Where my mind's been, in 3 words each:
Catch-22: Laugh-out-loud, gasp-out-loud funny.
Cloud Atlas: Mesmerizing and virtuosic.
Death and the Penguin: Bracing post-Soviet humor.
The Fifty Year Sword: Alas, a disappointment.
Silas Marner: Short, moralizing, intelligent.
Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha: A bewildering experience.
Housekeeping vs. the Dirt: Just goddamn delightful.
If on a Winter's Night a Traveler: Successfully, brilliantly obnoxious.
Bring Up the Bodies: A stand-up sequel.
The Night Circus: Lovely love story.
People of the Book: Adequate, not great.
The Lost: Genuinely interesting quest.
The Sound and the Fury: WTF just happened?
Radioactive: Beautiful, evocative, educational.
The Fruit Hunters: Fascinating... who knew?
Cry, the Beloved Country: Over-lyrical but wrenching.
Mrs. Dalloway: Highly concentrated prose.
The Awakening: Inspired fury, empathy.
Possession: English majors, rejoice.
Suddenly, a Knock on the Door: Addictive as crack.
Invisible Cities: Grown-up bedtime stories.
The Possessed: Witty, clever and fun.
Changing My Mind: God, she's smart.
Light Boxes: Experimental, intriguing, wintry.
Olive Kitteridge: Just interesting enough.
I Knew You'd be Lovely: Well-crafted, soft-hearted stories.
What is the What: All-consuming non-fiction novel.
The Hunger Games: It's definitely readable.
Let the Great World Spin: Absolutely entrancing, heart-breaking.
The Dante Game: Not for me.
Saturday: Music! Neuroscience! Philosophy!
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil: Entertaining novelistic non-fiction.
The Last Werewolf: Intelligent, pulpy bloodbath.
The Sense of an Ending: Not all that.
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: Just not good.
Waiting for the Barbarians: A captivating parable.
The Crying of Lot 49: Practically perfect Pynchon.
Super Sad True Love Story: Tiresome fantasy fulfillment.
A Visit from the Goon Squad: Great fun, well-done.
Descartes' Bones: Interesting; not profound.
Click: Trippy, weird, excellent.
And 11 recommendations:
Lit-nerd Must-Reads with easily-confused titles: The Possessed, Possession
Everybody Must-Reads with numbers in the title: The Crying of Lot 49, Catch-22
Long, Immersive Reads each featuring tangentially-connected stories: Cloud Atlas, Let the Great World Spin
Short, Smart Reads that take place in a single day: Saturday, Mrs. Dalloway
And in the category of Nick Hornby, Take All My Money Already: Housekeeping vs. the Dirt
