The Last of the Mohicansby James Fenimore CooperPublished in 1826 (I finished it on September 07, 2010)
I certainly knew about the movie (an adventure masterpiece!), but there was a book? Okay, I decided it needed to be read. I mean especially if it's an American classic. It did take a while to finish. Don't get me wrong; the book was interesting and sometimes quite exciting, but it wasn't something I just couldn't wait to get back to again, although oddly enough I did sort of look forward to getting back to it. Perhaps, it's because I was just exhausted by the time I got around to reading it, so my sessions didn't last long.
But as for the book, it was pretty well done. Cooper actually does paint a surprisingly sympathetic portrait of many Indians. Granted, one could analyze the things that aren't so positive, but read it and make your own calls. The author weaves in some fairly contemplative subjects to ponder over.
It's vastly different than the movie, with superior complexity in the characters (Alice notwithstanding).
So many books … (you know the rest)