Mobile Read - Top 100 Books

Bilbo1967 · 09-27-2009, 03:26 PM

Hi, following a post from YGG here, much debate was sparked about the content of a top 100 books of all time type list (i.e. many people thought some books didn't deserve their place, others couldn't understand the inclusion of particular books).

My suggestion is that we build a MobileRead Top 100 through nomination; I am sure there will be many differences to that posted by YGG!

As always, there needs to be some guidelines:

Fiction books only please (perhaps we can do a non-fiction one later if this is a success)
Please list up to 10 books (any number up to 10 is fine)
The order doesn't matter
Please try to avoid single genre lists if listing a few books
Series of books can be included as a single choice
YGG has started a similar thread in the French forums, so English language or books widely available in an English translation only please
Can we please try to keep discussion to a minimum

Clearly this is MR, with its independent, intelligent population, and guidelines are meant to be broken, but I would ask that we keep to them as much as we can!

I intend to publish results of this in, say, 3 weeks (i.e. I will collate all the responses and publish a top 100/50/20/10, depending on volume of response). Of course, if people are still actively posting at that time then I'll let it run on longer,

Bilbo1967 · 09-27-2009, 03:34 PM

To start the ball rolling, my initial five are:

The Flashman Series of novels - George MacDonald Fraser
Germinal - Emile Zola
The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
Collected Poems - Wilfred Owen

dogsballs · 09-27-2009, 03:34 PM

how do you want the responses? here or pm

the border trilogy by cormac mccarthy
catch 22
will have to ponder this a bit more

Bilbo1967 · 09-27-2009, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dogsballs

how do you want the responses? here or pm

I think here would be better, but I have no objections to people sending me a pm if they prefer.

YGG- · 09-27-2009, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bilbo1967

[..]

Fiction books only please (perhaps we can do a non-fiction one later if this is a success)[...]

You probably mean "non-nonfiction books"

as you wouldn't exclude poetry or drama, would you ? (I seem to remember English is the language of Sheakspeare & T.S. Eliot...)

Thanks for the thread... I'll answer ASAP

Bilbo1967 · 09-27-2009, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by YGG-

[/LIST]You probably mean "non-nonfiction books"

as you wouldn't exclude poetry or drama, would you ? (I seem to remember English is the language of Sheakspears & T.S. Eliot...)

Thanks for the thread...

I do indeed YGG - thanks for the clarification!

Sparrow · 09-27-2009, 03:53 PM

Arthur C. Clarke 'Childhood's End'
Wilkie Collins 'The Law and the Lady'
Robertson Davies 'The Cornish Trilogy'
Aldous Huxley 'Brave New World'
Michael Moorcock 'Dancers at the End of Time'
Mary Renault 'Alexander Trilogy'
John Steinbeck 'The Grapes of Wrath'
Anthony Trollope 'He Knew He Was Right'
Anne Tyler 'Breathing Lessons'
P. G. Wodehouse 'The Code of the Woosters'

lilac_jive · 09-27-2009, 04:12 PM

Hrmmm, I haven't read enough "Classics" but I am working on it. I'm sure a few ears from now I'll regret my choices

-1984 by George Orwell
-Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
-And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
-Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (only halfway through it but clearly it belongs)
-Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien
-To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
-Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
-20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne

I can't think of two more right now. Goodreads has a function like this where you can add books to a list and people vote on it, but I don't think you can isolate it so that only members of a particular group can vote on it, plus then not everyone could vote. I can import the final list to the MR GR bookshelf though, that might be cool.

Once it gets voted on, I'll start trying to read all on that list, since clearly the 1001 one is getting nowhere for me

wayspooled · 09-27-2009, 09:27 PM

Our 10 favorite books or what we think are the 10 best books ever written (writing quality) or 10 most important books ever written? Makes a difference

I have only read The Grapes of Wrath and War & Peace once and I think they are two of the best books I've ever read - but they're not favorites --- I think Upton Sinclair's The Jungle and Le Morte D'Arthur are two of the most important books ever written, again - they're not favorites.. heh.. Just trying to be clear before we all list our favorites if that's not what you mean.

lilac_jive · 09-27-2009, 09:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wayspooled

Our 10 favorite books or what we think are the 10 best books ever written (writing quality) or 10 most important books ever written? Makes a difference

I haven't read The Grapes of Wrath and War & Peace and once and I think they are two of the best books I've ever read - but they're not favorites

