Have you read any good books recently? Here's a roundup of my favorites that I read in 2008:

General fiction

The Gone-Away World



In the near future, much of the world has been rendered unhabitable, thanks to the effects of a great war and some unusual weaponry. Human society limps along in a narrow Livable Zone. Then the pipeline keeping that area stable catches on fire. Uh oh. A dark, comic, conspiracy-laden, epic debut that unfolds slowly in unexpected directions. Plenty of plot twists kept me involved in the story. Pirates? ninjas?? mimes??? It's a love-it-or-hate-it book, and I'm firmly in the love-it camp.

The Art of Racing in the Rain



Enzo, a lab-terrier mix and the narrator of this novel, is the companion of Denny, a struggling mechanic/racer. Enzo is a wise and philosophical dog who hopes to be reincarnated as a human (he saw a documentary on tv that suggested this was possible). In the meanwhile, he is a steadfast friend to Denny and Denny's family, and is witness to some of the darkest times in Denny's life. It's hard to describe this book without making it sound like a melodramatic mess, but it's an emotional, compelling look at the human--and canine--condition.

(Edit: forgot the following)

Last Night at the Lobster



Manny is the conscientious manager of a Connecticut Red Lobster. He's committed to his job and should be the envy of any corporate restaurant chain. Despite his efforts, however, he's been informed that his location is performing below expectations and will be closed. He wants to have a great last day and lock the restaurant up with some sense of dignity and accomplishment. But fate intervenes in the form of a northeastern blizzard, keeping much of his crew from coming in and making customers few and far between. This novella deals with the mundane, but provides rich characters, good dialogue, and a pitch-perfect feeling of everyday life.

General Nonfiction

Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do and What It Says About Us



An engaging, readable look at an area of interest to almost all of us, traffic and driving. Vanderbilt draws upon a century of research to describe the way that technology, psychology, and social considerations intertwine, and challenges our assumptions about life on the road. Is it better to merge late or early? Are intersections safer, or roundabouts? Full of aha moments and seemingly counterintuitive conclusions, this book addresses any question you've had about driving.

The Kings of New York: A Year Among the Geeks, Oddballs, and Geniuses Who Make Up America's Top High School Chess Team



Chronicles a year in the lives of the members of the Edward R. Murrow High School chess team. While you might expect a champion chess team to be from some top-flight private prep school, this public school team is a diverse mix of low-income students and first- and second-generation Americans. An entertaining look at a subculture of talented teenagers and their achievements and struggles in competition, in school, and at home. I don't play chess, but I found this book fascinating.

The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective



Three-year-old Saville Kent is killed at his country home, and Mr. Whicher, one of England's first detectives, is sent to investigate. Suspects abound, but Mr. Whicher suspects that one of the family members is responsible. While crimes like this are common news fodder today, the allusion that a family member could be responsible for a young child's death was unthinkable at that time. The case becomes a nationwide obsession, but the evidence to make a case is elusive. More than just a true crime story, this well-researched book is a fascinating look at an earlier era, when criminal detection and scientific reasoning were brand new and the image of the detective was still being developed.

Genre Fiction

Crime

Grand Theft (2004)



Finally, a reliable readalike for Elmore Leonard. Teddy Clyde is an upscale car thief who grew up in on the hard streets of Philadelphia. He's careful to avoid the attention of the police and to stay out of the way of organized crime. That becomes difficult when the body of Mob boss Scarlotti turns up in the trunk of his car. With the help of undercover journalist Natalie, he has to find his way out of the situation and maybe make a little profit on the side. Snappy dialogue, morally gray characters, and plot-twists aplenty make this caper story a winner.

Horror

Heart-Shaped Box



Aging rock star Jude Coyne collects many things: royalty payments from a lifetime of popular, anger-fueled music; young women nicknamed after states; and morbid curio pieces. When he comes across an online auction for a dead man's suit, complete with ghost, he goes for the bait. But the suit doesn't belong to just any dead man, and the ghost that comes with it is particularly mean. This one gave me plenty of chills and nightmares. Jude is a coarse character and not very likeable at the beginning, but his development throughout the story is compelling.

