The FBG Top 300 Books of All Time (fiction edition) <<< Counting down from 100: Books 100 => 96 >>> Discussion welcome and encouraged (6 Viewers)

[kupcho1]

@kupcho1, I had this one at #51. Did I misspell it or Zahn's name or something?

Let me say it again, author mistakes, misspellings or even omissions don't matter. Only titles matter.

In this case, yours differed from the first one in (turnjose7):
Star Wars: Heir to the Empire vs. Heir to the Empire

With well over 800 books, and not being conversant in all of the Star Wars books, I missed this.


It's fixed now.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

Exhalation by Ted Chiang

I think I read almost no fiction for close to 15 years. At some point in 2020 (according to Goodreads) I decided to give fiction another shot. After reading a couple things, I decided to give Ted Chiang a shot because the podcast Very Bad Wizards had done several episodes about his stories and it got me very curious. In many ways, his stories rekindled my hope in what I could take from fictional works and started me back on a path of reading a lot more fiction.

His stories are all in the genre of speculative fiction. He is a very clear and straightforward writer in terms of describing the actual events of his stories. And through that, he is able to distill important and thought-provoking concepts of what it means to be human, what the nature of reality is and how we can conceive of technology’s role in our understanding of those things.

This book contains 10 stories. I will highlight three of my favorites.

The Truth of Fact, The Truth of Feeling - this story is set in a world where anyone can wear a pair of glasses that record everything they see. The information is saved, but the cataloguing of the footage is spotty, so it is not always easy to find things that you recorded. The story centers around a father and daughter and their recollection of certain events. Both are sure of what happened in the past and that affects their relationship. After watching the actual video, however, one is right and one is wrong (factually). Though ultimately, how much those facts really matter in terms of human relationships and in the way that human beings operate in a day-to-day basis is in question. The technology is both a metaphor for the human brain and also not that far off from real-life technological advances and (hopefully) makes you reflect on how much perception influences our lives.

Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom - in this world, there is a technology that allows you to view the alternate reality of a choice you made were you to have made the other choice. You have to do decide to create the alternate reality device at the time of the choice, so not all alternate realities can be viewed. But those alternate realities also contain all other humans, which creates an alternate reality for them as well. So some people then seek out the devices that contain those alternate realities, such as a man whose husband died in his own life, but who continued to live to in the alternate reality. (I have no idea idea if this explanation makes sense.). Anyway, it really brings to light the challenges of the uncertainty of life, how we regret or wonder about the paths not taken, and whether there is even any value to knowing how things could have been different.

The Lifecycle of software objects - focuses on a developer of characters in a virtual reality game and her interactions with the character and attempts to make it more realistic. In the process, she becomes attached to the character, though over time the game becomes less popular and the characters likely need to be shut down. The characters aren’t “real” but the developer’s conception of and feelings towards them are, which complicates the way she approaches the impending shutdown. I think this becomes more relevant all the time as agentic AI continues its ascent and our relationship with digital “reality” becomes more and more fraught and (should) make us wonder about how and why we have the feelings that we do.

 

[Psychopav]

@kupcho1, I had this one at #51. Did I misspell it or Zahn's name or something?

Let me say it again, author mistakes, misspellings or even omissions don't matter. Only titles matter.

In this case, yours differed from the first one in (turnjose7):
Star Wars: Heir to the Empire vs. Heir to the Empire

With well over 800 books, and not being conversant in all of the Star Wars books, I missed this.


It's fixed now.

Sorry about that. I was much more fastidious about titles in the TV countdown, because we had an authoritative source in IMDB titles. I wasn't sure what to use for books so I think I just did the best I could. My best, as I often find IRL, wasn't good enough.

Thanks for fixing my mistake!

 

[krista4]

OH is cooking, so you know that means book review time. No more cooking until Monday at earliest, and this is the only one he had in the past couple of days.

Underworld by Don DeLillo

"The opening paragraph – in fact, the opening chapter – is my favorite opener in American literature. It’s so poetic…and also it’s about baseball! This really is the capital-G Great American Novel – insanely ambitious but actually nailed it. The prose is staggering. I’ve always suspected that Don DeLillo reads everything out loud as he writes it and chooses words based on how musical they are. It’s lyrical, just beautiful sentences."

[At this point, he walked into our library, brought the book back to the kitchen with him, and proceeded to read me the opening.]

He speaks in your voice, American, and there's a shine in his eye that's halfway hopeful.

It's a school day, sure, but he's nowhere near the classroom. He wants to be here instead, standing in the shadow of this old rust-hulk of a structure, and it's hard to blame him - this metropolis of steel and concrete and flaky paint and cropped grass and enormous Chesterfield packs aslant on the scoreboards, a couple of cigarettes jutting from each.

Longing on a large scale is what makes history. This is just a kid with a local yearning but he is part of an assembling crowd, anonymous thousands off the buses and trains, people in narrow columns tramping over the swing bridge above the river, and even if they are not a migration or a revolution, some vast shaking of the soul, they bring with them the body heat of a great city and their own small reveries and desperations, the unseen something that haunts the day - men in fedoras and sailors on shore leave, the stray tumble of their thoughts, going to a game.

"The whole first chapter could be a story in and of itself. It’s just a pleasure to read. If that opener doesn’t make you want to read the rest of the book, then I don’t know, man. I don’t know what your ****ing deal is."

 

[krista4]

Exhalation by Ted Chiang

Sounds like fascinating stuff!

 

[Eephus]

"The whole first chapter could be a story in and of itself. It’s just a pleasure to read. If that opener doesn’t make you want to read the rest of the book, then I don’t know, man. I don’t know what your ****ing deal is."

Jacket blurb material

 

[Long Ball Larry]

OH is cooking, so you know that means book review time. No more cooking until Monday at earliest, and this is the only one he had in the past couple of days.