I'd only pick ones you've read. No fun if you haven't read them

wayspooled · 09-27-2009, 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lilac_jive

I'd only pick ones you've read. No fun if you haven't read them

hehehe.. that I assumed was a given

I've read those. I didn't mean favorite to equal "read". I mean by favorite - books I'll pick up and read again any old time. I haven't sucked the goodness out of them in one read. Those 4 I listed are incredible books but I've finished with them.

lilac_jive · 09-27-2009, 09:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wayspooled

hehehe.. that I assumed was a given

I've read those. I didn't mean favorite to equal "read". I mean by favorite - books I'll pick up and read again any old time. I haven't sucked the goodness out of them in one read. Those 4 I listed are incredible books but I've finished with them.

Hrmm, I see what you mean. I guess it's really up to you.

kennyc · 09-27-2009, 10:15 PM

Okay heres, my 10 off the top of my head:

The Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck
Dhalgren - Samueal R. Delaney
Foundation Trilogy - Issac Asimov
Dune - Frank Herbert
Breathing Lessons - Anne Tyler
Lord of the Rings - J R R Tolkien
City - Clifford D. Simak
Stranger in a Strange Land - Robert A. Heinlein
Prince of Tides - Pat Conroy
A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving

Sorry, that's Eleven and I can really decide which one to remove....

pking36330 · 09-27-2009, 10:38 PM

The Shadow of the Wind, Zafón, Carlos Ruiz
Quincunx, Palliser, Charles
Shogun: A Novel of Japan, Clavell, James
An Instance of the Fingerpost, Pears, Iain
The Crystal Cave, Stewart, Mary
Ender's Game, Card, Orson Scott
The Rule of Four, Caldwell, Ian
Belinda, Rampling, Anne
The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien, JRR
A Tale Of Two Cities, Dickens, Charles

I think I need to re-read a couple of these, its been a few years and I think they might be 'fresh' again.

Donnageddon · 09-28-2009, 12:39 AM

A completely impossible task! Especially by limiting it to fiction (or non non-fiction)

I will try.

I, Robot - Isaac Asimov (representing all of Asimov's robot stories)
Dangerous Visions - Harlan Ellison (yes, it is an anthology - so, sue me)
The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
The Forever War - Joe Haldeman
Without Feathers - Woody Allen
The Birds - Aristophanes
The Big Sleep - Raymond Chandler
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress - Robert A. Heinlein
The Metamorphosis - Franz Kafka
The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

THERE! I did it. An Impossible task with questionable results. I desired to include as many "genre"'s as find my attraction, and as a result left far too much unsaid.

I am weeping now.

I hate you Bilbo, for asking me to take on this impossible task.

FY!

09-27-2009, 03:26 PM	#1
Bilbo1967 Not scared! Posts: 13,424 Karma: 81011643 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Midlands, UK Device: Kindle Paperwhite 10, Huawei M5 10	Mobile Read - Top 100 Books Hi, following a post from YGG here, much debate was sparked about the content of a top 100 books of all time type list (i.e. many people thought some books didn't deserve their place, others couldn't understand the inclusion of particular books). My suggestion is that we build a MobileRead Top 100 through nomination; I am sure there will be many differences to that posted by YGG! As always, there needs to be some guidelines: Fiction books only please (perhaps we can do a non-fiction one later if this is a success) Please list up to 10 books (any number up to 10 is fine) The order doesn't matter Please try to avoid single genre lists if listing a few books Series of books can be included as a single choice YGG has started a similar thread in the French forums, so English language or books widely available in an English translation only please Can we please try to keep discussion to a minimum Clearly this is MR, with its independent, intelligent population, and guidelines are meant to be broken, but I would ask that we keep to them as much as we can! I intend to publish results of this in, say, 3 weeks (i.e. I will collate all the responses and publish a top 100/50/20/10, depending on volume of response). Of course, if people are still actively posting at that time then I'll let it run on longer, Last edited by Bilbo1967; 09-27-2009 at 03:35 PM.

09-27-2009, 03:34 PM	#3
dogsballs Zealot Posts: 109 Karma: 509332 Join Date: Aug 2008 Device: sony psr-505	how do you want the responses? here or pm the border trilogy by cormac mccarthy catch 22 will have to ponder this a bit more Last edited by dogsballs; 09-27-2009 at 03:37 PM.

