/10 - partway in and it lost me. Perhaps will try again later. Perhaps not.]
8. Ruined by Reading
9. Christianity (MacCulloch)
10. Vagabonding
11. The Elegance of the Hedgehog [11/22 - Yuck. Starts out beautifully and then never goes anywhere]
12. Priest (Francine Rivers)
13. Scarlet Thread
14. Night [10/23 - poignant]
15. Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust [07/26 - So well done]
    
16. Middlemarch
17. The Virgin Suicides
18. Anna Karenina
19. Never Let Me Go
20. Content Strategy [06/05 - excellently informative]
    
21. Sexually I’m More of a Switzerland [03/19 - hilarious coffee table-style book] (quote)
    
22. Traveling Mercies (Lamont)
23. Girl Meets God [04/08 - interesting at first, but overall disappointing]
    
24. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory [07/25 - charming]
25. Time Machine [01/15 - got bored partway in, attempted to replace it with The Island of Dr. Moreau, which was also boring. Didn't finish either one]
    
26. History of Love [02/18 - disappointing and weird]
    
27. Infinite Jest
28. Island
29. Walden Two
30. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland [03/14 - delightful] (quote)
    
31. The Secret History (quote)
    
32. Hindsights
33. Lancelot (Percy)
34. Of Mice and Men
35. A Brief History of Time
36. A Very Lonely Planet [05/28 very funny] (quote)
    
37. Stranger in a Strange Land
38. Publish this Book
39. Catch 22
40. Through the Looking Glass [3/28 - charming]
    
41. On the Road (Kerouac)
42. Invention of a Morel
43. Valis
44. Slaughterhouse 5
45. Invisible Man
46. Kite Runner
47. Patrick (Lawhead)
48. American Gods [08/08 - absolutely fabulous] (quote)
    
49. Clockwork Orange
50. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
51. Ender’s Game [11/3 - fantastic fantasy]
52. Dance to the Music of Time
53. The Road [02/16 - strange and without much closure]
    
54. Graceling [03/01 - a perfect first novel. It took a few chapters for me to get into it, but once I was hooked, I couldn't put it down. Couldn't put it down to the tune of midnight on a work night (and you know me, I'm in bed by 9).]
55. A High Wind in Jamaica
56. Reading Lolita in Tehran (quote)
    
57. Shadow of the Wind [05/01 Long winded]
    
58. The Secret Life of Bees (quote)
    
59. Persuation [03/17 - not her best work, but a nice read] (quote)
    
60. Otherland
61. The Divine Comedy
62. A World Lit Only By Fire (quote)
    
63. Celtic Myth and Legend [02/27] (quote)
    
64. Jurassic Park (again) [01/9]
    
65. The Lost World (again)[01/12]
66. Blankets (Thompson)
67. High School Confidential (Iberson)
68. Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland
69. Gilead [ 04/17 - one third of the way through and I doubt if I will finish it (boring), so I'm marking it off now and saying boring-disappointment]
    
70. Committed (Gilbert) [02/18] (quote)
    
71. Half the Sky [07/24 - painful, well-written, worth reading]
    
72. Fire (Cashore) [08/11 - delightful, if cliche]
    
73. The Art of Racing in the Rain [06/20 - A much better version of a Marley and Me type story]
    
74. The Book Thief
75. The Magician’s Elephant [3/27 - not as good as her others]
    
76. The Happiness Project [4/13 - interesting idea, inspiring]
    
77. P.S. I Love You (again) [01/22]
78. Cesar’s Way [02/07]
79. Till We Have Faces
80. On Writing (King) [05/17 Overrated]
81. How to Lose Friends and Alienate People
82. Candy Girl
83. The Glass Castle
84. Bitter is the New Black [06/16 - Brilliant! Love her]
    
85. I Don’t Care About Your Band [03/22 completely horrible -- this woman needs a therapist, not a pen and paper]
    
86. The Penelopiad [03/21]
87. The Ethics of Aristotle
88. The Psychology of Happiness
89. The Year of Living Biblically
90. Lighting Up (Shapiro)
91. The Year of Magical Thinking
92. Bel Canto
93. Water for Elephants [04/16 - Wonderful writing! Wonderful story!]
    
94. Get Known Before Your Book Deal
95. The Greek Myths (Graves)
96. If I am Missing or Dead
97. Loose Girl
98. Smashed
99. The Mysterious Benedict Society
100. Ending Slavery [04/22 - I'm passionate about the topic, but the book itself was repetitive. If you are going to read a book about modern day slavery, read Not For Sale instead.]
     
101. Cracked [05/25 Awesome] (quote)
102. Boomsday [07/11 Ehh, interesting about one fourth of the time]
103. Veronika Decides to Die [06/25 - Much better than The Alchemist]
104. My Fair Lazy [07/19 - nice, but more forced than Bitter is the New Black]
     
105. How Did You Get this Number?
106. Somewhere Inside: One Sister’s Captivity in North Korea and the Other’s Fight to Bring Her Home [10/27 - well-written, horrifying, amazing]
107. Thanks for the Memories [08/13]
108. Speak
109. A Long Way Gone
110. Memoirs of a Geisha
111. Redwall
112. Otherland
113. Jewish Literacy [10/23 - well-written, interesting]