This is an interesting and rather ominous-sounding march that was composed during "The Great Patriotic War" to inspire the men and women of the Red Army. The title is translated sometimes as "Holy War".
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Monday, May 11, 2009
A Splendid Weekend
Mila and I hit the road with the girls for the first time in ages for a very pleasant weekend in Plano with Dr. Bezant (aka the good Doctor Pheasant) and his wife Winnifred.
We were more than glad to escape Austin's 95-degree daytime highs. At one point I checked Weather.com and saw that it was 90 degrees in Austin and only 66 in Plano. What a difference 200 miles can make!
Saturday we went to the King Tut exhibit-- a wonderful treat from our ever-thoughtful hosts. Words cannot do justice to the experience, but I will record two of my impressions here. 1) Remarkably, our youngsters were able to hang with an hour and a half of the exhibit. 2) The craftsmanship evident on some of the artifacts is surprisingly primitive while many of the artifacts show a breath-taking degree of perfection. One must wonder how they were able to create with such precision all those centuries ago.
We also visited the Nasher Museum and another museum that houses a permanent collection of Asian art. Perhaps more on those in a later post.
Sunday Dr. Bezant and Winifred treated us dinner and a show at Medieval Times. I had taken this to be clearly something for the girls and had prepared myself to tolerate it, but I must confess that I found the experience very enjoyable. Perhaps the most memorable part was our green knight (each color-coded section of the audience is assigned a knight) chose Onni to be his "Queen of Love and Beauty" by presenting her a green scarf on the end of his lance. She was thrilled, as was Davis who got a pink carnation from the knight.
This video, shot at the Toronto Medieval Times, will give you a slight feel for what it is like.
We were more than glad to escape Austin's 95-degree daytime highs. At one point I checked Weather.com and saw that it was 90 degrees in Austin and only 66 in Plano. What a difference 200 miles can make!
Saturday we went to the King Tut exhibit-- a wonderful treat from our ever-thoughtful hosts. Words cannot do justice to the experience, but I will record two of my impressions here. 1) Remarkably, our youngsters were able to hang with an hour and a half of the exhibit. 2) The craftsmanship evident on some of the artifacts is surprisingly primitive while many of the artifacts show a breath-taking degree of perfection. One must wonder how they were able to create with such precision all those centuries ago.
We also visited the Nasher Museum and another museum that houses a permanent collection of Asian art. Perhaps more on those in a later post.
Sunday Dr. Bezant and Winifred treated us dinner and a show at Medieval Times. I had taken this to be clearly something for the girls and had prepared myself to tolerate it, but I must confess that I found the experience very enjoyable. Perhaps the most memorable part was our green knight (each color-coded section of the audience is assigned a knight) chose Onni to be his "Queen of Love and Beauty" by presenting her a green scarf on the end of his lance. She was thrilled, as was Davis who got a pink carnation from the knight.
This video, shot at the Toronto Medieval Times, will give you a slight feel for what it is like.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
song evolution
Here is my song-writing process exposed.
The seed:
Several months ago, I came up with the idea to do a song that was primarily just an Em chord played very loosely and ponderously with a vocal melody sung above it using a somewhat bluesy scale.
The inspiration:
Back in high school one of my good friends had a friend named Mary whom he really liked. I don't think that the relationship ever reached the point, in terms of romance, that my friend wanted it to and, very sadly, a few years after graduation, Mary was killed in an automobile accident.
So, after several months of this song idea going nowhere, I awoke this morning (May 2) and decided to play it on guitar and ad lib some lyrics. This had worked wonderfully once before. "Riding the Wave" was done completely in one hour-- from zero concept to finished piece. I don't think this one will be so tidy, but here it is (first draft/rough draft) no edits, just the rough flow that I scrawled out in barely legible handwriting (whether satisfied or not) as I strummed from verse to verse in a 10 minute free-flow.