Adventure/Thriller

The Faithful Spy



CIA agent John Wells has been undercover with al-Qaeda. When 9/11 happens with no warning from him, his handlers question whether he serves any purpose. His loyalty comes into doubt as time ticks by with no word from him. Meanwhile, Wells, now a true Muslim convert, is assigned by al-Qaeda to an attack on American soil. A classic spy story within the realm of current events.

Fantasy

The Somnambulist



Edward Moon is a stage magician whose popularity is on the wane. His reputation as a crime solver secures him the investigation of a underground religious movement. His eponymous sidekick, a mute, freakishly tall, seemingly inhuman creature, accompanies him through his investigation of a shadowy Victorian world, filled with secret plots and magical elements. (side note: this may not be fantasy--magical realism? steampunk? mystery? but that's what I'm calling it anyway.)

Science Fiction

Mindscan (2005)



Jake Sullivan suffers from a rare hereditary disease that left his father in a vegetative state at an early age. Fearing the same fate, he elects to have his brain scanned and downloaded into a basically immortal android body. The flesh-and-blood Jake is sent to a "retirement" community on the Moon, while the android Jake assumes his place on Earth. An interesting study of what it means to be human.

Genre Fiction continued

Women's Fiction/Chick Lit

Bet Me (2004)



Thirtysomething Minerva Dobbs has just been dumped by her boyfriend. To make matters worse, she overhears her loser ex bet good-looking Cal Morrisey that Cal won't be able to get Min in bed within a month. Min decides to string Cal along to get her revenge, securing a date for her sister's wedding at the same time. But what does she do when she starts to fall for him for real? A light read but a page-turner, with many laugh out loud moments.

Western

Lonesome Dove (1986)



Finally got around to reading this Pulitzer prize winner. Woodrow Call and Gus McCrae, former Texas Rangers, double as the proprietors of a small ranch and nocturnal cattle thieves. Their former friend Jake Spoon turns up at the ranch, running from the law after accidentally shooting a man. His description of Montana compels Call to organize a cattle drive to settle there. A sprawling, epic novel of the American West.

Historical Fiction

American Dreams (1998)



Set in America from 1906 to 1917, this novel follows the children of a German-American brewer/baron. Fritzi goes against her father's wishes and moves to New York to become an actress. As she struggles to survive, she becomes involved in the fledgling and unrespected motion picture industry to make ends meet. Her brother Carl has an eclectic career path in the auto industry and as a pilot, while their cousin Paul serves as a war cameraman. Part of a series. I don't read much historical fiction, but I was riveted to this tale of America in the early twentieth century.

Romance

Harlequin NASCAR series



They're not great literary works, but I truly enjoy Harlequin's category romance series centering around the world of NASCAR. As a group, they have a wonderful sense of place, taking full advantage of their auto-racing setting. Light, fun reads that are sweet but not syrupy, romantic but not erotic.

Thanks Michelle!! I love to read and am always looking for something new. I live three blocks from the library and walk there often. Our library has a great kids section and my daughter walks down there a lot, too.

I am a Dean Koontz fan. I recommend the Odd Thomas series. Odd can see the dead and often helps them to pass on. For a while the ghost of Elvis tags along with him. He can see and communicate non-verbally with the ghosts but cannot hear anything they say. There's four books out now. I think the stories are very well written, there is comedy, tragedy, true love, and adventure.

Sorry, I've never done a book review so I'm hard pressed at what to say, other than they are excellent stories and I highly recommend them.

Odd Thomas
Forever Odd
Brother Odd
Odd Hours

http://www.deankoontz.com/books/list-of-books.php

I love to read...maybe too much. I am in the middle of State of Fear by Micheal Creighten (sp). It's ok. That's about as good as I can give this one.

