Round about May, I realized I was never going to reach my goal of reading 100 books for the Rochester Public Library Centennial, IF I tortured myself over writing reviews of each one. I’ve been reading – a lot. But finding the time to write is tough. So, I have modified my goal. I will still strive to read one book for every year the library has been in existence, but I’m not going to write reviews of each one. I’ll probably write about the books that really stay with me. For now, here’s a re-cap of all I’ve read so far this year:
- 1911 – The Sea Fairies by L.Frank Baum
- 1912 – The Room in the Tower by E.F. Benson
- 1913 – The Poison Belt by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
- 1914 – The Adventures of Kathlyn by Harold McGrath
- 1915 – Dr. Syn: A Smuggler’s Tale of Romney Marsh by Russell Thorndyke
- 1916 – Mysterious Stranger by Mark Twain
- 1917 – Daughter of the Morning by Zona Gale
- 1918 – My Antonia by Willa Cather
- 1919 – League of the Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orcszey
- 1920 – Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
- 1921 – Black Moth by Georgette Heyer
- 1922 – The Red House Mystery by A.A. Milne
- 1923 – Whose Body by Dorothy L. Sayers
- 1924 – The Homemaker by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
- 1925 – American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser
- 1926 – The Benson Murder Case by S.S. VanDine
- 1927 – The Tower Treasure by Franklin W. Dixon
- 1928 – Mirror for Witches by Esther Forbes
- 1929 – All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
- 1930 – The Door by Mary Roberts Rinehart
- 1931 – Roman Holiday by Upton Sinclair
- 1932 – Topper Takes a Trip by Thorne Smith
- 1933 – Lost Horizon by James Hilton
- 1934 – The Postman Always Rings Twice by James Cain
- 1935 – The Circus of Dr. Lao by Charles G. Finney
- 1936 – The Dark Frontier by Eric Ambler
- 1937 – Drums Along the Mohawk by Walter Edmonds
- 1938 – The Gracie Allen Murder Case by S.S. VanDine
- 1939 – Kitty Foyle by Christopher Morley
- 1940 – The Corinthian by Georgette Heyer
- 1941 – Saratoga Trunk by Edna Ferber
- 1942 – The Moon is Down by John Steinbeck
- 1943 – The Lady in the Lake by Raymond Chandler
- 1944 – Forever Amber by Kathleen Winsor – Scandalous!!! 🙂
- 1945 – The Opener of the Way by Robert Bloch – truly terrifying. 😦
- 1946 – Showdown by Errol Flynn – celebrities couldn’t write in the 40’s any better than they write today.
- 1947 – Carnacki the Ghost Finder by William Hope Hodgson
- 1948 – Pilgrim’s Inn by Elizabeth Goudge
- 1949 – Dinner at Antoine’s by Francis Parkinson Keyes – snore….
- 1950 – The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli – Harry Potter lovers will enjoy this one. Charming.
- 1951 – Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey – Hands down my favorite mystery, ever.
- 1952 – The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. A staggering work.
What’s next, you ask? Here’s what’s waiting in line:
- 1953 – Love Among the Ruins by Evelyn Waugh
- 1954 – The Magicians by J.B. Priestly
- 1955 – Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis
- 1956 – Peyton Place by Grace Metalious
- 1957 – On the Road by Jack Kerouac
- 1958 – Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote
- 1959 – Mrs. ‘Arris Goes to Paris by Paul Gallico
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