Underworld by Don DeLillo

"The opening paragraph – in fact, the opening chapter – is my favorite opener in American literature. It’s so poetic…and also it’s about baseball! This really is the capital-G Great American Novel – insanely ambitious but actually nailed it. The prose is staggering. I’ve always suspected that Don DeLillo reads everything out loud as he writes it and chooses words based on how musical they are. It’s lyrical, just beautiful sentences."

[At this point, he walked into our library, brought the book back to the kitchen with him, and proceeded to read me the opening.]

He speaks in your voice, American, and there's a shine in his eye that's halfway hopeful.

It's a school day, sure, but he's nowhere near the classroom. He wants to be here instead, standing in the shadow of this old rust-hulk of a structure, and it's hard to blame him - this metropolis of steel and concrete and flaky paint and cropped grass and enormous Chesterfield packs aslant on the scoreboards, a couple of cigarettes jutting from each.

Longing on a large scale is what makes history. This is just a kid with a local yearning but he is part of an assembling crowd, anonymous thousands off the buses and trains, people in narrow columns tramping over the swing bridge above the river, and even if they are not a migration or a revolution, some vast shaking of the soul, they bring with them the body heat of a great city and their own small reveries and desperations, the unseen something that haunts the day - men in fedoras and sailors on shore leave, the stray tumble of their thoughts, going to a game.

"The whole first chapter could be a story in and of itself. It’s just a pleasure to read. If that opener doesn’t make you want to read the rest of the book, then I don’t know, man. I don’t know what your ****ing deal is."

This should be a tv show

Cooking and pontificating on books, that is

 

[shuke]

Applying color eraser so I can read what @kupcho1 tagged me about.

I wasn't able to figure out what you did to show it (I tried, and you explained it fine - I'm just blind, apparently), so I appreciate that you did this.

Select all the text in the post to highlight it, then open up the color palette and select the eraser thing that I circled here.

IMG-0040 hosted at ImgBB

Image IMG-0040 hosted in ImgBB

ibb.co

If only there were a way to just post stuff in default regular ol' font color.

 

[shuke]

The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

This was my #9 selection. Something I've realized today is that apparently I like novelizations (or short story-izations) of real events, or semi-autobiographical works (e.g., Go Tell It on the Mountain), and apparently I also like stories/novels where the author blurs the lines between what is real and fiction by inserting himself into the works (e.g., The New York Trilogy). This collection of short stories is based in part on O'Brien's experiences in the Vietnam War. The blurring of the lines between fiction and non-fiction led to my believing for a while that this was non-fiction. Only upon a second reading sometime later did I get it. O'Brien did this intentionally: "I set out to write a book with the feel of utter and absolute reality, a work of fiction that would read like nonfiction and adhere to the conventions of a memoir: dedicating the book to the characters, using my name, drawing on my own life. This was a technical challenge. My goal was to compose a fiction with the texture, sound and authentic-seeming weight of nonfiction." It's hard to explain, but I think he particularly got the "texture" right. The book feels the weight of the complicated question of morality.

One genre I don't have a lot of selections from is war novels, but in the couple of instances where I do, the Vietnam War is the subject. In college I had a focus on 20th century American history and politics, and, especially being at a liberal arts college, the Vietnam War was a big part of that. It indirectly led to an obsession with all things Vietnam for me, which I got to realize with our first trip to Vietnam in 2008 (and subsequent trips).

Somehow I have three copies of this book. @KarmaPolice , should I send you one? It's only 233 pages.

I've read O'Briens Going After Cacciato, also about the Vietnam War. Unfortunately it's one of those books that I hardly remember much about.

 

[shuke]

Exhalation by Ted Chiang

I think I read almost no fiction for close to 15 years. At some point in 2020 (according to Goodreads) I decided to give fiction another shot. After reading a couple things, I decided to give Ted Chiang a shot because the podcast Very Bad Wizards had done several episodes about his stories and it got me very curious. In many ways, his stories rekindled my hope in what I could take from fictional works and started me back on a path of reading a lot more fiction.

His stories are all in the genre of speculative fiction. He is a very clear and straightforward writer in terms of describing the actual events of his stories. And through that, he is able to distill important and thought-provoking concepts of what it means to be human, what the nature of reality is and how we can conceive of technology’s role in our understanding of those things.

This book contains 10 stories. I will highlight three of my favorites.

The Truth of Fact, The Truth of Feeling - this story is set in a world where anyone can wear a pair of glasses that record everything they see. The information is saved, but the cataloguing of the footage is spotty, so it is not always easy to find things that you recorded. The story centers around a father and daughter and their recollection of certain events. Both are sure of what happened in the past and that affects their relationship. After watching the actual video, however, one is right and one is wrong (factually). Though ultimately, how much those facts really matter in terms of human relationships and in the way that human beings operate in a day-to-day basis is in question. The technology is both a metaphor for the human brain and also not that far off from real-life technological advances and (hopefully) makes you reflect on how much perception influences our lives.

Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom - in this world, there is a technology that allows you to view the alternate reality of a choice you made were you to have made the other choice. You have to do decide to create the alternate reality device at the time of the choice, so not all alternate realities can be viewed. But those alternate realities also contain all other humans, which creates an alternate reality for them as well. So some people then seek out the devices that contain those alternate realities, such as a man whose husband died in his own life, but who continued to live to in the alternate reality. (I have no idea idea if this explanation makes sense.). Anyway, it really brings to light the challenges of the uncertainty of life, how we regret or wonder about the paths not taken, and whether there is even any value to knowing how things could have been different.

The Lifecycle of software objects - focuses on a developer of characters in a virtual reality game and her interactions with the character and attempts to make it more realistic. In the process, she becomes attached to the character, though over time the game becomes less popular and the characters likely need to be shut down. The characters aren’t “real” but the developer’s conception of and feelings towards them are, which complicates the way she approaches the impending shutdown. I think this becomes more relevant all the time as agentic AI continues its ascent and our relationship with digital “reality” becomes more and more fraught and (should) make us wonder about how and why we have the feelings that we do.

