It's over...

In February 2010 I set myself the challenge of reading the BBC's list of the 100 books everyone should read. It is July 2012, and I have now finished. Kind of. I failed to finish Ulysses, because it is completely incomprehensible - I'm currently listening to the recent Radio 4 dramatisation, and it makes more sense but I still don't really understand what's going on. I also had to bow to realism and accept that I am not going to have the time or the motivation to sit and read Shakespeare plays on my own. Finally, I decided against reading the Wasp Factory based on hearing others describe their experience of it, and wanting to protect my mind against my tendency to have nightmares! (yes, I'm a wuss.)

So, technically, I have read 97 of them, but I consider it a job well done. I didn't think it would take this long, but there have been minor events in the meantime which have reduced my reading time.

I wanted to write a concluding post to reflect on whether I've actually achieved anything by this process. I think there are a few things I've learned.

Firstly, I discovered over and over again that I read for the story. Not for the beauty of the writing, not for descriptions, not for gritty realism, but to gain some sort of affection for the characters and to find out what happens to them. Thus, I found many books a struggle when they seemed to be going nowhere, but were luxuriating in description. 100 Years of Solitude, and Midnight's Children, I'm looking at you. This may make me a less intelligent reader, but I think enjoyment is important!

Secondly, after years of mainly reading lighter (some could say trashy) fiction, it was a relief to discover that I was still capable of reading more intelligently. Many of the books on the list were really hard to read, but I did it (I still maintain that I could have read Ulysses, but all that would have happened is that my eyes would have seen all the words, and it still wouldn't have meant anything to me!). I was particularly pleased by being able to get through various Dickens novels, having never finished anything other than Oliver Twist before. Moby Dick was another challenge, and I do feel a great sense of achievement at having read War and Peace, Anna Karenina and Crime and Punishment; all worthy reads but you had to work for them.

Thirdly, I have discovered some books that I absolutely loved. Vanity Fair, Possession, Gone with the Wind, Cold Comfort Farm, Brave New World, Germinal, A Town Like Alice, and Brideshead Revisited were probably the highlights - if you don't read anything else from the list, read those. All were very different, and were books that I may not have picked up in any other context, but they were so rewarding and enjoyable, and I absolutely love that experience of finding a new book to add to the list of favourites. Especially Town Like Alice. Amazing.

Finally, I think one of the reasons that many of these books make it onto the list is the contribution they've made to popular culture. I enjoyed recognising phrases that have passed into popular usage, and speculating as to whether Starbuck in Moby Dick inspired the coffee chain's name (the answer is yes, by the way, according to Wikipedia). There's definitely a pleasure in recognising references and getting to feel a bit clever about it, and it also gives an added appreciation of the value that literature adds to society. Sometimes a book itself may not be much fun to read, but if it inspires a whole genre I do have to grudgingly admire it.

What's next? I haven't decided. I have really enjoyed having a list to work through as it inspires me to read differently, and not just fill my brain with fluff. I'm considering next this list of books about books (http://bookriot.com/2012/07/09/a-great-big-huge-not-very-small-at-all-list-of-books-about-books/) as I love books about books. We'll see. I may take a little break and...erm...fill my brain with fluff.

Thanks for staying with me while I did this...company and comments was much appreciated! I may be back.

Watership Down

Before I started reading this, I thought it was a children's book. You know - something like wind in the willows, animals frolicking, adventure, a bit of mild peril. IT IS NOT. I cannot stress this strongly enough. From a few pages in, when Fiver the rabbit has his frankly chilling psychic episode, I realised that this book is not fluffy & lovely.

This is not to say that I didn't enjoy it - I couldn't put it down, and it is excellent.

It is the story of a small group of rabbits who, as a result of Fiver's psychic episode, leave their warren and set out to find a new home. They face many dangers on the way, from predators, man, and other rabbits. As ever, I don't want to give too much away about the story, but there were, for me, two striking things about this book.

First, the violence. Rabbits fighting, being hunted, being gassed out of their burrow, live rabbits tearing dead ones apart in their panic...I was genuinely a bit traumatised by this. I did already know that this is how the animal kingdom works, but it's that much more difficult to stomach when they have names and brains which can understand the events.

