Book #55 – The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

First, you can now see the full list here: The List of 1000 Books. I’ll be linking the reviews to that page as well, and you can access it at the top of the home page!

This will be my last book for the Great American Read (for now). It’s also one of the largest books on the entire list, so you’ll have to excuse my silence this past week while I embarked on Edmond Dantes’ extremely complicated revenge plot. The Count of Monte Cristo is probably the most known stories of revenge in all of literature, although I’d wager the first book of the Dune series has a great revenge plot as well. However, Monte Cristo is definitely superior in the sheer level of planning that Dantes’ takes in order to make sure his enemies come to ruin.

This is the largest book I’ve ever read. I checked, and the next largest was Under the Dome by Stephen King, which I read in 2014, followed by a couple books by Terry Goodkind which I read in 2009 and 2010. While it can get a little wordy at times, and there are numerous times where I asked “Why are we suddenly diverting to this character”, the story is definitely worth the read.

Book #240 – The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy

The first in publication order of the Jack Ryan novels, Tom Clancy first introduced the character in 1984. The Jack Ryan universe is now 26 novels long, with the newest being published this November. The series has been turned into several movies, and most recently an 8-episode series on Amazon. The Hunt for Red October was turned into a movie in 1990 starring Sean Connery as the Soviet captain Marko, and Alec Baldwin as CIA analyst Jack Ryan. Aside from Connery’s rather hilarious Russian accent (really, having someone with that Scottish brogue do Russian was just strange judgement), I didn’t remember much of the movie until I read through the book.

The novel follows the defection of Captain Marko Ramius, who effectively commits piracy by stealing the nuclear submarine he’s commanding. This causes a rather mad rush by Russian, American, and British forces to figure out where the nearly silent sub has gone.

Book #64 – Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

Originally published in 1961, Catch-22 gives a rather harsh, but hilariously convoluted adventures of the  256th Bombardment Squadron. The book mostly follows John Yossarian as he tries to keep from doing combat missions as a bombardier, but does switch to the various commanding officers and staff that affect and are affected by Yossarian. I should warn that the book enjoys being non-linear at times, and likes to jump around with the timeline for several chapters at a time.

The novel’s depictions of war, military incompetence, and general insanity have made it one of the most known anti-war novels along with Hemingway and Vonnegut, among others. While it depicts the European front of WWII, Heller stated the anti-war was sentiment was due to the Korean War and McCarthyism. Joseph Heller simply used his experiences as a bombardier in WWII as a basis for his statement.

Book #15 – Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Originally published in two parts “Little Women” and “Good Wives”, this 1868 novel has been a combined book since 1880. It has been a constant favorite of young women ever since, even if the rhetoric inside no longer applies to the faster pace of the modern woman. Little Women follows the girls as they grow into adulthood, with small, loosely connected stories. Good Wives tells about the girls’ adventures in love and is a tad more consistent with the plot line.

It did take me a bit longer than I would have liked to complete the book, and not because my particular copy was 777 pages long. (I read Deathly Hallows in less than 24 hours while working as a Playground assistant.) I think it’s because you can tell that the author didn’t like what she was writing. Louisa Alcott actually hated the book, didn’t want to marry Jo to anyone, and was greatly confused by how famous the book became.

Book #6 – The Fellowship of the Ring

I should premise this by saying I own all of the extended versions of the film trilogy, and my father made sure we went to all the midnight premiers, so I’m familiar with the Hollywood version of this story. The fact that my high school English teacher has a life size cut out of Orlando Bloom as Legolas that wore various hats throughout the year… yeah, I’m pretty familiar with most of the characters. However, the trilogy published in the 1950s has so much that was left out of the movies. For example, I spent 9 hours of audiobook just getting to Rivendell. If you are familiar with the movies, the books provide a much richer and more expansive world, and explain a lot of the background of the various characters.

I did mention in an earlier review that I chose Hitchhiker’s Guide over this book for Father’s Day. I had attempted to reach Fellowship some time ago, and got so frustrated with wandering hobbits that I gave up half way through the book. I think it was the influence of other fantasy novels that made the same sort of “the journey is the entire point” stance that helped me enjoy Fellowship this time around.