Over the holidays I read all of the Twilight Series...Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn. They're page turners...like eating peanuts. Very good and addictive.

I will be picking up the Lace Reader next. I'm not sure of the author, so I'll post it later w/ a review.

I like Dean Koontz a lot too. The Odd Thomas books are great Intensity is probably my favorite, but the guy is such a prolific writer that it's hard to keep them straight.

Yeah, I was pretty "meh" on State of Fear too. All of his books are issue books to some extent, but in that one, it really gets in the way of the story imo. I've been wanting to read the Twilight books, but they're constantly checked out. Have to wait for the hubbub to die down. Glad to hear they're worth the wait.

I wasn't going to read the Twilight series at first. I thought, oh boy, these are under the teen section...and then I thought, I don't need to read about teenage angst. But, I was given the Twilight book to read and I got hooked...so I ordered the rest of the series from Amazon. It was worth it.

I've been trying to read two books on Budism...and they're sitting there waiting for me...but I find I have to get in a state of mind to digest it. I will get there. I think it's like therapy...you have to accept it in doses!

Eh, I'll read teen books from time to time. Plus, the Twilight series seems to have plenty of adult fans. I feel ya on having to be in the right mood for a weighty book.

Nearly finished with In the Time of the Butterflies, by Julia Alvarez. Stunning.

Adding to reading list. How is this stylistically? Kind of lyrical?

This is the book I am reading right now.

http://www.amazon.com/What-Goes-Up-Uncenso...s/dp/0316929662

It is called "what goes up" and it is a short history of modern Wall Street, as told by many of the people who made it what it is today. So far the highlight has been reading Bernie Madoff talking about believing in the little man, and that being the reason they founded the NASDAQ to operate the way that they did.

Yes, madoff sure believed in the little man all right. Isn't the Michael jackson afterschool daycare center part of that conglomerate?

A couple new and great books I've read recently:

Lush Life



A haunting novel by Richard Price (Clockers; co-writer, HBO's The Wire) that details the circumstances surrounding a street shooting in New York. Loosely arranged as a police procedural, the book probes the aftermath of the event from the point of view of the victim's family, witnesses, investigators, and perpetrators. It perfectly evokes its New York setting, and Richard Price has a keen ear for believable yet engaging dialogue. Thriller fans beware--this novel unfolds very slowly. But the believable and nuanced characters and thought-provoking story are worth the investment. Clocking in at just over 450 pages, this is somehow a page-turner but still a very weighty book. I'm still thinking about it weeks later.

Hardly Knew Her: Stories



Short stories from the acclaimed crime writer Laura Lippman. IMO there are no weak stories in this collection. Each story hooked me from the start, even when the theme (women behaving in unexpected ways) prepared me for the "twist" in several stories. A first-rate read; cold-blooded yet wry. A fascinating collection. [parental warning: some of the content is not safe for kids or the faint of heart].

I am currently reading my first John Grisham novel. I picked The Firm because I don't like Tom Cruise and I haven't seen the movie. I like to read a book before the movie because I have this very wonderful imagination and it's fun to see the movie and how close I envisioned the story. However, in this case I may never see the movie because I don't like Tom Cruise. Anyway, the book is very good and I like the way the author writes. I avoided John Grisham because I thought the story would bore me but I was way wrong.
I think I'm going to continue with his novels. Any suggestions for the next one I should read?

His first five novels (and most of the rest) are written in a similar vein to The Firm and almost all of his books have been made into movies. Of his early books, The Rainmaker, is one of my favorites. However for a different "read" of John Grisham, you might also someday consider Skipping Christmas.

I also like his books and surprisingly most of the movies made from them. Out of all of his books turned movies, A Time to Kill may be the movie I liked best.

And here I thought I was the only person who didn't care for Tom Cruise! The only role I liked him in was Tropic Thunder...maybe because he had so much make-up on.

A Time to Kill I literally read in a day. That book was BY FAR my favorite from Grisham.

