Last year a friend of mine challenged herself to read 40 books in 12 months, which got me to thinking about my own rate of literature consumption. I've read a ton of books, but just how quickly do I read? So I decided to start keeping track of everything. I now know how many books I read per year, and I also have a record of everything I read for the purposes of being able to make recommendations. This year I read 34 books; I probably could have made it to 40, but I didn't feel like reading a single word for the entire month of August and there were about 10 books I began but had no desire to finish. Below is the list of all the books I did finish in the order I read them starting in January of 2012 and ending in December. Included is a brief description/review of each for those of you looking for something new to try.
1) Pygmy by Chuck Palahniuk: The plot involves a foreign exchange student from an undisclosed country coming to America with a secret and destructive mission to accomplish while here. But the style is what's really compelling. The main character narrates the story like a series of mission briefs. The language is very abrupt because of the mission brief style and hilarious because of the unknown foreign nature of the speaker as well as his unique upbringing which causes him to consider every situation from a tactical standpoint. If you've never read Palahniuk, he covers some disturbing, sometimes repulsive stuff. But if you can handle that, he is a great writer. I've read three of his books and found this one to be the best of those because it's funny, compelling, and has some good satire.
2) Nemesis by Phillip Roth: This story follows a guy who is in the prime of his life when a Polio epidemic strikes his neighborhood
(this was before there was a vaccine). It seems to comment on how easy it is for a man to fall from grace, whether it be of his own doing or out of his control. In this case, the Polio was out of his control, but he let it ruin his life more than it needed to. It was a quick read, but I found it mostly depressing.
3) The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon: This is fiction but it covers a large span of the careers of the two main characters, so it comes off somewhat like a biography. It follows Joe Kavalier and Sam Clay as they team up to enter and change the comic book business. With any story like this, there is the rising from humble roots, the high point of success, the fall, and then some redemption. It's a fairly compelling story and you also get to learn a lot about the comic book business.
4) Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman: This one became a surprise favorite of mine. It's a collection of short shorts in imagined alternate worlds where time functions differently. I wrote a post about it in February. To read it, go here:
Einstein's Dreams
5) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins: Everyone and their mother has been reading these books, and there's a reason; they are super interesting and exciting. I read all three of them in a week or two. In a post-revolutionary world where the revolution failed, the government now punishes the 12 revolting districts by making them each sacrifice two children a year in a televised fight to the death. The plot is exciting, the character development is decent, and there's some social commentary on poverty, power, and class.
6) Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins: The sequel to the
Hunger Games. Since it's the 75th annual Hunger Games event, it's time for an all-star game. Every competitor is someone who has won in a past year. It'll be easier to survive because our heroine now has experience, but it'll be harder to survive because everyone else does too.
7) Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins: The finale of the
Hunger Games trilogy. The revolution is on. The districts have had it with their government and it's time for another rebellion. I found this one to be the most gruesome and depressing of the three. The more rebellious the people become, the harsher measures the government takes against them. Note here that in this book, as well as the other two, the ending is kind of a downer.
8) Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom: A nonfiction memoir featuring Albom's relationships with two very different pastors. One he has known for much of his life; this pastor is getting old and asks Albom to write his eulogy. The other is young reformed drug dealer and convict who preaches in a church with a giant hole in the roof. In his conversations with these men, Albom engages some of the key questions/struggles in both faith and life.
9) The BFG by Roald Dahl: BFG stands for the Big Friendly Giant who kidnaps a girl and takes her to his home in a land filled with bigger meaner giants. They eat gross pickles and consume fizzy lifting drinks, then hatch a plan to help the queen of England capture all the other giants.
10) The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky: Considered by many to be Dostoevsky's masterpiece, it is the story of an estranged family consisting of a father and three sons. The first third or so of the story concerns their relationship. The second third concerns the strange events surrounding the father's murder. The last third is the aftermath of the murder including the trial. There are several allegorical aspects of the story where certain characters and events represent certain aspects of Russia and its place in the world. I'm not an expert on that, but one thing I've noticed in Russian Lit is that there are certain archetypical characters seen over and over again. In this story the three sons are Dmitri, Ivan, and Alexei. Dmitri is the brash man of action who gets himself in over his head. Ivan is the thinking man who is internally troubled and outwardly inhibited (at times), and Alexei is the young innocent ray of hope. Dostoevsky intended this story as part 1 of a larger work, but it stands well enough on its own. My favorite parts are theses passages when one character will start expounding on their worldview for pages on end without cease because there are some really brilliant ideas in these moments.
