Spreading The Word
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99 Books To Read Before…You Know
To date on this blog I have avoided publishing an immersive “to be read list”. Every book related website, whether curated by professional writers, publishers or booklovers, is awash in them. You know the ones, 100 or 50 or 150, books you must read before you die. After perusing many of these lists, I can say with confidence that they are heavily redundant, somewhat elitist, and a sure cure for that pesky insomnia. Certainly there must be a better list of books I can recommend you keep company with in your dying days.
So how could I, with a personal library of over seven hundred books I can’t bear to part with, and reading journal entries in the thousands, make it distinctive? The only way is to curate from my own collection. If you were to browse my bookshelves closely, you might be able to discern not only who I am and how I see myself but uncover a secret or two. If you were to have access to all that I have read, then you would have a transcript of my personal narrative. Each book portraying a chapter in that story.
No one book has changed my life, but the reading of countless has made my life what it is. I can’t imagine who I would be today without my love of reading and I am grateful that I don’t have to.
I am not going to regurgitate synopsis’s here or lay bare my journal entries to disclose the books magnitude or what emotions it elicited. What I will say is that singularly or in some extraordinary combination each did the following; bestowed upon me a sense of wonderment, ignited bone deep fire and incurable curiosity in some measure, provided pleasure as well as nourishment, indulgence as much as wisdom, inspired empathy, transcended my wildest imaginings, encouraged me to think before I speak and how to use my voice when I did so.
And most importantly, reminded me I was not alone. That I never have been, and never have to be.
Just in case you think I have lost my sense of wit and whimsy in all of this deep talk about my love of books, think again. Since I’m not going to provide any details on what the book is about, which I know you can find all on your own, I am going to match each book to a song. A song that in some way, big or small, captures an essence of the book and might act as a catalyst to reading it.
As the kids are saying these days, shits about to get real!
“The” 99…
1. The Stand–Stephen King >> (Don’t Fear) The Reaper-Blue Oyster Cult
2. Harry Potter Series–J. K. Rowling >> London Calling–The Clash
3. Good Omens–Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman >> Another One Bites the Dust–Queen
4. Dracula–Bram Stoker >> Cult of Personality–Living Colour
5. Lord of The Rings Trilogy–J. R. R. Tolkien >> Black Smoke Rising–Greta Van Fleet
6. Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time–Mark Haddon >> The Logical Song–Supertramp
7. To Kill a Mockingbird–Harper Lee >> The Rising–Bruce Springsteen
8. The Secret History–Donna Tartt. >> Someone Told A Lie–Steppenwolf
9. Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine–Gail Honeyman >> Don’t You (Forget About Me)–Simple Minds
10. Handmaid’s Tale–Margaret Atwood >> Won’t Get Fooled Again–The Who
11. Ready Player One–Ernest Cline >> Tom Sawyer–Rush
12. Motherless Brooklyn–Jonathan Lethem >> Tell Your Story Walking–Deb Talan
13. Red Rising Series–Pierce Brown >> All These Things That I Have Done–The Killers
14. Battle Royale–Koushun Takami >> Smells Like Teen Spirit–Nirvana
15. The Martian–Andy Weir >> Carry on Wayward Son–Kansas
16. Bad Monkey/Sick Puppy–Carl Hiaasen >> Let’s Go Crazy–Prince
17. Heart Shaped Box–Joe Hill >> Hollow Man–The Cult
18. The Lovely Bones–Alice Sebold >> Dear Agony–Breaking Benjamin
19. This Story Is A Lie–Tom Pollock >> Suspicious Minds–Fine Young Cannibals
20. I Am Pilgrim–Terry Hayes >> For What It Is Worth–Buffalo Springfield
21. The Shining/Doctor Sleep–Stephen King >> Shake It Out–Florence & The Machine
22. Harriet The Spy–Louise Fitzhugh >> One Way or Another–Blondie
23. The Eight–Katherine Neville >> I’ve Seen All Good People–Yes
24. Fahrenheit 451–Ray Bradbury >> Burning Down the House–Talking Heads
25. Wuthering Heights–Emily Bronte >> Nothing Compares 2 U–Sinead O’Connor
26. American Gods–Neil Gaiman >> Sympathy for the Devil–The Rolling Stones
27. Silence of The Lambs–Thomas Harris >> Hells Bells–AC/DC
28. Where the Sidewalk Ends–Shel Silverstein >> Happy–Pharrell Williams
29. Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium Trilogy)–Stieg Larsson >> The Look–Roxette
30. A Simple Plan–Scott Smith >> Runnin’ with the Devil–Van Halen
31. The Book Thief–Markus Zusak >> Land of Confusion–Genesis
32. Winter’s Bone–Daniel Woodrell >> Wake Up–Arcade Fire
33. Mystic River–Dennis Lehane >> The Pretender–Foo Fighters
