The following is a list of books I have read over the past years along with my ratings on a scale of one to five stars. Many of the books here have been formally reviewed or mentioned on this blog, so feel free to type any title in the “Search” field on the top right-hand corner of the blog or click on the titles to pull up more details.
– D. H. Schleicher
2016:
- The State We’re In by Ann Beattie (currently reading)
- Peace Like a River by Leif Enger – ***
- Above the Waterfall by Ron Rash – ***1/2
- Where Futures End by Parker Peevyhouse – *1/2
- Catch 22 by Joseph Heller – ****1/2
- All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr – ****
- The Best American Short Stories 2015 – ****
- Girl Waits with Gun by Amy Stewart – **1/2
- Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison – ***1/2
2015:
- The Best American Short Stories 2014 – ***
- Make Something Up by Chuck Palahniuk – **1/2
- Something Rich and Strange by Ron Rash – ***1/2
- Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee – ****
- The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood – **
- Humber Boy B by Ruth Dugdall – ***
- God Help the Child by Toni Morrison – ***1/2
- The Kept by James Scott – ****
- Deep Winter by Samuel W. Gailey – **
- Canada by Richard Ford – *
2014:
- The Monster of Florence by Mario Spezi and Douglas Preston (could not finish)
- The O. Henry Prize Stories 2014 – ***
- Beloved by Toni Morrison – ****
- World’s End by T. C. Boyle – ***1/2
- Amsterdam by Russell Shorto – *****
- Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri – ****1/2
- Heart of a Tiger by Herschel Cobb – ***1/2
- The Best American Short Stories 2013 Edition – ***
- MaddAddam by Margaret Atwood – ****
- The Circle by Dave Eggers – ****
2013:
- Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin – ****
- Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut – ****1/2
- Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut – ****
- The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje – *****
- The Teleportation Accident by Ned Beauman – ***1/2
- The Best American Short Stories 2012 Edition – ****
- Norwegian by Night by Derek B. Miller – ****1/2
- The River Swimmer by Jim Harrison – ***
- Tenth of December by George Saunders – ****1/2
- Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by John Meacham – *****
2012:
- A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (could not finish)
- Lionel Asbo by Martin Amis – ***
- The Best American Short Stories 2011 Edition – ****
- The Complete Stories of Flannery O’Connor – *****
- Indian Killer by Sherman Alexie – ****
- Journey Without Maps by Graham Greene – ***
- One Foot in Eden by Ron Rash – ***1/2
- Home by Toni Morrison – ****1/2
- The Cove by Ron Rash – ***1/2
- The Best American Mystery Stories 2011 Edition – ***
- Lost in Shangri-La by Michael Zuckoff – ***
- What We Talk About When We Talk About Love by Raymond Carver – ****1/2
- The Cat’s Table by Michael Ondaatje – ****1/2
2011:
- The Lawless Roads by Graham Greene – ****
- The Best American Short Stories 2010 Edition – ****
- I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive by Steve Earle (could not finish)
- Cathedral by Raymond Carver – ****
- The Silent Land by Graham Joyce – **
- Will You Please Be Quiet, Please? by Raymond Carver – *****
- The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini – ****
- Travels with my Aunt by Graham Greene – ***1/2
- The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman – ***1/2
- War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (could not finish)
2010:
- High Lonesome by Joyce Carol Oates — ****
- Freedom by Jonathan Franzen — **1/2
- Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad — ***1/2
- The Best American Short Stories 2009 Edition — ****
- Graham Greene, A Life in Letters — ****
- Kings of the Earth by Jon Clinch — ***1/2
- Dr. Fischer of Geneva or The Bomb Party by Graham Greene — ****
- Greene on Capri by Shirley Hazzard — ****
- The Confidential Agent by Graham Greene — ****
- Last Night in Twisted River by John Irving — ***
- The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood — ****
