100 Books. 100 Journeys.: 12/07/09

WELCOME ALL READERS!!!

I've challenged myself, in between working a full-time job and getting my daughter to soccer practices, to read the Modern Library's Board's List of the 100 Best Novels of the 20th Century. I'm going to start from #100 and work my way up the list towards #1, just like Casey Kasem did on American Top 40 when I was a kid. (Wow, I think I just dated myself :)

You can click on this link to see the list: http://www.randomhouse.com/modernlibrary/100bestnovels.html.
If you've read the books before and want to share your thoughts on them, that would be great!

Thanks for checking out my blog!

Pam

WHY READ THE HUNDRED??

I've received emails from interested readers asking why I would read a list of books like this, some of which won't be fun, light reading, and some of which are hated by other readers with a passion most blogs can only hope to contain. My answer is this: Natural Curiosity. This list is a concrete group of books that a bunch of people smarter than me agree are the essential tomes of last century's literature. I would like to see if I agree with these folks.

Many may ask why I've decided to read them in order from #100 to #1. That's easy. I figure if I start with the book that's the 'worst' of the group, things can only get better. Plus, reading them serially prevents me from skipping books I know I will hate, which with my natural procrastinative (is that even a word?) nature would leave me with a stack of horrible books I would never want to finish at the end.

Hope that answers any questions! Read on!

#69, "THE HOUSE OF MIRTH": GRADE SHEET

READABILITY: A- (although painful at times)

ENDING: A

RECOMMENDABLE: A

WOULD I READ ANOTHER BOOK BY THIS AUTHOR? I CANNOT WAIT to re-read The Age of Innocence. It's coming soon! A blogger also recommended The Custom of the Country, which I have never read. I think I'll skip Ethan Frome though.

BEST PART: When Lily threw the letters from Bertha Dorset into the fire at Lawrence's house. I was cheering.

WORST PART: When Bertha threw Lily off the yacht. I was so pissed. I also didn't like when she got written out of Aunt Julia's will.

TAKE-HOME MESSAGE: Money doesn't buy happiness, or friends either.

Modern Library Literary Dirtbag Award Winners

This is an award given monthly to a character in the books I've read during that month who is truly and utterly a dirtbag. Feel free to nominate your own Literary Dirtbags!!

Sept '09-TIE (Port Moresby from The Sheltering Sky, Sebastian Dangerfield from The Ginger Man)

Oct '09-Mr R from Wide Sargasso Sea

Nov '09-Nicholas Urfe from The Magus

Dec '09-Gerald Scales from The Old Wives' Tale

Jan '10-Willie Conklin from Ragtime

Feb '10-Anna Quayne from The Death of the Heart

March '10-Simon March from The Adventures of Augie March

April '10-The unnamed Russian guy from Kim.

May '10-Teddy Lloyd from The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.

June '10-Tod Hackett from The Day of the Locust

July '10-Emily Bas-Thornton from A High Wind in Jamaica

August '10-Bertha Dorset from The House of Mirth