10 Books I can't live without

Thanks to Kailana, this list has been making its way around the book blog world. Like many others, I found it difficult to narrow things down to only ten. But, after much consideration, here are my choices:

1. Collected Works of Shakespeare Really, I can't imagine not being able to read and reference (and watch performances of) these plays, over and over.

2. A La Recherche du Temps Perdu / Proust Once I'd read this I realized I would need to have it with me always. In English translation, unfortunately - my French stinks.

3. Lucy Maud Montgomery She belongs with these first "big two" for me. I wasn't able to narrow her works down; they could've made up half my list. So I'll go with Anne of Green Gables, the Emily series, The Blue Castle and Mistress Pat.

4. Pride & Prejudice I love this book. Who wouldn't long for Mr. Darcy?

5. Wives & Daughters / Elizabeth Gaskell My favourite of her books - I love the characters and the way she writes little asides about everyone and everything. So clever.

6. Enchanted April / Elizabeth von Arnim I really like this author, and this one is a favourite both as the novel and as the wonderful film made of it. I think that the main character, Lottie, is a marvellous creation.

7. A Ring of Endless Light / Madeleine L'Engle A Wrinkle in Time is also good, but this book is just something special. I read it at 13 or so, and have read it numerous times since. At 13 I even tried my hand at writing a story which was suspiciously similar...

8. To Kill a Mockingbird / Harper Lee I can't even imagine a world in which Scout, Jem, Atticus and Boo Radley did not exist.

9. Tolkien The way he created such a hugely self-consistent world which has influenced so many writers has to be recognized. I read Lord of the Rings as a teenager.

10. Hmmm - I Capture the Castle, Catch-22, Our Mutual Friend - there are so many more that I'll just have to give up now.
*This list is subject to change...

Arctic voyages

A few years back, I read Andrea Barrett's The Voyage of the Narwhal. Refocusing on polar literature lately made me want to look at this novel again. I loved it the first time & so on looking it over again, I thought I'd share why I think this book is so great.
First, of course, is the fact that I've always liked reading about Arctic explorers, as did Barrett herself, according to an interview.
"I had a great passion for the Arctic as a little girl. When I was seven or eight, all I did was read things about the Arctic, like Peary, Cook, Nansen, Shackleton, and Amundsen."
Then there is the writing itself. Using excerpts of various naturalists & explorers to begin the chapters, she continues on with the experiences of the scientist characters, both in the Arctic and afterward. Rather than an "adventure" story, this seems more of an expedition, both into the natural world and into the motives and purposes within each participant. The book focuses on Erasmus Darwin Wells, a naturalist nearing 40, who believes that his feelings of uselessness will be assuaged by accompanying his future brother-in-law Zechariah Voorhees (Zeke) on an Arctic expedition. Of course, all goes horribly wrong, with Zeke proving to be a terrible captain, stranding the expedition to over-winter in the Arctic. The details of the story make it slow, precise reading; but the accumulation of information about all the varied characters intrigued me enough to continue on. While the expedition itself is, of course, made up of men, this story also includes the women left behind in Philadelphia. Erasmus' sister & Zeke's fiancée, Lavinia and her companion Alexandra have their own stories to tell. The themes of exploration, of one's interior life as well as the landscape, show up in both groups.
I enjoyed this book, I think, as much for the realism of the Arctic survival story as for the luminous, poetic prose. The interweaving of the actual voyage with the life stories of Erasmus' family members and his quietly developing romance make this a very satisfying read. It is an introduction to an entire family and to the society they find themselves navigating. Highly recommended for its precision, and for the extraordinary way Barrett breathes life into this historical moment.

What is your I.Q.?

This week on the CBC, there was a nationwide "I.Q. test". Never mind that I.Q. testing has been shown to be biased in so many ways, the CBC was going to test the nation! You could go to their website and try the test yourself beforehand (which I did) and despite the time limits on all the questions it was rather fun. When you signed up, you had to provide all sorts of info, like how old are you, what gender, which zodiac sign, favourite sport to watch (they didn't have a 'none of the above', too bad), and my favourite, are you omnivore, vegetarian or vegan? This was my favourite question because in the choices, they asked "are you VEGETERIAN?" Now, perhaps I'm being picky, but you'd think that in a national I.Q. test they'd at least try to get their spelling correct! Anyhow, it made me laugh, which is all that counts I guess. Oh yes, the final results from the tv program : the group of surgeons outdid everyone else. And there was no group of librarians tested; I see a special event at the next CLA conference!