2009:
- Monsignor Quixote by Graham Greene — ***
- Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane — ***
- The Honorary Counsul by Graham Greene — ***
- The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck — *****
- Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen — ***
- The Best American Short Stories 2008 edition — ****
- Hater by David Moody — **
- Loser Takes All by Graham Greene — ****
- The Man Within by Graham Greene — ***
- A Mercy by Toni Morrison — *****
- American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by John Meacham — ****
- The Collected Short Stories of Richard Yates — *****
- Ulysses by James Joyce — ****
- England Made Me by Graham Greene — ***1/2
- Intruder in the Dust by William Faulkner — ***
- The Human Factor by Graham Greene — *****
2008:
- The Comedians by Graham Greene — ****
- The Road by Cormac McCarthy — ***
- Serena by Ron Rash — *****
- The Quiet American by Graham Greene — *****
- The End of the Affair by Graham Greene — *****
- Armageddon in Retrospect by Kurt Vonnegut — ****
- The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke — ***1/2
- The Captain and the Enemy by Graham Greene — ****
- The Spies of Warsaw by Alan Furst — ***
- A Burnt Out Case by Graham Greene — ***
- The Heart of the Matter by Graham Greene — *****
- “The Turn of the Screw” (novella) by Henry James — ****1/2
- Dubliners by James Joyce — *****
- The Poe Shadow by Matthew Pearl (could not finish)
- The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway — ****1/2
- Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene — ****
- The Collected Short Stories of William Faulkner — ****
2007:
- Mister B. Gone by Clive Barker — zero stars
- The Ministry of Fear by Graham Greene — *****
- Divisadero by Michael Ondaatje — ***1/2
- Brighton Rock by Graham Greene — *****
- The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene — *****
- Fire in the Blood by Irene Nemirovsky — ***1/2
- Orient Express by Graham Greene — ***
- Twice Dead by Yoram Lubling — ***1/2
- Light in August by William Faulkner — *****
- A Gun for Sale by Graham Greene — *****
- Bogombo Snuff Box by Kurt Vonnegut — ****
- The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner — ***1/2
- As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner — ****1/2
- The Tenth Man by Graham Greene — ****
- Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky — *****
- The Last Town on Earth by Thomas Mullen — ****
- Winterwood by Patrick McCabe — *****
- Portraits in the Dark by Nancy O’Greene — ****
2006:
- Catching the Big Fish by David Lynch — ***
- The Complete Short Stories of Graham Greene — *****
- The Great Escape by Kati Marton — *****
- Whispers: The Voices of Paranoia by Ronald K. Siegal — ****
- Love & Hate in Jamestown by David A. Price — ****
- The Ruins by Scott Smith — **
Hi! D.H.,
I see that author Graham Greene, is well represented on your booklist.
The Poe Shadow by Matthew Pearl (could not finish) — *
That “bad”…huh?!?
What a very nice…booklist!…Thanks, for sharing!
DeeDee😉
DeeDee – yup, Pearl’s book was THAT bad, though this is possibly a tainted view as I had such high hopes for it and consider myself a Poe fan…however it wasn’t as bad as Mister B Gone, a viciously idiotic book I somehow managed to finish — I must be a glutton for punishment! –DHS
Hi! D.H.,
D.H.said, “What is the greatest book to film adaptation of all time?”
I voted in your poll…and guess what film I voted for…Harry Potter…When I should have voted for the “other” film that is going to be aired today.
And what film is that? Just check out the “coolest” ad ever for TCM…Under the Stars.
http://www.tcm.com/2009/summer/index.jsp
Now, I must go and visit my other favorite author in the making…R.L.Bourges.(She is an author in the making…because she is just starting to write her book.)
Take care!
DeeDee😉
DeeDee, funny…I think I may have mis-voted in my own poll as well…I clicked To Kill a Mockingbird and also meant to click The Grapes of Wrath ! –DHS
Hi! D.H.,
I noticed that three books about author Graham Greene are missing from your list…
…and they are: Graham Greene: His Life Volume I, II, and III.