-----------------------------------
understanding
the color of the rain
says you could be here once again
oceans narrowing, the beating of a wing-
undaunted, fearless, unafraid
(verse)
come back, Mary
come back, Mary
come back, Mary
just to picture the way it used to be-
two people standing in the reeds
breathing like the hour- it may not come again
listing the things you mean to me
(verse)
come back, Mary
come back, Mary
come back, Mary
(bridge)
oh, hail Mary
full of grace
say, what's up with you today
you've got your horn of plenty
poised above ? ? ? ? ? (no words here)
say, what's up with you today
(verse)
come back, Mary
come back, Mary
come back, Mary
------------------------------------
So, there it is. Naked and raw. I have already started making changes from this morning. We'll see where it goes from here.
The seed:
Several months ago, I came up with the idea to do a song that was primarily just an Em chord played very loosely and ponderously with a vocal melody sung above it using a somewhat bluesy scale.
The inspiration:
Back in high school one of my good friends had a friend named Mary whom he really liked. I don't think that the relationship ever reached the point, in terms of romance, that my friend wanted it to and, very sadly, a few years after graduation, Mary was killed in an automobile accident.
So, after several months of this song idea going nowhere, I awoke this morning (May 2) and decided to play it on guitar and ad lib some lyrics. This had worked wonderfully once before. "Riding the Wave" was done completely in one hour-- from zero concept to finished piece. I don't think this one will be so tidy, but here it is (first draft/rough draft) no edits, just the rough flow that I scrawled out in barely legible handwriting (whether satisfied or not) as I strummed from verse to verse in a 10 minute free-flow.
-----------------------------------
understanding
the color of the rain
says you could be here once again
oceans narrowing, the beating of a wing-
undaunted, fearless, unafraid
(verse)
come back, Mary
come back, Mary
come back, Mary
just to picture the way it used to be-
two people standing in the reeds
breathing like the hour- it may not come again
listing the things you mean to me
(verse)
come back, Mary
come back, Mary
come back, Mary
(bridge)
oh, hail Mary
full of grace
say, what's up with you today
you've got your horn of plenty
poised above ? ? ? ? ? (no words here)
say, what's up with you today
(verse)
come back, Mary
come back, Mary
come back, Mary
------------------------------------
So, there it is. Naked and raw. I have already started making changes from this morning. We'll see where it goes from here.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Teaching: Good for the Body as Well as the Mind?
Out of curiosity, I stuck Mila's pedometer on my belt this morning before heading out the door. 8,450 steps later (over 4 miles) I was back home again.
Monday, April 20, 2009
April 17 Dentones gig
A couple of weeks ago I was looking at the Carousel Lounge website and noticed that local 90s alternative rock heroes The Wannabes were playing at the club but apparently had no opening band. A quick call to Nikki, the club's manager, put an end to that vacancy. The Dentones would open for the Wannabes starting at 7:00.
It was a strategic move. I was resigned to the fact that there was not enough time to muster much of a turnout from our fan-base, but I figured that Wannabes fans would start showing up toward the end of our second set. If nothing else, it would be a chance to reconnect with Wannabes guitarist Kevin Carney.
I was 33% right. Very few Dentones fans showed up. No other fans showed up until way after we were done. Kevin didn't arrive until almost an hour after we had stopped.
There was a band in the middle. A very good one, actually. The Ron Titter Band was chutzpah incarnate. Imagine a mixture of Elvis and the Stooges and the New York Dolls (what other component am I missing here?) performed by a set of fellows who mostly look like Dell tech support lads. My, but looks can be deceiving!
The evening was far from a waste. The band played quite well. Alexei, a newish friend and the sound engineer who is recording the Dentones in his studio, got the PA very nicely balanced. The bartender liked us a lot, offered the consoling words that early shows are notoriously hard to populate, and gave me free beer for the rest of the evening. Also, Garrett Williams, the drummer for Right or Happy (with whom we are doing a May 29th gig) caught the last few of our tunes. He was probably there on a fact-finding mission to make sure our PA is acceptable and that the Dentones are, too. He talked to Big A for a bit (they have a mutual friend who was the genesis of this upcoming gig), introduced himself to the rest of us, and said we sounded good.