11) The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Steven Chbosky: This is both the best book I've read and the best movie I've seen this year. It features Charlie, a high school freshman with a troubled past and no real friends as he tries to survive his first year of high school. He does manage to make some friends and starts learning what relationships are all about. As a plot summary, it sounds really bland and corny, but the plot isn't what makes the book. It's the character development and the very real connections and struggles that occur between the characters. Every one of the major questions we face in adolescence is addressed in some way. Where do I belong? Why do people choose to be in relationships with assholes? What do I do next? How do I manage all the pain that I feel and see? I've yet to hear of someone reading this book and not liking it.
12) The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Volume 1 by M.T. Anderson: A tale of a boy who was born into slavery and raised by scientists in a lifelong experiment aimed at determining whether there is a difference in innate ability and intellect between the white and black races if you control outside factors. I always find it fascinating to have a child narrator because you get to see his unique perspective on a situation, but through context clues you also find out things that the child-narrator doesn't know or understand. There is good discussion here about things like race, ethics, necessary evils, power, equality, and identity. A very unique book.
13) The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Volume 2 by M.T. Anderson: This is the terrible sequel to the above. Octavian is free now (sort of) and finds himself fighting (sort of) in the Revolutionary War. There are still some interesting discussions, like how even though Octavian attains relative freedom, he still has to follow orders, he gets treated like crap, and his living conditions actually worsen. But mostly all the characters just sit around on a ship and do nothing.
14) Pieces for the Left Hand by J. Robert Lennon: A collection of very short stories that all feature quirky observations and ironic occurrences. Some of my favorites include: A high school rivalry escalates to the point where mascots get murdered and coaches get kidnapped then ransomed back just before the game. A poor man finds $20 three times in a row and treats himself to an expensive meal each time, but because of taxes and tip ends up spending his own money unnecessarily. A bunch of little kids in a play can't grasp the concept of having two identities at once, so everyone gets confused calling kids by their real names on stage and their character names off stage.
15) Lord of the Flies by William Golding: A bunch of boys get stranded on an island without adults and try to re-create civilization but are unable to communicate (some characters are ineffective at it, some are domineering, and some are unkind, so they end up devolving and turning violently on one another. A somewhat disturbing look at how much effort and teamwork are necessary to produce positive changes and how easily things can go south.
16) Catch-22 by Joseph Heller: A very strange satirical tale of airmen and their commanders in the Air Force during WW2. The men find themselves being constantly manipulated into flying more missions, so they find themselves manipulating to spend some time in the hospital instead of on active duty. One character manipulates things so that he ends up controlling all of the supply routes. There is a lot of manipulation, a lot of confusion, a lot of absurd occurrences. Ultimately, the story is about people trying to maintain some semblance of control in a situation where they have very little control. It's so odd that it's compelling, but the plot doesn't move forward in a straight line. It kind of cycles around on itself again and again which makes for some slow going at times. But this style does mimic what might be going on in the characters' minds. They don't know what will happen to them next, but many times they end up stuck and having to do some terrible thing they already did, and we as readers find ourselves similarly in the realm of the unknown.
17) Snuff by Chuck Palahniuk: An aging porn star is trying to break the record for serial fornication on film. The story is told from the perspectives of three of the men waiting for it to be their turn with her. It sounds unique and interesting, and in some ways is; however while in other books by Palahniuk I found the disturbing imagery and topics to be useful in creating meaningful messages, in this book they're just kind of gross and off-putting for the sake of shock value. Each character has motivation, but none of the characters is developed all that much. Mostly the story is a lot of skin and bodily fluids; it is about sex, but it will not turn you on.
18) Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut: This story features the invented religion of Bokononism, which I wrote a post about here:
Bokononism. It also features the invention of Ice 9 which instantly freezes any liquid it touches. Mostly the story serves as a way to discuss the merits and drawbacks of the concept of religion in a safe setting by not using a religion that anyone actually practices.
19) The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters by Gordon Dahlquist: Despite this book's length, I tore through it once the plot got underway (which it does pretty quickly). Three different characters (a noble-woman, a doctor, and an assassin) all stumble upon a strange conspiracy involving masquerade balls, glass books, blue dust, facial burns, mind control, and political manipulation. The deeper into the book you get, the deeper the conspiracy becomes and the more thrilling the plot. There are certain unbelievable moments (the characters all escape near-death situations a ridiculous number of times), but who cares? It's super fun to read.
20) Self-Help by Lorrie Moore: A collection of short stories featuring women going through personal struggles which feel very real. It is well-written and a pretty quick read.