By the way, over there on Amazon.com the readers seem to give these three books positive feedback/ratings…
…D.H., are you familiar with these three books about author Graham Greene?
DeeDee ;-D
DeeDee — I have yet to read any biographies on Greene. There’s also one called Greene on Capri I believe that’s supposed to be very good. I’d like to get through all of his fiction first before going that route. Maybe in a few years… –DHS
Just started reading Justin Cronin’s The Passage.
Di, hmmm…looks interesting, and I might have to pick it up, though I am growing tired of these apocalyptic vampire/zombie epics. Did you read Margaret Atwood’s The Year of the Flood? That was very “environmental” and very interesting. Probably the best “end of the world” book I’ve read in a long time. –DHS
I love seeing so much Graham Greene here. Though you’ve read some I haven’t gotten to yet he’s one of my favorite writers but he really isn’t read much by non-literary type people.
Another of my favorites is Henry James. He can be wordy, but his mastery of the English language in unsurpassed. If you haven’t, pick up The Wings of the Dove. It is one of my favorites. (Though if your “to read” pile is anything like mine it will probably take you a while to get to it.)
I also agree with you on The Year of the Flood. It was better than the first in the series Oryx and Crake. I was fascinated and horrified by the world Atwood created, all too much like where we are headed.
Yup, Greene is my favorite writer of all time by far. I’ve been meaning to read more of Henry James. I did enjoy “The Turn of the Screw” very much. –DHS
Just noticed that you gave a very high rating to Best American Short Stories 2009. That one is a really nice collection, isn’t it? I’ve read all but a couple entries and liked it a lot.
Forrest, yes. They put together fine collections. I’m looking forward to the 2010 edition. –DHS
I liked the kite runner, but i felt that it lacked depth. It felt as is the author literally underlined the irony moments in the book. I enjoy books where the reader has to figure some things out on his own, and not have the author spoon feed him that information. It is a great airplane read.
I actually agree with you. I had such low expectations for The Kite Runner, that I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed reading it, which is why I was so generous with my rating of it. As you said, it’s a great airplane read. –DHS
Interesting list. Do you skip the battle scenes as I did in War and Peace or do you skip romantic fluff?🙂
I love short stories – my husband says it is due to my attention span, but who cares?
I’m trying not to skip anything in it, but to be honest, I haven’t picked it up in awhile. I’ve been too distracted by short stories and blogging and other (briefer) novels! –DHS
Great list. You might also want to try “Too Late the Phalarope” by Alan Paton. The first page alone is like poetry.
Thanks for stopping by and thanks for the suggestion! I hadn’t heard of Paton before. –DHS
If you enjoy novels which leave you contemplating life and/ or the government. Check out The Stranger by Albert Camus and Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. The Stranger is a quick read with its own unique style, but most importantly it leaves you wondering about whether or not we are looking at life from the correct perspective. Meanwhile, Atlas Shrugged is an important read because it fits right in with the many political and economical debates occurring worldwide currently.
Oh, I’ve been meaning to check out Camus – The Stranger sounds like a good place to start. Rand I will have to give a try one of these days…but I know her politics are not my cup of tea. –DHS
Hi – checked into your blogsite because I was wanting to see Quintus in action…Lovely design, great site:) Really appreciated the up to date film reviews…was tossing up between seeing Sunshine and Oranges or Planet of the Apes at the weekend, and Sunshine won – good movie – incredibly powerful story and beautifully shot…anyway having read your review, will make a date to see Apes in the very near future and am adding your site to ‘favourites’ – thanks:)
Thanks, Robyn. Oranges and Sunshine hasn’t hit the States yet – but the plot sounds most intriguing and the cast looks great. I’ll be on the look out for it based on your recommendation. –DHS
Thank you for this list! I’ve been reading more non-fiction novels lately, but I’m starving for a good fiction book. Excellent list🙂