September's 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime

[Joanna]

Better late than never, I present to you the nine classics for this month!

1. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

2. Bleak House by Charles Dickens

3. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

4. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

5. The Complete Works of Shakespeare by William Shakespeare

6. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon

7. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

8. Persuasion by Jane Austen

9. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

I've read a third of this list. I read Alice a few years ago and remember enjoying it, despite the nonsense. The Chronicles of Narnia are classic and I've read through all seven a couple of times. While I love The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, I have to say my favorites out of the entire series are The Magician's Nephew (my copy is signed by Douglas Gresham, C.S. Lewis' stepson) and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. And of course, there is an Austen book on this list- Persuasion is my favorite of hers after Pride and Prejudice.

Notice I didn't mention Shakespeare. While I've seen a few of the plays, I've actually never read one in its entirety. There is a homeschooled joke in there somewhere. They are something I've definitely been meaning to read. Any recommendations on which play to start with? I will say I'm not that interested in Romeo and Juliet.

What do you all think of this month's list? Which have you read? Did you love them? Hate them? Let us know!

[Ann]

I've read 3 on the list: The Chronicles of Narnia (I've read The Lion, the Witch, the Wardrobe so many times I wore out my copy, but have only read the complete series once, about 4-5 years ago), The Da Vinci Code (I remember reading about it in Library Journal before it came out), and of course Shakespeare (I've taken classes on Shakespeare as both an undergrad and a grad student- still haven't read everything).
Hamlet is awesome, Henry the Fifth is good (if you want to watch the movie- get the Kenneth Brannagh), Midsummer's Night Dream is fun (the version with Kevin Cline and Michelle Pfeiffer is great). And don't forget the sonnets. :)

[Ashley]

I am a huge Shakespeare fan, but even I haven't read the collected works. I am more of a tragedies and comedies girl; his histories don't do a whole lot for me. I love Hamlet and Macbeth for the good, solid tragedy. The Twelfth Night is fun. You can always read/watch a play version, then watch She's the Man to see it modernized. If you want something a bit more off the beaten path, I would try Titus Andronicus. It is his bloodiest work. There are people baked into pies!

[Jodie]

I cannot believe that I have not read any of the titles on this month's list! For shame ... Although I did start The da Vinci Code and could not get through it. Anyone want to pursuade me to try again?

[Ann]

I enjoyed it, and of curse the book is better than the movie (although they did a good job on the movie, I thought).