1001 Books to Read Before You Die - Page 3

desertgrandma · 12-15-2008, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wayspooled

Aye, you're right. And I enjoyed looking through it very much. Thanks for posting it. It's fun to fuss though when you can aim at a thing instead of a who

How very astute of you!

Or, said anotherway..........ain't it the truth!

lilac_jive · 12-15-2008, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tompe

I do not know the origin of the list but isn't some choices explained if you take how influential the book or author have been? Dashiel Hammet ir more influential than John D. MacDonald for example.

Nooo clue. I think the editor had a bunch of coworkers send in their favorite books and put it all together. My biggest problem- Journey to the Center of the Earth is on there but not 20000 Leagues. If I had to put a Verne on the list, it wouldn't be Journey (although it is fun).

Here's the book on amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/1001-Books-Mus...9381803&sr=8-1

A lot of people had major complaints with it. But again, I'm doing this for fun. There were a ton of books on there I'd never even heard of, sad to say.

Daithi · 12-17-2008, 06:28 PM

There are some things I could quible over -- like excluding Faulkner's Light In August but including Moses Go Down and The Hamlet. Or picking Iron Heel and Martin Eden for Jack London, but leaving off Call of the Wild , White Fang, and Seawolf.

However, the main problem I have with this list (and most lists of this type) is that they are very heavy on modern literature and exclude most of the things I'd rather read, like sci-fi, fantasy, thillers, mysteries, and westerns. For heavens sake, Salman Rushdie made the list 7 times, and they put Virginia Woolf on the list 9 times. I forced myself to read To the Lighthouse -- it was torture -- stream of consiousness is like listening to one of my Aunt Myrtle's drunken rambling stories, but instead of lasting a few minutes it goes on for weeks with no point in sight.

This list may also have an ideological leaning because I noticed that they excluded Ayn Rand. Even if you hate Ayn Rand, it is hard to deny that Atlas Shrugged belonged on this list. Then again, maybe they just screwed up, because they also excluded William Shakespeare, but included Don Quixote which was written around the same time. They don't have anybody really old, like Homer or Chaucer. Nor do they have any non-fiction.

However, my main gripe is that this list (and others like it) exclude all the genres I want to read. Sure, there are a couple titles in the Sci-fi/Mystery/Thriller/Etc. genres thrown in, but they're just tokens, and seem to appear on everyone's top books lists. Like Clarke's 2001, or The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

So this list has four titles for Edna O'Brien (never heard of her) and not one title for Patrick O'Brian. It has four titles for E.M. Forster (no problem here) but not one for C.S. Forester (Horatio Hornblower series and The African Queen).

When they do mention a mystery/thriller/sci-fi title it is usually only one title. For example, Agatha Christie has one book on this list. At the very least she should have And Then There Were None (or your choice of alternate title), The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Hercule Poirot's first novel), The Murder on the Orient Express, and The Murder at the Vicarage (Miss Marple's first novel). Heinlein, Stephenson, and even Stephen King all only had one title each on this list. Even worse, here is a list of authors that didn't make this list at all

Sci-Fi
Ray Bradbury, Lois McMaster Bujold, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Orson Scott Card, Ursula K. Le Guin, Frank Herbert, Larry Niven, and Vernor Vinge.

Fantasy
Piers Anthony, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Terry Brooks, Edgar Rice Burroughs, David Eddings, Raymond E. Feist, Neil Gaiman, Terry Goodkind, Robert Jordan, George R Martin, Richard Matheson, Anne McCaffrey, Terry Pratchett, J. K. Rowling, R. A. Salvatore, and Roger Zelazny.

Mystery
Patricia Cornwell, Janet Evanovich, Dick Francis, Sue Grafton, Tony Hillerman, P.D. James, Ross MacDonald, Daphne du Maurier (How can you not have Rebecca on the top 1000 list?), Ed McBain, Robert B. Parker, James Patterson, Mickey Spillane, Rex Stout, and Josephine Tey.

Thriller/Adventure
Dan Brown, John le Carré, Tom Clancy, Robin Cook, C.S. Forester, John Grisham, Robert Ludlum, Scott Turow, Patrick O'Brian, David Baldacci, Tess Gerritsen, Clive Cussler, and Douglas Preston.

Westerns
Zane Grey, Louis L'Amour, Cormac McCarthy, Larry McMurtry, Charles Portis, Jack Schaefer, and Owen Wister (how can you not have The Virginian on a top 1000 list?). Also, they have Elmore Leonard on their list but not for Hombre - go figure.