Secondly, the accuracy of the portrayal of rabbit behaviour, and the reasons behind this given through the anthromorphisation (doubt this is a word) of the characters. The way that the rabbits behaved was so perfectly described that it made the events that much more convincing - they didn't become people in my mind.

Brilliant book. Read it but be prepared for the gore.

So that's it - the list is done. One more reflective post to follow, I think, once I've thought about the overall experience! Didn't think I'd make it...

Brideshead Revisited

We are moving on apace! I saved Brideshead Revisited till towards the end as it was one that I actually wanted to read, and my expectation wasn't disappointed.

It is set in two periods - during the Second World War, and in the 1920s. Charles Ryder, an officer, is billeted to Brideshead with his troops, and his arrival sets off a chain of reminiscence of his first visits to Brideshead and involvement with the family, which form the majority of the book.

At its heart is Charles' meeting with Sebastian Flyte, the younger son of the Marchmain family (owners of Brideshead) at Oxford. They have a friendship to the exclusion of all others, intense and hard-drinking. Sebastian is reluctant to introduce Charles to his family, but eventually relents and Charles is drawn into the Brideshead world. The story of a boy from a quieter background making a friend from "high society" and being attracted to the glamour of it seemed really familiar but I can't remember which other book I'm remembering! It certainly turns out differently anyway.

Sebastian is the difficult son of the family; just how difficult, gradually emerges as his drinking problem develops. Charles is in the difficult position of having to choose between supporting the family in trying to stop Sebastian drinking, and losing Sebastian's friendship, or keeping the friendship by enabling him to drink, which he knows is not the best course for Sebastian.

It's difficult to say more without giving away too much of the story, and I would definitely recommend reading it for yourself.

One interesting point to notice is how detached all of the relationships are except for the friendship between Charles and Sebastian. It's as if the intensity of this makes it impossible for either of them to form anything deeper in later life. This is typified by Charles' marriage later in the book - the reader only discovers that he has married when he returns from a six month painting trip abroad to be met by his wife, who has had a baby in his absence. "Oh yes, I believe you mentioned there had been a baby". It is a marriage of convenience, not of love, but this is still extreme detachment!

This is a great book, although I would have been interested to learn more about how the relationships developed - so much goes unspoken. Still, deserves its place in this list and one that I will definitely be reading again. I couldn't put it down.

Moby Dick

Moby Dick was the final book that I've been dreading from this list. I started it a couple of times and didn't get very far. However, it didn't defeat me!

This book is hailed as the best American novel. I'm not sure I agree. I'm not convinced that it's a novel. It's more a short story interspersed with a textbook on whales & whale hunting. Moby Dick is about a whaling voyage where the obsessed monomaniac Captain Ahab leads his crew in search of the giant white whale that caused him to lose his leg. It is a fascinating portrayal of obsession, leading him to take his crew into extreme danger to try to kill a whale that was known to whalemen everywhere as unkillable.

However. The edition I read had 360 pages. I would estimate that only about 50 of those pages had actual narrative action. The rest described in intimate, excrutiating detail, every tiny element of the whale & catching thereof. Chapters on the spout, the tail, the jaw, each piece of equipment. It is beautifully phrased and deeply researched...but not very interesting. Sorry, Herman.

A couple of observations, which may get me some spam followers. I may be smutty but I found it really difficult to get past the number of times the word sperm was used - maybe more than in 50 shades of grey (haven't read it). They were hunting sperm whales, I get that. However, I must confess that I read the descriptions of buckets of bubbling sperm and squeezing lumps out of sweet unctuous sperm and so forth with something of a smirk. Sorry - must grow up.

Also, the end is quite exciting. I won't give it away...but I'm not sure whether it was just exciting because nothing had happened thus far!

I wouldn't argue that this isn't good - it's very well written and researched - but it's not much fun.

Two more to go, and then I regain freedom of choice in my reading matter once more. Woohoo.

Ps random fact - Herman Melville is singer Moby's great grandfather. Don't say I never teach you anything!