#77. "The Answer Is... Reflections on My Life" by Alex Trebek

From the way that Alex Trebek writes his memoir, the reader wouldn't think that he was a cultural icon. The way that he phrases it is by noting that he isn't the star of the long-running Jeopardy!, but the host. In the simple word choice, he manages to change perception, believing that he's presenting others while trying to bring out their best selves. Not a page feels judgmental, reflecting a man who looks at the world as a place to explore and enjoy the fruits of knowledge and the stories of the world around him. For those who love watching him on TV every night, this will only make you admire him more as an everyman, willing to work hard for everything and learn from his mistakes. It's a charming, brisk read, and a perfect tribute to a man who made TV, and the world, a better place.

#76. "Under the Dome" by Stephen King

One of the greatest things about Stephen King as an author is that he knows how to sell a plot. Over the past few decades, he's managed to put his stamp on every crazy concept, finding a way to make them essential tales in our popular consciousness. With this in mind, it's easy to see what the appeal of "Under the Dome" was. Considering that he's done everything from possessed cars to evil clowns, the idea of condensing characters to a limited setting makes one think of how much potential King has. What will he do in showing a small town trapped from the outside world, doing everything to not fall apart? Well, it's a good enough book given his knack for briskly paced plotting. However, it's also one of his most disappointing by the end, never giving enough of a satisfying reason for its conclusion. For what it's worth, it's an engaging look into how King sees Obama-era political discourse. However, don't expect anything subtle or satisfying in who we're trapped with.

#75. "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel

The conceit of Yann Martel's sprawling novel "Life of Pi" is one that feels foolish, maybe even unbelievable. It has one of the greatest sales pitch of the 21st century, where the narrator chooses to say that he has a story that will make you believe in God. Depending on how connected to your faith you are, that is an enticing promise that has the potential to make you see the wonder and awe in the world. With that said, the answer is interpretive, allowing the reader to somehow make the story of a Bengal Tiger stranded at sea with a Tamil boy (both born at a zoo in India) into this wondrous journey that turns the survival story into something comical, dramatic, and even spiritual. So much happens within these pages, though there's even more that's unseen. The results may not make you believe in God, but for those who can see the invisible lines that connect every aspect of the story, it's an affirmation that there are greater forces out there guiding us through life. 

#74. "The Silver Linings Playbook" by Matthew Quick

To Matthew Quick's credit, his debut novel has a pretty great premise and runs with it. The story is a deconstruction of the romantic comedy, choosing more to explore what these different forms of addiction bring to our lives. Without ever feeling too weighty, he explores how the cross-section of relationships, family, and sports can impact our emotional health, making us see things that may not always be rational, but give some relief to our stressful lives. "The Silver Linings Playbook" never plays like a conventional novel, and yet still delivers those feel-good moments that make this a fun and breezy read. If you don't like sports, it'll subliminally make you understand why it's sometimes essential to scream "E!A!G!L!E!S! Eagles!" with a group of strangers. This is about understanding ourselves in a contemporary setting and does so with a fluency that is admirable.

#73. "Treasure Island" by Robert Louis Stevenson

Whether or not you've read Robert Louis Stevenson's "Treasure Island," there is a certainty that you're somewhat familiar with it. So much of media based on pirate culture has some basis in this story that finds a boy named Jim Hawkins going on an adventure with a bunch of questionable men on a search for gold. It's the most enjoyable scavenger hunt in literary history, and in the process presents some of the most entertaining plot twists and characters rich with unique vernaculars. This is one of those stories that capture the potential for fantasy in storytelling, to transport us to a different world, and imagine for once that our lives are more exciting. "Treasure Island" deserves its place among the greatest novellas ever written, and it doesn't take more than a few pages to understand why.

#72. "The Beguiled" by Thomas Cullinan

When writing a Civil War novel, there is usually one thing that you need to have: a division. In most cases, this is a straightforward divide of Northern Yankee soldiers and Southern Confederates. For Thomas Cullinan's "The Beguiled," this is only the start of an even more twisted web of deceit, where everything that 19th century America held dear as they were on the verge of a new era. It's a dark, meticulous book, and it features a leg amputation. Even if it is a slow burn that revels too much in monotonous detail, Cullinan's ability to make everything feel at odds with each other only adds to the paranoia that the readers are likely to face. It's a decent book that shows a more perverse look at the Civil War, but one that maybe lacks a deeper purpose by the end. 

#71. "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath

In the modern era, mental illness has become more socially acceptable to talk about. If you have an issue, you can publicly share your experiences on the internet or with a therapist and open a healthy dialogue. It's cathartic to know that it's no longer stigmatized, that you're seen as an outsider for not being as happy as everyone else. Sure, one still feels that separation in their own personal life, but it feels like there are resources to make you feel less alone. 

One of those resources has been reading the works of Sylvia Plath, whose poetry alone confronts morbid subject matter in a quiet to better understand herself. She brings the reader in, asking them to understand her struggles. Of course, nowhere is that truer than in her lone novel, "The Bell Jar," published a few months before her suicide. While the book has a sense of humor, there is staggering attention paid to how one experiences depression in their life. There's an honesty that is unparalleled, written with intricate word choices that enhance the emotional response. By the end, we understand what it's like to live with grief, not in clinical terms, but something more personal. It's a masterpiece of self-evaluation, making one see the world through a prism not often seen It's accessible in its tragedy and makes one hope for the best.