#99 The Help by Kathryn Stockett

It’s 1962 in Jackson Mississippi, and the times they are a’ changin’. That’s what Aibileen, Minny, and Skeeter are hoping, anyway. They’ve risked many lives, including their own, to write a book, in which the black maids of Jackson tell what it’s really like working for white families. The stories these women tell range from touching—a maid who considers her employer a true and dear friend, to horrifying—a maid tricked into washing her own hands with straight bleach. The three writers must watch out for Hilly Holbrook, Skeeter’s erstwhile racist friend, who is paid back for the lies she spreads by being served a healthy helping of humble pie.

#98 So Long, See You Tomorrow by William Maxwell

Friendships, sadly, sometimes come to an end. Lloyd Wilson and Clarence Smith were neighbors and good friends. Tenant farmers in 1920’s Illinois, each worked hard on his own rented land, and on his neighbor’s as well. Marriages also, sadly, sometimes come to an end, and this happens when Lloyd and Clarence’s wife, Fern, fall in love. The marriages on each farm fall apart as does the friendship between the two men. The narrator, who was a young boy at the time of these events, tells this tale of endings, explaining how his own friendship with Cletus Smith, Clarence’s son, abruptly ended when Clarence brings about Lloyd's final end with a gunshot.

#97 Carrie by Stephen King

Every picked-on, bullied, powerless teenager dreams of revenge. Carrie White had been bullied almost every day of her life by the kids at school. Ol’ Praying Carrie, they called her, and dogged her every step with taunts, kicks and tricks. Her mother, a religious fanatic, had often told people they that had a special burning seat waiting for them in hell. She was the worst bully of all, routinely locking Carrie in a closet so the girl would be purged of sin. But this time they have all gone too far. Carrie isn’t powerless after all. On prom night she’ll have her revenge. No burning seat will be left empty.

#96 July's People by Nadine Gordimer

The servant becomes the master in this intense novel about the fictional demise of apartheid in 1980s South Africa. July had worked for white South Africans, Bamford and Maureen Smales, for 15 years. The Smales were liberals who never wanted July to call Bamford “master” as was the custom. The power shift starts with the Bakkie, the vehicle that the Smales use to flee to July’s very rural home when war reaches Johannesburg. The car is the Smales' only means of escape if rebels search July’s home. But July has taken the car from them and what can they do? They owe him their lives and are wrapped around his finger.

#95 Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

The richly-formed cast of characters in this book gives the reader new insight into the personalities of people in their own life, despite many changes in manners and mores. Elizabeth, thoughtful and opinionated, never speaks without thinking, but also never hesitates to tell people the truth. Mr. Darcy, handsome and brooding, disdains common courtesy, until Elizabeth knocks him from his high horse. Mrs. Bennett, Elizabeth’s mother, is the opposite of her reflective daughter, unashamed that her only concern is marrying off her five daughters to any bachelor who comes along. Beautiful Jane, boy-crazy Lydia, sycophantic Collins, spoiled Lady Catherine, and affable Bingley all help to make this book an enlightening read.

#94 The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein

Adventures…nasty, disturbing, uncomfortable things that make you late for dinner. So says Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit who lives a comfortable life in his deluxe hole in the ground. But adventure comes knocking when Gandalf the wizard thrusts a perilous quest onto the reluctant homebody. Bilbo journeys to the Lonely Mountain with thirteen dwarves, to retrieve their dragon-stolen treasure. He soon finds himself dodging trolls and captured by goblins, rescued by eagles and battling spiders as big as Volkswagen Bugs. Will he ever see his cozy hobbit hole again? Either way, this adventure has made Bilbo a better hobbit than he ever could have been, warming his well-combed toes by the fire.

#93 Linden Hills by Gloria Naylor

Luxury cars, swimming pools and caviar. The people of Linden Hills have “made it”, but at what price? Willie Mason finds out. Willie, a thoughtful, observant young man, lives in Putney Wayne, a poor neighborhood nearby. For him, Linden Hills is a dream with its palatial homes all owned by black people. But soon the dream becomes his nightmare. The residents of Linden Hills care only about “making it,” and the further down the hill they move, towards the most desirable sections, the further they sink into corruption and depravity. Luther Nedeed, the perpetual landlord of Linden Hills, relishes each devastating fall, and holds the key to the neighborhood’s terrible secrets.