1.
The
Cider House Rules
by John Irving
One of my favorites. I have read it twice and would not mind a third run.
By the way, Dr. Larch is my hero.
2.
The Hours
by Michael Cunningham
The writing style is a bit too sentimental. The stories are touching
and depressing at the same time. So, read it when you are in the right mood.
3.
She’s
Come Undone by Wally Lamb
4.
To
Kill a Mocking Bird
by Harper Lee
5.
The
Last of the Mohicans
by James F.
Cooper
6.
The
Da Vinci Code
by Dan Brown
7.
East
of
Eden
by John Steinbeck
8.
Of
mice and men by
John Steinbeck
9.
One
hundred years of solitude
by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
10.
Skinny
legs and all
by Tom Robbins
11.
Jitterbug
perfume
by Tom Robbins
12.
Even
cowgirls get the blues
by Tom Robbins
13.
Life
of Pi by
Yann Martel
It is a book about faith, hope, luck, persistence, and maybe, mysterious powers.
Much more important, it is an appealing story well-told. I just cannot help keeping
turning the pages.
14.
Miracle
Strain by
Michael Cordy
15.
Animal
farm by
George Orwell
16.
1984
by George
Orwell
17.
Lord
of the flies by
William Gerald Golding
18.
The
catcher in the rye by
J. D. Salinger
19.
Catch
22 by
Joseph Heller
20.
Lady
Chatterley's lover by
D. H. Lawrence
21.
Coastliners by
Joanne Harris
22.
Pursuit of Love by
Nancy Mitford
23.
Memoirs of a Geisha by
Arthur Golden
24.
On Beauty by Zadie Smith
25.
The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier
This is completely a chance-reading. I got the book on my flight to Denver in Spring
2005. I was sitting next to this gentleman who, like me, was reading. I remember
I was reading "Out of Africa" by Isak Dinesen. You might have already guessed what
he was reading. Yes, he was reading "The Virgin Blue". We struck a brief talk on
these two books. First, my book, I was so glad that he thought the same way as me
that the book was far more pleasing and close-to-life than its Hollywood counterpart
(starring Meryl Streep and Robert Redford). Then, his book, he was close to
the last page. He told me that it was written by the same author who also wrote
"Girl with a pearl earring", a New York Times best-seller. Then I asked: "Is it good?"
Instead of answering my question, he said: "Why don't you read it and then tell it
by yourself? Anyway, I am close to done. I will give the book to you before we head out
to our next flight." Thus I got the book.
I brought it back and left it on my floor ever since.
About one month ago, I was running out of my reading list. So, again by chance, I picked
up this long-forgotten book from the floor.
Now I am done with it and understand why he would address my question
by giving me the book. The book is a bore and an utter disappointment.
The author tried too hard to connect two seemingly parallel story-lines,
especially considering neither story is convincingly told.
(A side-note, if you are like me, who likes reading a novel
in split-narrative fashion, read "Kafka on The Shore" by Haruki Murakami, and
"The Jitterbug Perfume" by Tom Robbins, I am sure you will have your time well-spent.)
On the other hand, I consider this reading as a little adventure that wanders into
an unpleasant end. No matter, it is not late to find my way out. Oh, about the gentleman,
I remember he told me that he is a professor in literature at a college of liberal arts in California.
