READING CHALLENGE: America's 100 Best-Loved Novels

Good morning! Today I'm going to be talking about a wonderful Christmas gift I received from my stepmother:



So basically, I love stats and lists relating to books and reading, so this book was awesome for me! Also, I am a severely competitive person, which is why I've made it a new challenge for myself to read all of the books mentioned in this list of America's 100 greatest books. (Scroll down to skip my babbling about disclaimers and explanations and get to the list!). This project comes from the PBS series The Great American Read.

I must point out that calling it "America's" best loved novels does not mean that all the books were written by American authors; we'd be missing out on some very important pieces of literature. Additionally, the books mentioned herein are not the best rated books, or most well-written per se, but they are instead the most popular books (@ Twilight). Most of the books here are well-known and have a ton of ratings and reviews, but they aren't necessarily highly rated (many of the books are in the 3-4 star range on Goodreads). Also, these books are not only "classics" in terms of both genre and time period. The list includes fantasy, science fiction, contemporaries and more, and the publish dates range from 1605 to 2016. However, drama is not included as a genre because this is technically only a list of novels; sorry Shakespeare lovers - no Hamlet here!
I should also mention that one author can only be included one time, so if they have more than one book that maybe should be included on the list, only their most popular will be included. That being said, many series are included as an entirety rather than the most popular book in the series. I also don't necessarily agree with all the choices... for example, I would argue that A Tale of Two Cities is/was more popular than Great Expectations but the latter is the one that made this list. Who knows what the formula was for creating this list, but I'm still going to read it!
I myself had only read 7 of these books before deciding to do this challenge (Harry Potter, Pride and Prejudice, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Alchemist, The Book Thief, Looking for Alaska, and The Call of the Wild. Technically also The Hunger Games, but I'm not counting it because I read it so long ago and I want to reread it.), but if you've read quite a few of them this might be easier for you! Also - I'm not putting a specific time limit on this. I just want to read all the books in my lifetime, but I'm prioritizing them quite a bit so I imagine I'll finish the list within 5 years. I will probably just read 1 or 2 of the books each month along with the other books on my TBR.
The book itself includes interesting information about the books - blurbs, background, the author's inspirations for the story, as well as author biographies. It also includes fun groupings for books, like books that all have a color in the title, or start with the word "the".

Below I list all of the books in this list of 100 greatest books, and if you dare you can endeavor to take on this challenge with me! P.S. If you're like me and find classics challenging to get through, I recommend checking out audiobooks from your local library (many use the app Libby, which is extremely user-friendly and a life saver when you are not able to get to a library). Most of the very lengthy classics I read through audiobook format while driving, walking, or exercising and it keeps me focused so much easier than having a physical copy!
Now, without further ado, the list (in order of year published):

1. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes (1605)


2. The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan (1678)


3. Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift (1726)


4. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (1813)


5. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (1818)


6. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (1844)


7. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (1847)


8. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë (1847)


9. Moby-Dick by Herman Melville (1851)


10. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (1861)


11. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (1865)


12. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1866)


13. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (1867)


14. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (1868)


15. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain (1875)


16. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (1890)


17. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (1899)


18. The Call of the Wild by Jack London (1903)


19. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery (1908)


20. Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse (1922)


21. The Great Gatsby by Scott F. Fitzgerald (1925)


22. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway (1926)


23. Doña Bárbara by Rómulo Gallegos (1929)


24. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (1936)


25. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (1937)


26. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (1938)


27. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (1939)


28. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie (1939)


29. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (1943)


30. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1943)


31. 1984 by George Orwell (1949)


32. Foundation by Isaac Asimov (1951)


33. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (1951)


34. Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (1952)


35. Charlotte's Web by E.B. White (1952)


36. The Lord of the Rings Series by J.R.R. Tolkien (1955)


37. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis (1956)


38. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand (1957)


39. Things Fall Apart by Chenua Achebe (1958)


40. A Separate Peace by John Knowles (1959)


41. The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut (1959)


42. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (1960)


43. Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls (1961)


44. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller (1961)


45. Another Country by James Baldwin (1962)


46. Dune by Frank Herbert (1965)


47. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton (1967)


48. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez (1967)


49. The Godfather by Mario Puzo (1969)


50. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya (1972)


51. The Stand by Stephen King (1978)


52. Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin (1978)


53. Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews (1979)


54. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (1979)


55. A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole (1980)


56. The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Aule (1980)


57. The Color Purple by Alice Walker (1982)


58. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (1985)


59. The Handmaid's Tail by Margaret Atwood (1985)


60. This Present Darkness by Frank E. Peretti (1986)


61. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen (1986)


62. Patriot Games by Tom Clancy (1987)


63. Swan Song by Robert R. McCammon (1987)


64. Watchers by Dean Koontz (1987)


65. Beloved by Toni Morrison (1987)


66. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (1988)


67. Mind Invaders by Dave Hunt (1989)


68. The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan (1989)


69. A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving (1989)


70. The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett (1989)


71. The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan (1990)


72. Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton (1990)


73. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (1991)


74. Along Came a Spider by James Patterson (1993)


75. The Giver by Lois Lowry (1993)


76. Left Behind by Tim LaHaye (1995)


77. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (1996)


78. The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks (1996)


79. Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling (1997)


80. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden (1997)


81. The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead (1999)


82. The Coldest Winter Ever by Sister Souljah (1999)


83. White Teeth by Zadie Smith (2000)


84. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (2002)


85. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (2003)


86. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (2003)


87. Gilead by Marilynne Robinson (2004)


88. Looking For Alaska by John Green (2005)


89. The Book Thief by Markus Zusack (2005)


90. The Twilight Saga by Stephanie Meyer (2005)


91. The Shack by William Paul Young (2007)


92. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz (2007)


93. The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins (2008)


94. The Help by Kathryn Stockett (2009)


95. Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James (2011)


96. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (2011)


97. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (2012)


98. The Martian by Andy Weir (2012)


99. Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2013)


100. Ghost by Jason Reynolds (2016)


Happy reading!!

Review for "Girls of Paper and Fire" by Natasha Ngan

Something I haven't felt for a long time flutters into life in the pit of my belly. Hope. 

A glimmer of hope rises in my belly.

Because the answer to her question is easy: none. I have no hope. No hope of being free, no hope of escaping what's to come tonight. 

It feels as though I've lost something. That I left something of mine behind in the Night Houses. Something that was keeping me alive. Something like hope.

I know it now with a certainty that has fitted into the lost core at the heart of me, as hard and angular as my hope was soft and shimmering.

I know what it's like to lose your family. To lose your hope.

I like to think there's some good behind even the darkest sins. That death can be warranted if it paves the way for hope. 

Just the simplest, most instinctive language of forgiveness. Forgiveness, and hope. 

To the world we have built so tirelessly over these past two centuries, with our blood and sweat and tears and hope.

How futile it's been to believe we can defy him with just our love and hope. 

It builds my confidence that one day we'll be able to rebel with more than just our bodies and our love. That we will find a way to turn our growing hope and bravery into action.

She smells like home, like happiness an safety and hope and... love.

Love is what gives us hope. What gets us through each day. 

...of the way she looks at me right before a kiss, or right after, open and vulnerable and full of hope.

My love for Aoki and even the other girls, and the hope that this can bring all of us freedom.

"I hope you brought some with you?" HE ADDS HOPEFULLY. 


Rating: 2.5 stars

Do you ever stare at a word for so long that you start to wonder if it's actually a real word or just a figment of your imagination? The word "hope" appears approximately once every five pages of this book, but I feel like it's been seared into my brain for eternity. The abstract concepts of hope and love and bravery, meaning the fluffy quotes that are unreasonably thrown into the book at the end (or beginning, or middle) of the chapters, is completely overwhelming. I understand they are important motifs in the story, but I wish they were shown more than told (and thrice each chapter at that). The consistency of these abstract quotes cheapens all of them, especially when some of them don't even make sense. I.e.: "I know it now with a certainty that has fitted into the lost core at the heart of me." Like what???