That was music to my ears.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Ticket to Ride
We had our friends Tap and Maggie over for dinner on Saturday and, as it turns out, they love games just like we do. I was glad to hear that they have hosted "game nights" at their house in the past-- even though it was mainly trifling things such as Yahtzee, Scrabble, and the like.
Anything's a start. Right?
To ease these newbies in to the world of respectable gaming we chose "Ticket to Ride- Europe". Tap and Maggie learned the rules very quickly, and we launched into the thick of things right off. Oddly, unlike previous games that have been played like four-way solitaire, this game was much more interactive, with people blocking each other off early on and 80% of the first third of the game taking place in France and Italy alone.
Base scores:
Maggie 86
Mila 96
Tap 116
Po 122
But, there is a bonus for longest rail. Toward the end of the game, Mila brought up the topic of longest rail and we paused to count out the length of everyone's rails. We all assumed Tap's rail was longest. It just LOOKED like it was. However, looks can be deceiving and when we counted it out, my rail was a bit longer. I sort of wished the issue had not come up when it did.
The game proceeded a few turns longer, and the issue of longest rail seemed to be forgotten as everyone concentrated on meeting the obligation of their Destination cards.
When the game was over we counted the base scores and came up with the numbers above.
My rail was 29 cars long. Tap's rail was 31 cars long.
Final score:
Maggie 86
Mila 96
Po 122
Tap 126
2 train cars made all the difference! It was, all in all, a very enjoyable game.
Anything's a start. Right?
To ease these newbies in to the world of respectable gaming we chose "Ticket to Ride- Europe". Tap and Maggie learned the rules very quickly, and we launched into the thick of things right off. Oddly, unlike previous games that have been played like four-way solitaire, this game was much more interactive, with people blocking each other off early on and 80% of the first third of the game taking place in France and Italy alone.
Base scores:
Maggie 86
Mila 96
Tap 116
Po 122
But, there is a bonus for longest rail. Toward the end of the game, Mila brought up the topic of longest rail and we paused to count out the length of everyone's rails. We all assumed Tap's rail was longest. It just LOOKED like it was. However, looks can be deceiving and when we counted it out, my rail was a bit longer. I sort of wished the issue had not come up when it did.
The game proceeded a few turns longer, and the issue of longest rail seemed to be forgotten as everyone concentrated on meeting the obligation of their Destination cards.
When the game was over we counted the base scores and came up with the numbers above.
My rail was 29 cars long. Tap's rail was 31 cars long.
Final score:
Maggie 86
Mila 96
Po 122
Tap 126
2 train cars made all the difference! It was, all in all, a very enjoyable game.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
King Burger
In 1988 when I was traveling through France, I stayed in a hotel/restaurant in Amiens, France that was called (and I kid you not) "King Burger". That, however, is a different story that will have to wait for a later post as it is nearing bedtime for me and I am leaving long before dawn for a week in the mountains of North Carolina.
In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this King Burger.
In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this King Burger.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Friday, March 6, 2009
New Song
'Haven't shown this to the other Dentones yet, but here are the lyrics to a new song I'd like to break out of the box once we get this recording thing wrapped up.
===================================================
Pride of Barbados
Cut your loss, old Antaeus, half-buried in the sand-
there's a dearth of inspiration in the land.
No herculean effort can alleviate the curse
when the stream of consciousness flows in reverse.
When this conversation ends, it will all be over.
When this conversation's done, it will all be through.
Ranger Rick said-- Sunday morning's really not my style,
Why sit inside when all the world's a hymn-
Every leaf on every tree is scribed in holy verse
dedicated to the one, the great "I Am".
You know the pride of Barbados will still be blooming--
the poor man's bird of paradise-- there in the yard.