09-27-2009, 09:27 PM	#9
wayspooled Crab In The Dark Posts: 486 Karma: 2328180 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Virginia Device: Tablet PC until a 10" comes out that I like	Our 10 favorite books or what we think are the 10 best books ever written (writing quality) or 10 most important books ever written? Makes a difference I have only read The Grapes of Wrath and War & Peace once and I think they are two of the best books I've ever read - but they're not favorites --- I think Upton Sinclair's The Jungle and Le Morte D'Arthur are two of the most important books ever written, again - they're not favorites.. heh.. Just trying to be clear before we all list our favorites if that's not what you mean. Last edited by wayspooled; 09-27-2009 at 09:33 PM.

09-28-2009, 12:39 AM	#15
Donnageddon Now you lishen here... Posts: 2,494 Karma: 479498 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Seattle-ish Device: Sony PRS-650. Kobo Touch, Kindle Fire	A completely impossible task! Especially by limiting it to fiction (or non non-fiction) I will try. I, Robot - Isaac Asimov (representing all of Asimov's robot stories) Dangerous Visions - Harlan Ellison (yes, it is an anthology - so, sue me) The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger The Forever War - Joe Haldeman Without Feathers - Woody Allen The Birds - Aristophanes The Big Sleep - Raymond Chandler The Moon is a Harsh Mistress - Robert A. Heinlein The Metamorphosis - Franz Kafka The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry THERE! I did it. An Impossible task with questionable results. I desired to include as many "genre"'s as find my attraction, and as a result left far too much unsaid. I am weeping now. I hate you Bilbo, for asking me to take on this impossible task. FY! Last edited by Donnageddon; 09-28-2009 at 12:44 AM.

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09-27-2009, 03:53 PM	#7
Sparrow Wizard Posts: 4,395 Karma: 1358132 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: UK Device: Palm TX, CyBook Gen3	Arthur C. Clarke 'Childhood's End' Wilkie Collins 'The Law and the Lady' Robertson Davies 'The Cornish Trilogy' Aldous Huxley 'Brave New World' Michael Moorcock 'Dancers at the End of Time' Mary Renault 'Alexander Trilogy' John Steinbeck 'The Grapes of Wrath' Anthony Trollope 'He Knew He Was Right' Anne Tyler 'Breathing Lessons' P. G. Wodehouse 'The Code of the Woosters'

09-27-2009, 04:12 PM	#8
lilac_jive Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,870 Karma: 27376 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Pennsylvania Device: PRS-505	Hrmmm, I haven't read enough "Classics" but I am working on it. I'm sure a few ears from now I'll regret my choices -1984 by George Orwell -Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams -And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie -Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (only halfway through it but clearly it belongs) -Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien -To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee -Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen -20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne I can't think of two more right now. Goodreads has a function like this where you can add books to a list and people vote on it, but I don't think you can isolate it so that only members of a particular group can vote on it, plus then not everyone could vote. I can import the final list to the MR GR bookshelf though, that might be cool. Once it gets voted on, I'll start trying to read all on that list, since clearly the 1001 one is getting nowhere for me

09-27-2009, 10:15 PM	#13
kennyc The Dank Side of the Moon Posts: 35,891 Karma: 119230421 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Denver, CO Device: Kindle2; Kindle Fire	Okay heres, my 10 off the top of my head: The Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck Dhalgren - Samueal R. Delaney Foundation Trilogy - Issac Asimov Dune - Frank Herbert Breathing Lessons - Anne Tyler Lord of the Rings - J R R Tolkien City - Clifford D. Simak Stranger in a Strange Land - Robert A. Heinlein Prince of Tides - Pat Conroy A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving Sorry, that's Eleven and I can really decide which one to remove....

09-27-2009, 10:38 PM	#14
pking36330 FT Parent PT Reader Posts: 322 Karma: 187838 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: South Alabama Device: Shocked by how much I've read on an iPod Touch received as a gift!	The Shadow of the Wind, Zafón, Carlos Ruiz Quincunx, Palliser, Charles Shogun: A Novel of Japan, Clavell, James An Instance of the Fingerpost, Pears, Iain The Crystal Cave, Stewart, Mary Ender's Game, Card, Orson Scott The Rule of Four, Caldwell, Ian Belinda, Rampling, Anne The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien, JRR A Tale Of Two Cities, Dickens, Charles I think I need to re-read a couple of these, its been a few years and I think they might be 'fresh' again.

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