Now let's get past the writing style and into the meat of the story: plot and characters. Overall, Lei was kind of a flat character to me. She did some cool, admirable stuff: submitting to General Yu to save her family, rejecting the Paper Girls tradition in front of all the Paper Girls and their leaders, defying the king to his face. But like, why doesn't she have a personality to go along with her BA attitude? I understood why Lei fell in love with Wren (she was introduced and described consistently as a great character), but I was continuously like "why is Wren with this girl?". There just wasn't a spark in her.

Branching off of that, this is honestly a romance masquerading as a fantasy series, which is a trope that usually does not bother me all that much. But this one didn't work cohesively for me. I didn't see Lei and Wren's relationship as friends advance before they were suddenly in love. I honestly thought that Lei was going to end up with Aoki because of their friendship, and then Lei was like nah I'm into the cool chick who won't talk to anybody. Oooookay...

Now the plot... What's it called when the author purposely makes certain things happen so that other things can happen? Plot conveniences? Lazy writing??? Well this book has it. Why did Wren have to wait for the perfect timing to kill the king? Like why was killing him at a super popular party better timing than when they are alone one random night? And how is the night after Wren, the main operator in this scheme, becomes unavailable the right timing? What does the "right timing" even refer to? Something to do with when Kenzo will be able to sweep in and pick up the pieces of the kingdom to rebuild it as something new... which brings us to the plot of killing the king. How does killing the king change a system of traditions that's been in place over two hundred years? Won't the next in line to the throne just do the same thing? None of this is explained and it's all just a big mess.

So, looking back on it, I had a lot of logistical problems with this book regarding writing style, characters, relationships, plot, etc... But, I still enjoyed the book while I was reading it, strangely enough. All of these critiques are coming to me as I reflect; the aforementioned issues didn't really decrease my active enjoyment (with the exception of the terrible repetition of hope every 10 minutes of reading). I did not appreciate the ending of the book--a cliff hanger that isn't even good, but just aims to force people to read the second one to find out how it really ends. I will probably not be picking up the second book, but honestly I can't say I wouldn't recommend this one to some of my less picky YA fantasy lover friends.

Review for "The Maelstrom" by Henry H. Neff

"I'm a god," he whispered, steam coursing off his body. "A god of war and blood and victory. Every day I grow stronger. I'll drive every army before me. My enemies will know fear like they've never known it before..." 



Rating: 3.75 stars

Is it just me, or is there only so much raising of the stakes an author can do before it becomes repetitive? Don't get me wrong, I love the BA Max moments, but it seems that twice every book the situation becomes serious like it hadn't been before, and it gives it an overwhelming Boy Who Cried Wolf vibe. I think this stems from the concerns I had about the second book. The second book raised the stakes so much, that by the time you get to the fourth book there's not much more that can be done to make the plot of the book more urgent and austere.

I do commend this book for the series' overall improvement in the character arena. I felt that the characters were much more interactive and relatable than in the first three books. I did have some issues with the romance. Julie and Max are together for a few months, and suddenly it's the end of the world for Julie when Max comes back? And like, she's mad at him even though the reason he left was to save the world? And she's still in love with him even though they stopped dating over two years ago and now she's engaged to someone new? And then Scathach just comes in and Max and her are both like "I have such feelings for you pls be with me" even though they barely had non-professional contact before this book??? I don't know if it's just me and my ignorance of Irish mythology, but when Scathach was described in Book 3 I had definitely imagined her as a female version of Chiron from Greek mythology - a wizened older warrior who trains the young 'uns. In short, my brain completely rejected the Max-Scathach relationship.

