The 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime: Part 1

So a week or two ago Amazon came out with a list of the 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime. As with all these lists I have to immediately go through it, check off all of the books that I have read and then make very snippy comments on the selection process. I figured that I might as well make this process public as I will go through the list this week twenty five books at a time. Those that are shown in bold are ones that I have read while those that are not in bold have almost certainly been read by Kim who will use this as an opportunity to point out how close minded I am towards literature. Here we go…

1984 by George Orwell: Easily a classic and a book that everyone should read at least once in their life. However, if I had to choose an Orwell book to read in your lifetime it would be Animal Farm. That is a story that you can read in grade school that will stick with you for ages while 1984 is more a collection of great scenes an images as opposed to a great book.

A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking: Honestly, this book is actually pretty readable and provides the best description of entropy that I’ve heard (how a glass might break but shards of glass will never reform into a glass without outside force). That said, unless you are interested in discussing the various ways to universe might begin and end this might not be the book for you.

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers: I most remember this book for Dave Eggers talking about how he was almost cast on The Real World: San Francisco, was able to actually be on the show for one scene during the season and how when he met Puck he felt that he had to be on drugs. Oh and my dream gig when I become a multi-millionaire and can do whatever I want with my life is to build an 826 Valencia type organization but instead of writing I would work with kids on math and science.

A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah: Never heard of this one. Apparently it is about child soldiers.

A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket: Haven’t read it but I probably should at some point. Having Jim Carrey starring in the movie adaptation did little to encourage me to pick up the book much like the fact that I now don’t even want to watch the animated version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle: I finally read this book last year and I could never figure out why everyone was such a fan of it. It just did nothing for me but I doubt that it was written to be read by a guy who was about to enter middle age. Forty year old men and rainbows and unicorns just don’t mix.

Selected Stories by Alice Munro: I’m not surprised by the inclusion of a short story collection on this list but would have thought they would have gone with George Saunders instead. I still haven’t read his work either which really bothers me at the moment.

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll: A book that you could read for the logic puzzles, word play, mathematical imagery or as a psychological investigation into an author who is coming up with fantastical stories to tell to a young girl that he may be attracted to. Also helped lead to the popularity of Jefferson Airplane and is thus responsible for Jefferson Starship and Starship and “We Built this City on Rock and Roll” so you can blame Lewis Carroll for the worst song ever recorded as well.

All the President’s Men by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein: I haven’t read this or seen the movie, which is a crime on both fronts. Incredibly, this is all reporting on something that happened forty years ago which means that for a college student today this has about as much relevance as the Korean War had for me.

Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt: You think you’ve had a hard life? Ha! You know nothing about what a hard life is like.

Are You There, God? It’s me, Margaret by Judy Blume: Ok, I am pretty sure that I didn’t read this as a kid but I probably at least started it at some point. I certainly read my share of Judy Blume as what is now called being a tween but back then was just simply called being a snot nosed kid.

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett: No on this one. Would rather read something by Terry Pratchett.

Beloved by Toni Morrison: Haven’t read this but I have at least read one Toni Morrison book before thanks to the one English class I took in college. I should read this at some point.

Born to Run by Christopher McDougall: This is about the Mexican tribe who are incredible long distance runners who I learned about decades ago when they were featured on an episode of Road Rules. I am not making that fact up. This was back in the good old days when Road Rules simply consisted of a few people in an RV having incredible adventures as opposed to just being a casting call for another season of Real World / Road Rules challenge.

Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticatt: Never heard of this one, either. About a journey from Haiti

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller: Another absolute classic. I’ve heard some people critique this book recently, probably because it has been praised beyond belief for so many years that it has fallen out of favor. Still the story of the insanity of war is one that will always need to be told.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl: I haven’t read this one mainly because having seen the film many times as a kid I am more than a little afraid of having to deal with the boat scene in written form. The real world is scary enough as it is.

Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White: No, I’m not crying. It’s just a little dusty in here…

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese: No idea.

Daring Greatly by Brene Browne: A little help? I would at least like to think I should know of the books that I need to read in my lifetime.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney: I haven’t read it but I have met the author. I don’t know if that should count for something or if it is really pathetic that I have met a bestselling author and still haven’t bothered to actually read any of his books.

Dune by Frank Herbert: I blame Sting for not reading this one. I’ve always been told that it is one of the classics of science fiction but all I can see is Sting in a diaper and giant space worms and I can’t be bothered to pick it up.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury: An absolute classic and one of my favorite books of all time. Again, I would replace 1984 with Animal Farm as to me this is the best of the dystopian future novels of the cold war era.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson: I really need to read this one soon. I did at least read some of Thompson’s essays that he would write near the end of his life. I’ve always been scared off by how gonzo his writing is supposed to be and I didn’t know if I could ever figure it out. Now I feel that it will make a lot more sense to me.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn: I will read this book this year. I am bad at reading the popular book of the moment but at least now I no longer openly scoff at them.

9 for 25. Not a bad start but I know there are people who read this who will easily have that beat.

Best of 120 Minutes: A Jeff Buckley song. All you need to know.

The five random CDs for the week:

1)      Old Crow Medicine Show “O.C.M.S.”

2)      Henry Rollins “Think Tank”

3)      Richard Buckner “The Hill”

4)      Feist “The Reminder”

5)      Urge Overkill “Saturation”