#66. "Fetch-22" by Dav Pilkey

After eight entries over three years, the "Dog Man" series is no young pup anymore. In fact, the world that the average book inhabits continues to grow both in the scope of absurdity and deeply rooted emotional catharsis. Dav Pilkey has kept his gift for making stories presented through the lens of childlike wonder, presenting worlds that both satirize the more serious trends of modern culture (in this case police procedurals and superhero comics) and find the humanity within them. In recent entries, Pilkey has had the gift of making every story ends with a crescendo of heartwarming sadness that is surprisingly effective in use. While "Fetch-22" is largely the series' silliest book in some time, it continues the trend of finding adventure on every page, filling the reader's imagination with a world of nonsense that all seem to matter by the end. This may be one of the more overwhelming entries, but it still delivers when it needs to. 

#65. "Saturday" by Ian McEwan

A lot can happen in a day. For Ian McEwan, he took it as a challenge to explore the importance of living in a post-War on Terror world, where endless war has become the backbone of history and protagonist Henry Perowne's perfect life is about to be uplifted and changed. All it takes is a stroll through the park, one protest, surgery, and the news of a family pregnancy to fill his life with a lot to think about. While this sounds like it would make for a decent novel about the little things in life filling our hearts with meaning, McEwan isn't capable of making it into an essential novel. Instead, it's a meandering one that never gets to the big revelations that it thinks it should. It's fine as far as a day in the life stories goes, but those wanting something profound need look elsewhere.