Still, I can appreciate the characters by themselves, and their friendships better, particularly Max and David as individuals and their relationship. I like how the Old Magic brings them together, and the central conflict feels more like a team effort than a spotlight on Max throughout the book. I appreciated Sarah, Lucia, and Cynthia, although I think we would've gotten more development out of them if they had been more prominent in previous books.

Also, can I just say that I'm a big fan of Astaroth as an antagonist? He's so complex. He doesn't act evil, just manipulative. Astaroth isn't a Voldemort or a Kronos or a President Snow, who are all so outwardly wicked and are trying to take down our protagonist at each encounter. He makes bargains and has vendettas and is overall just sneaky. He only is really cruel when someone steps in his way, unlike Prusias who will kill because it's fun. I wish this series had more of Astaroth as the main villain instead of Prusias, who is predictable and annoying.

But the Old Magic was growing stronger... and in the gae bolga, it had a new and potent ally. Unless Max discovered new reserves of will, this was a battle he would someday lose. 

What a setup for Book 5! I expect the next installment to include this "someday", and I look forward to picking it up soon.

January 2019 Wrap-Up

This month I read 16 books! My average rating was 3.7 out of 5 stars, and my most read genre was Fantasy (surprise). You can find the titles as well as my ratings and overall thoughts below.

1. Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

Genre: Suspense
Rating: 4 stars
This book was just good. It was creepy in the kind of way that made me feel a little scared lying in bed at night. I loved Libby's honesty and cynicism, and I loved the way all the perspectives meshed together. Even more, I loved the ending, the "why" and the "how". This was honestly just a good mystery thriller.

2. The Hound of Rowan (The Tapestry #1) by Henry H. Neff

Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 3 stars
This is one of the MG fantasy books I read in between Percy Jackson (my first) and Harry Potter (my most loved). I have wanted to reread this for quite some time. It was not as good as I remember from when I was in middle school, but I love the crossover of different mythologies and I expect that the series will get better from here on out.

3. Linger (The Wolves of Mercy Falls #2) by Maggie Stiefvater

Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4 stars
I definitely like this book so much better than the first one. First of all, I think Sam and Grace improved both as individuals and in their relationship. Second, I like Isabelle and Cole so much more interesting than Sam and Grace. I can’t quite give five stars because the book still lacks an urgent plot, it’s just kinda about some people going through their everyday lives as werewolves with ominous asides about Grace gradually becoming sicker. But overall, I very much enjoyed this and I also liked this audiobook much more than the first one.

4. The Waste Land and Other Poems by T.S. Eliot

Genre: Poetry
No rating
I can’t rate this fairly because I think poetry just doesn’t get through to me. I wanted to try Eliot out because he was recommended to me, but I had a difficult time getting through this one. My favorite passage was definitely the Hippopotamus though, that’s a good one.

5. The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw

Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4.25 stars
FIRST OF ALL how pretty is this cover??? Not why I bought the book but still I can't get over it. I had been looking forward to reading this book for a long time and I finally did and it did not disappoint. I can't even pinpoint why I liked this book so much, I just did. Right from the get-go, I was in love. I so badly wanted to give this book a full five stars, but there was some plot hole-ish things that came into play after the twist at the end, and sometimes the writing was a bit cringey/cheesy. It felt like the author had written some Rupi Kaur-esque poetry but not enough to publish a book of it, so she just inserted some of the poems into vaguely related scenes in this book. Still, the lyricism in the narrative is beautiful and I love this book. I recommend to people who love contemporary-fantasy, the kind of book where the setting is a normal small town and then creepy fantastical things start happening. I also may have a bias for this book because it's very similar to (it's like a YA/NA version of) the MG book Deep and Dark and Dangerous by Mary Downing Hahn, one of my favorite books as a kid.

6. Sadie by Courtney Summers

Genre: Contemporary
Rating: 3 stars
I liked the Sadie parts of this book a lot, and I felt like I had to drag through the podcast parts. I didn't care about how other people discovered her story, I just cared about her story. Plus, Sadie's chapters had so much more emotion that the podcast felt annoyingly naive some times. It was a good book, but I have trouble categorizing it as a thriller because it didn't captivate me that much.

