Play Book Tag discussion

At the end of the day, we ended up replacing 27 books from our prior Top 100 list. Without further fanfare, here is our NEW 2023 PBT Top 100:

1984 by George Orwell
A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
A Man Called Ove by Frederik Backman
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
All Systems Red by Martha Wells
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegnar
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
Beartown by Fredrick Backman
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Cider House Rules by John Irving
City of Thieves by David Benioff
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Cry The Beloved Country by Alan Paton
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
Dune by Frank Hebert
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
Hawaii by James Michener
I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
If on a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes
Maus I by Art Spiegelman
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
On the Beach by Nevil Shute
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger
Plainsong by Kent Haruf
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
Someone Knows My Name by Laurence Hill
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Still Alice by Lisa Genova
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
The Count of Monte Christo by Alexandre Dumas
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng
The Giver by Lois Lowry
The Golem and the Jinni by Helen Wecker
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
The Hobbit by J.R. Tolkein
The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa
The Investigation by Jung-Myung Lee
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
The Lord of the Rings by J.R. Tolkien
The Martian by Andy Weir
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
The Once and Future King by T.H. White
The Overstory by Richard Powers
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
The Sparrow by Maria Russell Doria
The Stand by Stephen King
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough
The Windup Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Thurston
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
To Kill a Mockingbird by Lee Harper
Watership Down by Richard Adams

Well, I've read 81 of these.

Surprised at a few that dropped from our previous list, and equally surprised by a few that have been added.

Disappointed that there are so few BIPOC authors on this list.
And particularly that NONE of these authors made the list:
Isabel Allende
Thrity Umrigar
Louise Erdrich

Meanwhile, these authors made it twice:
Agatha Christie
Fredrik Backman
John Irving

The list may not be diverse in BIPOC authors, and that may be a reflection of this being a long stretch of history, and thankfully, BIPOC authors and their voices and stories are more recently prevalent now.

But.... The list to me seems diverse in terms of genres, style, taste, past and present. I feel like its a great list, and reflects the composition of all of us who have collectively made it to year 15.

Maybe next weekend, I'll get these added to a new list on our bookshelf.

I've read 62 of them for sure. And maybe 2 or 3 more, I just don't remember!

I think I counted 6 Canadians on the list. But one of them is a stretch - I'm not sure if he was ever a citizen, but he lived in SW Saskatchewan for a while as a child.

Tolkein and Orwell are on twice as well.

I haven't counted up yet but looks like I read about 2/3rds. I do like the genre diversity that appears here. A couple that remain surprised me by surviving.

I have read 96 of the 100. I think it's a great list considering it covers such a long period of time. I am planning to put the 4 I haven't read on my list to read next year.

LibraryCin wrote: "Maybe next weekend, I'll get these added to a new list on our bookshelf."

Thank you so much, Cindy!

Joy D wrote: "I have read 96 of the 100. I think it's a great list considering it covers such a long period of time. I am planning to put the 4 I haven't read on my list to read next year."

I am super curious which four you haven't read . . .if you don't mind sharing.

I think I've read 76 of them, so not bad . . .I am interested in many of the ones I haven't read. I'm reading Murder on the Orient Express now, so will soon be 77.

I've read 82. I will probably never read On the Beach, The Road or The Nightingale but there are some others that are intriguing.

Robin P wrote: "I've read 82. I will probably never read On the Beach, The Road or The Nightingale but there are some others that are intriguing."

Curious why not those, Robin? (The Road is one of my all time favorites, so just curious why that's out for you . . .I'm sure there are good reasons!).

Anita wrote: "Robin P wrote: "I've read 82. I will probably never read On the Beach, The Road or The Nightingale but there are some others that are intriguing."

Curious ..."

My impression is that it's very dark and dystopian. And I didn't like the one book by that author I read - All the Pretty Horses. I kept thinking, "nothing is happening". Then I realized things were happening - riding horses, getting in fights, going to jail. What I meant was that there was no interior life and basically no conversation. Sometimes you could guess by how the guy got off the horse what he was feeling. It is the opposite of something like Jane Austen where there is very little action and lots of emotion. Maybe a masculine vs feminine style.