But over on the West side-
not a thing for everybody-
Join your little boys' club--- Alpha Beta Chi.
Is this a sin?
Not everybody can get in-
They like to ball.
They like to ball.
They like to ball.
Hey, ho, here we go!
Skip the Light Fantastic!
Journey down to Mexico and buy a saint that's made of plastic.
Oh, no! Johnny on the run--
live your live completely-
Iron all the wrinkles out and fold the corners very neatly.
Over on the East side-
gonna pop another baby--
maybe make the biggest family in 11th grade.
Is this a sin?
The baby just don't look like him.
She likes to ball.
She likes to ball.
She likes to ball.
===================================================
Pride of Barbados
Cut your loss, old Antaeus, half-buried in the sand-
there's a dearth of inspiration in the land.
No herculean effort can alleviate the curse
when the stream of consciousness flows in reverse.
When this conversation ends, it will all be over.
When this conversation's done, it will all be through.
Ranger Rick said-- Sunday morning's really not my style,
Why sit inside when all the world's a hymn-
Every leaf on every tree is scribed in holy verse
dedicated to the one, the great "I Am".
You know the pride of Barbados will still be blooming--
the poor man's bird of paradise-- there in the yard.
But over on the West side-
not a thing for everybody-
Join your little boys' club--- Alpha Beta Chi.
Is this a sin?
Not everybody can get in-
They like to ball.
They like to ball.
They like to ball.
Hey, ho, here we go!
Skip the Light Fantastic!
Journey down to Mexico and buy a saint that's made of plastic.
Oh, no! Johnny on the run--
live your live completely-
Iron all the wrinkles out and fold the corners very neatly.
Over on the East side-
gonna pop another baby--
maybe make the biggest family in 11th grade.
Is this a sin?
The baby just don't look like him.
She likes to ball.
She likes to ball.
She likes to ball.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Leonard Cohen is my hero!
Such a powerful medium is song. No need to fuss with characters, narration, or story arc. Music drives simply inward toward the heart.
God save Mr. Cohen, never the best vehicle for the expression of his own formidable muse. Here is one, my dear friends, that you can sing at my funeral--- those of you who might still be carrying on once I am tapped to begin whatever comes next.
God save Mr. Cohen, never the best vehicle for the expression of his own formidable muse. Here is one, my dear friends, that you can sing at my funeral--- those of you who might still be carrying on once I am tapped to begin whatever comes next.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Biorhythms?
All times below are measured in days and are compared to my brothers Deeb and Rev. Bunny.
Age when married:
Deeb------------11,697
Rev. Bunny----11,172
Po---------------11,803
Age at birth of first child:
Rev. Bunny------13,025
Po-----------------12,995
30 days apart.
Age at birth of second child:
Rev. Bunny------13,918
Po-----------------13,906
12 days apart.
Age when married:
Deeb------------11,697
Rev. Bunny----11,172
Po---------------11,803
Age at birth of first child:
Rev. Bunny------13,025
Po-----------------12,995
30 days apart.
Age at birth of second child:
Rev. Bunny------13,918
Po-----------------13,906
12 days apart.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Words of Comfort and Joy
Last Friday evening at the local HEB express lane----
Po approaches the counter and sets a sixer of IPA's thereupon.
Po- "Hey, how's it going?"
Clerk- "Good. Can I see some ID?"
Po- "Certainly!"
Clerk- "Wow! Okay. Thanks, man."
Po- (laughing) "You can check my ID any time you want!"
Clerk- "You're younger than I am!"
Po- "It must be my low-stress job."
==============================
This may be the last time I ever get carded, so I wanted to record it somehow. I got carded almost every time I bought beer the first five years or so after we moved into our new house. Then it started tapering off. I was carded last May when a bunch of us Social Studies teachers went out for happy hour. I was carded about twice in the Fall. Now this. And that might be it for ever and ever.
But I hope not!
