The Modern Library 100 Best Novels Challenge discussion

I thought I would start a little side discussion about what we have really enjoyed reading from the list, whether you read it prior to joining the group or as we have made our way through several of the titles.

Are there any books you have read in the past but plan on reading again?

Which titles are you really looking forward to?

Two of my all-time favorites are on the list: and ; the first I read for AP English in high school and the second I read after college although it took me a couple of tries to get through it. Both are fantastic and I plan on rereading them! I have some other favorites, but I need to check the list again...back later...

I've read both of those multiple times, Stephanie. VERY good reads! Also all of the John Irving books (I believe there are only 2 on the list, but ALL are great!)..

I can't BELIEVE I haven't read any Irving yet. That is so embarrassing to admit! Someone told me that A Prayer for Owen Meany is really good on audio, so I was thinking of putting it on my iPod.

The books I've read so far that rate very high with me are:

The Lord of the Rings series by Tolkein
The Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck
Angle of Repose by Stegner
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
A Room With a View by Forster

I had read all of these, except the last one, before joining this group.

I am looking forward to b/c I read and really liked it. I am a huge Steinbeck fan, so I love (although I love more.

My other favorites from the list include:

Sons and Lovers
1984
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Great Gatsby
Heart of Darkness
The Handmaid's Tale
My Antonia

The good thing about lists though is the ability to read books that you have put off for a long time. I have read a number of the books on the list, but look forward to reading them again as a new grown person, classic books have the ability to mean something new each time we pick them up: Great Gatsby, Lolita, Brave New World, Grapes of Wrath, 1984, To the Lighthouse, Invisible Man, On the Road, Catcher in the Rye, Heart of Darkness, A Bend in the River, Call of the WIld, Sheltering Sky, Stranger in a Strange Land are all books that I have loved at some time, for a variety of reasons.

I've read a couple of books from the list...my all time favorite book is actually on the list, and no matter how many books I read, my favorite will most likely never change...and that honor belongs to Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh, a book that no one seems to have heard of...which is fine by me, cus then it's all that more special!

So Far I rate them the following( I have only read 7 in the recent challenge,so far, and plan to catch up some day:
1. Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor
2. Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein
3. Dune by Frank Herbert
4. Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
5. Mulengro by Charles De Lint
6. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
7. A Farewell to Arms by Hemingway
8. Bridge on the San Louis Rey by Thornton Wilder.
*These are a list of books I have read recently... I have read other books but they were at least 10 years between when I read them last.

NicoleMichele wrote: "My top 3 from 2010 are:

"A Farewell to Arms" Ernest Hemingway
"The Lord of the Rings" J.R.R. Tolkien
"Watership Down" Richard Adams"

I really loved The Lord of the Rings too...I just got so lost in the story as I read. I can't wait to read book two pretty soon!

Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
Slaughterhouse 5- Kurt Vonnegut (18) (23)
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein
Dune by Frank Herbert
Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradburry
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
Bridge of San Louis Rey by Thornton Wilder
Mulengro by Charles De Lint

Gregory wrote: "Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
Slaughterhouse 5- Kurt Vonnegut (18) (23)
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein
Dune by ..."

These are in order of likes.... Mulengro was a really fun read but did it move me like the others... not so much.

I think that Darkness at Noon is perhaps one of the best novels of all time. It's about a prisoner in Communist Russia and goes into his thoughts about life and his struggle against tyranny of the government.

Angle of Repose and Darkness at Noon are my two favorites so far. Just amazing!