7. An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green

Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: 4.25 stars
On top of the characters, which are entertaining, realistic, and diverse without being cringeworthily obvious about it (a common trope in YA contemporaries nowadays), the plot was unexpected and just interesting. This is really just a quirky and fun yet meaningful contemporary with splashes of science fiction throughout. I definitely recommend this one for people who like YA contemporary/science fiction.


8. Forever (The Wolves of Mercy Falls #3) by Maggie Stiefvater

Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 3.5 stars
I had the same problem with this book that I've had with the first two. The plot lacks direction! It's just people meandering about as/around werewolves, which to be fair, is pretty interesting but there is no sense of urgency. Still, this is one of the series I loved when I first started reading and I still enjoy reading the story so much. This is a good choice especially for character-driven readers.

9. The Second Siege (The Tapestry #2) by Henry H. Neff

Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 3.5 stars
This is the second in a MG series. It was fast-paced and fun, and I love how it is getting more into the Irish folklore side of the fantasy. The stakes have been raised from the first book, and I'm excited for the rest of the series.

10. Go Set a Watchman (Sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird) by Harper Lee

Genre: Classics
Rating: 3.75 stars
My thoughts on this book were very different than the general consensus, which isn't normal for me. I liked the book, I liked the direction the author took Jean Louise's story in, and it was enjoyable for me. For my full thoughts, check out my review for it here on Lynsie's Lit!

11. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 4 stars
The characters of this book carry the whole thing. The plot is almost an afterthought. The multiple timelines and perspectives made this book captivating and very easy to read. Highly recommend for historical fiction lovers, and you can check out my full review for more of my thoughts.

12. The Fiend and the Forge (The Tapestry #3) by Henry H. Neff

Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 3.75 stars
Following the trend of this series, I was definitely entertained by this book, but couldn't rate it higher because of the lackluster characters. In reality, my rating is 4.5/5 for plot and 3/5 for characters. The book is a blast for me, but it doesn't move me in anyway because the characters are not interesting, likable, or relatable.

13. Sinner (The Wolves of Mercy Falls #4) by Maggie Stiefvater

Genre: Contemporary
Rating: 4 stars
This series is a guilty pleasure. I love Cole and Isabel. This book's plot has zero direction, and usually that is a problem for me. But not here. Here, I have my love these characters and this ship to hold onto. Unlike other books of its nature (where it's a fourth-book follow-up of other characters besides the main ones), I loved this edition to The Wolves of Mercy Falls.

14. Aura by Carlos Fuentes

Genre: Suspense
Rating: 3 stars
I didn't really know what the genre of this book was going into it; I had heard that it was horror so that was what I expected. It was not horror. It's hard to place, but I would categorize this as magical realism. It was creepy at times, but also had a mystical element. This is a fine book if you love creepy magical realism. It's not really my speed, but I'm sure creepy-book readers would like it more.

15. Circe by Madeline Miller

Genre: Mythology/Retellings
Rating: 4.25 stars
Overall, this is a beautiful novel. Circe is great main character. I must say I definitely enjoyed The Song of Achilles more, it kept me more engaged whereas I found myself bored at times while reading this. If you loved this book, I highly recommend checking out Song of Achilles.

16. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

Genre: Contemporary
Rating: 3 stars
I don't have much to say about this book, it's not twisty and turny and for the most part it's pretty predictable. I enjoyed it while I was reading, but I have issues with the way women are portrayed and treated in the book, and no I don't accept "well that's just the way it was at that time and place" as an excuse.

If I could only recommend one... It would have to be An Absolutely Remarkable Thing. This book is a ton of fun and a great combination of science fiction and contemporary. This is a great book if you love science fiction/fantasy and if contemporary books kind of put you to sleep (aka me). This book is also just so unique, with such a new and refreshing concept.