A Sniffling Reader

I've caught a cold. It's one of those spring colds, nasty and short (I hope!). I've even stayed home from work today, something I don't do too often. In between dozing I've been reading bits of the various books I have underway. Does anyone else find it difficult to read when you're sick? When I feel so muddle-headed I find it hard to concentrate, so I've fallen back on my favourite reading for when I have a short attention span - cookbooks. I now own about eighty of them (cookbook buying moratorium in effect...) and I like to pick a few to skim through, imagining what I'll make when I actually have an appetite again. Allowing that I am a vegetarian, some of my choices today have been my new Deepak Chopra that my husband picked up for me last week, and the always entertaining La Dolce Vegan. I've also been skimming through a couple issues of the Vegetarian Times which I brought home from the library. I'll most likely just make my favourite non-chicken soup for dinner though; it's easy and it gets rid of colds. But my grocery list looks more exciting than it has for a while!

St. Patrick's Day

To celebrate St. Patrick's Day (I am about 1/8 Irish, after all), here's a list of books I enjoyed set in Ireland:

1. Confessions of a Pagan Nun / Kate Horsley - The "diary" of a Celtic priestess, Gwynneve, who transforms herself into a nun during the time that Christianity was gaining a foothold in Ireland. She cannot fully accept Christian doctrine, however, and is finally accused of the Pelagian heresy. An intriguing and absorbing historical novel.

2. In the country of the young / Lisa Carey - A ghostly story of love and redemption; Oisin has been a recluse since his twin sister committed suicide 25 years earlier. He lives alone on a small island in Ireland, upon which a ship foundered during the Famine. He leaves a lit candle in the window on All Hallows Eve, hoping his sister's ghost will return to him. Instead, seven-year-old Aisling, who lost her life in the long ago shipwreck, appears. She spends a year with him, growing from childhood to adulthood, experiencing the life she never had.

3. The Secret of Roan Inish - This film was based on Rosalie Fry's 1959 book The Secret of the Ron Mor Skerry. The book was set in Scotland; the film was relocated to Ireland. It is a lovely movie, beautifully filmed in a gorgeous Western Ireland setting. The story is based around the legends of selkies, and is mysterious yet not childish.

4. The Hounds of the Morrigan / Pat O'Shea - A children's, or perhaps young adult, novel, this 700 page fantasy is a very Celtic adventure. Two children, Pidge and Brigit, are drawn into a battle against the Celtic war goddess, the Morrigan, when Pidge finds a strange book in a used bookshop. The book has an evil serpent imprisoned in it by St. Patrick, and the Morrigan wants to free it. Pidge and Brigit must destroy the serpent, which can only be done by finding, somewhere in Ireland or in Faerie, a lost pebble with a drop of the Morrigan's blood on it. Adventure ensues, with many figures of Celtic myth making an appearance until, of course, the children overcome. Lyrical and magical.

5. How the Irish saved civilization / Thomas Cahill - This non-fiction book makes the case that the Irish saved much of Western Civilization during the Dark Ages in Europe. This was due to Irish monks copying many manuscripts of the Greek and Latin tradition and saving them from disappearance. They did all this with a Celtic flair, influencing the future of the Western world.

Thinking Blogger Award

I've been very kindly nominated for this award-meme by Jill at My Individual Take. (Thanks, Jill!) The "rules" stipulate that you must nominate five new blogs that really make you think, and preferably ones that you've haven't yet seen nominated. This proves difficult as this award is roaring through at present!

