life done write

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
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
12. Priest (Francine Rivers)
13. Scarlet Thread
14. Night
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. Catch 22
39. Through the Looking Glass [3/28 - charming]
    
40. On the Road (Kerouac)
41. Invention of a Morel
42. Valis
43. Slaughterhouse 5
44. Invisible Man
45. Kite Runner
46. Patrick (Lawhead)
47. American Gods [08/08 - absolutely fabulous] (quote)
    
48. Grapes of Wrath
49. Clockwork Orange
50. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
51. Something Wicked this Way Comes
52. Ender’s Game
53. Dance to the Music of Time
54. The Road [02/16 - strange and without much closure]
    
55. 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).]
56. A High Wind in Jamaica
57. Reading Lolita in Tehran (quote)
    
58. Shadow of the Wind [05/01 Long winded]
    
59. The Secret Life of Bees (quote)
    
60. Persuation [03/17 - not her best work, but a nice read] (quote)
    
61. Otherland
62. The Divine Comedy
63. A World Lit Only By Fire (quote)
    
64. Celtic Myth and Legend [02/27] (quote)
    
65. Jurassic Park (again) [01/9]
    
66. The Lost World (again)[01/12]
67. Blankets (Thompson)
68. High School Confidential (Iberson)
69. Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland
70. 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]
    
71. Committed (Gilbert) [02/18] (quote)
    
72. Half the Sky [07/24 - painful, well-written, worth reading]
    
73. Fire (Cashore) [08/11 - delightful, if cliche]
    
74. The Art of Racing in the Rain [06/20 - A much better version of a Marley and Me type story]
    
75. The Book Thief
76. The Magician’s Elephant [3/27 - not as good as her others]
    
77. The Happiness Project [4/13 - interesting idea, inspiring]
    
78. P.S. I Love You (again) [01/22]
79. Cesar’s Way [02/07]
80. Till We Have Faces
81. On Writing (King) [05/17 Overrated]
82. How to Lose Friends and Alienate People
83. Candy Girl
84. The Glass Castle
85. Bitter is the New Black [06/16 - Brilliant! Love her]
    
86. I Don’t Care About Your Band [03/22 completely horrible -- this woman needs a therapist, not a pen and paper]
    
87. The Penelopiad [03/21]
88. The Ethics of Aristotle
89. The Psychology of Happiness
90. The Year of Living Biblically
91. Lighting Up (Shapiro)
92. The Year of Magical Thinking
93. Bel Canto
94. Water for Elephants [04/16 - Wonderful writing! Wonderful story!]
    
95. Get Known Before Your Book Deal
96. The Greek Myths (Graves)
97. If I am Missing or Dead
98. Loose Girl
99. Smashed
100. The Mysterious Benedict Society
101. 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.]
     
102. Cracked [05/25 Awesome] (quote)
103. Boomsday [07/11 Ehh, interesting about one fourth of the time]
104. Veronika Decides to Die [06/25 - Much better than The Alchemist]
105. My Fair Lazy [07/19 - nice, but more forced than Bitter is the New Black]
     
106. How Did You Get this Number?
107. Publish This Book
108. Somewhere Inside: One Sister’s Captivity in North Korea and the Other’s Fight to Bring Her Home
109. Thanks for the Memories [08/13]