I always love talking about books.
I lifted this from Steve. Apparently it is: The current top 46 books from whatshouldireadnext.com. Bold the books you have read. Italicise the books you might read. Leave the rest.
I don't really feel like italicizing the ones I might read, since I might read any of them. But I will add comments!
1. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
2. The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger This is a terrible book. I cannot even begin to fathom why it is so popular, unless you take into account the fact that the general population is completely insane.
3. The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy I liked this at the time that I read it, but it's not really something I can get into anymore.
4. The Great Gatsby - F.Scott Fitzgerald This one I really liked. I particularly like the main character.
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee This book actually deserves to be called a classic.
6. The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
7. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman These were an enjoyable read overall, but the Christian imagery and the sick pleasure that this author obviously takes in torturing his characters annoyed me.
8. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter 6) - J.K. Rowling This is a terrible, terrible book. DO NOT read it. Ever. I was depressed for weeks after reading it, and I love all of the other Harry Potter books. It wasn't so much the things that happened in the book, (although those didn't help), it was the way it was written.
9. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
10. Animal Farm: A Fairy Story - George Orwell I did a book report on this in grade school. The teacher was impressed that I used the term 'totalitarianism.' It's a good book, but it's more a philosophical treatise than a story.
11. Catch-22 - Joseph Heller (I read part of this one at a friend's house but wasn't interested enough to finish.)
12. The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien One of the best books ever written. Tolkien was a genius, a wonderful storyteller, and a truly gifted writer.
13. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
14. Lord of the Flies - William Golding I read this one, but really wasn't impressed.
15. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen This isn't a bad book, but I was just never able to get into it. The characters somehow lack dimension.
16. 1984 - George Orwell A very good book. Another that actually deserves to be called a classic.
17. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Book 3) - J.K. Rowling As I previously stated, I really like these books. I don't care that Rowling's use of language is less than perfect. They're great stories.
18. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
19. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden I'm kind of ambivalent about this one. I wouldn't say I really enjoyed it, but it wasn't unenjoyable either.
20. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
21. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
22. Slaughterhouse 5 - Kurt Vonnegut Another one I just couldn't get into. Not my kind of thing.
23. Angels and Demons - Dan Brown
24. Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk A very rare case where the movie is actually better than the book. The book is still very good though.
25. Neuromancer - William Gibson
26. Cryptonomicon - Neal Stephenson -
27. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
28. A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess A very good and very creative work.
29. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte This is a wonderful book. Somehow the end brings everything together.
30. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley I didn't like this one much.
31. American Gods - Neil Gaiman
32. Ender's Game (The Ender Saga) - Orson Scott Card
33. Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson
34. A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
35. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis I used to love these books, but I read them again recently and realized that they are not very well written and are basically loosely-disguised stories about Jesus.
36. Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
37. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
38. The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien Even better than The Hobbit. Every time I read these books I see new things that I missed before. I could go on and on for pages about how great these books are, but I will spare you.
39. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte One of my all-time favorite books. Which is saying a lot.
40. Good Omens - Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman
41. Atonement - Ian McEwan
42. The Shadow Of The Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
43. The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway This is one of the worst books I have ever read. I would almost rather take a nail gun to my head than read it again. Soooooooo borrrrring...
44. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
45. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath Basically a long and very detailed exploration of severe clinical depression. Which is fine, if you are into that sort of thing. I am not. I deal with depression enough in my everyday life.
46. Dune - Frank Herbert I didn't expect to, but I really enjoyed this book.
I don't really feel like italicizing the ones I might read, since I might read any of them. But I will add comments!
1. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
2. The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger This is a terrible book. I cannot even begin to fathom why it is so popular, unless you take into account the fact that the general population is completely insane.
3. The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy I liked this at the time that I read it, but it's not really something I can get into anymore.
4. The Great Gatsby - F.Scott Fitzgerald This one I really liked. I particularly like the main character.
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee This book actually deserves to be called a classic.
6. The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
7. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman These were an enjoyable read overall, but the Christian imagery and the sick pleasure that this author obviously takes in torturing his characters annoyed me.
8. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter 6) - J.K. Rowling This is a terrible, terrible book. DO NOT read it. Ever. I was depressed for weeks after reading it, and I love all of the other Harry Potter books. It wasn't so much the things that happened in the book, (although those didn't help), it was the way it was written.
9. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
10. Animal Farm: A Fairy Story - George Orwell I did a book report on this in grade school. The teacher was impressed that I used the term 'totalitarianism.' It's a good book, but it's more a philosophical treatise than a story.
11. Catch-22 - Joseph Heller (I read part of this one at a friend's house but wasn't interested enough to finish.)
12. The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien One of the best books ever written. Tolkien was a genius, a wonderful storyteller, and a truly gifted writer.
13. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
14. Lord of the Flies - William Golding I read this one, but really wasn't impressed.
15. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen This isn't a bad book, but I was just never able to get into it. The characters somehow lack dimension.
16. 1984 - George Orwell A very good book. Another that actually deserves to be called a classic.
17. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Book 3) - J.K. Rowling As I previously stated, I really like these books. I don't care that Rowling's use of language is less than perfect. They're great stories.
18. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
19. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden I'm kind of ambivalent about this one. I wouldn't say I really enjoyed it, but it wasn't unenjoyable either.
20. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
21. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
22. Slaughterhouse 5 - Kurt Vonnegut Another one I just couldn't get into. Not my kind of thing.
23. Angels and Demons - Dan Brown
24. Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk A very rare case where the movie is actually better than the book. The book is still very good though.
25. Neuromancer - William Gibson
26. Cryptonomicon - Neal Stephenson -
27. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
28. A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess A very good and very creative work.
29. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte This is a wonderful book. Somehow the end brings everything together.
30. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley I didn't like this one much.
31. American Gods - Neil Gaiman
32. Ender's Game (The Ender Saga) - Orson Scott Card
33. Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson
34. A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
35. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis I used to love these books, but I read them again recently and realized that they are not very well written and are basically loosely-disguised stories about Jesus.
36. Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
37. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
38. The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien Even better than The Hobbit. Every time I read these books I see new things that I missed before. I could go on and on for pages about how great these books are, but I will spare you.
39. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte One of my all-time favorite books. Which is saying a lot.
40. Good Omens - Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman
41. Atonement - Ian McEwan
42. The Shadow Of The Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
43. The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway This is one of the worst books I have ever read. I would almost rather take a nail gun to my head than read it again. Soooooooo borrrrring...
44. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
45. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath Basically a long and very detailed exploration of severe clinical depression. Which is fine, if you are into that sort of thing. I am not. I deal with depression enough in my everyday life.
46. Dune - Frank Herbert I didn't expect to, but I really enjoyed this book.