And the recap continues with books 55-46 from the last two years, and what a great period of reading this was with two five star books and four four star books on this list:
55. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald ☆☆☆☆☆
I loved The Great Gatsby when I read it during my senior year in high school about 19 years ago, and I loved it again when I read it for a second time in the spring of 2013. This is such a masterpiece. There is really nothing I can say about this book that hasn't already been said, so I won't even try. What I will say is the fact that this book is not on the list of Pulitzer Prize winners is totally shocking, and frankly, it makes me think less of the entire Pulitzer selection process (particularly in light of some real stinkers that made the list). But I'm sure something equally wonderful and well known won that year. Right? Umm.... No. The winner instead of The Great Gatsby was Arrowsmith by Sinclair Lewis. To be fair, I haven't read Arrowsmith, but seriously??? To even say that The Great Gatsby is not one of the 10 greatest American novels would, I think, be controversial, so the fact that it didn't win the most prestigious award reserved for American novels is completely crazy.
54. Anna Karnenina by Leo Tolstoy ☆☆
This had been on my to-read list for quite some time, and of course, I was already familiar with the train scene and the general plot before finally picking this up. I'm glad I finally read it, but I was generally underwhelmed and a bit surprised at how popular this novel still is today. I liked the characters, and I always enjoy a good love story. That being said, I have a really serious bias against stories about mothers abandoning their children under any circumstances. This has nothing to do with being a mother, as it's a bias I have long held. My mother and I are extremely close, so it's also not something I have ever dealt with on a personal level. I just find the entire idea so unsettling and upsetting, and I find it hard to relate to a female character who would abandon a child. That was my first issue, and I probably could have gotten past that if there weren't so many other issues. My second issue was the length. Don't misunderstand me, like I said earlier, I'm good with more. I don't mind a long book if the length is justified by character or plot development. I don't think this novel falls into that camp. It was just long and unnecessarily so, which gets a little boring and which made this feel a little dated. No author today would be afforded so many additional pages to so little end. Finally, I understood that Tolstoy had a lot to say about Russian politics and the plight of the Russian peasant, but frankly, as an American reader in 2014, I just didn't really care about that aspect of the book, and that comprises a lot of the book. I could appreciate how revolutionary this must have been at the time, and I respect that. I just didn't enjoy it as a reader.
53. Mystic River by Dennis Lehane ☆☆☆☆
I saw this movie years ago before I ever discovered Dennis Lehane as an author, and thank goodness I didn't remember it because I absolutely LOVED this book and am so glad I didn't know what was going to happen with each turn of the page. I read this in the summer of 2013 when I travelled to Paris with my then 4 month old daughter to visit my mother who summers there every year. This was so wonderful for the plane ride over and on evenings when I was snuggled up in our cozy little apartment with my daughter sleeping soundly in the tiny kitchen. I have such a great memory associated with reading this book but that doesn't play into the four stars one single bit. Dennis Lehane is just such a master.
52. An Uncertain Place by Fred Vargas ☆☆☆
I have almost completely forgotten this novel in just over a year, which is surprising since it's a mystery involving vampires, which really doesn't seem like the sort of thing one forgets, but alas, I have. I gave it three stars at the time, but perhaps I should downgrade it for being so forgettable.
51. Defending Jacob by William Landry ☆☆☆☆
In this page turner, when the district attorney's son is accused of murder, he does everything he can to protect his child and to uncover the truth. It's a mystery, an exploration of family, and a courtroom drama all rolled into one. My husband (also a lawyer) doesn't understand why I like reading and/or watching legal dramas in my free time, but it's not like I ever do anything this interesting in my real job. I represent companies, not murderers. As far as escapist thrillers/crime dramas go, this was terrific. Add this to your list of books to take on your next vacation.
50. Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls ☆☆☆☆
I loved The Glass Castle, so I was excited when my book club selected Walls' follow-up book, Half Broke Horses, the fictional account of Walls' maternal grandmother, Lily Casey Smith. Lily was a pioneer feminist, and she is one of the feistiest female protagonists I have ever had the pleasure of reading about. She was a rancher, a teacher, a bootlegger, a rodeo rider, a poker player, and a wife and mother. I loved reading about all of Lily's adventures, and I loved that this was in many ways a memoir/biography more than a novel. This also gives some context about Walls' own mother (Lily's daughter) that those who read and enjoyed The Glass Castle might also appreciate. I would love to hear Walls speak or maybe just grab a drink with her. Anyone out there who can make that happen?
49. Who Killed Palomino Molero by Mario Vargas Llosa ☆☆☆
This is a detective novel set in Peru in the 1950s featuring somewhat apathetic detectives who are hamstrung by the fact that they don't have a car in which to conduct police business and investigate the murder of a local airforce man. You know, just your typical detective story. I liked it well enough, but I think I went into with expectations of a murder mystery, and this is more of a commentary on corruption, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, just not what I was expecting or (perhaps) wanting.
48. Me Before You by Jojo Moyes ☆☆☆☆
Beware, this book is probably way too sentimental or shmaltzy for any book snobs out there. This is the story of a girl who is coasting through life, working the same job, living with her parents, and dating the same boyfriend, all a result of complacency rather than the result of any real passion. She then meets a man who lived a charmed life until a tragic accident renders him completely paralyzed and hopeless. The cynics out there just threw up a bit after reading those two sentences, I know. The unlikely pair comes together and learns much about life and love as a result. The fact that Moyes is able to do this without making her readers roll their eyes at every turn of page is a testament to the story, which is compelling, engaging, and thought provoking. I really enjoyed every minute of this, and despite the fact that I have a heart of coal, I even cried a bit. Moyes is one of the few "chick lit" authors who really is a testament to the genre.
47. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand ☆☆☆☆☆
That's right, five stars for a nonfiction book. This is TOTALLY out of character for me. It's really that good. Hillenbrand is a wonderful storyteller, researcher, and writer. She also selected a story that really just tells itself. Louis Zamperini was an athlete who made it to the Olympics and then had his running career cut short by World War II. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force only to crash in the Pacific Ocean and survive for 47 days on a life raft before he reached land where he was greeted by his enemies, taken prisoner, and subjected to inhuman conditions in a POW camp for 2 long years. With as much as we know and learn about the German concentration camps during World War II, I was shocked at how little I realized I knew about what was happening in the Pacific theater during the war and the cruelties suffered by Japanese POWs. This is one of the most compelling and inspiring nonfiction stories I have ever read, and I recommend it to everyone. At the very least, see the movie when it comes out. This is a true American hero who deserves to be recognized.
46. Calling Me Home by Julie Kibler ☆☆☆
This is a story of a forbidden love affair set in the 1930s between an affluent white girl and a poor African-American boy that is interwoven with the unlikely story of a modern day friendship between an aging woman and a down on her luck hairdresser. It's a quick read, mostly fun but, of course, a bit a tragic. My bet is that this is one that gets made into a movie.
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