Pulitzer Update: Discovering this century

You may (or may not) be aware that the Pulitzer Prize Board announced the 2011 winners of those coveted-by-journalists-and-most-writers awards. I thought it was a fitting time to update you on my progress of reading every book from the Pulitzer Fiction winners list.

For those who are counting, I have read 23 books of the 84 on the list. I am not going in order, but instead I am jumping back and forth through the decades, topics, and well-known versus unknown-to-me authors. At this point I've read at least one book from each decade (1910s-2000s).

I remember one birthday, years ago, Bogdan bought me books by Graham Greene, Hemingway, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Chekov. I had never read any of those authors before, and even worse, my list of classical literature that I had read at that point was shamefully small. From that point on I've read tons of classics by the big names in literature spanning centuries and continents. And while reading those books was very fulfilling, I was neglecting current books and emerging authors.

One great thing about this project has been that I've come in contact with some phenomenal writers from this century, including Cormac McCarthy, Edward Jones, and Michael Chabon. I can honestly tell you that I would have never picked up any of those author's books if it hadn't been for reading the Pulitzer list. To think what I would be missing! In fact, every book that I've read so far from 1976 on has been really, really good. And the topics of the books have been so diverse—black men owning slaves, young Jewish kids creating comic books, post-apocalyptic America, and writing for a newspaper in Nova Scotia.

This has all been very rewarding.

Of course, I have not been in love with every book that I've read from the list. Some fell flat, others seemed juvenile, and some I can only describe as "meh." However, the vast majority have been a good read, and I've finished the books having learned something, being moved, and awed by the writing.

If I had to recommend five books from the ones I've read since the last post they would be:

1. The Bridge of San Luis Ray - Thorton Wilder
2. The Known World - Edward Jones
3. The Road - Cormac McCarthy 
4. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay - Michael Chabon
5. American Pastoral - Philip Roth

So have you been reading any of the Pulitzer prize winners? What books have you enjoyed lately?