Plus they have several short stories on the list, not novellas but short stories. Every one of Guy de Maupassant's titles is a short story, and so is every title listed for Edgar Allan Poe, and I don't even know if Johnathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal" qualifies as a short story -- it's more of a satirical article. Now, I don't mind them listing short stories, but then why exclude Anton Chekhov or Raymond Carver. Why exclude famous short stories by authors they included in their list, like -- Hemingway's "The Snows of Kilimanjaro," "Hills Like White Elephants," and "A Clean Well Lighted Place." Or Faulkner's "A Rose For Emily." Or Asimov "Nightfall" and "The Last Question." Or "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut. Plus they are missing a couple of my favorite short stories -- "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson and "Occurance at Owl Creek" by Ambrose Bierce.

When it comes down to it, I agree with mjh215, who said lists like these are great as a source to build your own list. They help you find things you might have missed. Lists of books from Cliff Notes, Spark Notes, etc. are pretty good in this regard, as are lists from genre specific websites, and awards lists.

lilac_jive · 12-17-2008, 07:36 PM

Daithi-

There are so many comments I could make about your post, but I'll stick with this one:

"Rebecca" by du Maurier is on the list.

I remember, because I really want to read it.

Hrmm, I'm thinking it would be cool to make a new list (using this as a base), have people recommend additional books, then have people vote for their favorites and make a new list

Daithi · 12-17-2008, 08:06 PM

Your right Lilac_jive, "Rebecca" is on the list. I must of looked up by Maurier instead of du Maurier, and missed it. My bad.

lilac_jive · 12-17-2008, 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daithi

Your right Lilac_jive, "Rebecca" is on the list. I must of looked up by Maurier instead of du Maurier, and missed it. My bad.

I had to do a double take, actually. Too many darn books on one spreadsheet..

wayspooled · 12-17-2008, 10:04 PM

The Mobileread 1001 books! Everybody to suggest 100 books hehe... Tallied and list published after 6 months of input. Don't want to tally before then because there will be list editing.

Maybe even toss in the 1001 list this thread is about with a weight of 25 votes to start with.

Sparrow · 12-18-2008, 04:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daithi

...and they put Virginia Woolf on the list 9 times. I forced myself to read To the Lighthouse -- it was torture -- stream of consiousness is like listening to one of my Aunt Myrtle's drunken rambling stories, but instead of lasting a few minutes it goes on for weeks with no point in sight.

Just wanna leap to the defence of 'To the Lighthouse' - I think it's a truly great book!

mjh215 · 12-18-2008, 05:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wayspooled

The Mobileread 1001 books! Everybody to suggest 100 books hehe... Tallied and list published after 6 months of input. Don't want to tally before then because there will be list editing.

By month two you'll be running away from one group trying to lynch you, another with buckets of tar and feathers and others inventing new ways of torturing you... Others will be arguing semantics of the rules for what constitutes a 'book'. Some will be arguing that since the focus of this forum is eBooks then anything not available as an eBook shouldn't count. Which will then turn into a further debate over formats. You'll have someone else stating that while Don Quixote is being listed, he wants a seperate entry for the original El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha. When explained that it is including all the various translations another argument will start off as to whether or not the translations constitute new derivative works because no translation can capture the beauty of the original language. Now onto everyone elses pet authors in Italian, Russian, Swahili, et al. chiming in that they want seperate entries for both the 'popular' translation and the original. Another log on the fire from those citing anything from Shakespeare should be removed or have a disclaimer about the authorship controversy......

In the end, it is easier to just burn all the books then to get 5 people to agree on 10 to read...

And that is -BEFORE- the list is completed...

-MJ

zelda_pinwheel · 12-18-2008, 06:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mjh215

By month two you'll be running away from one group trying to lynch you, another with buckets of tar and feathers and others inventing new ways of torturing you... Others will be arguing semantics of the rules for what constitutes a 'book'. Some will be arguing that since the focus of this forum is eBooks then anything not available as an eBook shouldn't count. Which will then turn into a further debate over formats. You'll have someone else stating that while Don Quixote is being listed, he wants a seperate entry for the original El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha. When explained that it is including all the various translations another argument will start off as to whether or not the translations constitute new derivative works because no translation can capture the beauty of the original language. Now onto everyone elses pet authors in Italian, Russian, Swahili, et al. chiming in that they want seperate entries for both the 'popular' translation and the original. Another log on the fire from those citing anything from Shakespeare should be removed or have a disclaimer about the authorship controversy......

In the end, it is easier to just burn all the books then to get 5 people to agree on 10 to read...

And that is -BEFORE- the list is completed...

-MJ

so true !!

Slite · 12-18-2008, 06:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

so true !!

