Top Ten Novels I Have Read in the 00's

Another decade has come and gone. I feel old. It is a little funny to think that, as the new millennium rolled in, I was ten years old. And what was I doing? I was reading. When the year 2000 rolled in, I was reading Dr. Seuss’s Cat in the Hat to my one year old cousin. I will admit it, I am a literary geek. Looking back over the last ten years, there are certain books that have stood out. Here’s my list.

 

2000- Where’s Waldo by Martin Handford. Now, travel with me all the way back to childhood. Childhood was wonderful, wasn’t it? There were teeth to be lost, forts to be built, rose bugs to be caught and Waldos to be found. When I was ten years old, Where’s Waldo? was my life. Sure, I read normal books, but memorizing where Waldo was on every page was clearly a better use of my time. And don’t raise your eyebrow, you all know you did too.

 

2001- Firewing by Kenneth Oppel. I don’t quite remember whether this book came out of the Red Maple or Silver Birch book list. Either way, I know I read it about 5 times. Perhaps I just wanted the free pizza that came as a reward for reading the books, but even so, I loved this book. I remember laying in my bed, reading late into the night (about 10 o’clock for an 11 year old) and dreaming about the bats in the story. Just in case you’re wondering, I got the free pizza.

 

2002- The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. This book made its way into my repertoire thanks to a seventh grade novel study. I clearly remember failing a math test because I wanted to keep reading the book (at least, I’m going to keep telling myself that was the reason I failed my math test). Yes, anything that can cause me to fail a test makes my top ten list.

 

2003- While Mrs. Coverlet Was Away by Mary Nash. Background information: This little book was the first my mother had ever ordered from Scholastic Book Orders (she was about 13 at the time). One day, I picked this book up off the shelf and read it through in about 2 hours. I have never laughed so hard. Picture your parents gone for an entire summer. What kind of trouble could you get into? This is the essence of the book. Judy Blume’s Tale’s of a Fourth Grade Nothing does not even hit par with the children in this book. Read it.

 

2004- His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman. I know that these books are incredibly controversial. But, admit it, you wished you had a little animal spirit that followed you around. I read all three of the books in the series, and enjoyed them. I remember my Mom reading them after me, and the theological conversations that followed. Time well spent.

 

2005- Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery. Sure, this book is now over a century old. But it is very near and dear to my heart. I think it was around this time in my life that I found I had a voice. I related to Anne. Sure, she was younger, but her and I, we were kindred spirits. And let’s face it, every girl wanted a Gilbert Blythe (remember him? He was the original literary stud. None of this Edward Cullen stuff!), myself included.

 

2006- Adverbs by Daniel Handler. In eleventh grade I discovered a wonderful author named Daniel Handler. His book cleverly used adverbs as chapter titles and followed characters with the same names and different stories. So Bill is not the same Bill you thought you were following but another Bill entirely. It was one of my first exposures to Post Modern fiction, and I fell in love. Fun fact about Daniel Handler: His other alias is Lemony Snicket.

 

2007- Portrait of the Artist as an Old Man by Joseph Heller. Now, here we have a classic case of writer’s block. And this case of writer’s block lasts an entire novel, and quite cleverly so. I read this book twice in one week. Then, it had to be returned to the library. I know it exists, but I have never seen it again since. I wonder if this is a new trick of Post Modern literature...

 

2008- If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler written by Italo Calvino. This book was assigned to me by my high school Writer’s Craft teacher. I read it on Myrtle Beach, and got a nasty sunburn. Half the novel is written in second person. I had never seen this done before, and Calvino did a wonderful job. It became the influence for much of what I write today. Best part? The original novel is in Italian. My new life goal is to read this book in its original language. I guess I am learning Italian.

 

2009- Mostly Harmless (The Fifth Book in the Increasingly Inaccurately Named Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Trilogy) by Douglas Adams. I want a pan-galactic gargle blaster. I can’t quite get a hold of Thursdays, and I always knew the meaning to life, the universe and everything was 42. Background: I listened to the first Hitchhiker’s book on audiotape, read by Stephen Fry, and so when reading the rest of the series, my mind heard the story in a British accent. Let me tell you, Vogon is much more pleasant with a British flair. It’s just too bad the television shows had to end for the strange aliens on Pluto.

The Crown reserves the right to edit or remove any comment that:

• is libelous, threatening, obscene, or constitutes hate speech
• directly and deliberately insults other posters
• is promotional or commercial in nature

Furthermore, The Crown reserves the right to reproduce the comment in the print edition of the newspaper.