Books crossed off of the list as "read" must have been read in completion, and have remained in my memory enough to recall the main plot and conclusion of the novel.
As it is only fair to give every book on the list some amount of attention, here is a concise summing up of the had-been-read books before the start of the challenge:
*Saturday (read in 2006)- NOTHING HAPPENS-that is what I remember. My boyfriend at the time who recommended it to me seemed to think that that is what made it remarkable. I did not understand or agree.
*On Beauty (read in 2007)- read it based on high recommendations. I waited for the entire duration of the book for it to get interesting, but I ended up just feeling slightly creeped out whenever I was reading it.
*Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime (read in 2007)- in the popular trend of novels coming out at that time. Quick, easy, and cute.
*Everything is Illuminated (read in 2006?), The English Patient (read in 2008)- oh you know how I feel about these.
*Life of Pi (read in 2000?)- exciting, inventive, surprising.
*The Blind Assassin (read in 2004)- I recall liking this but probably couldn't have backed up any reasoning of why.
*The Poisonwood Bible (read 2002)- feminist? beh.
*Memoirs of a Geisha- has such a strange white person's view of oriental cultures that the tone was slightly disturbing to me...but still draws interest.
*A Prayer for Owen Meany (read in 2002)- thumbs up, at least at the time
*Beloved (read 2009)- so fucking creepy, but I can see why it's such a big deal...the lady can write.
*Catch-22 (read 2004)- so confusing, but funny and...cute?
*To Kill a Mockingbird, Nineteen Eighty Four, Animal Farm, Of Mice and Men, The Great Gatsby, Heart of Darkness, Huck Finn- what can anyone say about classics like these but that they deserve to be credited that way?
*The Little Prince- obviously adorable and also emotionally "profound"; but all girls would say that. Now to brush up on my French enough to be able to read it in its intended language.
*Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass- loved it growing up, and hate the indie-kid obsession that is associated with it currently at Urban Outfitters. Also, fuck you Tim Burton.
*The Hobbit- yeah, I used to be a fantasy nerd. And I loved it.
*The Picture of Dorian Gray- how did this ever become a classic? So simple.
*Anna Karenina, Crime and Punishment, Vanity Fair- russian tragedy, melodrama, and bitchy rich women looking for revenge is always a good time, but these books could cut it a few chapters shorter.
*The Marble Faun- who the hell made this list? This is by far Hawthorne's worst book.
*The Blithedale Romance was sort of dull, but The House of Seven Gables and the Scarlet Letter is AWESOME. Yay for American gothic and Nathaniel Hawthorne.
*Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre- I HATE WHINEY WOMEN IN RIDICULOUS LOVE SITUATIONS. Eyesores from my eyeballs rolling around in their sockets.
*Frankenstein- sooo not what I was expecting, but really emotionally stirring I think, and impressive that she wrote it as a teenager. I hate people who are geniuses and have such amazing success stories (I'm just jealous). Vague flashbacks to Wishbone.
*A Modest Proposal- I'm down with eating babies if you're starving.
In addition, I had a bit of a head start on this challenge before starting up this blog, and have since read:
#39. Austerlitz by W.G. Sebald - I fell asleep no-fail every single time I opened this book. Beautiful regardless, in a plotless, non-philosophical sort of way.
#13. Cloud
Atlas by David Mitchell - superb. Totally engaging and creative, Mitchell's capacity to write in diverse tones/genres is impressive.
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