Po approaches the counter and sets a sixer of IPA's thereupon.
Po- "Hey, how's it going?"
Clerk- "Good. Can I see some ID?"
Po- "Certainly!"
Clerk- "Wow! Okay. Thanks, man."
Po- (laughing) "You can check my ID any time you want!"
Clerk- "You're younger than I am!"
Po- "It must be my low-stress job."
==============================
This may be the last time I ever get carded, so I wanted to record it somehow. I got carded almost every time I bought beer the first five years or so after we moved into our new house. Then it started tapering off. I was carded last May when a bunch of us Social Studies teachers went out for happy hour. I was carded about twice in the Fall. Now this. And that might be it for ever and ever.
But I hope not!
Monday, February 9, 2009
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Are We Fading Away?
I remember reading several years ago that the replacement fertility rate is 2.1 births per couple. The 2 part is easy, but obviously to get the .1 you have to use an average of the fertility rate of a number of couples. I also noticed that of all my many friends and associates, only two couples have had more than two babies. After pondering this every now and then and lacking anything else very compelling to blog about, I decided to generate the following list of pseudonyms using my own nuclear family, our siblings, and the names in my email address book.
Round Rock Thomassens 2
Austin Thomassens 1
Brevard Thomassens 2
Sherbans 2
Wokkers 3
Chapkin 1
Mookie & mate 2
Mookie's sister 1
Schwinns 2
McMormans 0
Petersons 2
Bostons 0
Cheeres 0
Bakkers 0
Cranfields 2
Bratleys 0
Marxs 1
McMarthy 2
F. Roddys 1
Bailey 0
Blewett 2
Hewes 2
Humppers 2
Blaiges 0
Humpties 2
Nickels 2
Smacks 0
Brewflott 1
Pubigs 0
Minkelmanns 3
J-Carnes 1
Tutz's 2
So, all these happily "coupled" folks, all 64 of my closest friends and relatives, would have to have produced 67.2 babies just to meet the replacement rate. In the event, we have only had a total of 41 children. That's 1.3 kids per couple. If this trend continues, my peer group will produce only 27 grandchildren and only 18 great grandchildren.
In the long run, if everyone on the planet were following this trend, it might not be such a bad thing. But as it stands, it seems that our cohort group (which I would describe as consisting mainly of members of the "creative class") seems to be virtually alone among the various social classes that is not growing.
Round Rock Thomassens 2
Austin Thomassens 1
Brevard Thomassens 2
Sherbans 2
Wokkers 3
Chapkin 1
Mookie & mate 2
Mookie's sister 1
Schwinns 2
McMormans 0
Petersons 2
Bostons 0
Cheeres 0
Bakkers 0
Cranfields 2
Bratleys 0
Marxs 1
McMarthy 2
F. Roddys 1
Bailey 0
Blewett 2
Hewes 2
Humppers 2
Blaiges 0
Humpties 2
Nickels 2
Smacks 0
Brewflott 1
Pubigs 0
Minkelmanns 3
J-Carnes 1
Tutz's 2
So, all these happily "coupled" folks, all 64 of my closest friends and relatives, would have to have produced 67.2 babies just to meet the replacement rate. In the event, we have only had a total of 41 children. That's 1.3 kids per couple. If this trend continues, my peer group will produce only 27 grandchildren and only 18 great grandchildren.
In the long run, if everyone on the planet were following this trend, it might not be such a bad thing. But as it stands, it seems that our cohort group (which I would describe as consisting mainly of members of the "creative class") seems to be virtually alone among the various social classes that is not growing.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Another Disappointment from the Spoetzl Brewery
I want to like Shiner beer. I really do. It's regional. It has a long history. It used to be really good. Shiner Bock was the beer of choice for my first 8 years in Austin--- years that admittedly came before the Beer Revolution that swept our country starting in about 1994. I'll save my longer lament about Shiner Bock for a later post, but suffice it to say that I think my growing disappointment in what we once termed "the creamy creamy" had less to do with the rising standards for beer that accompanied the Beer Revolution than with the falling quality of the once-vaunted products coming from the the little brewery in Shiner.
