Only have time for a brief post today. Came across Harvard Book Store’s Top 100 list.  Several observations:

1. If I am correct, I’ve only read 30 on this list! Yay! There are still good books out there I haven’t read.

2. I was glad to see some of my personal favorites on the list including The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Jayber Crow.

3. I was saddened that Cry, the Beloved Country  was not included. This work ranks for me up with Hemingway’s writing, and in many ways is far more moving as a tale of reconciliation.

4. Can’t figure out how Hundred Years of Solitude made #4.

5. Kind of wonder if the Harry Potter stories or Hitchhikers Guide will still make this list in 25 years.

6. I appreciated the foreign authors and need to dip into some folk like Calvino, Murakami, and others.

7. I was happily surprised to see two of Marilynne Robinson’s books in this list, Housekeeping and Gilead.

8. David Foster Wallace and Neil Gaiman keep popping up. Need to read them sometime.

If you’ve had a chance to look over this list, what surprised you and why? How many have you read?