Mary C. M. Phillips

One of my goals this year was to spend less time on social media. I succeeded.

With this freed-up time, I challenged myself to read some of the classics; great novels that – for some reason or another – I never got around to.

I’ve listed them below.

I will not attempt to offer any in-depth reviews….just passing along my personal take.

So here goes:

War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells – Very enjoyable…and short. It was important for me to start this process with shorter length books as I feel my attention span has really suffered over the last few years due to social-media-scrolling. It’s fast-moving, frightening and H.G. Wells’ word-weaving is very satisfying in the literary sense.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald – This book sat on the shelf for years…unopened. It’s enjoyable and again, short. The characters are authentic, lovable, and super-flawed. Having lived in Long Island for 30 years, the setting was familiar, making it easy to visualize.

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway – I have a first edition of this book, which was gifted to me by my aunt who passed away several years ago. It’s got markings all along the margins as she was an English professor who taught Hemingway, Faulkner, and Edith Wharton (one of my favorite authors). My aunt loved Hemingway first and foremost. This book, however, was not for me (forgive me, Aunt Carroll). Hemingway is just too masculine-in-voice for me. I know there are deeper subtle meanings in this book, but still…not a fan of this one.

The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway – Hemingway redeemed himself in this one. Fast-moving, vivid imagery, and conversational. I hear New York in the narrator’s voice. I hear New York’s late Jimmy Breslin, actually. Enjoyable read.

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck – This just felt very long, but its painful tale was realistic and its characters memorable. Uncomfortable in its varying truths and history, but it lacked hope. I was depressed by its overwhelming hopelessness.

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry – I jumped into this book because I needed something lighter – after the previous book. It was beautiful in many ways, but it didn’t touch me in the way it has for so many others. Obviously, I was impressed by the author’s expanse of imagination.

Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy – This is a masterpiece. Every sentence, every brutal, bloody sentence. It took some time to get through, but was worth every minute. The Judge (a character in the book) is absolutely terrifying. McCarthy’s prose is as sublime as can be, reminiscent of Ann Radcliffe’s writing when describing landscapes. I read McCormac’s, The Road, a few years back which is also wonderful. I’ll most likely read more of his books.

The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner – Oh my, where do I begin? I was lost for the first quarter of the book until I realized that the narrator was Benji (a mentally challenged character in the book). I had a much easier time reading the following chapters narrated by his (some unlikable) siblings. In sum, the entire family is a sad mess and the family dynamics are some of the worst you’ll ever come across. Considered pure genius, I know, but for me an arduous read. No, I won’t be reading more William Faulkner – not even As I Lay Dying.

Well, those are the classics I read this year.

As for classics in 2026, I’ve set aside Moby Dick by Herman Melville, Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy and Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy.

After that…more current literature, like Fearless Friendships by Philip Grimes (who happens to be my cousin) and The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride (thanks for the borrow, Faith).

Blessings and All Good Things for the Holidays!

Here’s to the written word, Mary 🌱