Wish List

I wish I had a list of all the books we've read in my book club. Here are some that I can remember, in no particular order. (Also, I really can't figure out how to underline using blogger. I'm sure it's a no brainer, but I've been posting about books for 18 months or so, and have never been able to figure it out.)

1. *To Kill A Mockingbird. Right up there in the top five.
2. *Peace Like a River. Brilliant. Brilliant. Top five.
3. *This House of Sky. Brilliant. Top five.
   
4. *A Girl Named Zippy. Top five, for completely different reasons than the Doig book.
5. *Jane Eyre. I believe you already know how I feel. (The fact that this is #5 doesn't mean it's in the top five. If it was, I would say so. Although I don't know what else IS in the top five...)
   
6. *Frannie and Zooey. WAY better, in my humble opinion, than Catcher.
   
7. Little Women. Not as tolerable now that I'm an adult.
   
8. The Great Gatsby. Didn't enjoy.
   
9. Of Mice and Men. Chose not to put myself through Steinbeck.
   
10. The Kite Runner. Abandoned, with the portent of doom all too clear. Begrudging acknowledgment of its brilliance.
    
11. The Catcher in the Rye. I like Salinger, but see above.
    
12. The End of Poverty. Interesting, and not as preachy as you might expect.
    
13. Botany of Desire. REALLY compelling. I liked this one.
    
14. At least three Barbara Kingsolver books, including her nonfiction one about eating locally. I like her, but I think her plots are too neatly dovetailed.
15. 
    
16. 
    
17. My Sister's Keeper. Blindsiding and desperate. Well-written.
    
18. Loving Frank. Also blindsiding. Not well-written.
    
19. Pablo Neruda poems. We compared the various translations. That was a controversial choice. I really enjoyed it, and one member found it annoying from start to finish.
    
20. The Blessing. Pablum.
    
21. something by Steven King (whatever)
    
22. a nasty collection of short stories about a Greek village. (chosen exclusively so I could serve food from my favorite Greek deli. The food was great.)
    
23. A hilarious recounting by Bill Bryson of his attempt to walk the Appalachian Trail.
24. *Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. I thought this book was really good. I would recommend this one.
    
25. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress. Just so-so.
    
26. *The River of Doubt. I LOVE biographies, especially of American icons. This one will grip you.
    
27. Ali and Nino- that one was very educational, very memorable and has a backstory like no other. You might want to pick that one up.
    
28. Beneath a Marble Sky. ick.
29. The Plot Against America, by Philip Roth. I must admit I was impressed with Roth.
30. Skipping Christmas.
    
31. Eat, Pray, Love. I liked this one, and rated it pretty highly, but it hasn't stuck with me.
    
32. The Glass Castle. Disconcerting, but not memorable.
    
33. The Secret Life of Bees. I really enjoyed this book.

Well. I should have a list of around 60. I will try to see what else I can resurrect. I realize that this is probably mostly interesting to ME, but maybe something will grab you...

UPDATE: # 14, #15, #16:
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
Poisonwood Bible
Prodigal Summer

#23:
A Walk in the Woods- this is the Bill Bryson title. So, so funny.