Favorite Fiction Books Read This Year #'s 6-10

December 6 - List 6 (Not running out of steam yet!)

6. The Power and the Glory – Graham Greene
The story of a whiskey priest on the run after Mexico outlaws the Church due to greed and corruption. Like every Greene novel I have read, it is bleak but it is rich.








7. Tortilla Flat/Cannery Row/The Moon is Down – John Steinbeck
I put all of these together because they are all short novels and I read them all at once. Plus Tortilla Flat and Cannery Row are pretty much the same story, so what the heck. Even when Steinbeck's not great, he's still entertaining. His characters in these stories may not be extremely well developed but they're still interesting. Anyway, I'm like Radiohead fans in this respect-Steinbeck could poop on a piece of paper and I would find it interesting. I probably didn't need to say that.



8. The Scarlet Letter – Nathaniel Hawthorne
Hawthorne can be drier than any writer I've ever read, but he can also pack quite a punch with very few words. There are some great moments in The Scarlet Letter, not to mention the huge theological themes of sin and guilt throughout. Not the most exciting book in the world at times, but it's a must read.






9. The Violent Bear it Away – Flannery O’Connor
This was my introduction to Flannery O'Connor and while this is a very strange book that leaves several questions and is open to interpretation, I loved it! I loved the eerie way in which she writes and I am fascinated by her messy characters.







10. Life After God – Douglas Coupland
I think I've said this before on my blog but after reading half of this I thought, "What in the world is this guy talking about? What he is saying is random and incongruent" and then I realized, "oh, that's the point."