The latest disappointment is "Shiner Commemorator", brewed to celebrate Spoetzl's 100th birthday. Like many Shiner beers, it is not all bad--- it's only half bad, as if each bottle consisted of 6 ounces of a mildly decent craft brew and 6 ounces of downstream American wank. Add two drops of vanilla extract and, Voila!, there you have it-- Shiner Commemorator. Even at the bargain price of $5.99 for a sixer, it proved a bitter disappointment... though without the bitterness, which would have been a step in the right direction.
The latest disappointment is "Shiner Commemorator", brewed to celebrate Spoetzl's 100th birthday. Like many Shiner beers, it is not all bad--- it's only half bad, as if each bottle consisted of 6 ounces of a mildly decent craft brew and 6 ounces of downstream American wank. Add two drops of vanilla extract and, Voila!, there you have it-- Shiner Commemorator. Even at the bargain price of $5.99 for a sixer, it proved a bitter disappointment... though without the bitterness, which would have been a step in the right direction.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
inspiration
Seeds in a dry pod,
tick, tick, tick...
---
Can you name the poet? The "poem"?
Can you do this without internet assistance?
tick, tick, tick...
---
Can you name the poet? The "poem"?
Can you do this without internet assistance?
Friday, January 9, 2009
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Books 101
The 101 best novels of all time, as voted for by Exclusive Books customers.
What do you think?
1. The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien
2. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
3. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
4. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
5. The Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
6. The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver
7. The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho
8. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
9. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
10. The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy
11. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
12. Spud - John van de Ruit
13. The Power of One - Bryce Courtenay
14. The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien
15. Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis de Bernieres
16. Shantaram - Gregory David Roberts
17. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
18. Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
19. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
20. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
21. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
22. Disgrace - J. M. Coetzee
23. My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult
24. The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
25. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
26. Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
27. Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett
28. Gone with the Wind - Margaret Mitchell
29. Cry, the Beloved Country - Alan Paton
30. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
31. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
32. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time - Mark Haddon
33. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
34. Atonement - Ian McEwan
35. Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
36. The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
37. The English Patient - Michael Ondaatje
38. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
39. Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
40. Love in the Time of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
41. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
42. I Know This Much is True - Wally Lamb
43. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
44. Nineteen Eighty-Four - George Orwell
45. War And Peace - Leo Tolstoy
46. Clan of the Cave Bear - Jean M. Auel
47. The Unbearable Lightness of Being - Milan Kundera
48. The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupery
49. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
50. Possession - A. S. Byatt
51. Perfume - Patrick Suskind
52. The House of the Spirits - Isabel Allende
53. Chocolat - Joanne Harris
54. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency - Alexander McCall Smith
55. Q & A - Vikas Swarup
56. Dune - Frank Herbert
57. Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
58. Fugitive Pieces - Anne Michaels
59. River God - Wilbur Smith
60. Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
61. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
62. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis
63. Mort - Terry Pratchett
64. Crime and Punishment - Feodor Dostoyevsky
65. The Blind Assassin - Margaret Atwood
66. East of Eden - John Steinbeck
67. The Name of the Rose - Umberto Eco
68. The Other Boleyn Girl - Philippa Gregory
69. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - John Boyne
70. The Prince of Tides - Pat Conroy
71. Rebecca - Daphne du Maurier
72. Bridget Jones' Diary - Helen Fielding
73. The Shipping News - E. Annie Proulx
74. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
75. Animal Farm - George Orwell
76. The Red Tent - Anita Diamant
77. Watership Down - Richard Adams
78. Magician - Raymond E Feist
79. Middlemarch - George Eliot
80. The Day of the Jackal - Frederick Forsyth
81. We Need to Talk About Kevin - Lionel Shriver
82. The Magus - John Fowles
83. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
84. Agaat - Marlene van Niekerk
85. The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
86. The Shell Seekers - Rosamunde Pilcher
87. The Colour Purple - Alice Walker
88. The Beach House - James Patterson
89. Doctor Zhivago - Boris Pasternak
90. Kringe in 'n Bos - Dalene Matthee
91. The World according to Garp - John Irving
92. Northen Lights - Phillip Pullman
93. Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
94. Shades - Marguerite Poland
95. Kane and Abel - Jeffrey Archer
96. Fiela se kind - Dalene Matthee
97. Story of an African Farm - Olive Schreiner
98. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
99. The Magic Faraway Tree - Enid Blyton
100. Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe
101. Winnie-the-Pooh - A.A. Milne
What do you think?