This sounds awesome.

 

[krista4]

Exhalation by Ted Chiang

I think I read almost no fiction for close to 15 years. At some point in 2020 (according to Goodreads) I decided to give fiction another shot. After reading a couple things, I decided to give Ted Chiang a shot because the podcast Very Bad Wizards had done several episodes about his stories and it got me very curious. In many ways, his stories rekindled my hope in what I could take from fictional works and started me back on a path of reading a lot more fiction.

His stories are all in the genre of speculative fiction. He is a very clear and straightforward writer in terms of describing the actual events of his stories. And through that, he is able to distill important and thought-provoking concepts of what it means to be human, what the nature of reality is and how we can conceive of technology’s role in our understanding of those things.

This book contains 10 stories. I will highlight three of my favorites.

The Truth of Fact, The Truth of Feeling - this story is set in a world where anyone can wear a pair of glasses that record everything they see. The information is saved, but the cataloguing of the footage is spotty, so it is not always easy to find things that you recorded. The story centers around a father and daughter and their recollection of certain events. Both are sure of what happened in the past and that affects their relationship. After watching the actual video, however, one is right and one is wrong (factually). Though ultimately, how much those facts really matter in terms of human relationships and in the way that human beings operate in a day-to-day basis is in question. The technology is both a metaphor for the human brain and also not that far off from real-life technological advances and (hopefully) makes you reflect on how much perception influences our lives.

Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom - in this world, there is a technology that allows you to view the alternate reality of a choice you made were you to have made the other choice. You have to do decide to create the alternate reality device at the time of the choice, so not all alternate realities can be viewed. But those alternate realities also contain all other humans, which creates an alternate reality for them as well. So some people then seek out the devices that contain those alternate realities, such as a man whose husband died in his own life, but who continued to live to in the alternate reality. (I have no idea idea if this explanation makes sense.). Anyway, it really brings to light the challenges of the uncertainty of life, how we regret or wonder about the paths not taken, and whether there is even any value to knowing how things could have been different.

The Lifecycle of software objects - focuses on a developer of characters in a virtual reality game and her interactions with the character and attempts to make it more realistic. In the process, she becomes attached to the character, though over time the game becomes less popular and the characters likely need to be shut down. The characters aren’t “real” but the developer’s conception of and feelings towards them are, which complicates the way she approaches the impending shutdown. I think this becomes more relevant all the time as agentic AI continues its ascent and our relationship with digital “reality” becomes more and more fraught and (should) make us wonder about how and why we have the feelings that we do.

This sounds awesome.

Yeah, that one got put in bold on my list.

 

[kupcho1]

Phase 3: Books 200 - 101 continued

I don't think there are any errors or missing books in this list, but who the hell knows. We do get (once again), Long Walk. Or, as it is more commonly known, The Long Walk.

121	The Three Musketeers	Alexandre Dumas	chaos34, Psychopav
120	A Dance with Dragons (Vol. 5 of A Song of Ice and Fire)	George R.R. Martin	guru_007, scoobus
113	Dog Soldiers	Robert Stone	Eephus
	First Folio	William Shakespeare	chaos34
	The Long Walk	Stephen King	Frostillicus, shuke
	The Name of the Rose	Umberto Eco	chaos34, TheBaylorKid, krista4
	Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban	J.K. Rowling	turnjose7, scoobus, Dr_Zaius
	A Visit from the Goon Squad	Jennifer Egan	kupcho1, Eephus, rockaction, shuke
112	East of Eden	John Steinbeck	chaos34, Mrs.Marco, Psychopav

And here come the #1s from @Chaos34 @Eephus and @Long Ball Larry at #113. Obviously there are no more books that were only selected by one person remaining on the list. It would be great to hear why these were chosen.

We also have the second selection from A Song of Ice and Fire as well as the 2011 Pulitzer prize winner A Visit from the Goon Squad.

We'll wrap up the first 200 tomorrow and begin counting down the top 100 on Monday. I'm thinking of reducing the number to 5 per day (give or take; might be 4 one day, 6 another to keep the remaining ties together).

 

[scoobus]

Phase 3: Books 200 - 101 continued

I don't think there are any errors or missing books in this list, but who the hell knows. We do get (once again), Long Walk. Or, as it is more commonly known, The Long Walk.

121	The Three Musketeers	Alexandre Dumas	chaos34, Psychopav
120	A Dance with Dragons (Vol. 5 of A Song of Ice and Fire)	George R.R. Martin	guru_007, scoobus
113	Collected Fictions	Jorge Luis Borges	Long Ball Larry
	Dog Soldiers	Robert Stone	Eephus
	First Folio	William Shakespeare	chaos34
	The Long Walk	Stephen King	Frostillicus, shuke
	The Name of the Rose	Umberto Eco	chaos34, TheBaylorKid, krista4
	Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban	J.K. Rowling	turnjose7, scoobus, Dr_Zaius
	A Visit from the Goon Squad	Jennifer Egan	kupcho1, Eephus, rockaction, shuke
112	East of Eden	John Steinbeck	chaos34, Mrs.Marco, Psychopav

And here come the #1s from @Chaos34 @Eephus and @Long Ball Larry at #113. Obviously there are no more books that were only selected by one person remaining on the list. It would be great to hear why these were chosen.

We also have the second selection from A Song of Ice and Fire as well as the 2011 Pulitzer prize winner A Visit from the Goon Squad.

We'll wrap up the first 200 tomorrow and begin counting down the top 100 on Monday. I'm thinking of reducing the number to 5 per day (give or take; might be 4 one day, 6 another to keep the remaining ties together).

Whatever you did with the font this time, keep doing it.

