by Manidoo | Last Updated: September 23, 2022In August 2020, I set the goal to read 1,000 books. As of posting this I successfully completed about 100 books or 10% of my goal. This journey has been both fun and challenging and has really helped broaden my knowledge and perspective.
I thought it’ll be a fun way to celebrate this milestone by doing a 100 books “review”. Just going over some of the most notable books read doing this journey.
Book 1 – Spider Woman’s Web by Susan Hazen-Hammond
A Native American Anthropology. This was gifted to me back in August right before I set out to do my challenge. I’ve always made it a goal to read and return any book loaned to me as soon as possible, so this came to be my first book solely by good timing.
The book itself was surprisingly a great read. It is very centered on matriarchal-driven stories, often accompanied by morals. The vast majority of these stories are retellings of century-old stories from different Native tribes. Some of these stories parallel ones popularly told in other fairy tales, mythos, and folk tales. Hearing the unique cultural version of them became nothing more, but insightful and entertaining.
Book 100 – Maus II by Art Spiegelman
The Maus series is a 2-part graphic novel that often finds itself on banned book lists for its dark themes. It’s been a best-seller for decades now, and I can see why. The Maus series takes place in Europe during World War II. The author, Art Spiegelman, depicts his Jewish father, Vladek as a humanoid mouse character explaining his life during one of the most infamous points in history. Maus I walks us through Vladek’s life leading up to the Nazi’s rise in power and how it has turned Vladek’s life into a battle for survival. Then Maus II follows up with Vladek’s experience as a prisoner of the Auschwitz concentration camp.
This book is nothing short of a dark read, but one I cannot recommend enough. Art has a talent for capturing the tragedy of Vladek’s survival, while also flashing forward to how these historical events still influence our modern day. Serving as both a unique modern social and historical commentary, Maus I and II both earn their spots on the must-read lists.
Favorite Non-Fictional Book – Ultralearning by Scott Young
I’ve actually covered this book pretty extensively in my Level Every Day review. It’s been a couple of years since I first read this book, and have adopted its ideology. I still find that Scott’s take on learning serves as a very insightful perspective. A popular society belief is that we are people of limited skill sets, which is often why it’s encouraged for us to go down a single career pathway.
I feel Scott provided not only a strong example that we can become skillful at anything we set out minds to, but provides a very useful guide on how to accomplish this. Whenever I did really want to pick up a skill as fast as possible, the Ultralearning principles had been a very reliable way for me to accomplish this.
Runner-up: The Elements of Moral Philosophy by James Rachel
Favorite Fictional Book – Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley
This was a book that was impossible for me not to see/hear about when walking through bookstores. Published in 2021, this book rose to become a multi-award-winning Young Adult novel and best-seller. The book centers around 18-year-old Daunis, a bi-racial woman born to an Anishinaabe father and a white mother. Living on a Native American reservation in Michigan, Daunis grew up finding herself walking between two worlds. Her life gets far more complicated after witnessing a murder and getting wrapped up in a mystery that uncovers more to her life than she imagined.
Being an Anishinaabe myself, learning a book centered on my tribe became a pleasant surprise. When I picked it up for my reading challenge, I found myself enthralled by the book so much that 400 pages just flew by. One of my favorite things about this book is that it manages to neatly incorporate teachings of Native American language and culture while slowly unraveling a gripping mystery.
Runner-up: Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Favorite Graphic Novel – Bone by Jeff Smith
It was a really hard decision between my ultimate choice and my two runner-ups. My two runners-ups, Flintstones by Mark Russell and Banned Book Club by Kim Hyun Sook, are not only some of the most fascinating reads I’ve had in my 100 books journey but definitely in the whole of all the graphics novels I’ve read.
However, Bone has still remained on top of my personal favorite list. Bone was randomly gifted to me back in grade school, and it was a story that very quickly enthralled me. So much so, this 1,000+ page book was binged in just two short days after getting it. I’m not much into the fantasy genre, but something about Bone’s escalating tale of searching for his relatives in an unfamiliar world and then climaxing into an all-out war is a masterfully crafted emotional roller coaster filled with humor, suspense, and shock. When I reread it again for this 1,000-book Quest, I found myself unable to put it down until it was finished.
