Have you read many of these?

I was trolling through an online site that had just appeared as an email. Often, I am somewhat fearful of just opening unrecognized emails, but I took a chance based upon the heading, 100 Years of Popular Books. It turned out to be safe and brought me to a very interesting article.

The basis of the article was books published between 1924 and 2024. One title was chosen for each year from the various most popular books that year. The final pick was not necessarily the top seller, but certain authors who were on top every year, or repeats, would have excluded some other very fine reads.

The writer decided to choose a new face. Also, the picker explained that he wanted to cover a wide range of topics, authors and genres.

As I perused the list, I tried to remember whether I had read that book or had only heard of it. Did I read it in high school thanks to my English teacher, Margaret Mills? Then deeper thoughts had me asking myself what I remembered about such a book. One that arose quickly was “1984″ by George Orwell. I remember it was awful, not in the writing but in the contents. But let’s come back to that.

I had read 18 of the 100 books at some point in my life, and the points were very telling. With the help of teachers, I probably read most of my list as a result. As my children grew and my llamas arrived, I read a bit less.

But the period that I had read the most of the top choices was not when they were written but as the subjects came to my attention in different ways, be it a movie, a travel experience or suggestions from my peers.

I read many that were written in the 1940s and 1950s even though some were published before I could even read. Examples would be Faulkner’s “As I Lay Dying” (1930), F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Tender is the Night” (1934), “The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck (1943), “Native Son” by Richard Wright (1944) and “The Diary of Anne Frank” (1947).

I had visited Anne’s home in 1962 that she had occupied in Amsterdam before she was deported to a concentration camp. The read was a must.

Then in the middle of my formal education, the more sensational topics became my source of reading. Along came “1984″ (1949), “Fahrenheit 451″ by Ray Bradbury (1953), Nabokov’s "Lolita" (1955), Jack Kerouac’s “On the Road” (1957) and, let’s not forget my favorite, “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee (1960).

I noticed that I had not read a single No. 2 between the 2003 pick of Khaled Hosseini’s “The Kite Runner" and 2023 except for “Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn in 2012. Where was I? Or did the best sellers enter a different genre that no longer fascinated me?

Quite a few of the books picked I had not even heard of. I also noted that so many of the lead books were now written by women. Did I have a problem with female writers? No doubt they write far more fantasy and romance novels than do men, and I am not a great reader of such books.

As I reviewed my reads, I did notice that most of the books on the list prior to 2000 were authored by men. But today is certainly the age of the female author. Now on the USA’s top 50 each week, at least 60% are by female authors.

While others apparently were reading these lead books, I was immersed in books like those of Harlan Coben, Vince Flynn, John Grisham, Michael Connelly, Tom Clancy and Lee Child. I have read almost every book these men have written.

I have followed some of the movie or TV adaptations of these. Who cannot love following Hieronymus Bosch around L.A., or the wandering Jack Reacher as he helps the helpless? I must say after the written description of the hulky Mr. Reacher in the book, and then seeing the movie starring Tom Cruise as the hero, I was a bit surprised. But then again, it is Hollywood.

Had I lost the desire to read the more realistic or historical books? Should I read some of the older books on the top of these years’ readings? I decided to reread some of the more famous ones and started with "To Kill a Mockingbird." It was just as fabulous as I had remembered.

Then I tried “Animal Farm” by George Orwell since it came as a twosome with "1984." It was a fairly easy read with some of its reflections of our times with communism, but it did have some funny parts in retrospect. Then I continued into “1984.” Wow, to think that such a book was written in 1949.

It is a cold presentation of national domination by thought and an unseen leader, Big Brother. The dictatorial state and mind control by hate was so depressing that I could not finish the reread. Such control frightens me as a citizen.

Not to be totally political, but the view of countries over the past 100 years as expressed in "1984″ is just unsettling. Will our world survive these times? Then again, I bet most of the adults during the Cold War times expressed such fear but learned to live with it.

All opinions aside, the books chosen are for the open-minded and written by men and women with foresight. Just because it portends a scary future does not make it a bad read. Maybe I should start again and finish rereading “1984."