A Time to Kill is my favorite too. Grisham's new book, The Associate, is supposed to be very similar in plot/appeal to The Firm, although it's gotten some mediocre reviews. I haven't read it yet.

I thought Tom Cruise was great in Magnolia and pretty good in Minority Report. Different strokes for different folks, I guess

I did enjoy A Few Good Men, but only cause of Jack Nicholsen. I don't like Tom Cruise because I don't agree with what he stands for, so I don't watch his films.

I am almost done with The Firm now. Mitch has already been snitched out and is on the run hiding in the apartment in Nashville. When I finish, I will hit the library and pick up a copy of A Time To Kill. Thanks for the suggestion and I'll let you know what I think of that book in a couple weeks......

This is what I am reading now. Its a bio of John Lennon, and so far I am stunned.

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=j...itle#ps-sellers

I am in the very early years of the Beatles (they haven't even hit the States yet) and I never knew how awful Lennon was. He was a sexist/racist/homophobe/etc. He was a brawler, and he was a serial adulterer. I don't know if he changes in the later stages of his life, but I had never heard about this side of the guy. I am totally hooked on this book.

Hmm, that sounds really interesting. I'll have to take a look at it. I know the music of the Beatles pretty well, but I don't know much about any of their personal lives.

It's been a good week in books. Here are two more that I really enjoyed

Confessions of a Teen Sleuth: A Parody
by Chelsea Cain



This is the memoir of the real Nancy Drew, girl detective. Nancy tells us that her life story was stolen by the author Carolyn Keene, and she is publishing this memoir to set the record straight. She tells the real story about her relationships with Ned Nickerson and Frank Hardy, her friendships with Bess and George, and the path of her life into adulthood and old age. Chelsea Cain perfectly mimics the style and formula of the old Nancy Drew books in this fond yet brutally funny send-up of the famous sleuth. Get to know the real Nancy Drew as she solves mysteries from the Prohibition era, World War II, the Summer of Love, and into the '90s. Bonus appearances by the Hardy Boys, Cherry Ames, the Bobbsey Twins, Kim Aldrich, Donna Parker, Encyclopedia Brown, and more! I was a big Nancy Drew fan when I was younger, and I laughed out loud at this revealing look into her world. An adult take on a childhood icon.

The Walls of the Universe
by Paul Melko



John Rayburn, a farm boy from Ohio, is having a bad day when things take a turn for the weird--his doppelganger shows up in his parents' pumpkin patch. As his doppelganger explains, he is also John Rayburn (but you can call him John Prime, for simplicity's sake), and he's from another corner of the Multiverse. He has a device that allows him to travel through the walls of the universe and visit the other versions of his world. John R takes him up on his offer to try out the device, but it turns out it doesn't quite work as described. Now John R is traveling across the Multiverse to try to find a way back to his world. Meanwhile, John Prime usurps John R's life and tries to get rich by "inventing" the Rubik's Cube--which doesn't exist in John R's version of the world. An entertaining page-turner for people who like soft sci-fi themes. It fizzles out a little in the end, but leaves room for a sequel.

This is my second time responding to this thread. It would be really scary if I ever became technologically savvy. As it is, I stay mildly confused.
The book suggestions are wonderful! You've really enhanced my reading. Thanks everyone. I have a couple of suggestions that weren't mentioned. They were my favorite reads for this year.
The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. This is about the 1893 Chicago World Fair. Great book! Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. This is about the circus during the Depression. Another great book. And last, The Power of One (I can't remember the author's last name; and I've loaned it to someone.) Probably my favorite book for the year. It is about a white boy growing up in Africa. It begins during WWII. The first 50 pages are brutal reading; but then it is wonderful!
I also want to mention books by Jodi Picoult. Wonderful writer. Her books all deal with social issues. She explores all sides of the issue. Good reading.

I'm excited to read both of those, but they've been checked out constantly. Very popular

I've heard nothing but wonderful things about Jodi Picoult too. I don't think she's ever gotten a bad review. Generally, I don't like hot-topic "issue" books, but I do like psychological stories, unreliable narrators, and books with a twist... What book do you think I should start with?