Five of the many that I read and enjoy are:

Chumley & Pepys : my husband's blog; he makes me think online and off!
Bearcastle : a science education oriented collection of posts by a thoughtful and prolific blogger
And a few bookish blogs:

Box of Books

Kate's Book Blog

The Library Ladder

Past lives, past loves

I read Susanna Kearsley's Mariana a few weeks ago now, and have been inspired to give it a write-up since it deals with some of the same themes as Green Darkness. It is the story of Julia Beckett, who since seeing a 16th century farmhouse in Wiltshire at age five, knew she was destined to live in it someday. The story opens with Julia finally able to purchase the house as an adult, but once she moves in she starts to experience strange flashbacks to the plague year of 1665, when she had lived as Mariana in the same house. The reincarnation issue has some similarities and a few differences from the treatment in Green Darkness. First off, when Julia experiences her life as Mariana, she does not remember being Julia. She can not change anything about the past. In GD, while Celia is reliving her past, she is lying comatose in hospital. Julia, however, steps back into time as she goes about her daily life, and comes to herself hours later, not knowing where she has been or how much time has passed. It made the story a little more immediate for me.In both books, the point is made that a person will be surrounded by the same group of individuals as they were previously, when the unfinished issues arose. Somehow, the same personalities reentangle themselves. I found it curious that even so, they all reincarnated in the same gender and in similar familial relationships as previously. But that's a small concern.

Julia finds herself surrounded by new(old?) friends; Vivian, who works in the pub, Ian, a local farmer, and Geoffrey de Mornay, descendent of her doomed lover in 1665. (I am also seeing a theme of doomed lovers in these reincarnation stories...) All the way through, she is attracted to Geoffrey, but it is fairly obvious early on that he is a red herring, and the real love interest lies elsewhere. For plotting purposes, this is wonderful stuff. However, in order to promote the red herring, Kearsley does not give enough spark to the relationship between Julia and the real reincarnation of 1665's Richard; at the conclusion, it seems to come out of nowhere, and simply because he identifies himself as "Richard" she swoons. That is my only quibble with this story, a romantic historical along the lines of Mary Stewart or Barbara Michaels. Otherwise, it is tightly written and atmospheric. A good first novel for Susanna Kearsley, whose follow up books have been better and better. My personal favourite: The Shadowy Horses. Ghosts, archaeology and Scotsmen. What more can one ask?

Goodnight....

I've just come across a very amusing analysis of the children's classic Goodnight Moon, in the Montreal based magazine Maisonneuve. Now how am I ever going to be able to use that book for storytimes again???

Now a Green Darkness

While reading Anya Seton's Green Darkness as part of the Chunkster Challenge, I picked up White Darkness, which I've just reviewed. What's next, Heart of Darkness?
In any case, I've finished at long last Green Darkness, a loooong historical novel partly to do with reincarnation and karma. The working out of one's fate over lifetimes is suggested by the framing narrative; Richard and Celia are married in this lifetime, sometime in the 60's. Their marriage begins to fray dramatically, and it is all because they were Celia and Brother Stephen in 16th century England, and had a doomed love affair. As I read in another review, the framing narrative is a bit dated and cheesy. It is very 60's, with requisite gay fashion designer friend. This set-up was necessary for the reincarnation issues, but the meat of the book is the life of young Celia Bohun during a time of political upheaval in England. The love story, mainly Celia's obsession with the house priest Stephen, is believable and understandably tragic. The political atmosphere, that of Catholics and Protestants warring during the instability following Henry VIII's death and the struggle for the throne between his children Edward, Mary and Elizabeth is exhaustively detailed, yet is never tiring. The depth which she goes in to about the supporting characters' lives does makes the story a bit long and wandery at times. However, the writing itself is earthy and descriptive, lots of historical detail, with small, telling features highlighted in her characters.
All the way through I was still getting that whiff of the 70's. (It was published in 1972.) But, if you're a historical novel fan, this may be one you'd like. I've heard that if you're an Anya Seton fan, you'll either champion this novel or her other big historical, Katherine. I'll have to try that one too, and see on which side I fall.

To Celebrate International Women's Day

As it is International Women's Day today, I propose a list of reading about a few women from my own nation - books I found intriguing both for their subject and the treatment of such.

1. Sisters in the Wilderness / Charlotte Gray

A dual biography of sisters Susanna Moodie and Catharine Parr Traill, both well known in Canadian circles, who emigrated from England in 1832. They were part of a large literary family and ended up publishing information on the Canadian situation for English would-be settlers. Susanna's Roughing it in the Bush was, like her, acerbic and self-referential. Catherine's work, A Canadian Settler's Guide, was like her, factual and helpful and thoughtful. I especially admire Catherine, since not only did she have to face to trials of a new immigrant trying to settle the bush, she had to do so while dealing with a depressive and not very effective husband. Yet she remained always cheerful and was greatly loved. Dove Grey Reader has just mentioned reading this book also, in her discussion of Stef Penney's The Tenderness of Wolves.