34. Little Brother–Cory Doctorow >> Kids in America–Kim Wilde
35. Frankenstein–Mary Shelley >> Seven Nation Army–The White Stripes
36. The Sisters Brothers–Patrick deWitt >> The Boys Are Back in Town–Thin Lizzy
37. The 25thHour–David Benioff >> Made of Stone–The Stone Roses
38. Go Ask Alice–Anonymous >> White Rabbit–Jefferson Airplane
39. Bird Box–Josh Malerman >> The Weight–The Band
40. The Road–Cormac McCarthy >> Black Hole Sun–Soundgarden
41. Murder of Roger Ackroyd/Crooked House–Agatha Christie >> Hunt You Down–Kesha
42. Princess Bride–William Goldman >> Golden Years–David Bowie
43. Grimm’s Fairy Tales–Brothers Grimm >> Kashmir–Led Zeppelin
44. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close–Jonathan Safran Foer >> Welcome to The Black Parade–My Chemical Romance
45. Never Let Me Go–Kazuo Ishiguro >> A Safe Place to Land–Sara Bareilles
46. Daisy Jones & The Six–Taylor Jenkins Reid >> The Chain–Fleetwood Mac
47. Anna Karenina–Leo Tolstoy >> This Life–Vampire Weekend
48. A Visit from the Goon Squad–Jennifer Egan >> Video Killed the Radio Star–The Buggles
49. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn–Betty Smith >> Rise Up–Andra Day
50. In the Name of the Rose–Umberto Eco >> Sign of the Cross–Iron Maiden
51. The Poisonwood Bible–Barbara Kingsolver >> Burn Down the Mission–Elton John
52. High Fidelity–Nick Hornby >> I’m A Believer–The Monkees
53. The Corrections–Jonathan Franzen >> Numb–Linkin Park
54. Postcards from the Edge–Carrie Fisher >> Time to Dance–Panic at the Disco
55. Count of Monte Cristo–Alexandre Dumas >> Dream On–Aerosmith
56. Time Traveler’s Wife–Audrey Niffenegger >> The Way You Used To Do–Queens of the Stone Age
57. The Borrowers–Mary Norton >> Our House–Madness
58. Kane and Abel–Jeffrey Archer >> You Owe Me–The Chainsmokers
59. Interpreter of Maladies–Jhumpa Lahiri >> Safe from Harm–Massive Attack
60. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil–John Berendt >> Smoke and Ashes–Tracy Chapman
61. The Eyre Affair (Thursday Next Series)–Jasper Fforde >> Every Day I Write the Book–Elvis Costello
62. The Nightingale–Kristin Hannah >> Imagine–John Lennon
63. Practical Magic–Alice Hoffman >> Magic Man–Heart
64. The Stinky Cheese Man–Jon Scieszka >> Authority Song–John Mellencamp
65. The Killing Circle–Andrew Pyper >> Simple Man–Shinedown
66. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl–Jesse Andrews >> Help Me Stranger–The Raconteurs
67. White Teeth–Zadie Smith >> A Change Is Gonna Come–Sam Cooke
68. The Pillars of the Earth–Ken Follett >> Ahead by a Century–The Tragically Hip
69. Rebecca–Daphne du Maurier >> Shelter–Dorothy
70. Lamb: Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal–Christopher Moore >> Think–Aretha Franklin
71. Doctor Zhivago–Boris Pasternak >> All Along the Watchtower–Jimi Hendrix
72. English Patient–Michael Ondaatje >> Comfortably Numb–Pink Floyd
73. A Fine Balance–Rohinton Mistry >> Cup of Sorrow–Amos Lee
74. The Historian–Elizabeth Kostova >> If You Could Read My Mind–Gordon Lightfoot
75. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf–Edward Albee >> These Boots Are Made for Walking–Nancy Sinatra
76. Fight Club–Chuck Palahniuk >> Stand Up–The Revivalists
77. Ordinary People–Judith Guest >> Longview–Green Day
78. Rosemary’s Baby–Ira Levin >> She Talk’s to Angels–The Black Crowes
79. The Andromeda Strain–Michael Crichton >> The Sound of Silence–Disturbed
80. Oh, the Places You’ll Go!–Dr. Seuss >> O-o-h Child–MILCK
81. Heartburn–Nora Ephron >> Don’t Stop Believin’–Journey
82. Clockers–Richard Price >> Run This Town–Jay-Z & Co.
83. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell–Susanna Clarke >> Superstition–Stevie Wonder
84. Swamplandia!–Karen Russell >> We Got the Beat–The Go-Go’s
85. Little Women–Louisa May Alcott >> We Are Family–Sister Sledge
86. The Maltese Falcon–Dashiell Hammett >> Sabotage–Beastie Boys
87. Larry’s Party–Carol Shields >> This Charming Man–The Smiths
88. The Fault in Our Stars–John Green >> Love Is a Battlefield–Pat Benatar
89. Everything I Never Told You–Celeste Ng >> Some Nights–fun
90. The Kite Runner–Khaled Hosseini >> Going Under–Evanescence
91. Franny & Zooey–J. D. Salinger >> True Colors–Cyndi Lauper
92. Breakfast of Champions–Kurt Vonnegut >> Spaceman–The Killers
93. This Is Where I Leave You–Jonathan Tropper >> Surrender–Cheap Trick
94. My Sister’s Keeper–Jodi Picoult >> Someone Great–LCD Soundsystem
95. For Whom the Bell Tolls–Ernest Hemingway >> For Whom the Bell Tolls–Metallica
96. The Giant’s House–Elizabeth McCracken >> Giants–Lights
97. Smila’s Sense of Snow–Peter Hoeg >> Could Have Been Me–The Struts
98. The Left Hand of Darkness–Ursula K. Leguin >> Into the Mystic–Van Morrison
99. Carry On, Jeeves–P. G. Wodehouse >> Stuck in the Middle With You–Stealers Wheel
