I don’t normally partake in the meme-du-jour running around the Internets, but I like this book meme picked up from Positive Liberty and Freespace. The rules:
- Bold what you have read
- Italicise what you started but couldn’t finish
(The original meme list is longer, but I’ve read so few of those to bother with the full list. I’m keeping only those I have a reason to mention, which will probably give the impression that I don’t read. I do, but I favor spy novels set in WWII when I read fiction.)
Crime and Punishment
I own an old copy of this that belonged to my grandfather. I’ll read it one day.
Catch-22
I haven’t read this, but I feel like I should. So far, “should” isn’t a compelling reason.
A Tale of Two Cities
Great Expectations
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
I have this book, but I’ll probably never read it.
Atlas Shrugged
I’m reading The Fountainhead now. This is high on the list of what I’m considering after The Fountainhead
Brave New World
Finally, a classic I’ve read. I love this book. It was my first introduction to the idea that maybe government isn’t perfect. I wrote my senior term paper comparing this and After Many a Summer Dies the Swan. My teacher wasn’t confident I could pull it off, but she okayed the idea. I earned a B+, but only because the footnotes were so badly formatted. (This was back in the old days, when kids used pens to write.) She told me I would’ve earned an A.
The Fountainhead
As I mentioned, I’m currently reading this. I’ve been slow in parts of my libertarian development. For what it’s worth, I’m enjoying this tremenously. And I’m wondering if I could play Roark if a remake appears.
The Grapes of Wrath
1984
I read this for the first time last year. Excellent. Justifiably called a classic.
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
My favorite novel. I can’t say enough good things about it. With a WWII setting and excellent writing, it’s money. Highly recommended.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
The Sound and the Fury
I tried to read this. Made it through approximately 40 pages. One long streaming mess. Supposedly it gets better after the first 70 pages or so, but I have no interest in returning to it to find out. Seriously, I want that part of my life back.
Slaughterhouse-five
I named my website after a reference in this book. I’ve read it several times. I even enjoyed the movie.
The Scarlet Letter
The Catcher in the Rye
Twice, and both times I enjoyed it. When I read it in high school, I couldn’t read it for English class until I had my mother’s written permission.
On the Road
In Cold Blood : A True Account of a Multiple Murder and Its Consequences
I read this in one day. I enjoyed it well enough, but the book report due the next day caused the one-sitting effort.
There are books not on this list that should be, given some of the choices offered. A classic like The Great Gatsby, which I liked well enough, or a more recent novel like The Crimson Petal and the White, which I loved.