Top Ten Reads for 2012

1. Daisy Miller-Henry James
This very short novella by Henry James was written in the later 1800s. It was not directly recommended to me, but I took the suggestion to read it by Foster in his book How to Read Literature like a Professor. He referenced the book very many times as a case study, and each time he mentioned it I thought it sounded interesting. It sounds a little like your typical “flirty American girl goes to Europe and gets herself into mischief because of a man” book, just not as 21st century, seeing as how it was written in the 19th. I must admit, though, that I am a bit apprehensive since I’m sure the language and style will be pretty complicated. But hey, I’m convinced that if I can read Wuthering Heights without getting lost that I can make it through anything.

2. Anna Karenina-Leo Tolstoy
Many years ago I read a book, Overdue. In this book, a crazy, criminal librarian recreated scenes from books, or created a scene based off of a book title, but left the book out as a clue. One of the books she used was Anna Karenina. Ever since I read that title, and later found out a little of what it’s about, I have wanted to read it. I’ll have to pick a good time for it though, because sitting at around 860 pages and being written in the 1800s… Well I imagine it may take me a little while to get through it. I have never read any Tolstoy, but I have heard good things. The book sounds very cool though, because Tolstoy, even though the work is fiction, uses many real events in the story, so it will be a good historical read too.

3. Song of Solomon-Toni Morrison
My cousin Alden recommended this, as well as Beloved to me, because he dearly loves Toni Morrison. I look forward greatly to reading this, and Beloved, because I have heard so many wonderful things about the two books. Neither are too incredibly long, though Alex Mishark would beg to differ, as they are both over 100 pages and don’t have pictures (hehe:)). Anyway, the writing style, I believe, will be a lot easier for me to understand, because the novels are quite modern. Beloved, I already know, will touch me greatly, because of the plot. A woman and her child escape from slavery, and to avoid the child being enslaved once more, Sethe, the mother, drowns her own offspring. I can tell already that there will be a lot of conflict within me when I read this.

4. Beloved-Toni Morrison
See number three

5. Shadow of the Wind-Carlos Ruiz Zafon
It is times like these that people realize how much of a creeper I actually am. I was also led to this book by Alden, though he did not actually recommend it to me. He was reading it and posted something on Facebook about it, and like the stalker that I really am, I creeped all over the place on his profile and learned about the book. I did a little research on it to find out more of what it’s about: the novel takes place after the Spanish Civil War, and concerns a young boy named Daniel. Daniel is taken by his father to a secret “Cemetery of Forgotten Books,” and holding true to tradition, Daniel takes a book from it to protect for life. The book he chooses is none other than Shadow of the Wind. I’m quite looking forward to this book, and expect is to be an easy enough read because it was written in 2001. It is a little long though, sitting at over 500 pages.

6. Bone: A Novel-Fae M. Ng
If asked, I don’t think I could actually say how I decided I wanted to read this novel. I’m not sure how I discovered it; I just know that it’s been on my to-read list for a while now. It’s about a family of Chinese immigrants living in San Francisco’s Chinatown, and is apparently considered “a classic of contemporary American life.” The book was written in the 90s and is only about 200 pages, so I don’t think it will be too incredibly challenging.

7. Heart of Darkness-Joseph Conrad
This is one of those books that I have constantly heard the title of these past few years. Most everyone over the age of 16 seems to have at least heard of it, so I don’t think it’s too surprising that I’d like to read it. I don’t really know an incredible amount of information about this book, just that it involves a trip up the Congo River. This book is also pretty modern, so I’m not as worried about the style confusing the living daylights out of me.

8. Lord of the Flies-William Golding
Lord of the Flies, like Heart of Darkness, is a book that I have heard the title of a million times. This book appeals to me not only because of that, but because of the basic plot and occurrences as well. I mean, what teenager’s dream isn't, at least sometimes, to be all alone and in control of their own life? I mean, it would probably go horribly wrong if my friends and I tried to live completely alone and govern ourselves, but I think we’d have some fun along the way! Also, I definitely would NOT want to be thrown into that situation like the boys in this novel are. Anyway, the book was written in the 50s, so it will probably be a little more challenging that more modern reads, but it is not too long, so it shouldn’t take an incredibly long time for me to read it.

9. The Memory Keeper’s Daughter-Kim Edwards
In tenth grade, my English teacher had all of her students create an account on goodreads.com. I was browsing through books on the website one day, and this novel popped up on the list. The book is about a couple who have twins, Paul and Phoebe. When the husband realizes that his daughter has Down Syndrome, he tells his wife that the baby died during child birth, and sends Phoebe away with his nurse Caroline, intending for Phoebe to grow up in an institution. Caroline cannot submit Phoebe to the staff at the institution though, and ends up taking the infant home with her to care for as her own. I can relate to this story at least a little because, while not having anyone in my family with Down Syndrome, I know several people that do, and I could not imagine their families without those members. This book already seems as though it will carry a message of “everyone is equally amazing and worth loving.” The book is 400 pages and was written in 2005.

10. The Things They Carried-Tim O’Brien
I saw this book sitting in Mrs. Huff/Ms. Weygandt’s room last year and I really wanted to read it, but just never had the time to check it out before the school year ended. The Things They Carried is a collection of related stories about a platoon of American soldiers in the Vietnam War. Many of the stories are based on the author’s own experiences in the war, but the book is actually fiction. I think this book will be a very interesting read, because it will not only give insight into history, but will do it in a very cool way since a lot of the stories are based off of actual events. Many believe that a lot of the characters are based off of people O’Brien actually knew in the war. Written in 1990, and being a collection of stories, rather than a long novel, I don’t think the book will be too challenging.