Book #206 – The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis

Originally published 6th in the series in 1955, this particular Chronicle of Narnia sees the birth of Narnia and the introduction of the Professor. I read the middle 5 chronological books about 20 years ago, but for some reason, never read The Magician’s Nephew or The Last Battle. I finally read Last Battle in 2015, and was so put off by the end of Narnia that I didn’t pick up Magician’s Nephew until now. I’m glad I did, because while I felt the Last Battle was a horrible send off, Magician’s Nephew does a wonderful job setting up Narnia as the land of magic and parable.

The Chronicles of Narnia are likely one of the most beloved children’s series of all time, with multiple movie adaptations of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. However, as of now, The Magician’s Nephew has never been made into film, despite being selected for creation after the 2010 Dawn Treader movie. However, of the chronicles, Magician’s Nephew has probably the least action and magic, so it’s possible we may never see a movie adaptation.

Book #76 – Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

Originally published in 1908, this book was so well received that it went on to become a much longer series which depicted the lives of Anne and her children. It’s set on Prince Edward Island, an island off the cost of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and the smallest of Canada’s provinces by area. Anne is brought to live in a small farming village with a single school house and just enough people that gossip spreads quickly. I was also able to pin down the years in which the novel took place using a historical fashion site; Anne grew up in the mid-1890s based on her love of puffed sleeves.

At first, I struggled a bit with this particular turn-of-the-century novel. There were a couple of reasons, but the main one was Anne herself. A common critique, as I grew to find when talking with others about the book, was that Anne seriously needed Adderall, or some other ADHD medication. She wasn’t just talkative or precocious or daring; she was textbook attention-deficit-hyperactive-disorder, and it was exhausting. I have ADD and I just wanted to shove a sock in Anne’s mouth for half the book. But then, I met a character that has apparently captured the hearts of generations…

Book #7 – The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

At first, when I read this book, I thought that whomever had put this on the Great American Read needed their head examined. The first section of this book is so horrific that I had no idea how they were going to turn it around. Spoiler and warning: This book contains the rape and murder of a teenage girl. It’s not graphic, but it’s certainly got enough detail that I was uncomfortable. Honestly, anytime the narrative gave way to Harvey’s thoughts, I was uncomfortable. It’s good writing that can do that, but not my cup of tea.

However, the book also gives some closure to anyone that’s known a missing person. Susie Salmon is the face on the milk carton, and from her heaven, she watches her family and friends unfold around the tragedy of her disappearance and assumed death. While the case grows cold, the family all learns to move on in their own way, and the book goes into some of the more destructive methods of coping. While some of the other books in the Great American Read have certainly detailed misery, I don’t think any that I’ve read so far have been this dark. (Except maybe Along Came a Spider, but it’s a crime novel, so…)

Book #227 – The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan

Originally published in 1990, I’ve known about the series since middle school. We had a book club that met during lunch in the library, and one of the girls kept insisting that we put the Wheel of Time series in the suggestion list. Never happened and we read things like Z for Zachariah instead. But, when I found out the series was part of the Great American Read, I instantly remembered her insistence that the book would be perfect for my fantasy-obsessed teenage self. She wasn’t wrong, I should mention.

The first book of the 14 book series focuses on Rand Al’Thor, Matrim Cauthon, and Perrin Aybara, a trio of lads from the farmlands of the country of Andor. The story starts off in the small town of Two Rivers and follows Rand, Mat, and Perrin as they traverse the country in order to seek an answer to a sudden attack on their home. Some compare the series to a Lord of the Rings knockoff, but I actually found elements of the Sword of Truth series (which actually started 4 years later, but definitely similar).

Book #204 – Foundation by Isaac Asimov

Let’s continue with the science fiction trend. Originally published in 1951, this science fiction novel was the start of a series about a scientific community trying to keep order in the wake of galactic empire collapse. While probably not the first use of the term hyperspace, this series probably started the widely known use of the term, as well as giving cultural relevance to things like parsecs. Without Foundation, Han Solo may never have flown the Millennium Falcon. Okay, that might be a bit far reaching, but to say Asimov was one of the founders of modern science fiction would not be lying.

A lot of people might not enjoy how much the book jumps around, and in that respect, it’s similar to the other Asimov book I’ve read (The Gods Themselves). The book gives glimpses of the newly formed Foundation society on the planet Terminus. (Latin for boundary, since the planet is literally on the edge of the universe.) This first book has several plot lines, but feels like the set up for the rest of the series; it feels introductory.