2. A Passionate Pen: The Life and Times of Faith Fenton / Jill Downie
This is a popular biography of a woman I had known nothing about. Toronto schoolteacher Alice Freeman was also a journalist, writing under the name of Faith Fenton. She had an active life; friends with Lady Aberdeen (the governor general's wife) she was sent to cover the story of the Klondike during the Gold Rush. She was one of the first women to write about this raucous subject, and ended up marrying a man she met there. The events of her life are rather sketchy, and so there is some guesswork involved in the narrative, but overall it is a fun read about a little known, fascinating woman.

3. The Spinster & the Prophet / A.B. McKillop

Now this one is a gripping read...it details the case of Torontonian Florence Deeks, and the lawsuit she brought against H.G. Wells in 1925, accusing him of plagiarising the manuscript she had sent to his publisher. McKillop makes a good case for Miss Deeks, and I was rooting for her all along. Her scholarship and hard work in creating a feminist history of the world deserved better than to be mined for the profit of a womanizing hack and his unscrupulous publisher. (I guess you can tell whose side I was on...)

4. The Woman who mapped Labrador : the life and expedition diary of Mina Hubbard / ed. by Roberta Buchanan, Ann Hart, and Bryan Greene

This is a scholarly study of Ontario born Mina Hubbard, a young widow who took it upon herself to retrace her husband's exploration of the interior of Labrador a few years after he died there. Partly spurred on by her husband's former partner who intended to retrace their original, fatal route, Mina challenged him to a "race", which she won handily, by a good six weeks. Her mapping was accepted by the American Geographical Society and the Geographical Society of Great Britain, and her studies of the flora and fauna, and the Naskapi tribes along the way, earned her a great deal of respect as a verifiable explorer. Another more narratively driven approach to her story can be found in North of Unknown: Mina Hubbard's Extraordinary Expedition into the Labrador Wilderness by Randall Silvis.

5. The L.M. Montgomery Album / Kevin McCabe

Last but not least, a compendium of information on my favourite Canadian writer. All you ever wanted to know; lots of memorabilia and neat facts. There hasn't been a complete scholarly biography written about LMM yet, but this meets the need for details about her life, if you are a rabid fan like some of us...

The White Darkness

As a start to my Polar reading theme, I picked up a YA novel that has received much critical acclaim, The White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean. I am not surprised that it has won a number of awards; it is a gripping adventure story told exquisitely. The cover is also perfectly evocative of the story, something you don't see every day!

Sym is a shy, partially deaf 14 yr. old, who has a companion she hears in her head. It is Capt. Lawrence "Titus" Oates, who died some 90 years ago as part of Scott's doomed Antarctic expedition. In some ways she is a very young fourteen - her schoolmates are interested in boys, kisses, magazines - while she is focused on her interior life and her dreamy Edwardian hero, Capt. Oates, as well as her absorption with "The Ice". She reads extensively about the Antarctic and its explorers, thanks to her "Uncle" Victor who has been training her up in his obsession since childhood. Victor was her father's business partner and has apparently supported Sym and her mother since her father's death. He comes up with the idea of taking them to Paris on a weekend trip, which somehow turns into Sym and Victor going to Antarctica. This trip of a lifetime starts as a dream for Sym, but quickly degenerates as Victor's true agenda is revealed. Outwardly genial, his mad obsession with finding the mythical entrance to the interior of the earth, proposed by discredited scientist John Cleves Symmes, causes him to sabotage the tour they are on, steal an all-terrain vehicle and set out into the centre of Antarctica with Sym and two other men. The situation becomes more and more harrowing, with Sym discovering resources within herself she had not known of. Thanks to the constant presence of Titus Oates, Sym is able to save herself as Victor goes completely mad and is revealed as a remorseless murderer.

The writing in this novel is marvellous. The language and the technique of having Sym living so much in her head allow for the enchanting presence of Titus Oates, a hero of my own who I was happy to see in such a glowing light. Sym and Titus are equally heroic in this story, but I feel that the true star of this novel is the Antarctic itself. McCaughrean's lyrical yet starkly descriptive prose brought to life the inhospitable atmosphere, the danger and the bone-chilling cold. I read it during a few days of extreme winter weather here, so when I looked up and saw snow blowing by horizontally it seemed very atmospheric! There are many elements to appreciate here; Sym's intense coming-of-age, the intricately plotted revelations of Uncle Victor's true perfidy, the extreme adventure of survival, the narrative voice & structure of including Titus' voice as a counterpoint to Sym's own. It all results in a very strong adventure novel, starring a girl, which I would recommend without reservation. What a treat!

