For my birthday some years ago I was
given the book 1001 books you must read before you die. It was wonderful. I
think there's something about librarians that makes us love lists, and
there in my hands,
brand new with a shiny cover, was a list of books. I promptly marked off the ones I had read, feeling smug about having read a decent number of
worthy books. This is rubbish of course, all books are worthy (though maybe some more than others) and I usually balk at book snobbery even
if I do find myself accidentally guilty of it myself from time to time.
Anyway, I put a post-it note on the page of
each book I'd read and thought "I am going to read them ALL." Fast
forward a few years, and I don't think I could mark even one more
page. And so I've decided it's about time I did something about that.
I'm not going to read all of them in a year,
or even two, but I can make a start. So I've chosen 5 books I haven't
read before, and I'm challenging myself to read them before the year is
out. And then I'll tell you what I thought of them. This is risky,
telling you all about my plan, because then if
I fail to carry it out there will be witnesses [insert dramatic music], but if there are witnesses I'm more likely to go through with it. So, here is my selection. If you've read any of them I'd appreciate your comments (no spoilers, please).
A reluctant voyager crossing the Pacific in 1850; a
young Pacific islander witnessing the nightfall of science and
civilisation; a genetically engineered "dinery server" on death row -
the narrators of this novel hear each other's echoes down the corridor
of history, and their destinies are changed in ways great and small.
Even now, at the age of 82, Iris lives in the shadow cast by her younger
sister Laura. Now poor and trying to cope with a failing body, Iris
reflects on her far from exemplary life, in particular the events
surrounding her sister's tragic death and the novel which earned her
such notoriety.
For Dirk Gently, private detective,
a simple search for a missing cat uncovers a bewildered ghost, a secret
time traveller, and a devastating secret that threatens the future of
humanity.
Druss had been the stuff of legends,
but the grizzled warrior had retreated from the world. But when a
mighty fortress is destined to fall to barbarian hordes, Druss comes out
of retirement to fight one last, hopeless battle.
At the centre of this novel are two unlikely friends,
Archie Jones and Samad Iqbal. Hapless veterans of World War II, Archie
and Samad and their families become agents of England's irrevocable
transformation. A second marriage to Clara Bowden, a beautiful, albeit tooth-challenged,
Jamaican half his age, quite literally gives Archie a second lease on
life, and produces Irie, a knowing child whose personality doesn't quite
match her name (Jamaican for "no problem"). Samad's late-in-life
arranged marriage (he had to wait for his bride to be born), produces
twin sons whose separate paths confound Iqbal's every effort to direct
them to his Islamic faith.
When I was grabbing links for this post I came across this (1001 comics you must read before you die) and requested it immediately. Who knows, maybe if this project works out I can do the same thng for comics.
And on the subject of the greatest books I've never read, I've heard good things about Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell and I've tried to read it (twice). I wondered: has anyone made it all through, and is it really worth persevering?
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