- If it doesn’t include the Bible, it’s questionable.
- I always wonder whether the titles are on the list because they’re great or to fulfill some sort of quota.
- Sometimes you see a very strange entry. E.g., on this list — The 30 Must Read Book of All Time — what is The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman doing there? It’s not even Gaiman’s best book, let alone great. (The misspelling in the title is a clue that it might not be the best list.)
- Is the list based on popularity, or on what some group of alleged experts says?
17 thoughts on “Thoughts on lists of “must read” books”
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I’ve never read the Brontes or Austens. Doubt I ever will now. Dracula is probably in my future. I find it harder to read now… vision…and concentration.
Some good books on that list… But, if the Bible should be on the list, why not the Koran? Or, other major religious works? No Shakespeare on that list? No Dickens? No Ray Bradbury?
How many in that list have you read? I’ve got 13… maybe 14… can’t remember for sure whether I read Hitchhiker’s Guide… I think I may have, but I’m not sure. It didn’t inspire me to read the rest.
I’ve read The Count of Monte Cristo two or three times… once before it was required for high school lit class, during high school lit class, and I think one time afterwards… but I think I always read the 450 page abridged version. There is an unabridged version of 300-400 more pages while he’s in prison.
I’d probably swap something out and add A Day in the Life of Ivan Denysovitch
The best college class I never took was a class my friend took on Utopias/Dystopias when I was a sophomore. They did 1984, Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451, others in that genre. Martian Chronicles? As he finished a book, I read it. I should have taken the class.
I got 15.
Why not the Koran? It’s not as central to English-speaking countries. But I agree about Shakespeare, Dickens, etc. Why aren’t they on there?
“A Day in the Life” is a great book, but I’m not sure it belongs on the list. It’s certainly better than “The Ocean at the end of the Lane.”
I know a guy who is toward the end of his life, and he spends his days reading. Which is better than watching TV, of course. But it makes me sad. He’s going to know all this stuff, and then it will all be gone.
Reminds me of a saying I saw in a store in Amish country: “We get too soon old and too late smart.”
In the vein of the Amish sign…
“The best thing about being dead is that you don’t know about it. It’s like being stupid – it’s only painful for others.”
― Ricky Gervais
Good one.
Isn’t the very nature of a list like this based on the opinion of some individual or group for a given purpose? How do you objectively get to “must read”? Even with criteria, it’s based on what that individual or group deems valuable.
I’m sure most of them are based on opinion, but you might be able to get to an objective list if you based it on how often a book is cited, or how often its themes are used in modern culture. IOW, “knowing this book will help you understand the world you’re in.”
QUOTE: IOW, “knowing this book will help you understand the world you’re in.”
Again, that’s only meaningful to those who place value on such things/themes. The closest I’ve seen are “best seller” list. A metric is set…any book that meets it gets on the list. Still, there’s some challenge in that because the book itself may be good/helpful, but if it’s not marketed appropriately, it would never have an opportunity to compete for best seller.
Also, “best sellers” are often influenced by whether it showed up on a certain list, so it boils down to what the NYT editors think, or something like that.
Still, I think some kind of (mostly) objective measure could be constructed.
QUOTE: Still, I think some kind of (mostly) objective measure could be constructed.
Do you have any examples? All I’m aware of are influenced by personal preference.
Dude has stupid lists… He has a list of 7 which has some which aren’t in his 30…. I guess too much asking for consistency…that all 7 would be in his list of 30…
I’m starting to think it’s just click bait.
Exactly.
It’s strange… I’ve read at least 5 Dostoevsky novels, but none by Tolstoy. I’ve read Tolstoy short stories, but never War and Peace or Anna K.
My most read authors: Stephen King and Shusaku Endo. Clancy was up there, but I didn’t read his last few books and certainly none of the inspired by with his name on the cover but none of his words.
I think I like The Idiot better than Crime and Punishment. However, Endo’s Wonderful Fool distills The Idiot down to under 200 pages… I like it better.
I read War and Peace. It’s good, but it’s not amazing. But I do feel like I should read more Russian literature.
You make me want to read Endo. Too bad it’s not under 100 pages. Then P&C could do it for “shortcut to the classics.” 🙂
I suffered through Anna Karenina and didn’t really understand the point of it. I got what Tolstoy was trying to do, I just didn’t see the value in it. Much later in life I discovered Dostoevsky, and vastly prefer what I’ve read so far. I’ve read Brothers K and C&P. I doubt I’ll ever read The Idiot, as my son’s description makes me think I’ll find the ultimate futility of it too frustrating. But I’d like to get to Notes from Underground sooner or later.
Endo’s Silence definitely moved me.
Notes From Underground is fairly short—especially for Dostoyevsky. I think I have my own copy.
Silence I’ve read 5 times. Can’t think of any other novel I’ve read that many times. I really like Wonderful Fool by Endo and also The Samurai. The Samurai is like the opposite of Silence in a way. It’s a conversion story.
Now a book left off that list…and by any objective standard should be on it: Uncle Tom’s Cabin —which I’ve never read, but my kids have.
I highly recommend Notes from Underground.
(I myself never those lists the slightest bit of attention.)
Robin