 

[kupcho1]

Whatever you did with the font this time, keep doing it.

I didn't do anything different. Maybe the issue has been addressed by management.

 

[Psychopav]

Prizoner of Azkaban is my favorite HP book.

 

[The Dreaded Marco]

Mrs.Marco and I are on a 17 day trip to England. We just arrived this morning.

So I suspect she will fall a bit behind on her commentary but will definitely catch up at some point.

She pretty much made the itinerary so naturally we’re visiting the homes of the Brontë sisters, Wordsworth and Beatrix Potter

 

[krista4]

@kupcho1 , sorry, but OH did have the Borges on his list, at #34. It was listed as “Ficciones,” but in my defense on this one, I did point that out in my cover note because I wasn’t sure if it should be translated. Unlike all the others on our lists that are known by their translations, I’d never seen this one as anything but Ficciones.

 

[krista4]

Interesting that The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco shows up (temporarily) on the same list as the Borges, since Eco loved Borges so much he named a character in The Name of the Rose - Jorge di Burges - in his honor.

I actually didn't remember that I had this one on my list (though there it is, at #57), and Chaos or Baylor can do a better job with a write-up. One personal note, and probably why it made my list, is that I read it as a teenager and remember that it felt like I had "graduated" from the mysteries I'd read as a child (such as Encyclopedia Brown), then to those I'd read as a tween (Agatha Christie/Sherlock Holmes), then to this, which seemed like a "real" literary mystery. I'm sure that, being so young when I read it, I missed a lot, and I wonder if I should re-read this with the benefit of age and maturity (?).

 

[Ilov80s]

Mrs.Marco and I are on a 17 day trip to England. We just arrived this morning.

So I suspect she will fall a bit behind on her commentary but will definitely catch up at some point.

She pretty much made the itinerary so naturally we’re visiting the homes of the Brontë sisters, Wordsworth and Beatrix Potter

That’s fun, enjoy the trip!

 

[shuke]

A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

Compiled of a number of stories that all could possibly stand on their own but are all connected in some way. I did have a little trouble keeping track of some of the characters, but I loved this book.

 

[shuke]

The Long Walk by Stephen King

Originally published under King's pseudonym Richard Bachman. While Carrie was King's first novel to get published, this is actually the first one he ever wrote.

From Amazon:
Against the wishes of his mother, sixteen-year-old Ray Garraty is about to compete in the annual grueling match of stamina and wits known as the Long Walk. One hundred boys must keep a steady pace of four miles per hour without ever stopping...with the winner being awarded “The Prize”—anything he wants for the rest of his life. But, as part of this national tournament that sweeps through a dystopian America year after year, there are some harsh rules that Garraty and ninety-nine others must adhere to in order to beat out the rest. There is no finish line—the winner is the last man standing. Contestants cannot receive any outside aid whatsoever. Slow down under the speed limit and you’re given a warning. Three warnings and you’re out of the game—permanently

 

[Chaos34]

Interesting that the The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

This is 4 we've shared. I didn't expect that considering your reluctance to do this. I encouraged you hoping for a woman's list that would likely differ greatly from my macho nonsense. I probably recall the movie better than the book, but it was a delve into ancient libraries with the inquisition in play and a terrific murder mystery. It's narrated by the young wide-eyed apprentice to a brilliant Franciscan friar, so we learn as he learns. I loved that innocent naive narrative approach alongside the friar, a Sherlock-ian intelligence. Sherlock too made my list, and if you like Sherlock, you'll love William of Baskerville, a 14th century version. Not sure if that's enough. It was a change of pace novel for me when I picked it up in the middle of my spy thriller days. So good I looked for more, but never found anything nearly as good. I did struggle to cut Eco's Foucault's Pendulum to list more authors. Something I regret. On that note, I also struggled to cut High Fidelity. That would make 5 shared and I could have joined you and Eeph as the Three Musicteers.

I have 4 on this drop and a busy Saturday. I don't have much to say about The Three Musketeers by Dumas just that when I read it in late high school, I became D'Artagnan. So much so that a biography of Charles de Batz de Castlemore, aka Count d'Artagnan, would make my non-fiction list. Possibly of interest Dumas starts The Three Musketeers with a good bit of educational wonderfully written non-fiction history up to D'Artagnon's first meeting with Athos, Porthos and Aramis. Then the fictional adventure begins. I hope to read it again some day.

 

[Chaos34]

Exhalation by Ted Chiang

I think I read almost no fiction for close to 15 years. At some point in 2020 (according to Goodreads) I decided to give fiction another shot. After reading a couple things, I decided to give Ted Chiang a shot because the podcast Very Bad Wizards had done several episodes about his stories and it got me very curious. In many ways, his stories rekindled my hope in what I could take from fictional works and started me back on a path of reading a lot more fiction.

His stories are all in the genre of speculative fiction. He is a very clear and straightforward writer in terms of describing the actual events of his stories. And through that, he is able to distill important and thought-provoking concepts of what it means to be human, what the nature of reality is and how we can conceive of technology’s role in our understanding of those things.

This book contains 10 stories. I will highlight three of my favorites.

The Truth of Fact, The Truth of Feeling - this story is set in a world where anyone can wear a pair of glasses that record everything they see. The information is saved, but the cataloguing of the footage is spotty, so it is not always easy to find things that you recorded. The story centers around a father and daughter and their recollection of certain events. Both are sure of what happened in the past and that affects their relationship. After watching the actual video, however, one is right and one is wrong (factually). Though ultimately, how much those facts really matter in terms of human relationships and in the way that human beings operate in a day-to-day basis is in question. The technology is both a metaphor for the human brain and also not that far off from real-life technological advances and (hopefully) makes you reflect on how much perception influences our lives.

Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom - in this world, there is a technology that allows you to view the alternate reality of a choice you made were you to have made the other choice. You have to do decide to create the alternate reality device at the time of the choice, so not all alternate realities can be viewed. But those alternate realities also contain all other humans, which creates an alternate reality for them as well. So some people then seek out the devices that contain those alternate realities, such as a man whose husband died in his own life, but who continued to live to in the alternate reality. (I have no idea idea if this explanation makes sense.). Anyway, it really brings to light the challenges of the uncertainty of life, how we regret or wonder about the paths not taken, and whether there is even any value to knowing how things could have been different.

The Lifecycle of software objects - focuses on a developer of characters in a virtual reality game and her interactions with the character and attempts to make it more realistic. In the process, she becomes attached to the character, though over time the game becomes less popular and the characters likely need to be shut down. The characters aren’t “real” but the developer’s conception of and feelings towards them are, which complicates the way she approaches the impending shutdown. I think this becomes more relevant all the time as agentic AI continues its ascent and our relationship with digital “reality” becomes more and more fraught and (should) make us wonder about how and why we have the feelings that we do.

This sounds awesome.

He's the consensus favorite author of the AI nerds I follow on X. These two books of short stories have been in my queue for awhile and will be my next reads after finishing two non-fictions I'm in the middle of atm.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

Exhalation by Ted Chiang

I think I read almost no fiction for close to 15 years. At some point in 2020 (according to Goodreads) I decided to give fiction another shot. After reading a couple things, I decided to give Ted Chiang a shot because the podcast Very Bad Wizards had done several episodes about his stories and it got me very curious. In many ways, his stories rekindled my hope in what I could take from fictional works and started me back on a path of reading a lot more fiction.

His stories are all in the genre of speculative fiction. He is a very clear and straightforward writer in terms of describing the actual events of his stories. And through that, he is able to distill important and thought-provoking concepts of what it means to be human, what the nature of reality is and how we can conceive of technology’s role in our understanding of those things.

This book contains 10 stories. I will highlight three of my favorites.

The Truth of Fact, The Truth of Feeling - this story is set in a world where anyone can wear a pair of glasses that record everything they see. The information is saved, but the cataloguing of the footage is spotty, so it is not always easy to find things that you recorded. The story centers around a father and daughter and their recollection of certain events. Both are sure of what happened in the past and that affects their relationship. After watching the actual video, however, one is right and one is wrong (factually). Though ultimately, how much those facts really matter in terms of human relationships and in the way that human beings operate in a day-to-day basis is in question. The technology is both a metaphor for the human brain and also not that far off from real-life technological advances and (hopefully) makes you reflect on how much perception influences our lives.

Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom - in this world, there is a technology that allows you to view the alternate reality of a choice you made were you to have made the other choice. You have to do decide to create the alternate reality device at the time of the choice, so not all alternate realities can be viewed. But those alternate realities also contain all other humans, which creates an alternate reality for them as well. So some people then seek out the devices that contain those alternate realities, such as a man whose husband died in his own life, but who continued to live to in the alternate reality. (I have no idea idea if this explanation makes sense.). Anyway, it really brings to light the challenges of the uncertainty of life, how we regret or wonder about the paths not taken, and whether there is even any value to knowing how things could have been different.

The Lifecycle of software objects - focuses on a developer of characters in a virtual reality game and her interactions with the character and attempts to make it more realistic. In the process, she becomes attached to the character, though over time the game becomes less popular and the characters likely need to be shut down. The characters aren’t “real” but the developer’s conception of and feelings towards them are, which complicates the way she approaches the impending shutdown. I think this becomes more relevant all the time as agentic AI continues its ascent and our relationship with digital “reality” becomes more and more fraught and (should) make us wonder about how and why we have the feelings that we do.

This sounds awesome.

He's the consensus favorite author of the AI nerds I follow on X. These two books of short stories have been in my queue for awhile and will be my next reads after finishing two non-fictions I'm in the middle of atm.

I have his other one ranked like 3rd or something, so not clear if that could still come up, but I can comment on it as well either way.

And I will get back to Borges later, unless OH wants to do it in Spanish while preparing some Chimichurri

 

[kupcho1]

Phase 3: Books 200 - 101 completed

Once again, I missed one, although in my defense, different languages were involved. I was provided a clue in the paragraph preceding the submitted list however (i.e., "On #34, I'm not sure if I should have gone with the English translation, but unlike many others where I used English, I never hear that one referred to in English."), so maybe this one's on me as well.

In any event, on we go...

110	Snow Crash	Neal Stephenson	guru_007, TheBaylorKid
	The Kite Runner	Khaled Hosseini	Dr. Octopus, Long Ball Larry
	A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man	James Joyce	turnjose7, Don Quixote, Oliver Humanzee
108	The Pillars of the Earth	Ken Follett	timschochet, Barry2
	Hyperion	Dan Simmons	guru_007, Barry2
107	On the Road	Jack Kerouac	guru_007, Dr. Octopus, ilov80s, krista4
105	Jurassic Park	Michael Crichton	turnjose7, Frostillicus
	Red Dragon	Thomas Harris	Dr. Octopus, Psychopav, shuke
103	Charlotte's Web	E.B. White	Dr. Octopus, Mrs.Marco, krista4
	The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe	C.S. Lewis	guru_007, Frostillicus, Psychopav
101	The Trial	Franz Kafka	Oliver Humanzee, Long Ball Larry
	The Book Thief	Markus Zusak	Mrs.Marco, Dr_Zaius, Long Ball Larry

It's Charlotte's Web again!

It's interesting (to me, at least) that two thrillers tied for 105th and two children's books tied at #103. I don't have any picks this round, but I've read half of this list and have at least heard of the other five, but Hyperion is new to me. A brief Google search makes it sound intriguing as does having been chosen by three of you.

Starting tomorrow I'm going to post 4-6 books per day until we get down to the top 10. I will post the rank for each participant as well as the total and average score for the book.