I actually love Nevil Shute, but it's because he is always so positive about human nature, even in wartime. I assume he still shows good people in On the Beach, but it seems his optimism was quenched by the threat of nuclear war and I find that sad.

I won't read The Nightingale because of my mantra for the last few years - I CAN NOT READ ANY MORE BOOKS ABOUT NAZIS!

"I won't read The Nightingale because of my mantra for the last few years - I CAN NOT READ ANY MORE BOOKS ABOUT NAZIS!"

So this is a sentiment I can relate to!! I literally am sworn off books about WWII. Like if it is even mentioned in the description, I'm avoiding it. I won't say never, but it's darn close!

I can understand the desire to avoid dark and dystopian. While I think The Road is very different from McCarthy's other works (which are like you describe), if you don't like dark/dystopian, then it is best avoided. I was just so extremely moved by the relationship between the father and the son in that book that I'll never forget it. But I think your reasoning is definitely on super solid footing!

I too swore off WWII books for a very long time - but this past year have let a few slip in from my TBR, mostly as they are different -- like Last Train to Istanbul tells a great deal about Turkey's position during WWII (a very difficult one balancing on a knife's edge) and its role in saving Jews and why they did so. Or Dear Mrs. Bird which is more about London during the Blitz than the war itself.

I also disliked All the Pretty Horses and found it a chore to get through and have not read others. Though that was many many years ago and I should give them another try.

Of those I've not read, I've usually read other books by that author just not the one(s) on the list. Or I have the book in my TBR Tower. There are probably half a dozen, maybe more, I just role my eyes and say 'why?'.

I am also a firm believer in an author only allowed 1 book on lists like these. If there's a series, just list the first in the series. If you love several, pick the one you would have someone read who has not read the author before. Just pick one, and only one.

Anita wrote: "I am super curious which four you haven't read . . .if you don't mind sharing..."

The three I have for sure not read are:
- Maus I by Art Spiegelman
- Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill
- The Investigation by Jung-Myung Lee

And this one I think I read long ago but I don't remember for certain:
- The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

Book Concierge wrote: "Well, I've read 81 of these.

Surprised at a few that dropped from our previous list, and equally surprised by a few that have been added.

Disappointed that there are so few BIPOC authors on this..."

I count 15 BIPOC authors based just on the authors I’m familiar with. There might be more. There are many translated books, and I think 6 continents are represented.

I've read more than half--60, but it's that low because many of those books I either DNF or have never wanted to read even though they were handy or I read different books by the author and didn't want to read more by them.

I'd like to have seen at least one by James McBride who is, hands, down, one of the greatest authors of our age regardless of race even though I have only given 5 stars to two of his books and I'm not even a fan of magical realism which he writes! Not only is he brilliant with language, but his ability to create "real" characters with depth is one of the best I have ever read.

I've read very few from this list. So for me it #ReadingGoals!

And to whomever added Ordinary Grace to the list .... thank you! It's the one book that I really wanted to be added to the list but I was too busy with my move to participate.

I read at least 63. There are 5-6 more I’m not positive about after so many years. (Maybe I saw the films 40-50 years ago.)

I’d like to fit in a few more this year.

I wonder how many of them fit the current or potential tags.

Does anyone know which of them might fit the October, November, or December flurries?

Does Constellations fit any of them?

Winter-
Beartown, City of Thieves, Doctor Zhivago
Partly: Nightingales, The Book Thief
If on a winter’s night…?

Magical Realism-
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Beloved

Philosophy-
1984, *Animal Farm, Maus I, Things Fall Apart

Dragons-


October flurries

November flurries

December flurries

I've read 80 and I was quite surprised I read that many.

NancyJ wrote: "I read at least 63. There are 5-6 more I’m not positive about after so many years. (Maybe I saw the films 40-50 years ago.)