21) The Complete Poems and Plays of T.S. Eliot. If you like doing close readings, this book is excellent. Each work is so dense and full of meanings to pull apart. My favorites are "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," "What the Thunder Said," "Ash Wednesday," "Choruses from 'The Rock'," and "The Cocktail Party." It would seem also, I learned from this book, that the musical
Cats is based on some of Eliot's poems.
22) Consider the Lobster by David Foster Wallace: This guy is an amazing writer, and this book is a collection of essays, reviews, and memoirs on a variety of topics, some of which don't sound interesting, but all of which Wallace makes interesting. My favorite parts were "Up Simba" in which Wallace spent time on the McCain campaign trail, and "Authority and American Usage," which discusses American English as a language. Both topics sound like a snooze-fest to most people, but I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of knowledge and the compelling style of language.
23) Divergent by Victoria Roth: This is a distopian novel in which a city is divided into 5 factions based on the core values of knowledge, altruism, courage, honesty, and peace. You live with your parents in their faction until you turn 16, and then you are given the opportunity to choose your own faction. Most people stay where they grew up. A few don't. This is the story of one who doesn't. It is in some ways a distopian novel and in some ways a coming of age tale.
24) Insurgent by Victoria Roth: The sequel to the above (ultimately it is supposed to be a trilogy) in which factions are warring. Lines are drawn. Sides are taken. In the first novel, we only get an in-depth look at the altruism and courage factions. This novel shows us all factions including the faction-less which is basically a homeless army of outcasts.
25) Just After Sunset by Stephen King: A very good collection of short stories. In each one, the main character starts out by having to cope with a very real and relatable human struggle. Then inevitably each character is thrust into a surreal or fantastic circumstance that further emphasizes said struggle. I wrote an earlier blog about this here:
Just After Sunset
26) A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens: "It was the best of times. It was the worst of times." The two cities are London and Paris and it is the dawn of the French Revolution. The story is very slow, but it is well-written. It is the tale of a small family trying their best to live their life despite some significant outside circumstances. The most compelling aspect of it is the portrayal of instances in which people with good intentions end up doing very bad things and people who have been more or less worthless their entire lives are able to step up and do amazing things.
27) Bossypants by Tina Fey: Autobiography/memoir by former
SNL writer/star and present day
30 Rock producer/star. A light, quick read whose humor ultimately didn't really do it for me. Tina Fey's a smart lady, but I think her brand of humor differs from mine.
28) One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez: A work of fiction that reads like a work of history. It covers the birth, life, and death of a town through the eyes of 6 or so generations of one family. It's very unique in style, plot, and characters, but it also reads very slow. There are elements of magical realism (theoretically possible but ultimately absurd occurrences) that add to the story's intrigue.
29) PostSecret by Frank Warren: Several years ago, Frank Warren distributed 3,000 post cards asking people to anonymously write down a secret, something they'd never told anyone, and mail it back to him. The response was overwhelming to the point that he still receives post cards today. This book is a collection of some of them. With any given page turn you could laugh your heart out or cry your eyes out. There's some pretty deep stuff.
30) The Happiness Project by Gretchen Reuben: Reuben commits herself to devoting an entire year to trying to be happier through very specific, timed resolutions and then writing about the experience. My previous blog post dated November 30 is about this.
31) Hamlet by William Shakespeare: The Prince of Denmark struggles with the knowledge that his uncle murdered his father and that his mother then married his uncle. Some great passages about mortality, relative greatness, inability to follow one's own advice, and the honor of struggle.
32) Found by Davy Rothbart: Similar to
PostSecret, Rothbart asks people to mail him notes, drawings, tickets, photographs of interest that they find laying around in public. The revelations aren't as deep, however, as these aren't internal secrets but things commonplace enough to be left out for someone else to find. There are a lot of notes on the topics of love and hate.
33) Henry IV, Part 1 by William Shakespeare: Henry IV must handle a rebellion while his son Prince Harry goofs around in bars. There are some good character foils which help show the value of balance; the extreme characters either die (in the case of the guy that's all about valor) or live deceitful somewhat loathsome existences (in the case of the guy all about self-preservation), but the balanced characters emerge victorious.
34) Armageddon in Retrospect by Kurt Vonnegut: A previously unpublished collection of mostly short stories and a couple other writings mostly centered around the world wars. They came out just before Vonnegut's death. They very rarely focus on the actual fighting of the war. Instead they focus on three POW's exchanging recipes, or a furniture maker in an occupied city, or a spy who unwittingly outs himself. They are very good. I read many of them in one night.
Well that does it. I hope you try a few of these books out, as most of them have significant value. I'm going to go start my first book of the new year.
