Bill's Scientifically Calculated Top 100 Books of All-Time Part 10

I've been spending my morning watching footie, reading and dozing. Now that Brighton are losing 2-0 with 13 minutes left to go, I'm going to switch to the Burnley - West Ham game and get going on my final group of books; #1 - 10. When I started this idea, I posted my Top Ten lists, as developed a few years back. This is the link to that post if you want to compare my updated list to those lists.

So without further ado, drum roll please... here is my Top Ten list as of March 2018.

#10 - 1

10. Parade's End by Ford Madox Ford (War / Classic). At university I took The Good Soldier by Ford. I was very lazy at university and when it came to the Classics, it took quite a bit for me to actually finish them. A few years back, while I was still working, I noticed Jo listening to a radio dramatization of Parade's End. It piqued my interest so when I saw a copy of this book in Kingston, I thought it might be worth a try. Since then we've also enjoyed a BBC dramatization of the book. It's quite excellent.





"This was a challenging, but ultimately, an enjoyable, interesting read. The book is made of four separate books, Some Do Not, No More Parades, A Man Could Stand Up and, The Last Post. It is set in England and France, before, during and after WWI. It deals with Christopher Tietjens, his wife Sylvia and Valentine Wannop, a young woman who has captured Christopher's heart. Around these people are family members, Christopher's brother, Mark; friends, associates and many others. Christopher's relationship with his wife is bitter and harsh, she goes out of her way to destroy his life, even though she won't grant him a divorce. At the same time, Christopher has fallen in love with the young woman, Valentine, who he met as a result of his father's friendship with her mother. Amidst these personal issues is the war, life in the trenches, all these matters. The story is detailed, it takes time to get used to the flow of the story, but when you do, it is most enthralling. The second and third books, which deal more with the War itself, I personally found the most interesting. Critics have said that there needn't have been a fourth book, that Christopher, himself, isn't really even present, but ultimately, I found that it wrapped up so many of the unresolved issues very nicely. Definitely worth reading, if you want to try a classic."

9. Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy (Classic). I read this in 2015 as part of my continuing efforts to try the classics. It was my first story by Thomas Hardy.









"I loved this classic. It's not normally my thing, but it was so well-written and there were such excellent characters, especially Gabriel Oake and Bathsheba Everdene. I was fully drawn into this story, basically the gist being that Bathsheba is an eligible single woman who has inherited her uncle's farm and now decides to run it herself (which must have been unique in those times). She is loved by Gabriel, who becomes her shepherd. Through an accident on her part, because of a small joke she plays, the rich farmer next door, a bachelor, Boldwood also falls in love with her and plights his suit to gain her hand in marriage. Unfortunately, Bathsheba doesn't really love him and this suit is rather one-sided. She falls for a cad (don't they all), Sgt Troy, who wants her only really for her money; he has already played a hand with serving girl, Fanny. So there you have it. The story describes their relationships and also life in Wessex; the running of a large farm, incidents that affect their lives. I had to find out how the story went and could not wait for the ending to see if it would end up the way I hoped. I don't often get this involved with the characters of a book, but this was a fascinating, totally engrossing story. Read it!!!"

8.  The Razor's Edge by W. Somerset Maugham (Fiction). I found this edition of The Razor's Edge when Jo and I were visiting Kingston on our way to the World Figure Skating championship's in London Ontario back in 2013. It was in a neat little antiquey store that was closing down. I read it during the weekend we spent in London. It was my first of many Maugham books.






"I'd never read any Somerset Maugham before and really had no desire to read anything by him either. However recently I saw The Razor's Edge in a antique/ collectibles shop and I liked the look of it. Since one of my Reading groups was reading Modern English Classics as that month's genre, I decided to read it. I must say that I was most pleasantly surprised. Maugham has a way about him of telling a story. His writing style is very fluid and eminently readable. The story was interesting, the dialogue flowed nicely and I found myself waiting anxiously to get back to the book when I put it down. Did a lot happen? It was a tale of people, specifically friends of Maugham's, as he is the narrator and a character as well, who he spends time with and observes. I liked the characters and I liked Maugham as well. He's an observer of humanity and expresses his observations so very well. Anyway, I loved the story, it's one of my favorites of this year. Will I read any more of his books? Well I purchased The Moon and Sixpence yesterday, so I hope so."