1. The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien
2. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
3. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
4. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
5. The Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
6. The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver
7. The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho
8. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
9. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
10. The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy
11. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
12. Spud - John van de Ruit
13. The Power of One - Bryce Courtenay
14. The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien
15. Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis de Bernieres
16. Shantaram - Gregory David Roberts
17. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
18. Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
19. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
20. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
21. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
22. Disgrace - J. M. Coetzee
23. My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult
24. The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
25. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
26. Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
27. Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett
28. Gone with the Wind - Margaret Mitchell
29. Cry, the Beloved Country - Alan Paton
30. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
31. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
32. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time - Mark Haddon
33. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
34. Atonement - Ian McEwan
35. Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
36. The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
37. The English Patient - Michael Ondaatje
38. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
39. Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
40. Love in the Time of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
41. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
42. I Know This Much is True - Wally Lamb
43. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
44. Nineteen Eighty-Four - George Orwell
45. War And Peace - Leo Tolstoy
46. Clan of the Cave Bear - Jean M. Auel
47. The Unbearable Lightness of Being - Milan Kundera
48. The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupery
49. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
50. Possession - A. S. Byatt
51. Perfume - Patrick Suskind
52. The House of the Spirits - Isabel Allende
53. Chocolat - Joanne Harris
54. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency - Alexander McCall Smith
55. Q & A - Vikas Swarup
56. Dune - Frank Herbert
57. Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
58. Fugitive Pieces - Anne Michaels
59. River God - Wilbur Smith
60. Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
61. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
62. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis
63. Mort - Terry Pratchett
64. Crime and Punishment - Feodor Dostoyevsky
65. The Blind Assassin - Margaret Atwood
66. East of Eden - John Steinbeck
67. The Name of the Rose - Umberto Eco
68. The Other Boleyn Girl - Philippa Gregory
69. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - John Boyne
70. The Prince of Tides - Pat Conroy
71. Rebecca - Daphne du Maurier
72. Bridget Jones' Diary - Helen Fielding
73. The Shipping News - E. Annie Proulx
74. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
75. Animal Farm - George Orwell
76. The Red Tent - Anita Diamant
77. Watership Down - Richard Adams
78. Magician - Raymond E Feist
79. Middlemarch - George Eliot
80. The Day of the Jackal - Frederick Forsyth
81. We Need to Talk About Kevin - Lionel Shriver
82. The Magus - John Fowles
83. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
84. Agaat - Marlene van Niekerk
85. The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
86. The Shell Seekers - Rosamunde Pilcher
87. The Colour Purple - Alice Walker
88. The Beach House - James Patterson
89. Doctor Zhivago - Boris Pasternak
90. Kringe in 'n Bos - Dalene Matthee
91. The World according to Garp - John Irving
92. Northen Lights - Phillip Pullman
93. Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
94. Shades - Marguerite Poland
95. Kane and Abel - Jeffrey Archer
96. Fiela se kind - Dalene Matthee
97. Story of an African Farm - Olive Schreiner
98. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
99. The Magic Faraway Tree - Enid Blyton
100. Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe
101. Winnie-the-Pooh - A.A. Milne
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