Motherhood has afforded more time to read than I expected (Keep eating, Nolan! I want to finish this chapter!), and over the last two months I’ve polished off nearly a dozen books. Yesterday I was moseying around the library looking for inspiration in the fiction section when I picked up Empire Falls by Richard Russo. I noticed that it won the Pulitzer and an idea struck me! I should (try to) read all (some) of the Pulitzer Prize winners for fiction. I looked over the list of winners and counted that I’ve only read seven so far: Olive Kitteridge, The Hours, A Thousand Acres, Beloved, The Killer Angels (I have no recollection of this one), To Kill a Mockingbird, and The Old Man and the Sea. Finalists after 1980 are also listed and I’ve only read two of those: The Poisonwood Bible and The Things They Carried.
So I am going to work my way through the list. If I think a book looks awful, I will probably skip it. If I get 100 pages into a story and it is sucking the life out of me, I’ll leave it. I know some people HAVE to finish a book once it is started but I am definitely not one of those people. Life is too short and there are too many books out there to waste my time on one I dread reading (I’m looking at you, Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom).
Take a look at the winners’ list and see how many you have read! Any books there that you loved or that I steer clear of?
The Reluctant Long Islander 
I didn’t care for The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao. There are many sections written in Spanish. Since I don’t speak Spanish, I felt alienated. A Confederacy of Dunes is my favorite book. Ever. It is the book I could read over and over and over again. I read the Color Purple in college. A fine book. A quick read as I recall. good luck in your quest.
You didn’t read Middlesex?? A great book!
I am embarassed to report that I have tried to read Middlesex not once, not twice, but THREE times and have abandoned it within 30 pages every time. I definitely plan to read it, though!
I read Killer Angels in high school and I remember REALLY liking it. And I definitely didn’t always read the book nor like it in high school