The Jodi Picoult that "got to me" was Mercy She did a remarkable job of showing all aspects of the effects of bullying.

Anyone need a laugh? Read Lamb: the Gospel According to Biff by Christopher Moore! In fact read anything by Christopher Moore.

Need thought? Read Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig.

Need beauty? Read The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I know, I know they made you read it in high school...well, read it for real now, it's breathtaking, and heartbreaking.

Need hope? Read The teachings of Don Juan: The Yaqui Way of Knowledge by Carlos Castaneda (I'm sure some of you more "experienced" post-ers read this during a different stage of your life.)

Need love for life? Read Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman. Read it hard! Get down on it! There are perspectives we should all be aware of!

Need grounding? Read The Color of Water by James McBride

Need a crazy twist ending, a quick read, but complex issues concerning the control of your destiny? (Gee i hope not), read Oedipus Rex by Sophocles the B.M.W. Knox translation.

that should do you for a while...

I've been posting a ton in this thread recently, but I couldn't wait to share this book:

The Legal Limit
by Martin Clark



Mason Hunt is a law student who comes home to southern Virginia on break. He goes out to a party with his older brother Gates, a former high school football star turned degenerate. An argument at the party leads to an altercation on a lonely country road. Mason instinctively helps his brother with a cover-up, with long-term implications. A finely tuned examination of family ties vs. principle, with several complementary subplots examining what justice demands.

This book hits the trifecta--an engrossing plot, interesting and developed characters, and a strong sense of place. The ethical dilemmas facing the characters invite discussion. This legal thriller may be a good fit for fans of Scott Turow, George Pelecanos, and John Grisham, but it deserves to find a wide readership beyond those ranks as well.

So I finally read Devil in the White City. Very interesting; thanks for the recommendation! It was a great read, full of interesting historical facts and plenty of drama. I was slightly put off by some of the author's invention. He included information from scenes couldn't have been part of the historical record (i.e., the expressions on Holmes' face; the author's interpretation of the incident with the skeleton in Holmes' childhood). Clearly, this makes the book more readable and interesting, but but wholesale invention in historical books bothers me a bit. Overall, though, it was very enjoyable.

In other reading, I loved Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell. A young man's grandparents are killed. He seeks retribution for them and falls into the mafia, becoming a hit man. Later, he enters witness protection and becomes a medical resident. But when he is recognized and his new identity is threatened, he has to take drastic action to save himself and others.



It's not a book for everyone--there's plenty of profanity, creative violence, and sexual situations in it. But that doesn't define it. It's a very dark, comic, literary story that moves at a rapid pace, footnoted with medical details for every situation. A very interesting read from a promising new talent. The film rights have been purchased, and Leonardo DiCaprio is set to star in it.

Hey SSder!! Thanks for the recommendation on A Time To Kill by John Grisham. Excellent story. I'm not quite finished, but it's so good I've been taking the book with me where ever I go. I read at every opportunity (even the intersections with the long traffic lights! ha ha)

They did make a movie of that one too. Matthew McConaughey and Samuel L Jackson starred in it... http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117913/
I didn't catch the whole movie, only the end and I never knew what the name of the movie was, but as soon as I started reading that book, I knew. I'm glad to be able to know the whole story and will have to rent the movie so I can see the whole thing when I'm done. (I love Matthew McConaughey and want to marry him when I grow up)

The movie is awesome. You go through points where you love, hate, love, hate, and love the main character. It is really well done.

Recently I finished reading The Reader Very dark. It's a German author writing about people during post WWII Germany. It was quite a book.

You want dark? I just finished Cormac McCarthy's "The Road". It's a post-apocalyptic tale of a father and son trying to survive. Now I am going to have to read a Christopher Moore book to ward off depression

I understand, and will join you!

I agree, but you do know what you're getting into when you read a post-apocalyptic book. It's not like I pick one up and think, "Hmm, end of the world, this ought to be good for some giggles."

