a blog about a lot of things

The logic of this post is to list some novels that the author could have published and that'd have been enough to set them up as major in the writing history, even if they do have lots of other great works. Like Cervantes with Don Quixote . I'm going with books published after 1950. Some of these will probably be the only good book the author really did (like  Catch 22). In no particular order: 10. The Tin Drum (Die Blechtrommel )- 1959- Germany - German by G ü nter Grass 9. One Hundred Years of Solitude ( Cien a ñ os de soledad) - 1967- Colombia- Spanish by  Gabriel Garcia Marquez  8. Midnight's Children -1981- United Kingdom - English by  Salman Rushdie 7.  On the Road - 1957 - United States of America- English by Jack Kerouac  6. Catch-22 -1961- United States of America- English by Joseph Heller 5. Lord of the Flies - 1954- United Kingdom- English  by  William Golding 4. Beloved - 1987- United States of...

Disclaimer: I'm sure there will be many authors I've missed out simply because I haven't heard of them. It is impossible for me to read anything not published or translated into English or French. Or works that I cannot get a hold of even if translations exist ( the book market in Trinidad is a bit limited. It's not a perfect world). I'm making guesses with the material I have and hopefully the guesses are good. In no particular order: 12. Chinua Achebe - Nigeria Language : English Genres: Poems; Short Stories; Essays; Novels Reference Works: Things Fall Apart (1958); A Man of the People (1966); Hopes and Impediments (1988) 11. E.L. Doctorow - United States of America Language: English Genre: Novels, Essays, Short Stories, Plays Reference Works: The Book of Daniel (1971); Ragtime (1975); The March (2005) 10. Yasar Kemal - Turkey Language : Turkish Genre: Novel, Plays Reference Works: Memed, My Hawk (1955); Teneke (1955); The Legen...

There are some books you can read in one sitting. The ones you don't feel like putting down and you can't wait to get back to. I'm not including novel series in this, because those are a whole other thing and if I did I'd be forced to fill the list with Ian Fleming and Tom Clancy Novels. I'm going with books published after 1960 as well. I'm only allowing books I managed to finish in a week. Only novels, no short stories and poetry, memoirs, non-fiction etc in no particular order : 15. Portnoy's Complaint - Phillip Roth - 1969 - USA Quick Summary: Comedy, sexual frustration and self-consciousness. Portnoy's Complaint is one long monologue to a therapist about different stages of his life. This could get depressing but thankfully his life is hilarious. 14. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro - 1989 - UK Quick Summary: Mostly flashbacks of a butler from the time preceding World War II, in which his master was heavily involved in appeasement. The inte...

So there's this thing called the 30 day song challenge. (https://www.facebook.com/pages/30-Day-Song-Challenge/120874111270003?ref=ts#!/pages/30-Day-Song-Challenge/120874111270003?sk=app_4949752878) . And it's pretty awesome. So, me being me, I decided to edit it up and see if it works for books/poetry. Most work with only minor tweaking. Results as follows. My list, my picks. As always. I'll try to use books in front of poetry, mostly cause I expect to give poems their own list. Original :day 01 - your favorite song Edited as : day 01 - your favorite book (This isn't set, it varies a lot) - Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie day 02 - your least favorite song Edited as : day 02 - Your least favorite book - Finnegan's Wake - James Joyce day 03 - a song that makes you happy Edited as : day 03 - a book that makes you happy - Goodbye, Mr. Chips - James Hilton day 04 - a song that makes you sad Edited as : day 04 - a book that makes you sad - The Road - Corma...