Books Of 2006

In a stack of papers called Personal.

  • Jan
  • 03
  • 2007

Continuing along the line of listing media, I’ve meant to list the books I read each year as a way to keep track of things. Of course, implicit here is that you will write your own and/or weigh in on the titles I list. What have you been reading?

For Work

  • The Scarlet Letter
  • Siddhartha
  • Hamlet
  • Oedipus the King
  • The Allegory of the Cave
  • The Metamorphosis
  • The Crucible
  • One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
  • The Things They Carried

Novels

  • The Kite Runner
  • Checkpoint
  • Half Alseep in Frog Pajamas
  • The Professor and the Madman
  • Good Omens
  • Idoru
  • Slaughterhouse-Five
  • Everything Bad Is Good For You
  • Krakatoa
  • A Clockwork Orange
  • Less Than Zero
  • Twelve
  • Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
  • Through the Looking Glass
  • Fight Club
  • American Psycho
  • Paperback Original
  • Bell Canto (not finished)

Comics

  • Persepolis
  • The Awakening
  • Wanted
  • Daredevil (volumes 12-13)
  • V For Vendetta
  • Y: The Last Man (volumes 6-7)
  • Girls (volumes 2-3)
  • Superman Batman (volume 2)
  • DMZ (volume 1)
  • Powers
  • Justice
  • American Virgin
  • Fell
  • Batman & Robin: The Boy Wonder
  • Superman
  • Astonishing X-Men

3 comments

1. Cassyt says:

[1/6/2007 - 9:14 pm]

Your list looks great! You must read the Kite Runner, although I warn you, it takes a while to get going. As a teacher, I’d also recommend The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon, if you haven’t read it already. Quick and engaging. Good luck!

2. Todd says:

[1/7/2007 - 12:34 am]

Good suggestions, Cassyt. Why do you think Curious Incident appeals specifically to teachers? Just wondering about the connection you see there.

What did you enjoy about The Kite Runner? That was actually the first book I read in 2006. I didn’t like it very much. It was formulaic and I saw the ending coming as soon as he introduced Assef. That and I hated the narrator almost immediately for what he did (or rather, what he didn’t do) to Hassan. Hosseini, the author, needed a better editor. He can tell a story, but this book reads like a Hollywood blockbuster in terms of its obvious plot.

I read Curious Incident in 2005 and really enjoyed it. Haddon’s got a good ear and his narrator is strangely appealing. I plan to read A Spot of Bother sometime this year.

3. Cassyt says:

[1/7/2007 - 9:13 am]

Todd-I read the Curious Incident while in the midst of trying to get an Asperger’s/Autistic/PDD student some help from the school, his parents, a doctor, anyone. The book helped me understand how life looked from his eyes a bit better.

I also found it difficult to forgive the narrator in the Kite Runner, and the ending was particularly lame. “Ok, I’m out of ideas, I’ll just end this ummm, here.” And yet I still was riveted through most of the book. Perhaps because my knowledge of that area of the world is so limited.

We’ll be reading Alice in Wonderland aloud to the class this month. I don’t think I’ve ever read the book. Slaughterhouse-Five is also on my short list. Maybe over spring break. Until then, I’m working my way through some non-fiction and guidebooks.