I’d like to fit in a few more this year.

I wonder how many of them fit..."

Dragons:
The Hobbit
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - fits both September (starting school) and December (Christmas/winter scenes) Flurries
The Name of the Wind

Just off the top of my head. There may be a couple more that I just read too long ago to remember if a dragon appears.

@JoyD - I've been meaning to re-read The Woman in White for a few years now as I know that I totally did not retain much or appreciate it when I read it in my youth. I was not appreciative or particularly interested in that genre and I had just read and loved the rather different [book:The Moonstone|6138.

Perhaps we can make it a 2024 buddy read?

Doughgirl5562 wrote: "I've read very few from this list. So for me it #ReadingGoals!

And to whomever added Ordinary Grace to the list .... thank you! It's the one book that I really wanted to be added to the list but I..."

I know I added it, but possibly others did too.

Robin P wrote: "My impression is that it's very dark and dystopian. And I didn't like the one book by that author I read - All the Pretty Horses. ..."

This is regarding "The Road". I also didn't like the other (just one, I think... though I can't currently recall the title; it wasn't "All the Pretty Horses". But I really enjoyed "The Road", which was a surprise to me. I read it at the encouragement of a real-life friend who told me something about it (can't recall what) that made me decide to give it a try.

I see Anita also already addressed this, but yes, "The Road" is dark and dystopian, so it may still be one you want to avoid. Neither of those things is bad for me, necessarily.

Someone asked which of these might fit Fall Flurries.

Someone else in the October Fall Flurries thread suggested Banned Books Week s a possibility.

Pretty sure this one would fit there:
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

And how about:
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
or
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
for this month (Halloween)?

And this for this month's tag (winter) or in December for Fall Flurries (again, winter!):
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

Besides the 3 above that I rejected (though, who knows, I might change my mind), I probably also won't read The Book Thief (more Nazis) and The Stand (too scary).

That leaves:

A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra
For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
Plainsong by Kent Haruf
Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes
Someone Knows My Name by Laurence Hill
Still Alice by Lisa Genova
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (Nazis!)
The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng
The Investigation by Jung-Myung Lee
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
The Once and Future King by T.H. White
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

So I guess I've read 81, not 82
Of course I've had lived more decades to read in than most of you, from The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe around 1962 to A Fine Balance this year, 2023.

Both the Garden of Evening Mists and The Investigation are about WWII, but against Japan. Matterhorn and The Things They Carried are about Vietnam.

I can't say that I've read many of these books. I remember reading classics throughout the years, such as Tom Sawyer, Jane Eyre, and Little Women. And I remember reading older books, including: The Good Earth, Hawaii, and The Thorn Birds.

I am especially pleased to see these newer books included on our list. I've enjoyed them all:

All the Light We Cannot See
The Dutch House
The Golem and the Jinni
The Housekeeper and the Professor

As I read them more recently, they stand out more vividly in my mind.

I am the same Holly. the classics I have pretty much read, besides that there is not much there that I read or wanted to read.

Joanne wrote: "I am the same Holly. the classics I have pretty much read, besides that there is not much there that I read or wanted to read."

Joanne, that's exactly how I feel.

I have only read 46. But I really liked about 42 of them.!!!

I read 49 of them

I've only read 54

And this year's 2023 Top 100 PBT Fiction has now been shelved:

https://www.goodreads.com/group/books...

56 for me. And about ten more on the shelf ready to read. I’ve read quite a lot of them since I joined PBT as well!

LibraryCin wrote: "And this year's 2023 Top 100 PBT Fiction has now been shelved:

https://www.goodreads.com/group/books..."

Thank you so much, Cindy!!

I really liked this challenge, and I’m proud and happy that I read these books from the list. Many were on my TBR for a long time.

Books I read in 2023 - from the new top 100 list

A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra
City of Thieves by David Benioff
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng
The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Watership Down by Richard Adams