Which is as dry as the remainder biscuit

Like most avid readers, I have quite an extensive "to-read" list. It currently sits at about 250 books, and those are just the ones I've actually made a note of. In reality the list is probably endless. There's a lot of non-fiction, but also a lot of novels that have caught my eye. I currently have 22 of these "to-read" books out from the library sitting on the bookshelf behind me.

While I'm eager to read all of these books, I am of course, also trying to read through a list of 100 novels. Which presents me with the most difficult part of this three and a half year odyssey; there are books I'm not that keen to read.

My current book, The Man Who Loved Children is one such book. I'm not finding it very interesting or entertaining and reading it is more of a chore than a pleasant diversion. And this isn't why one usually reads a book.

#64 - "The Big Sleep" by Raymond Chandler

I finished this book, my 64th from the Time list, a little over two weeks ago, but for various reasons, mostly that I have been out of town, I have not had a chance to post my review. Or anything else for that matter. Nor have I had much time to read.

Usually when I'm away, I get a lot of reading done, it's one of my favorite parts of travelling. But on my most recent trip, I don't think I read more than ten pages in six days. The good news is I'm about $30 richer from playing Gin. So I have that going for me.

The Big Sleep is the second "detective" novel from the list, along with Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett. I'm happy to report this one was a much more enjoyable read.

Following hard-nosed detective, Philip Marlowe, The Big Sleep is the story of a detective, a near-death millionaire, his two wild daughters, and a sorted cast of characters from the Los Angeles underworlds of gambling and pornography.

Marlowe is hired by the aging millionaire to find out who is blackmailing his youngest daughter. Or has he been hired to find the eldest daughter's missing husband? Are the two cases related? As Marlowe gets deeper into the case, or the two cases, he is confronted by treachery, deceit, violence, and double-crossing n'er-do-wells. Such is the adventure we are taken on when reading Chandler's masterpiece.

All in all this was a good read. The story is interesting, or better yet, intriguing, and had a little bit of fun thrown into the mix as well. It also featured a slew of memorable characters, most notably Philip Marlowe. Sure, he's the hard-boiled detective we've seen in so many 'film noir" movies from the 40's and 50's (in fact he was one, having been portrayed by Bogart among others), but his depth seems to go beyond those cliches.

I think Marlowe was the reason I enjoyed this book so much more than Red Harvest. I liked Philip Marlowe, and was for lack of a better word, sympathetic to his plight. Compare this to Red Harvest, where I didn't feel any connection to the main character, and was quite frankly, uninterested in whether he succeeded in his case or not. Or even if he was killed or not. I also found Marlowe to be more realistic as well, opposed to the star of Red Harvest who just seemed a little ridiculous at times, almost cartoonish.

Without a good, developed character, I think I might have had similar feeling toward The Big Sleep, because at the end of the day, the story isn't that complex, despite its twists and turns, and the writing isn't "top-notch." But it is a classic in its genre, an entertaining read, and one that I enjoyed. It also makes me think that perhaps I should revisit Dashiell Hammett later on, perhaps The Maltese Falcon, and see if a notable character (Sam Spade), make his books any more interesting.

For number 65, I have selected the potentially daunting, The Man Who Loved Children. I've been told by Lev Grossman that I could have a free pass on this one and not read it. But that wouldn't be in the spirit of things, would it? I've tried to put his words out of my mind, so as not to prejudice me while reading this one.

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Stands in some rank of praise

I've decided to succumb to popular demand and rank the books I've read from Time's list of 100 All-Time Novels.  I was also inspired by my fellow list reader at 101 Books, who has ranked the books he's read as well. And I admit I find it quite interesting to see where he has ranked the books he's read, and compare it to where I would rank those same books.

I found it actually very difficult to rank the books I've read, and found myself continuously changing the rankings to arrive at what you see below. One problem is it is very difficult to compare books I read two years apart. Secondly, deciding how much I enjoyed a book can't really be quantified. It isn't a matter of listing my golf scores from lowest to highest.

#63 - "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner

After reading The Lord of the Rings for so very, very long, my 63rd book from the list, The Sound and the Fury seemed like a breeze. It only took 10 days and there were days I looked forward to reading it; such a departure from #62. But there were a couple of problems; a couple of big problems.

When I finished reading this book, I have to admit I wasn't entirely sure what I had just read. The book is broken into four sections, each narrated by a different person. Well, except the fourth section which switches to third person. Of course Faulkner is hazy on the details of who is narrating and it usually takes ten pages or so to establish who 'I' now is.

In short, the book follows the Compsons, a Southern family in the early part of the 20th century. There are four grown siblings, a father who isn't around anymore (I think he's dead) and a mother who seems to be suffering from...something, maybe depression. If that seems vague, it's because so is the book.

One of the sons has a mental handicap (we're never really sure what the problem is as it's never even partially explained) so we read through his blurred sense of reality via his inner thoughts. But since this is never really explained, we actually read through a series of incoherent babble for 75 pages and wonder what the hell just happened. Later we learn about his handicap and are meant to now understand why it didn't make any sense.

Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

I'm reading The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner, and so far so good. Actually, I'm doing really well. Even though I finished The Lord of the Rings a couple of weeks ago, I wasn't able to start The Sound and the Fury until this past Monday as I had to finish a non-fiction book, At Home by Bill Bryson, which couldn't be renewed from the library. But that's done (it was great as all Bryson books seem to be), and I've been flying through Faulkner all week.

So far, I think I'm enjoying it more than Light in August, which I wasn't expecting. I say this not because I enjoyed Light in August so much, but rather from what I have read and heard about The Sound and the Fury. Having said that, this book isn't without its problems. After an interesting first chapter, things have turned a little bizarre. In what I believe is typical Faulkner fashion, there are time shifts and new characters, often without any explanation or description. Often I'm not sure who "I" is when I read "I said," and I'm not always sure when or where I am in the story. This was the same problem I had with Light in August, but for whatever reason, I'm finding this one a little more readable.

At my current pace, I should be finished over the weekend. That's right #62 will have taken five months, #63 will have taken less than a week. I hope anyway.