100 Books to Read in a Lifetime

38/100 Books to read in a Lifetime

A Wrinkle in Time (A Wrinkle in Time Quintet, #1)

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Narrated by Hope Davis
6:27:08 hours

Classic, Middle Grade, Science Fiction

Meg, her little brother Charles Wallace, and their friend Calvin are visited by three mysterious women, Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Who and Mrs Which. They have come to help the children retrieve their father who went missing. A scientist who works on classified experiments for the government was on assignment when all communications with his family stopped.
“A straight line is not the shortest distance between two points” rather a tesseract, or creating a wrinkle in the fabric of space, is. The children must tesser to another planet in order to save their father, and the universe, from The Darkness.

What a wonderfully written book for middle grade readers and adults. It is so hard to understand why this book is one of the most contested and banned books. How could you ban something so incredible? But humans are flawed and full of fear, especially when it comes to children. I however cannot wait to have my nephew read it! It had so much heart and such wonderful lessons for young minds to experience.
Hope Davis was a good choice for narrator, her voice was fitting.

View all my reviews

37/100 Books to read in a Lifetime

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Douglas Adams
Narrated by Stephen Fry
Random House Audio
5:51:37 hours

🌟🌟🌟
Sci-fi, Comedy

Synopsis:
Immediately before the Earth is destroyed, to make room for a galactic freeway, Arthur is saved by his friend Ford, an unemployed actor, or so Arthur thought. Ford is actually from another planet, on Earth doing research for an update to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy but has been stranded for the last 15 years.
They get picked up by a group of travelers, two headed Zaphod, his girlfriend Trillion (another Earthling), and a depressed robot Marvin.

My Thoughts:
This was funny and enjoyable. I laughed out loud several times. It’s a quick listen or read, about 6 hours. I wouldn’t say that it’s a must read but it was good. Stephen Fry was the best narrator for this book, perfect choice!

36/100 Books to read in a Lifetime

One Hundred Years of Solitude
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Blackstone Audio
14:04:14 hours
Narrated by John Lee

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

🌟🌟
Classic, Magical Realism

Synopsis:
Story of the Buendia family in the mythical town of Macondo. It follows the lives of seven generations, their successes and failures, children and deaths. When Jose Arcadio Buendia and Ursula Iguaran his wife and cousin, leave Columbia and set out to find their utopia. After having a dream one night one their journey, Jose establishes the town of Macondo.
Over the years, the town becomes exposed to the outside world and eventually is brought to ruin. The Buendia family may have been cursed after all, as predicted by Ursula in the very beginning.

My thoughts:
I am sorry to say but I found this book to be boring. I struggled to follow along with so many people with the same names. I Googled a family tree for it so that I could have anything to help keep them straight but it was still difficult. Ultamately I struggle with books built upon symbolism. I read books for the enjoyment and not necessarily to promote deep thinking. I like deep feeling, ones that bring out emotions and make you analyze what you are feeling or cause unexpected feelings. I don’t want to have to interpret every little thing throughout to discover their true meaning. “The ghosts are symbols of the past and the haunting nature it has over Macondo.”
However, I can see why this is a Classic for sure and why so many people love it. It has some great magical realism throughout. My favorite was Remedios the Beauty, said to be the most beautiful woman on Macondo. She is thought to be cursed, unintentionally causing the death of several men who lust after/love her. One man falling to his death after watching her bath. Instead of blood escaping his body it was an amber colored oil that smelled of Remedios the Beauty.

View all my reviews

Book Review – Catch-22

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Classic, Satire, Historical Fiction

Set in Italy during WWII, bombardier Yossarian is upset that his command keeps increasing the number of missions he must complete before being sent home.

“Yet if Yossarian makes any attempt to excuse himself from the perilous missions he’s assigned, he’ll be in violation of Catch-22, a hilariously sinister bureaucratic rule: a man is considered insane if he willingly continues to fly dangerous combat missions, but if he makes a formal request to be removed from duty, he is proven sane and therefore ineligible to be relieved.”

This one was not for me. I understand that this is considered comedy to a lot however I did not find funny at all. It actually took me probably half the book before I realized that this was a comedy, I had been thinking that it was just a horrible plot until then. It made it a little easier to listen to after that but not much.
Took me a very long time to finish with many stops and starts. It seems it is either a love it or hate kind of book.

View all my reviews

34/100 Books to read in a Lifetime

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, narrated by Eric Dove

10 HR 20 min

Adventures that all little boys only dream of! No matter what society deems right or what adults tell him do, in the end Huck always does what his heart tells him is right to do.

Goodreads: Following the events of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn is under the watchful stewardship of the Widow Douglas. However, when he is forced back into his drunken father’s custody, Buck fakes his own death and runs off down the river. In the process, he meets up with Jim, a runaway slave, anf the two become friends as well as travel companions. Their adventures lead them through many twists and turns through the American South, embarking on a legendary journey.

33/100 Books to Read in a Lifetime

A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens, narrated by Simon Prebble

16 HR 9 min

These classics are killing me! Is it a requirement for a classic to be a tear jerker?! 😢

During the French Revolution, some used “the cause” for their own personal revenge.

Goodreads: When the starving French masses rise to overthrow a corrupt and decadent government, both the guilty and the innocent become victims of their frenzied anger. Soon nothing stands in the way of the chilling figure they enlist for their cause La Guillotine, the new invention for efficiently chopping off heads.

32/100 Books to Read in a Lifetime

On my list of 100 Books to read in your lifetime, I just finished the audio book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck narrated by Gary Sinise. Oh what a heart jerker for sure. It is a quick story just under 4 hours of listening time.

I have started using the Libby app to listen to audio books and I LOVE it! It is by far the easiest and cheapest way to listen. All you need is a Library card!