Top Ten Fiction Books Read This Year

1. The Brothers Karamazov By Fyodor Dostoevsky

The big mother of Russian Literature. This is without a doubt the greatest masterpiece of literature I have ever read. When you think as you are reading it that someone actually wrote all of this it baffles your mind. This is a must read once in your life so get cracking. I've got to admit though, it was a great feeling of accomplishment to finish this one!



2. Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck

Steinbeck's travels with his poodle Charlie are probably the most of Steinbeck's witty, clever personality that you will ever see. It's quite a contrast from his dust-bowl sadness writings and as much as I love Steinbeck a welcome change. This makes me want to take three months, drive the back roads of the country and see the real America.



3. The Heart of the Matter by Graham Greene

The best way to describe this novel is dark. Greene can explain the darkness of the human heart like few others. If you are looking to see the reality of sin played out, read this one.





4. The Entire Harry Potter Series

As is typically the case, the movies suck compared to the books, big time! I decided to read this series over Christmas break and I am hooked. I'm getting close to done with the series and I can't tell you how bad I want to be at Hogwarts. If you are looking for pure entertainment, pick these up.







5. Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

Great Sci-Fi book about a boy who is trained to destroy humanities arch enemies, if they are enemies however is debatable. Fear of the unknown will make humans do some pretty crazy things. This book opens up a great discussion for ethics as well.





6. The Invisible Man/The Time Machine by H.G. Wells

A few classics that I have never read but felt like I should. Good stuff. Makes me realize that if I had one superpower I would second guess my typical desire to be invisible.






7. A Timbered Choir by Wendell Berry

Doesn't really fit in the fiction category as this is a book of poetry. A nice read of sabbatical poems from the Mad Farmer from Kentucky.







8. White Fang/Call of the Wild by Jack London

Another few classics I thought I should read. If you are intrigued by the rough Alaskan landscape and the harsh conditions for survival these are great. Very Darwinian in nature but shows the reality of life in this setting.






9. Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger

At the end of this I wasn't sure if I liked it or not. But I finally decided that I did. I guess it took me a while to get into the dialogue of the book and really hear it the way it was written but once I made the mental shift it was written tremendously and has some good philosophy mixed in. This is apparently Salinger trying to combine some Buddhism with Christianity. Interesting.





10. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

Finally, the most talked about book of the last few years. Put aside that Dan Brown is a horrible historian and theologian, if you read this book for fun it's a quick thrill-ride that you will read in a couple of settings and enjoy. And yes, the movie sucked big time. Tom Hanks???