Wednesday, March 21, 2007

The Book Meme

aka Either I don't read very much or I've just read lots of books that aren't popular enough to make book meme lists

I saw this meme over at two lime leaves, and I thought it looked like fun. Then I prepared my own version and it became very apparent that I'm not into either (1) classic literature or (2) popular fiction. I kind of knew this already, but I've think this will prove it to everyone. I think the original meme suggested that people mark books of interest as read, read again and again, and want to read. I'm following Kirsty's lead and I'm just bolding the books I've read, and leave those I haven't plain. Brace yourself:

1. The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown) – I’ve only read the first 3 pages. I don’t think that counts. It’s not a religious issue, it just didn’t catch my attention and I am easily distracted.
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)

6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings:
Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving) Matt – I still have your copy. I’m sorry – I still haven’t read it. I’ve eyed it a couple times recently, though.
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling) I know enough about this series only to change “Sorcerer’s” to “Philosopher’s”, because it is only Sorcerer in the US, and I was in Canada when I read it. Much to Shannon’s dismay (and others, I’m sure) I’ve still never read more than the first book. It just didn’t do it for me. Partially, it was because I was irritated that people were comparing it to Tolkien and I found it rather one-dimensional, very unlike Tolkien.
17. Fall on Your Knees(Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini) – I’ve only actually read the first half, but I do intend to finish it. It is one of three books that I’ve literally been halfway through for about a year.
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. The Bible - Most of it, at least.
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card) – many many many times. Highly recommend it, and the other 3 books in the series, and the 4 books in the parallel series. But start with Ender’s Game.
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolsoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davies) – gosh. Thank goodness for high school required reading, or I would look like a complete dunce here…
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding) READ
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. Tigana (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlottes Web (E.B. White) - apparently there is a very good chance that my fuzzy memory of reading this book is correct, as it is required reading in grade 3.
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down (Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding) – again, required reading.
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)

I don't like the idea of tagging people, but I have to admit, I'm curious about what Bub&Pie's list would look like. If anyone else wants to play along, leave a comment and let me know.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Becky!
Great to read your version of The List. I realised that I overlooked a couple (including the Bible *gulp*). And I thought I had read all of Robertson Davis' books but obviously not.

Anonymous said...

I've read 36 of the 100 on the list - not bad considering I'm more of a science-y person ;)

I do have to thank my rather long list of required reading in high school - I think we had something like 12 or 14 books to read in Grade 12 English :-P

Check your email for details Becky - I haven't got a blog on which to blog it ;)

Bea said...

I'm on it...

Anonymous said...

Hey there....
love to read your list Bec! I've read 33 and many of the others are on my "must be read" list. I feel very smrt right now.

Jenn said...

unreal - i've actually read 41 of the 100 books. who would have guessed it? again, many were required reading but most of the others i have read in the last few years coming highly recommended as popular fiction - oh how i love the public library! i would strongly recommend reading "the time traveller's wife", one of my favourite books ever!