 

[Barry2]

Hyperion by Dan Simmons

This is a bit of a mind bender. It deals with time, space, reality. Hundreds of planets are connected by portals for easy travel, governed by the Hegemony. This Galaxy also has Outback planets that aren't connected and can only be visited by spacecraft. Hyperion is an Outback planet. On Hyperion there are Time tombs, structures that are believed to have been built in the future and are guarded by a creature called the Shrike. The time tombs appear to be opening, as this is happening a fleet of Ousters is headed there. Ousters are modified humans that live in space stations and are in conflict with the Hegemony. Seven pilgrims are sent by the Hegemony to investigate the tombs and the Shrike. They also need to figure out what the Ousters are up to. The seven consists of a Hegemony member, private detective, poet, military officer, priest, professor with his infant daughter, and a Templar. It's believed that one of them is a spy. Each tell their story to try and understand why they were chosen and to root out the spy. I needed to pause between the stories to grasp the brilliant craziness and to recover a little bit from some serious emotion. I ranked this 2 maybe should've been 1.

 

[krista4]

The Long Walk by Stephen King

Originally published under King's pseudonym Richard Bachman. While Carrie was King's first novel to get published, this is actually the first one he ever wrote.

From Amazon:
Against the wishes of his mother, sixteen-year-old Ray Garraty is about to compete in the annual grueling match of stamina and wits known as the Long Walk. One hundred boys must keep a steady pace of four miles per hour without ever stopping...with the winner being awarded “The Prize”—anything he wants for the rest of his life. But, as part of this national tournament that sweeps through a dystopian America year after year, there are some harsh rules that Garraty and ninety-nine others must adhere to in order to beat out the rest. There is no finish line—the winner is the last man standing. Contestants cannot receive any outside aid whatsoever. Slow down under the speed limit and you’re given a warning. Three warnings and you’re out of the game—permanently

I read a ton of Stephen King as a teenager but missed this one. Sounds very good.

 

[krista4]

This is 4 we've shared. I didn't expect that considering your reluctance to do this. I encouraged you hoping for a woman's list that would likely differ greatly from my macho nonsense. I probably recall the movie better than the book, but it was a delve into ancient libraries with the inquisition in play and a terrific murder mystery. It's narrated by the young wide-eyed apprentice to a brilliant Franciscan friar, so we learn as he learns. I loved that innocent naive narrative approach alongside the friar, a Sherlock-ian intelligence. Sherlock too made my list, and if you like Sherlock, you'll love William of Baskerville, a 14th century version. Not sure if that's enough. It was a change of pace novel for me when I picked it up in the middle of my spy thriller days. So good I looked for more, but never found anything nearly as good. I did struggle to cut Eco's Foucault's Pendulum to list more authors. Something I regret. On that note, I also struggled to cut High Fidelity. That would make 5 shared and I could have joined you and Eeph as the Three Musicteers.

I must be macho!

In looking at my list, there are only two books that stand out to me as ones that would likely not be selected by a guy, and they're at #61 and #63 so not going to show up for the discussion.

 

[krista4]

And I will get back to Borges later, unless OH wants to do it in Spanish while preparing some Chimichurri

OH actually makes a mean chimichurri.

 

[krista4]

Phase 3: Books 200 - 101 completed

Once again, I missed one, although in my defense, different languages were involved. I was provided a clue in the paragraph preceding the submitted list however (i.e., "On #34, I'm not sure if I should have gone with the English translation, but unlike many others where I used English, I never hear that one referred to in English."), so maybe this one's on me as well.

In any event, on we go...

110	Snow Crash	Neal Stephenson	guru_007, TheBaylorKid
	The Kite Runner	Khaled Hosseini	Dr. Octopus, Long Ball Larry
	A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man	James Joyce	turnjose7, Don Quixote, Oliver Humanzee
108	The Pillars of the Earth	Ken Follett	timschochet, Barry2
	Hyperion	Dan Simmons	guru_007, Barry2
107	On the Road	Jack Kerouac	guru_007, Dr. Octopus, ilov80s, krista4
105	Jurassic Park	Michael Crichton	turnjose7, Frostillicus
	Red Dragon	Thomas Harris	Dr. Octopus, Psychopav, shuke
103	Charlotte's Web	E.B. White	Dr. Octopus, Mrs.Marco, krista4
	The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe	C.S. Lewis	guru_007, Frostillicus, Psychopav
101	The Trial	Franz Kafka	Oliver Humanzee, Long Ball Larry
	The Book Thief	Markus Zusak	Mrs.Marco, Dr_Zaius, Long Ball Larry

It's Charlotte's Web again!

It's interesting (to me, at least) that two thrillers tied for 105th and two children's books tied at #103. I don't have any picks this round, but I've read half of this list and have at least heard of the other five, but Hyperion is new to me. A brief Google search makes it sound intriguing as does having been chosen by three of you.

Starting tomorrow I'm going to post 4-6 books per day until we get down to the top 10. I will post the rank for each participant as well as the total and average score for the book.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

In looking at my list, there are only two books that stand out to me as ones that would likely not be selected by a guy

Hopefully one wasn’t Charlotte’s Web.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner is a deeply emotional novel and tough to read in places due to subjective matter but obviously I liked it.

The story follows Amir, a privileged boy, and his loyal friend Hassan, whose bond is shattered by a tragic event. As Amir grows up and moves to the U.S., he struggles with guilt until an opportunity for redemption arises.

 

[krista4]

In looking at my list, there are only two books that stand out to me as ones that would likely not be selected by a guy

Hopefully one wasn’t Charlotte’s Web.

I just realized I probably wouldn't have expected a guy to take "She's Come Undone," either, but someone (I think it was tim?) did and got it onto the countdown. Good job!

