| The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, 736 pages Steve Gadd 30 December 1999 Meet Howard Roark: architect, protagonist, and ideal man of the author's Objectivist philosophy. A readable fable with the ambitious goal of attacking altruism as a virtue. | False Memory by Dean Koontz, 751 pages Jeff Gadd 05 January 2002 About a woman who fears herself |
You Can't Go Home Again by Thomas Wolfe, 704 pages Kristin Schrock 02 June 2002 This book nearly killed me. I hate this book with the passion of a thousand suns. But somehow I managed to finish it. At page 150, the hero realizes, "You can't go home again." Then he goes on other adventures for the next 450 pages or so, to come to the same conclusion at page 700. And there's something in there about America dying but there still being hope. So, in short, you can't go home again. We. Get. It. |
The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan, 702 pages Julie Gephart 01 December 2002 First in the much-lauded Wheel of Time series. I finally decided to see what all the fuss was about. Classic fantasy, three young men on a journey, grand scope of Good vs Evil, the usual - but still a good read, and I'll continue the series. |
The Space Trilogy by CS Lewis, 762 pages James Donahue 09 December 2002 |
The Plains of Passage by Jean M. Auel, 760 pages Julie Gephart 09 March 2003 (4th in series) Much better than the last book, but none have measured up to the joy that was the first book. In this, two people spend a year journeying across what is now Europe in the time just before the Ice Age. |
The Complete Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton, 704 pages James Donahue 19 March 2003 Many mysteries all solved by the clever parson. Vivre la spring break. |
Horrors 365 Scary Stories by Dziemianowicz, Weinberg, & Greenberg, 726 pages Jeff Gadd 10 May 2003 Short little scary stories pick by these three as their favorites, from variors authors. |
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling, 766 pages A Bennett 24 July 2003 The only book I've ever read with a character who had my name was a first-person Holocaust memoir foisted on me by Julie's boss' (now ex-) wife, and as the main character rarely addressed herself, the name did not come up often. Here, however, a character, 'Alicia Spinnet' (no resemblance to persons real or historical intended, I'm sure), traipses across the background canvas of the story constantly catching my reader's 'eye' more than she should, and raising my discontent over the fact she's not particularly interesting, though she does once find herself jinxed with eyebrows that grow over her entire face, and she is a moderately competent Quidditch beater. I'm sure if my name were Susan or Becky I would have gotten over this sort of unnecessary fascination long ago, but, c'mon! Alicia _Spinnet_--how can one not be keen on one's fictional avatar? |
Middlemarch by George Eliot, 791 pages James Donahue 01 August 2003 What a beautifully written book. Everything in its place, without seeming predictable. Her writing portrays, seemingly without effort, an entire social universe that crosses religious, class, and economic lines. Like looking at an ant farm. |
The Eagle and the Raven by Pauline Gedge, 744 pages Julie Gephart 23 December 2003 “Three hours after the governor took all hope away with him, just as the sun touched the horizon with fiery fingers, a woman dropped her bundle and pointed north, screaming. A dark, low mass that was not an evening mist filled all the fields, and the last of the light flickered on swords as they were drawn. Boudicca, and death, had come.” Sadly, there were very few triumphant moments in this 30 year saga of Rome crushing Britannia. |
Mason and Dixon by Thomas Pynchon, 773 pages James Donahue 27 December 2003 A satirical look at two men who helped conquer the world for orthongonality. Wickedly funny at times, but sometimes devolved into quixotic goofiness. Written in the style of Enlightenment prose: this was its best and worst feature. Often made my brain sparkle but sometimes overworked it for little reward. All in all, an eccentric and good read. |
The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks, 726 pages Julie Gephart 30 December 2003 Christmas gift from a co-worker, first in an apparently popular series. Centuries after humans nearly obliterated themselves and the earth, life continues in small villages. An oral history has been passed down of lost technical information after the last books crumbled, but nobody remembers what it means or how to use it. Now another war is brewing involving races humans didn’t even realize existed until their own population had dwindled (elves, dwarves, the usual suspects), and legend tells of a special sword that will be the key to victory. |
John Mott: A Biography by C Howard Hopkins, 772 pages James Donahue 23 January 2004 This fascinating figure deserves a better biography, one that is not so hagiographic and prone to lists. |
Visual Basic 6 Business Objects by Rockford Lhotka, 735 pages Steven Krise 12 May 2004 I'm sick of reading code as text. Anyway, Rocky should be beat about the head and shoulders for his smug cover photo. |
Taipan by James Clavell, 789 pages James Donahue 17 June 2004 Set in 1848 Hong Kong (i.e., before there was a Hong Kong), Clavell presents us here with another East-meets-West-both-culturally-and-sexually- where-one-culture-transcending-white-male-falls- in-love-only-to-see-his-metaphorical-and-literal- love-lie-shattered-in-a-dead-asian-women's-body- spellbinder. I always enjoy these escapes into historical fiction even if the postcolonialist lit-critic makes me feel a tad guilty about it |
Romola by George Eliot, 736 pages James Donahue 05 September 2004 Eliot was most proud of this work, her only historical novel, her tribute to both Scott and her (ever-so-Victorian) passion for Italy. The novel tracks the moral declension of Tito Melema amid the backdrop of corrupt popes, scheming Medicis, moral zealots, and the personalities of Machaevelli, Mirandola, and Savonarola. Very personal book with reflections on leaving a spouse and grappling with disillusionment with evangelicalism. The beginning is a bit staid (by which I mean, too allegorical), and Eliot obviously struggles depicting the lower classes of Italy, but the book picks up steam at the end when fleshing out of the fruits of her character's actions. |
Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks, 726 pages Steven Krise 10 October 2004 Why do the bad guys always come out of the North? |
Teach Yourself C++ in 21 Days by Jesse Liberty, 756 pages Steven Krise 30 April 2005 There's about zero chance of me ever programming in C++, but it's good to keep one's self sharp. |
Brimstone by Douglas Preston / Lincoln Child, 752 pages Mike Gadd 12 June 2005 Good to see my favorite writers back on track after Still Life with Crows. A good story this time with a main character that gets more fascinating the more you learn. |
Dunant's Dream: War, Switzerland and the History of the Red Cross by Caroline Moorehead, 716 pages James Donahue 15 October 2005 Very worthwhile, solid history. |
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2003) by J.K. Rowling, 766 pages A Bennett 25 October 2005 I think this book was slightly better than the first time through. I had more time for it, with less rushing to get to the end and know all it had to say. That said, it’s awfully twisty and convoluted in its plot, and after finishing it I probably forgot at least 85% of what I’d learned. |
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2000) by J.K. Rowling, 734 pages A Bennett 12 December 2005 Has an unreasonably long monologue performed by He Who Shall Not Be Named near the end. I mean, it's like 7+ pages, wherein he pretty much explains (like any Batman The Series villian) why and how he did what he did. Rowling can do better, as much of the novel already shows. |
Corporal Si Klegg and His Pard by Wilbur F. Hinman, 740 pages Brad Snyder 22 December 2005 This story, the beginning of which was originally published as part of a Union veterans' periodical in 1885, is thought to have inspired Stephan Crane to write "The Red Badge of Courage". Hinman created fictional characters to recount his own experiences during the Civil War. Mixed in with the story are several asides where he explains every aspect of military life. Many of his observations still resonate today, even as this nation finds itself embroiled in yet another "just" war. |
Lugard: The Years of Adventure, 1858-1898 (1956) by Margery Perham, 713 pages James Donahue 31 January 2006 Disgruntled evangelical suffers through British school system, joins the army only to serve in Afghanistan, then goes renegade warrior in Africa, teaming up with abolitionist missionaries to force British power into the center of Africa in a race against the Germans. To say his biography is Kipling-esque is to confuse cause and effect. |
Lugard: The Years of Authority, 1898-1945 (1960) by Margery Perham, 711 pages James Donahue 14 February 2006 Second half from below. From disillusioned adventurer, Lugard becomes a signature British governor of Nigeria and Hong Kong. Fascinating personal portrait of the ambivalencies of the 'white man's burden.' |
Europe Central (2005) by William Vollmann, 752 pages James Donahue 01 June 2006 Wow! This is the first book in a long time that I have re-read chapters simply for the pleasure of feeling the words on my tongue. |
The Third Rumpole Omnibus (1997) by John Mortimer, 739 pages James Donahue 04 July 2006 Ah. . . .Rumpole. |
Sarge: The Life and Times of Sarge Shriver by Scot Stossell, 704 pages Micaela Larkin 01 January 2007 A++ I read it in one sitting. |
Experiment in Autobiography: Discoveries and Conclusions of a Very Ordinary Brain since 1866 (1934) by H. G. Wells, 707 pages James Donahue 02 April 2007 Amusing. Ostensibly about the evolution of Wells' "brain" in the midst of the evolution of the world-state. But not worth it for the philosophy. Better for its self-absorbed musings on the Fabian circle, the rise of standardized testing in education (Wells pioneered a Princeton-Review-esque method of beating the standards), and the wide-open nature of publishing during the publishing period to absorb the first mass audiences being turned out by the first mass educational systems. Could Wells have ridden to prevelance in any other setting? |
Saints by Orson Scott Card, 711 pages Micaela Larkin 19 April 2007 Polygamy. Polygamy. Polygamy. Not science fiction... Former ND Student writes fictional account of his Mormon pioneer ancestors. Good read! |
The Sunlight Dialogues by John Gardner, 746 pages Steven Krise 28 May 2007 "I'm boring you," Hodge said. And he knew it was true, or ought to be -- Millie, at any rate, would be bored, and rightly, rightly. So would a reader if this were all a novel. |
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2000) by J. K. Rowling, 734 pages Jennifer Dear 10 September 2007 |
Sword of Honour (1952-61) by Evelyn Waugh, 796 pages James Donahue 12 October 2007 Evelyn Waugh's last novel, released slowly over a decade, is loosely based on his own WWI experiences as a forty(ish)-year old volunteer. It portrays the slow maturation of a wealthy dilenttante faced for the first time with life - and death. It begins with a romantic vow to crusade against fascism at the grave of Sir Roger Casement and ends with a desperate quest to save the life of one Jew in Yugoslavia. |
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2000) by J. K. Rowling, 734 pages James Donahue 28 November 2007 |
Breaking Dawn (The Twilight Saga, Book 4) (2008) by Stephenie Meyer, 768 pages Brad Snyder 18 August 2008 I was prepared to slam this book. I expected to hate it based on the previous two. I must now admit that it wasn't all that bad. It takes Meyer a long time to set up her story and to get to the action, and then the action is finished pretty quickly. This book followed that pattern, but surprised me a bit at the end with how much I enjoyed it. If you are going to read this, read the whole series. Also keep in mind that my thirteen year-old daughter and her friends LOVE it, so it might not be for many of the manly men on this forum. I have been pleased to share it with my daughter...to share in her world in this way, an opportunity we will share again when the movie is released in December. |
The Hour I First Believed: A Novel (2008) by Wally Lamb, 752 pages Brad Snyder 30 April 2009 Messed up guy and his messed up wife get caught up in the Columbine shootings. This causes a search for sanity and meaning as he learns about his family history and finds, like so many of us, that they come from a long line of messed up people. |