I forgot to explain my rankings back when I finished book #70, so today’s post is a make-up post.
This is something I do after every five books, just so you can get an overall gauge on how I felt about these novels compared to all the others I’ve read.
Here’s how I’ve ranked the last 6 novels I’ve read from the Time list.
66: The Day of the Locust (Current Rank: 58): A depressing story about a group of 20-something losers in 1930s Hollywood. It’s a short read, which is nice. But, for me, The Day of the Locust was a mostly forgettable read.
67: Money (Current Rank: 35): A hilarious romp of a novel. Vulgar, vulgar, vulgar. At times, Money seems a little self-serving to its author, Martin Amis. But it’s a really good book that I wondered if I’ve ranked too low, currently right in the middle of the pack at number 35.
68: Their Eyes Were Watching God (Current Rank: 5): Such fabulous novel. I really have nothing negative to say about Their Eyes Were Watching God. Books like this one will make me look back fondly on the Time list when I’ve finished it.
69: Possession (Current Rank: 68): I really, really disliked Possession. The novel just bored the pants off me. Here’s how I describe Possession in the final sentence of my review: “[Possession] is just diametrically the opposite of everything I personally enjoy about reading literature.”
70: Red Harvest (Current Rank: 23): Red Harvest is a fun, quick read. You might think it’s a clichéd detective novel. But since Red Harvest was written in the 1920s, it was one of the first hard-boiled detective novels. It’s not clichéd—it’s an original.
71: The Death of the Heart (Current Rank: 36): Another novel out of this last batch that I’ve placed right in the middle of my rankings. I loved Elizabeth Bowen’s development of the characters in this story. She can get somewhat verbose with her writing, but she more than makes up for that in her character development. Overall, a good novel.
So that’s where things stand in through 71 novels. If you’re interested in seeing how all 71 novels break down, here is the entirety of my completely meaningless and totally subjective rankings.
As you may know, my upcoming novels include The Lord of the Rings, The Sportswriter, and Appointment in Samarra. I’d imagine The Lord of the Rings will take me most of the summer to read.
But about those first 71 novels. How bad do my rankings suck? Please tell me in the comments!