Speaking of post-apocalypse, I just finished reading Earth Abides by George R. Stewart. A disease wipes out most of the human race, leaving only scattered survivors. Our main character Ish, a young geologist and a great observer, chronicles the path of humans in the years after the plague and the changes to the earth. Good stuff. Originally published in 1969.

Also enjoyed The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet. Tecumseh Sparrow Spivet is a 12 year old cartographer living on a ranch in Montana. He maps every detail of his life and surroundings, as well as providing maps and illustrations for leading publications and exhibits. When his mentor enters him for the prestigious Baird award for illustrators at the Smithsonian and he wins (the Smithsonian is unaware of his age), he embarks on a cross-country trip to the nation's capital hobo-style. T.S. is a unique and refreshing narrative voice. The book is copiously illustrated with T.S.'s maps and illustrations. Loved it.

I've started the Women's Murder Club series by James Patterson and I am thoroughly enjoying it.

Lindsay Boxer is a tough San Fransisco Homicide Detective and her character is so very real. I like these books better than the Alex Cross novels I guess because the hero is a woman, but also because they are so down to earth and full of feminine-type humor. It's been my experience that it's difficult for a man to write a story about women and have it be "real" but James Patterson has overcome that and these stories are excellent. So, if you're into murder mysteries, Check out the Women's Murder Club series, starting with 1st To Die

Welcome back Ang! We missed you.



If you are also a computer game player, there are games for the Women's Murder Club series. You can get these through Big Fish Games ($6.99 per game download or if you also want the CD an additional $7+ for the CD to be mailed to you) or Real Arcade (slightly higher price - $9.99, I think) or many other game sites.

Decoding the Pyramids John DeSalvo

I love a good research book on the pyramids, though this one trends much more mystical.

I read at least the first Women's Murder Club and liked it, but I've lost track of whether I read further in the series. May have to take it up again. There was a TV series for it, but I think it may have been cancelled.

I played the first WMC game, and it looked like it would be good, but it was super-glitchy for me. In its defense, I think it was a "rough cuts" version, and I'm working on a Vista platform.

For mystery PC game lovers, the Nancy Drew series is pretty awesome. I particularly liked Legend of the Crystal Skull, Secret of the Old Clock, and The Haunting of Castle Malloy. They're all $6.99 at Big Fish.

If you have an older computer, Black Dahlia is the absolute nuts of mystery games. I played that game for a solid year sans walkthrough to solve it. I have a copy to lend if anyone's interested. It was made pre-XP so I'm not sure how compatible it is with today's computers. But it hasn't aged badly--graphics were great at the time and hold up now.

Sorry for prattling on (my mom started it, though), but I love mystery games.

Just Take My Heart by Mary Higgins Clark. Excellent story with a very climatic ending. I enjoyed this one very much. It's about a female prosecuting attorney who tries this guy for murdering his wife. The guy didn't do it, but the PA did her job well and got a conviction. The next day some new evidence comes out as to who the real killer is and the PA's life is in danger - not only from one psychopath but two! A very good read.

The book I just started is by Jeffery Deaver and is titled Roadside Crosses. It's about a serial killer who leaves a memorial cross on the side of the road the day before he kills his victims. I'm only in the 4th chapter but I'm hooked.

Nudge by Thaler and Sunstein. READ IT!

http://www.nudges.org/

Oh, one more thing, READ IT!

Every day, we make decisions about how to invest our money, where
to send our children to school, and what to put on our dinner plates.

Unfortunately, we often make poor choices - and look back at them with bafflement! We do this because as human beings, we all are susceptible to a wide array of routine biases that can lead to an equally wide array of embarrassing blunders in education, personal finance, health care, mortgages and credit cards, happiness, and even the planet itself.

Our errors are what make us human, but up till now, they have been largely ignored by those around us, whether they make a complex public policy or sell us a plain old bottle of wine.

