This post is third in a series analyzing my own connection with the “top 100 books the UK can’t live without” (pdf). In two previous posts (Part One and Part Two), I discussed books 81-100. In this post, I will examine books 71-80.
80. Possession by A.S. Byatt.
Byatt made a name for herself a few years back when she criticized the Harry Potter books. I haven’t read any of her other books, but I just loved this one. It is the story of two British Romantic poets and the scholars who study them. If you liked The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield, you’ll love this book. An English teacher’s dream!
79. Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray.
I haven’t read this one yet. Some day.
78. Germinal by Émile Zola.
I haven’t read this one. I have, of course, heard of Zola, but not of this particular book.
77. Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome.
Never heard of it.
76. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath.
I am familiar with and have taught her poetry, but I’ve never actually read this book. Maybe some day. I find it kind of heartless that I am humming lyrics to Tom Petty’s song “Yer So Bad”: “Now she’s got nothin’, head in the oven…”
75. Ulysses by James Joyce.
God help me, but this one is on my to-read list. I might need a margarita or 30 first.
74. Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson.
I never heard of it — let’s hope this isn’t going to be too much of a refrain!
73. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.
I never had much desire to read this one.
72. Dracula by Bram Stoker.
Who isn’t familiar with the story? I did try to read it about ten years ago or so, but I didn’t finish. I think maybe I wasn’t in the right frame of mind. I do want to read it some day.
71. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens.
Maybe I’m just close-minded on this one, as I enjoy other Dickens works, but I just can’t make myself actually read this one. It has been summer reading for my 9th graders for years, and I’m lobbying to get it removed from the list.
Stay tuned for the rest!
[tags]World Book Day, literature, reading[/tags]
Bill Bryson is great! If you are interested in England, and it's culture, you should definitely read "Notes from a Small Island." His other books are worth a read, too.