I assumed that this would be the boring part of the “Year in Reading” series, but by Jess’s popular demand, it’s time to publicize the books that are on my list, and are yet unread. To make it interesting, I will try to offer some annotations.

1. The Modern Library Top 100 That is comprised of the left-hand side, ignoring “The Reader’s Picks” I disregard any “Top 100″ list where Charles de Lint has 8 entries. This isn’t a dig at Mr. de Lint, I remember reading The Onion Girl vividly. It just goes to show that the list was poorly sampled.

2. The Radcliffe Rival Top 100 (ignoring overlap, obviously).

My 12th grade teacher’s commentary on those two lists: “Most of these should be under your belt by college.” Mrs. K. O’Brien.

The Jamie H. Gorton Originals

  • Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time. I want to write fantasy novels for a living. I’m still trying to chew down WoT. Give me time.
  • The Anxiety of Influence Harold Bloom. I wasn’t sure if I believed in the anxiety of influence, it seemed tautological, until I finished Sanderson’s Mistborn series.
  • Infinite Jest, David Foster Wallace. This is the book that has been on my list the longest. It probably will win an all-time award for that, as I don’t see myself bedridden for 3 months in the near future.
  • The Hugo Award Winners vol. I and II
  • The Stand Steven King. Purportedly his best.
  • Dante’s Girl – Kayla Steele. Just saw in a bookstore once.
  • The Book of Mormon. This will continue to be an important religious text. Alas, it’s impossible to get past the Book of Alma.
  • Jesus the Christ, James Talmage. An interesting chrisitological companion to the above.
  • By Sarah Monette, vis a vis recommendation
    • Melusine
    • The Virtu
    • The Mirador
  • Louis McMaster Bujold’s The Sharing Knife series, vis a vis recommendation
  • The Name of the Wind, Patrick Rothfuss
  • The Broken Crown, Michelle West
  • The Land of Laughs, Jonathan Carroll
  • Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. Susanna Clarke. Someday I will get through the second half of this Time Book of the Year, Hugo winning pile of undigestible verbiage.
  • The Thirteenth Tale, Diane Setterfield
  • Paradise Lost, Milton. All of Paradise Lost.
  • The Book of Lost Things, John Connolly
  • Sonny’s Blues, James Baldin
  • The New York Trilogy, Paul Auster
  • The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Mila Kundera
  • The Stuff of Thought, Steven Pinkner.
  • Something out of Brecht’s epic drama, by recommendation
  • “W;t”, Margaret Edson, by recommendation
  • Black Elk Speaks
  • Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World, Haruki Murakami by recommendation
  • Cane, Jean Toomer
  • The water studies by Maruso Emoto (scientific work)
  • Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas Hunter S. Thompson
  • Secret History of the World Mark Booth
  • The Meaning of Masonry W. L. Wilmshurst (Masonic interest)
  • The Memory Keeper’s Daughter – Kim Edwards
  • Virgin Suicides, Jeffery Eugenides
  • Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Diaz (yes, there is still someone on Earth who hasn’t read this)
  • Look to the East (Masonic interest)
  • Dragonsbane Brbara Hambly
  • The Snow Leopard P. Matherson
  • Cryptonomicon Neil Stephenson
  • “The Decay of Lying” Oscar Wilde
  • The short novels of Dostoevsky
    • The Gambler
    • Notes from the Underground
    • Uncle’s Dream
    • The Eternal Husband
    • The Double
    • The Friend of the Family
  • The Devil in the White CIty Erik Lawson (bought at a book fair)
  • Beloved, Toni Morrison
  • Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk
  • The Million Dollar Molecule Barry Werth
  • Warbreaker Brandon Sanderson
  • Reading Lolita in Tehran Azar Nafisi
  • Otherland I: City of Golden Shadow Tad Williams

    • This list is sadly not comprehensive. For instance, I know I’m going to Interlibrary Loan the only copy of Brandon Sanderson’s Dragonsteel. I also own a signed copy of Mara and the Priest which I need to read. A

    lso, this list hardly touches the 19th century, where there are a lot of works, especially by Russians, I need to pick up.

    You will notice that the list is heavily slanted towards the fantasy genre, and that I didn’t include any poetry on the list.

    That’s all . . . for now . . . Read hard.