7. A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute (Fiction). I apologize now if you don't like Shute's story-telling as this might not be the only book by Shute in the Top Ten. :0)






"As Joe says and most Queenslanders say throughout this book, 'Oh my word!'. What a great book A Town Like Alice by English author Nevil Shute is. Shute is one of my favourite authors. I've enjoyed so many of his books and I will keep searching for others of his stories.
A Town Like Alice (which I've always wanted to name A Town Called Alice; I know now why the title is as it is) is the story of Jean Paget, a young English woman, whose journey carries her from Malaysia in WWII, back to England and on to Australia. She is a normal girl, who finds herself in unique situations and finds a strength of character common to the heroes and heroines who people Shute's novels. Shute has said this story is based on a true story of a Dutch woman who kept many women prisoners of the Japanese alive with her efforts. In Shute's story, the Japanese invade Malaysia and capture a group of English women and their children. Not wanting to have anything to do with them, the women begin a march around Malaysia, from Japanese camp to camp, suffering terrible privations. Jean, unmarried, becomes a rational, smart leader of the group.
They are helped by an Australian prisoner, Joe, who risks his life to provide food and medicine to the women. After the war, Jean returns to England and discovers she has inherited a fair bit of money. The story teller, her solicitor Noel, helps her sort out this inheritance, which Jean wants to use to help the Malaysian village that kept the women safe.
She also decides to go to Australia to find out more about Joe, where he was from and when she arrives decides to use her money once again to help the town he was from, to make it 'a town like Alice'.
I don't want to discuss the plot much more as it is a book that needs to be enjoyed and savoured. I love the characters, I love the spirit of nation building, the positiveness of the people. There are outstanding events that take place in this story, but they are told in such a gentle, matter of fact way that it makes them even more impressive. There are many highlights for me. I especially enjoyed discovering how the Australian outback radio communication system worked and how much of a key it was to saving a lost man. The story reminds me of The Far Country, another story that features Australia. Shute is a great author that should be explored."

6. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (Fiction). I've been slowly delving in to du Maurier's works. I have mentioned The House on the Strand previously, #21 on my list. I've also enjoyed a couple of collections of her unique short stories, including The Birds (used for Alfred Hitchcock's famous movie). Rebecca was so excellent.







"Wow! I cannot believe it's taken this long for me to pick up this book and read it. I had read The House on the Strand a few times and enjoyed, but for some reason, I've never read anything else by du Maurier, maybe some misguided feeling that it was 'chick-lit'. I'm glad that I've started exploring more and more classic and modern classic fiction. This was a fascinating story, well-crafted, intelligently written and a page turner. At first I was irritated by the new Mrs. de Winter, her naivety and innocence, but as I read more, her character made more sense; a young woman with little life experience and low self-esteem. Marrying the older Maxim de Winter, an experienced but damaged and withdrawn individual didn't help her attitude, especially with how much she loved him. Being placed in a strange, almost other worldly situation as the new mistress of de Winter's estate of Manderley, which had been run masterfully by his first wife, Rebecca, added to her discomfort. Throw into the mix, the house keeper, the creepy Mrs. Danvers, who seems to resent the new lady of the manor and you've got a tense, fascinating situation. The story builds and builds (I won't spoiler this for anyone who hasn't read before... even though I think I'm probably one of the few who hasn't) and draws you in. Such an excellent story. I've discussed with the missus as I've progressed and now will have to sit down with her and watch the movie version."

5. Pied Piper by Nevil Shute (War). I've read this Shute story 3 or 4 times. It always impresses me and I always find out something new to enjoy when I read it. It always chokes me up.









"It is the spring of 1940 and John Sidney Howard wants nothing more than to enjoy his fishing holiday in southern France in peace and quiet. However, the Nazi conquest of the Low Countries puts an end to that, and he is asked by friends to take their two children back to England. Crossing France with his young charges seems simple enough at first - until the Germans invade, rendering them fugitives. As Howard struggles to sneak across France, he picks up several more helpless children of various nationalities. They walk for miles in an endless river of refugees, strafed by German planes and hiding in barns at night. By the time Howard and his flock of little ones reach the Channel, his plan of escaping on a fishing boat has become utterly impossible, and in their final confrontation with the invaders, all their lives are at stake."

4. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers (Fiction). Excellent book, excellent movie which Jo won't watch any more because it makes her (and me too) cry every single time. One of the best roles Alan Arkin has ever portrayed.








"When she was only twenty-three, Carson McCullers’s first novel created a literary sensation. She was very special, one of America’s superlative writers who conjures up a vision of existence as terrible as it is real, who takes us on shattering voyages into the depths of the spiritual isolation that underlies the human condition. This novel is the work of a supreme artist, Carson McCullers’s enduring masterpiece. The heroine is the strange young girl, Mick Kelly. The setting is a small Southern town, the cosmos universal and eternal. The characters are the damned, the voiceless, the rejected. Some fight their loneliness with violence and depravity, some with sex or drink, and some -  like Mick -  with a quiet, intensely personal search for beauty."

3. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (Fiction). This has long been a favorite book of mine, touching, enduring, excellent. I've read so many times and always enjoy, always get emotionally involved with Scout and her family and her community. The movie starring Gregory Peck reflects these values just as well. I have since read the newly discovered Go Set a Watchman which I enjoyed but it does put a different perspective on Mockingbird....  





"Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning masterwork of honor and injustice in the deep South - and the heroism of one man in the face of blind and violent hatred.
One of the best-loved stories of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird has been translated into more than forty languages, sold more than thirty million copies worldwide, served as the basis of an enormously popular motion picture, and was voted one of the best novels of the twentieth century by librarians across the country.
A gripping, heart-wrenching, and wholly remarkable tale of coming-of-age in a South poisoned by virulent prejudice, it views a world of great beauty and savage inequities through the eyes of a young girl, as her father - a crusading local lawyer - risks everything to defend a black man unjustly accused of a terrible crime"

2. On the Beach by Nevil Shute (Dystopia). This is one of those books that the President's of US and North Korea should read as they wave about their nuclear missile threats. Think before you act. I have read many times and also enjoyed the movie many times. Understated but terrifying.








"After the war is over, a radioactive cloud begins to sweep southwards on the winds, gradually poisoning everything in its path. An American submarine captain is among the survivors left sheltering in Australia, preparing with the locals for the inevitable. Despite his memories of his wife, he becomes close to a young woman struggling to accept the harsh realities of their situation. Then a faint Morse code signal is picked up, transmitting from the United States and the submarine must set sail through the bleak ocean to search for signs of life."

1. Daniel Deronda by George Eliot (Classics). I read this after listening to a radio dramatization that Jo had been enjoying on BBC radio. I have to give my lovely wife lots of credit for some of my books choices. I listen with her and then start exploring the books they are based on. This was the first of a few of Eliot's books that I've enjoyed so very much.







"Not my normal story at all; I do tend to more light reading, thriller, adventure, but at times I do try to explore more challenging stories. This was definitely one of those. It's a true classic, well-written and intelligent. The story focuses on two main characters, Gwendolen Harleth, a selfish, young lady who thinks the world revolves around her and Daniel Deronda, a gentlemen, searching for himself. This search has many aspects, the simple one being trying to ascertain who his parents are as he has grown up under the protection/ guidance of Sir Hugo Mallinger from childhood. This also involves more internal searching, who is he, why does he think as he does. He is a caring individual, selflessly helping friends and strangers; his flighty school friend Hugo Meyrick, the lovely Jewess Mira and even Gwendolen.. There is so much in this book, unspoken love, a brief study of what it is like to be Jewish in those times, death, romance, etc. I was very surprised how much I enjoyed the story and as I worked my way through the initial pages to get accustomed to the style of writing of the time, it was published in 1876, I found myself enjoying it more and more. As much as Gwendolen irritated me to no end with her selfishness, at the same time, there was an inkling of sympathy for the plight she finds herself in (even if much of it is due to her own actions) and ultimately.. well, I won't go there. It's a heavy tome, but well worth reading. I'm very glad I did."

So there you go, the Top Ten. I hope you've enjoyed my journey through my Top 100. I'm thinking that my next journey will be through my A - Z authors. Enjoy your weekend!