Runner-Up(s): Flintstones by Mark Russell and Banned Book Club by Kim Hyun Sook
Most Interesting Read – Magical Boy by The Kao
I’ve never really been into the “Magical Girl” genre in anime. I’ve been far more exposed to satires or twists of the genre(e.g. Madoka Magica) than actual magical girl series themselves. Despite this, my spouse has grown up pretty well-exposed to the genre, so Magical Boy inevitably reached our library collection shortly after its release.
The story centers around a trans-male(born female sexed), Max. As Max enters high school they start to come more to terms with their gender identity. However, this becomes challenged as Max learns he comes from a long line of Magical Girls who must protect the world from evil. The book feels like a humorous take on the Magical Girl genre that also helps provide a glimpse into the world a trans-man must navigate when challenged with their identity. It ended up becoming a very entertaining read, and I very readily picked up the second–and last–volume of this series as soon as it was published.
Runner-Up: Fresh Off the Boat by Eddie Huang
Least Favorite Read – Eat Pray Love By Elizabeth Gilbert
This book is very much divided into a love-it-or-hate-it audience. I definitely fell into the latter category. I will fully admit I am one who likes to indulge in the “Escapism” genre. The stories of those who quit their job, pack up their lives, and go on a grand journey of “self-discovery”. It’s something I imagine many of us would love to do ourselves one day. I feel it’s a very common follow-up for those who end up doing it to also write a book about their adventures.
I feel many of those who end up writing a book about their experiences, also fall into a common trap of just making it a little too… Whimsical and self-centered? It’s something I think the author Jon Krakauer expressed best when he went on his own self-discovery trip written as part of Into the Wild. You can go on a grand journey of self-discovery, but don’t really expect everyone to care about your experience nor expect it to be the “solution to all your problems”. Often times you may find yourself coming back to the world you came back to with very little changed.
I really wish Gilbert had that mindset before she embarked on her personal journey. Throughout the journey, Gilbert’s pretentiousness just couldn’t stop creeping in. There were many times I was reading this book and just wanted to shake Gilbert by the shoulders and tell her to get over her ego.
The egotistic moments are heavily sprinkled at the moment. Moments where she pushes to be in an advanced level Italian class instead of a beginner level–despite admitting not knowing what the two differed in–only to drop out shortly afterward due to its difficulty and lack of interest. Moments where she is loudly disruptive during a meditation class in India. Shortly followed up with how she somehow takes her experience with her roommate bolting Gilbert in their room then took her roommate’s comment that she dreamt Gilbert burned to death in her sleep as a positive spiritual meaning. Even moments when Gilbert traveled all the way to Indonesia to study under an Indonesian guru–after a very brief comment inviting her over–then found herself surprised to learn the Guru didn’t remember her despite how she, herself, had to go out of her way to find this man she barely knew anything about.
I think the world-revolving mentality of Gilbert is especially frustrating because this was a story that has influenced fans to adopt a very similar attitude. The entire time I read the book I couldn’t see her as anything more than someone suffering very privileged problems, than utilizing said privilege to travel to less wealthy countries she viewed as exotic, thinking they’ll hold some sort of mystical answer to her own problems. It’s very stereotypical of someone living in a bubble who views the world as a convivence to them.
Runner-Up: Wanted by Mark Millar
Final Thoughts
So far I’ve really enjoyed the 100 books and took with me a renewed view of literature. Objectively, reading is a great way to learn, but you’re really only going to learn as much as you are willing to step out of your comfort zone.
For the first 100 books, I actually took on the intention to explore literary classics. Books that often will find themselves largely adapted, best-selling, or making some large influence in history. However, I also very much mixed this in with books of my own interest. At the beginning of this stage, I took on projects dedicated to improving my ability to focus and my understanding of ethical philosophy. I’ve definitely dabbled in books I knew would be good reads, or have been on my interest radar for quite some time. I also am in graduate school and have books that become a definitive requirement for my major.
If I had to pick a theme for these first 100 books, it’ll be exploratory. There isn’t anything consistent in it, but some of these books read for this challenge were ones I intentionally read to push myself into broader interests. When I do look back at my list of books read on Goodreads I can remember back to specific points in my life when I was reading through this book, or recall specific elements that motivated me to pick it up. It is a very fulfilling time capsule in a way.
I’m curious how this next journey is going to go in the next 100 books, but for now, I wish you happy reading!