A professional review by Adele Geras, which is just what I would have said had I been a more eloquent reviewer, can be found here.

Reading the Poles

International Polar Year has just begun.

It officially runs March 1/07 to March 1/08, but will run on until March 1/09 to give researchers time to do all they need to do. This is a big event, which occurs every 50 years. It is very timely as we all worry about global warming and climate change and the havoc that may result. There is a wonderful website for IPY, which covers its history, the projects being done this time around by participants all over the globe, and some great links & articles. There's even a link to a blog by Antarctic researchers, who post amazing photos and seem to have a great sense of humour!
As my home country is spending a lot on research initiatives this IPY, I thought that I could help out just a little by focusing my reading on polar narratives this year. I'll try to read in the polar vein and report back all year long. I've always been interested in tales of exploration and ice and cold. Since I was young, the stories of those such as Scott, Shackleton, Franklin, Nansen, and Amundsen have all fascinated me. The immortal last words uttered by Titus Oates of the doomed Scott expedition, "I'm just going outside, and I may be some time", have become part of my personal lexicon.
For this IPY, I'll read fiction and/or non-fiction, whichever strikes my fancy. No set number or time line, just as I am moved to do so. I have a few favourites, which I may review to begin with, and will keep reading all year long.

A Whisper of an Invisible read

I've just read The Invisible by Swedish author Mats Wahl. He's written many books & screenplays in Swedish, but this is the first to be translated. It's being packaged as a YA novel; I would think this is because the characters are primarily high school students in Northern Sweden.
The premise : Hilmer Eriksson discovers one morning at school that he has become invisible. Shortly after his realization, a police officer enters and addresses the class, asking for any help in finding a missing classmate...Hilmer Eriksson. The police officer tries to unravel Hilmer's actions on the day he went missing, and Hilmer, not recalling anything, tries to stick as close as possible to the police so he can find out what happened to him. The missing persons case slowly and inexorably becomes a murder investigation.
This novel is in the vein of the very popular Swedish crime novel. There seems to be yet another Scandinavian crime writer appearing every month recently. I've read a couple and they are usually bleak and spare and quite dark. This novel follows that structure, but with not quite as much psychopathic behaviour or sexual detail. I would assume that has to do with its YA audience. It is an intriguing premise, and the narrative switches back and forth between Hilmer's and the police detective's point of view. I liked the plotting; it was utterly and sadly believable. However, I think that Mats Wahl's screenplay writing has come to the fore here; this novel reads like a screen treatment. As I was reading, I could see it as a tv special. The descriptive and sparse nature of his prose, along with little tics like trying to humanize the detective by having him on a diet (sigh), makes me think of many other police dramas that I've watched. Still, it doesn't take away from the idea of the book, and the shadowy, invisible Hilmer is the special touch that makes this a recommended read for teens. It has been made into a Swedish film, and now remade into an American one, complete with American name changes and plot overhauls.

This novel presents an intriguing take on the social issues being dealt with in small town Sweden, although both the movies appear to have completely erased the social implications of Hilmer's death. If you like sparely written crime novels, this is a good pick. If you are looking for a more in-depth read, try any of the plethora of Scandinavian crime writers out there (Henning Mankell, Karin Fossum, Arnaldur Indridason...).

List o' Books

Here is a meme I found posted by Bookfool. She has tagged everyone who lays eyes on it...so here goes my take on it!

Look at the list of books below:
* Bold the ones you’ve read* Italicize the ones you want to read* Leave blank the ones that you aren’t interested in.*

1. The DaVinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee) the stage version is being presented at the Stratford Festival in the 2007 season - can't wait!
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery) 100's of rereads of this...
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte) I know, I haven't read it yet!!
28. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. The Bible
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According to Garp (John Irving)
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte's Web (E.B. White)
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down(Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)

There we are. There seems to be quite a chunk there in the middle of books I have no interest in. Oh well. Not as if I don't have anything else to read. :)