So, I'm trying to figure out all this blog business, but until then I'm going to repost the list of books that we (Regina and I, actually) came up with that we can all read. There's no syllabus, and there are no real rules--this is total anarchy, which is how I choose to live.
Andy already started Devil in the White City, and I'm 60 pages into Crime and Punishment, which is not on the list, I just wanted to brag. So, here it is with two new additions courtesy of Regina Zanzuccki-Ponchione.
1. Where Men Find Glory - Jon Krakauer--The story of Pat Tilman and the lies the government used to exploit his death.
--I hesitate to include this since I'm reading it now, but it's such a great read and would spark so much intelligent discussion that I can't not include it.
2. The House of Mirth - Edith Wharton--I loved The Age of Innocence, and Wharton has a wonderful writing style. I'm not sure what this
book is about, but it's safe to assume it has to do about social expectations in New York society.
3. The Robber Bride - Margaret Atwood; Also consider Oryx and Crake, it's one of her most famous novels but also a sci-fi
book--Atwood is one of my favorite authors so this is a selfish request. The Robber Bride was made into a movie recently, and the premise seems to be both mysterious and intriguing about three women the college friend they all know who has betrayed them yet brings them together (I think. I just make this stuff up, mostly).
4. War - Sebastian Junger--This is a nonfiction novel about the war in Afghanistan.
5. The Glass Castle - Jeannette Walls--A memoir about Walls' relationship with her dysfunctional family (of course).
6. Winesburg, Ohio - Sherweood Anderson--A collection of stories about interrelated characters in this Ohio town.
7. On the Beach Nevil Shute--I read this
book in middle school, and it truly was one I never forgot. It's about life in a post-apocalyptic world.
8. Night - Elie Wiesel--A young adult novel yet a gripping one about his experience in concentration camps.
**9. Devil in the White City - Erik Larson--My vote for the first
book we read. It's a non fiction story about a murder at the Chicago World's Fair.
10. Atonement - Ian McEwan--I haven't seen this movie, and my experience with McEwan is tepid at best. He's an evocative writer but it seems that some of his stories hinge on his language opposed to having any plot development or a plot at all. But he's well-respected and highly regarded as one of the best writers of our time, not to mention he hid Salman Rushdie while the fatwa was on his head.
11. Gilead - Marilynne Robinson --This won the Pultizer in 2004, but I'm copy and pasting the description from wikipedia. "The novel is the fictional
autobiography of the Reverend John Ames, an elderly
congregationalist pastor in the small, secluded town of Gilead,
Iowa who knows that he is dying of a heart condition. At the beginning of the
book, the date is established as 1956, and Ames explains that he is writing an account of his life for his 7-year-old son, who will have few memories of him as an adult."
12. Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides--He wrote the Virgin Suicides, which was an engrossing novel about sisters who killed themselves. I'm not sure what Middlesex is about specifically but it has something to do with ambiguous gender; this also won the Pulitzer.
"The
narrator and
protagonist, Cal Stephanides (initially called "Callie"), is an
intersexed person of
Greek descent. He has
5-alpha-reductase deficiency which causes him to appear female. The first half of the novel is about Cal's Greek family, depicting his grandparents' migration from a small village in
Asia Minor to the United States in 1922, and their assimilation into American society. The latter half of the novel, set in the late 20th century, focuses on Cal's story in
Detroit, Michigan."
13. Tinkers - Paul Harding--This is the most recent Pulitzer Prize winner--if you can't tell, I went to the Pulitzer web site...so transparent. Anyway, here's the synopsis: he novel tells the tale of George Washington Crosby, a clock repairman, who recounts his life story and his father's struggles with
epilepsy to his family on his deathbed."
14. What is the What - Dave Eggers/A heartbreaking work of staggering genius--The former is about the Lost Boys of Africa. The latter is a memoir of his life. Dave Eggers is a really effing amazing, btw.
15. Blood Meridian - Cormac McCarthy--It isn't even hyperbole when I say McCarthy is a living genius, someone who deserves all the adulation and awards. I think his writing is so succinct yet captures the struggles of his characters so well. His writing style, for me at least, is reminiscent of Hemingway.
16. Kavalier and Clay - Michael Chabon--Chabon is from Pittsburgh and wrote "the mysteries of pittsburgh" and "wonder boys." This novel, believe or not, won the Pulitzer as well. A big complaint about Chabon is that his novels are hard to get into, but once you do, you can't put it down.
17. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen--Regina wants to read Jane Austen, and she's right. This book is great for a variety of reasons. It's funny (in an 18th century way), smart and highlights some great (and irritating) female characters.
18. To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee--I think that this book is actually celebrating a pretty prominent anniversary this year, and a quick google search suggests that it's been 40 years (!) since this was first published. Boo Radley! Atticus! Scout! Let's do this.
Please look this over with thoughts, suggestions, criticism and anything else you want to add. I'm really hoping that everyone has time to contribute to this, sparking intelligent discussion and, most importantly, an air of superiority and elitism.
Although I just started reading this book, I am already engaged. The prologue and the quotes from the main characters added an interesting preview effect. I enjoyed the Horseshoe Curve connection and the comment on the decaying morals of the 1890s. That must happen every decade.