I had Charlotte's Web at #48 and On the Road at #25. I don't think I need to write much of anything about these; I probably like them for the same reasons everyone else does. Charlotte's Web is the only children's book I selected, and I think it's a perfect book. To this day I never kill spiders. I had to read On the Road for two different classes in college, and so it hit me at exactly the right time.

 

[Mrs.Marco]

Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens
I chose this Dickens novel because it's the first one I really loved. I think I was exposed to his novels a bit too early in school, but Little Dorrit was the first one in which I appreciated all the characters and antics and fabulous coincidences and the social commentary. Now I appreciate all of his novels that still feel particularly relevant.

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
A rare perfect novel--from the opening line, "Where is Papa going with that ax" to the heartbreaking ending about the love and loss we all experience in life. The book is a classic for a reason.

East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Okay, so he does explain the geology of California for a lot of pages, and he'd never get away with that now, but I love the drama between the brothers and the evil Cathy. I do admit that Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath are better books, but I loved East of Eden more so it got my vote. I think Steinbeck captures times and places particularly well and deserves his spot in the American Cannon.

The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
I will read anything this gifted Aussie writer publishes, and I was so happy to see this novel achieve crossover appeal. He cleverly uses Death as a narrator in this amazing Holocaust novel. The book may be marketed for young adults, but I think everyone would enjoy this striking tale. Zusak is a masterful storyteller.

 

[kupcho1]

In looking at my list, there are only two books that stand out to me as ones that would likely not be selected by a guy, and they're at #61 and #63 so not going to show up for the discussion.

I knew one was #61; I don't know what #63 is.

This is as good a time as any to reiterate that I will hide the tab of anyone that wants me to when I send out the google sheet link (I think this should be possible). I'll also have to hide "your" column on the main tabulation tab as that has what you've ranked for every book. Again, should be possible, but it's up to you.

 

[Barry2]

Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner is a deeply emotional novel and tough to read in places due to subjective matter but obviously I liked it.

The story follows Amir, a privileged boy, and his loyal friend Hassan, whose bond is shattered by a tragic event. As Amir grows up and moves to the U.S., he struggles with guilt until an opportunity for redemption arises.

this made my girlfriend cry. Tears running down her cheeks crying. Too much of a wuss to try it myself.

 

[krista4]

In looking at my list, there are only two books that stand out to me as ones that would likely not be selected by a guy, and they're at #61 and #63 so not going to show up for the discussion.

I knew one was #61; I don't know what #63 is.

This is as good a time as any to reiterate that I will hide the tab of anyone that wants me to when I send out the google sheet link (I think this should be possible). I'll also have to hide "your" column on the main tabulation tab as that has what you've ranked for every book. Again, should be possible, but it's up to you.

#63 won the Booker Prize, so more likely that a dude might have read it. By the way, are you going to do all the Booker Prize winners after you finish the Pulitzers?

I suppose I can share that the books I'm talking about are:
61. Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding - the female equivalent to "High Fidelity"
63. Possession by A.S. Byatt - "The novel follows two modern-day academics as they research the paper trail around the previously unknown love life between famous fictional poets Randolph Henry Ash and Christabel LaMotte. Possession is set both in the present day and the Victorian era, contrasting the two time periods, as well as echoing similarities and satirising modern academia and mating rituals. The structure of the novel incorporates many different styles, including fictional diary entries, letters and poetry, and uses these styles and other devices to explore the postmodern concerns of the authority of textual narratives. The title Possession highlights many of the major themes in the novel: questions of ownership and independence between lovers; the practice of collecting historically significant cultural artefacts; and the possession that biographers feel toward their subjects."

 

[Ilov80s]

I’ll leave On the Road to anyone else who ranked it. It was lower for me and I read it so long ago, I don’t remember it too well. It was one of those read at the right time in my life books. Not sure it would resonate as much now. I don’t know.

 

[kupcho1]

By the way, are you going to do all the Booker Prize winners after you finish the Pulitzers?

My plan is to read (at least) one book that I havent already read, from each of the lists submitted.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

In looking at my list, there are only two books that stand out to me as ones that would likely not be selected by a guy

Hopefully one wasn’t Charlotte’s Web.

I just realized I probably wouldn't have expected a guy to take "She's Come Undone," either, but someone (I think it was tim?) did and got it onto the countdown. Good job!

I had Charlotte's Web at #48 and On the Road at #25. I don't think I need to write much of anything about these; I probably like them for the same reasons everyone else does. Charlotte's Web is the only children's book I selected, and I think it's a perfect book. To this day I never kill spiders. I had to read On the Road for two different classes in college, and so it hit me at exactly the right time.

I forgot about On The Road (or maybe I thought it was non-fiction in a haze or something).
Charlotte’s web is a nostalgia thing for me but it’s a sweet story. I think I had 3 children’s books on my list.

 

[Ilov80s]

By the way, are you going to do all the Booker Prize winners after you finish the Pulitzers?

My plan is to read (at least) one book that I havent already read, from each of the lists submitted.

That's fun

 

[krista4]

Charlotte's Web is the only children's book I selected, and I think it's a perfect book.

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
A rare perfect novel

:

I had to read On the Road for two different classes in college, and so it hit me at exactly the right time.

On the Road... It was one of those read at the right time in my life books.

:

 

[Eephus]

113t. Dog Soldiers by Robert Stone (1974)

Dog Soldiers is a literary thriller with plenty of sex, drugs and violence. It shared the National Book Award in 1975 with The Hair of Harold Roux. If you've seen the Nick Nolte movie Who'll Stop the Rain, you know the basic story but as usual, the book is much deeper and darker. It's a Vietnam novel even though it takes place in the US and it captures the wreckage of the end of the sixties.

Stone ran with the Merry Pranksters before he became a writer so he often gets associated with Kesey and Kerouac but Stone was no hippie. His writing style is more realist and he views his characters and their world through a jaundiced eye. However, he will lob in the occasional obscure word for no apparent reason.