In this ground-breaking collaboration, two extraordinary, if ultimately human, thinkers, economist Richard Thaler and legal scholar Cass Sunstein, invite us into an alternative world, one that takes our humanness as a given. They show that by knowing how people think, we can design choice environments that make it easier for them to choose what is best for themselves, their families, and their society.

Using colorful examples drawn from the realms of 401(k) investing, organ donations, and marriage, Thaler and Sunstein demonstrate how thoughtful "choice architecture" can be established to nudge us in beneficial directions without restricting freedom of choice.

Nudge offers a unique new take-from neither the left nor the right-on many hot-button issues, for individuals, companies, and governments alike.

Nudge is a book about making your life better-one small decision at a time.

Click here to read an excerpt of the book.

http://nudges.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/...zen-nudges1.pdf




Penguin Books| For media/publicity requests contact Yen Cheong 212.366.2000


Web site designed and hosted by LinkZero Technology Solutions, LLC.

I am reading a good book for us Libertarians although Glenn Beck is getting a bad rap lately, I like the book. "Arguing with Idiots"

When Beck made the leap from CNN to Fox, it wasn't going to end well.

I would start first with John Stuart Mill's "On Liberty". Not only does it set a great foundation for libertarian ideals, but it also details why the Glen Beck's and Roger Moore's of the world are so crucial to bringing depth to public discourse.

I wasn't much of a civil war person until I actually visited Gettysburg a couple of years ago. Just being on the battlefield and hearing the stories told was enough to get me very interested in it. I found this book, which is just an incredible amount of information and detail on the battle.

http://books.google.com/books?id=DsxcBNGyP...;q=&f=false

I found this on facebook, and thought it might be fun.

Have you read more than 6 of these books? The BBC believes most people will have read only 6 of the 100 books listed here...



Instructions: Copy this into your NOTES. Bold those books you've read in their entirety, italicize the ones you started but didn't finish or read an excerpt.


1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen



2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien



3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte



4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling



5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee



6 The Bible



7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte



8 Nineteen Eighty-Four - George Orwell



9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman



10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens



11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott



12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy



13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller



14 Complete Works of Shakespeare



15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier



16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien



17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk



18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger



19 The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger



20 Middlemarch - George Eliot



21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell



22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald



24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy



25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams



27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky



28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck



29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll



30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame



31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy



32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens



33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis



34 Emma -Jane Austen



35 Persuasion - Jane Austen



36 The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe - CS Lewis



37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini



38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres



39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden



40 Winnie the Pooh - A.A. Milne



41 Animal Farm - George Orwell



42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown (I did read Holy Blood, Holy Grail instead)



43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez



44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving



45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins



46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery



47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy



48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood



49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding



50 Atonement - Ian McEwan



51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel



52 Dune - Frank Herbert



53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons



54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen



55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth



56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon



57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens



58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley



59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon



60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez



61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck



62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov



63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt



64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold



65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas



66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac



67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy



68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding



69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie



70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville



71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens



72 Dracula - Bram Stoker



73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett



74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson



75 Ulysses - James Joyce



76 The Inferno - Dante



77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome



78 Germinal - Emile Zola



79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray



80 Possession - AS Byatt



81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens



82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell



83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker



84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro



85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert



86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry



87 Charlotte’s Web - E.B. White



88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom



89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle



90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton



91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad



92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery



93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks



94 Watership Down - Richard Adams



95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole



96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute



97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas



98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare



99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl



100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

I am doing this on my Facebook page. I did notice that number 23 and 26 are missing though. Do you know what books those were?



[quote name='southsiderMMX' date='Nov 18 2010, 11:52 AM' post='29769'] I found this on facebook, and thought it might be fun.

Have you read more than 6 of these books? The BBC believes most people will have read only 6 of the 100 books listed here...
.......

I have no idea. I am seeing if I can find out!