 

[shuke]

Hyperion by Dan Simmons

This is a bit of a mind bender. It deals with time, space, reality. Hundreds of planets are connected by portals for easy travel, governed by the Hegemony. This Galaxy also has Outback planets that aren't connected and can only be visited by spacecraft. Hyperion is an Outback planet. On Hyperion there are Time tombs, structures that are believed to have been built in the future and are guarded by a creature called the Shrike. The time tombs appear to be opening, as this is happening a fleet of Ousters is headed there. Ousters are modified humans that live in space stations and are in conflict with the Hegemony. Seven pilgrims are sent by the Hegemony to investigate the tombs and the Shrike. They also need to figure out what the Ousters are up to. The seven consists of a Hegemony member, private detective, poet, military officer, priest, professor with his infant daughter, and a Templar. It's believed that one of them is a spy. Each tell their story to try and understand why they were chosen and to root out the spy. I needed to pause between the stories to grasp the brilliant craziness and to recover a little bit from some serious emotion. I ranked this 2 maybe should've been 1.

Torn on this book. If I look back on my review in the book thread, it's not glowing:

Finally finished this. Meh.

I really liked some of the individual stories, but overall never really got into this.

I have to admit, and maybe this makes me some kind of slack-jawed yokel, but it is difficult for me to get engrossed in a book that has so many fictional names/things/places without enough context for me to understand what it is I am reading. I am all for reading stories with ambiguous plots, but I need to know the setting so I can get my bearings. I don't know if that makes sense.

This took me like 6 months to read. Maybe that also played a role. But I think my lack of enjoyment of the book resulted in this.

However, I have thought about this book a lot since I read it, and am wondering if I should reread. However, what I said about lacking context of fictional names/things/places holds true, and it often prevents me from reading books that create complex other worlds.

 

[shuke]

I don't think I need to write much of anything about these; I probably like them for the same reasons everyone else does.

I encourage people not to take this stance. I'm sure most of what will be listed from here on out are going to be well known, but I'm still interested in what people like about them, especially if I've never read them.

 

[shuke]

I’ll leave On the Road to anyone else who ranked it. It was lower for me and I read it so long ago, I don’t remember it too well. It was one of those read at the right time in my life books. Not sure it would resonate as much now. I don’t know.

I read it later in life, and it didn't really have much of an impact on me.

 

[krista4]

I don't think I need to write much of anything about these; I probably like them for the same reasons everyone else does.

I encourage people not to take this stance. I'm sure most of what will be listed from here on out are going to be well known, but I'm still interested in what people like about them, especially if I've never read them.

You're right. I don't have much to say about Charlotte's Web other than it's perfect, but I'll write more about On the Road tomorrow.

 

[shuke]

Red Dragon by Thomas Harris

Our introduction to Hannibal Lecter. Kind of similar to Silence of the Lambs, in that an FBI profiler goes to Lecter for advice in trying to find a serial killer. As good as Silence is, I think this is much better, with a deeper look into the deranged mind of the killer.

 

[Eephus]

Hyperion by Dan Simmons

This is a bit of a mind bender. It deals with time, space, reality. Hundreds of planets are connected by portals for easy travel, governed by the Hegemony. This Galaxy also has Outback planets that aren't connected and can only be visited by spacecraft. Hyperion is an Outback planet. On Hyperion there are Time tombs, structures that are believed to have been built in the future and are guarded by a creature called the Shrike. The time tombs appear to be opening, as this is happening a fleet of Ousters is headed there. Ousters are modified humans that live in space stations and are in conflict with the Hegemony. Seven pilgrims are sent by the Hegemony to investigate the tombs and the Shrike. They also need to figure out what the Ousters are up to. The seven consists of a Hegemony member, private detective, poet, military officer, priest, professor with his infant daughter, and a Templar. It's believed that one of them is a spy. Each tell their story to try and understand why they were chosen and to root out the spy. I needed to pause between the stories to grasp the brilliant craziness and to recover a little bit from some serious emotion. I ranked this 2 maybe should've been 1.

Simmons writes mostly in genres I rarely read but I have read his book The Crook Factory. It's a WWII spy story extrapolated from the real wartime activities of Ernest Hemingway. There's lots of sailing and fishing and a bit of To Have and Have Not. Simmons' rendition of Papa was pretty good as I remember. I probably should have ranked it but #50-90 were really fluid.

 

[shuke]

Hyperion by Dan Simmons

This is a bit of a mind bender. It deals with time, space, reality. Hundreds of planets are connected by portals for easy travel, governed by the Hegemony. This Galaxy also has Outback planets that aren't connected and can only be visited by spacecraft. Hyperion is an Outback planet. On Hyperion there are Time tombs, structures that are believed to have been built in the future and are guarded by a creature called the Shrike. The time tombs appear to be opening, as this is happening a fleet of Ousters is headed there. Ousters are modified humans that live in space stations and are in conflict with the Hegemony. Seven pilgrims are sent by the Hegemony to investigate the tombs and the Shrike. They also need to figure out what the Ousters are up to. The seven consists of a Hegemony member, private detective, poet, military officer, priest, professor with his infant daughter, and a Templar. It's believed that one of them is a spy. Each tell their story to try and understand why they were chosen and to root out the spy. I needed to pause between the stories to grasp the brilliant craziness and to recover a little bit from some serious emotion. I ranked this 2 maybe should've been 1.

Simmons writes mostly in genres I rarely read but I have read his book The Crook Factory. It's a WWII spy story extrapolated from the real wartime activities of Ernest Hemingway. There's lots of sailing and fishing and a bit of To Have and Have Not. Simmons' rendition of Papa was pretty good as I remember. I probably should have ranked it but #50-90 were really fluid.

I ranked one of his books that hasn't been posted yet, and another just missed my list.