Which is why we love MobileRead so very, very much

lilac_jive · 12-18-2008, 08:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mjh215

By month two you'll be running away from one group trying to lynch you, another with buckets of tar and feathers and others inventing new ways of torturing you... Others will be arguing semantics of the rules for what constitutes a 'book'. Some will be arguing that since the focus of this forum is eBooks then anything not available as an eBook shouldn't count. Which will then turn into a further debate over formats. You'll have someone else stating that while Don Quixote is being listed, he wants a seperate entry for the original El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha. When explained that it is including all the various translations another argument will start off as to whether or not the translations constitute new derivative works because no translation can capture the beauty of the original language. Now onto everyone elses pet authors in Italian, Russian, Swahili, et al. chiming in that they want seperate entries for both the 'popular' translation and the original. Another log on the fire from those citing anything from Shakespeare should be removed or have a disclaimer about the authorship controversy......

In the end, it is easier to just burn all the books then to get 5 people to agree on 10 to read...

And that is -BEFORE- the list is completed...

-MJ

Sounds like a party

Daithi · 12-18-2008, 10:01 AM

sparrow,

My apologies for disparaging To the Lighthouse. I probably should try living by the maxim, "If you can't say something nice then don't say anything at all." It wasn't for me, but I'd certainly have it on my top 1001 list.

Sparrow · 12-18-2008, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daithi

sparrow,
My apologies for disparaging To the Lighthouse. I probably should try living by the maxim, "If you can't say something nice then don't say anything at all." It wasn't for me, but I'd certainly have it on my top 1001 list.

You've nothing to apologise for - if you hated it that's ok; especially since you gave your reasons.

It'd be boring if we could only express 'nice' opinions.
I like a bit of civilised argy-bargy.

lilac_jive · 12-18-2008, 11:34 AM

Whoever just requested to view this, you should be able to view it without my permission. Unless you want to edit it?

12-17-2008, 06:28 PM	#33
Daithi Publishers are evil! Posts: 2,418 Karma: 36205264 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Rhode Island Device: Various Kindles	There are some things I could quible over -- like excluding Faulkner's Light In August but including Moses Go Down and The Hamlet. Or picking Iron Heel and Martin Eden for Jack London, but leaving off Call of the Wild , White Fang, and Seawolf. However, the main problem I have with this list (and most lists of this type) is that they are very heavy on modern literature and exclude most of the things I'd rather read, like sci-fi, fantasy, thillers, mysteries, and westerns. For heavens sake, Salman Rushdie made the list 7 times, and they put Virginia Woolf on the list 9 times. I forced myself to read To the Lighthouse -- it was torture -- stream of consiousness is like listening to one of my Aunt Myrtle's drunken rambling stories, but instead of lasting a few minutes it goes on for weeks with no point in sight. This list may also have an ideological leaning because I noticed that they excluded Ayn Rand. Even if you hate Ayn Rand, it is hard to deny that Atlas Shrugged belonged on this list. Then again, maybe they just screwed up, because they also excluded William Shakespeare, but included Don Quixote which was written around the same time. They don't have anybody really old, like Homer or Chaucer. Nor do they have any non-fiction. However, my main gripe is that this list (and others like it) exclude all the genres I want to read. Sure, there are a couple titles in the Sci-fi/Mystery/Thriller/Etc. genres thrown in, but they're just tokens, and seem to appear on everyone's top books lists. Like Clarke's 2001, or The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. So this list has four titles for Edna O'Brien (never heard of her) and not one title for Patrick O'Brian. It has four titles for E.M. Forster (no problem here) but not one for C.S. Forester (Horatio Hornblower series and The African Queen). When they do mention a mystery/thriller/sci-fi title it is usually only one title. For example, Agatha Christie has one book on this list. At the very least she should have And Then There Were None (or your choice of alternate title), The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Hercule Poirot's first novel), The Murder on the Orient Express, and The Murder at the Vicarage (Miss Marple's first novel). Heinlein, Stephenson, and even Stephen King all only had one title each on this list. Even worse, here is a list of authors that didn't make this list at all Sci-Fi Ray Bradbury, Lois McMaster Bujold, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Orson Scott Card, Ursula K. Le Guin, Frank Herbert, Larry Niven, and Vernor Vinge. Fantasy Piers Anthony, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Terry Brooks, Edgar Rice Burroughs, David Eddings, Raymond E. Feist, Neil Gaiman, Terry Goodkind, Robert Jordan, George R Martin, Richard Matheson, Anne McCaffrey, Terry Pratchett, J. K. Rowling, R. A. Salvatore, and Roger Zelazny. Mystery Patricia Cornwell, Janet Evanovich, Dick Francis, Sue Grafton, Tony Hillerman, P.D. James, Ross MacDonald, Daphne du Maurier (How can you not have Rebecca on the top 1000 list?), Ed McBain, Robert B. Parker, James Patterson, Mickey Spillane, Rex Stout, and Josephine Tey. Thriller/Adventure Dan Brown, John le Carré, Tom Clancy, Robin Cook, C.S. Forester, John Grisham, Robert Ludlum, Scott Turow, Patrick O'Brian, David Baldacci, Tess Gerritsen, Clive Cussler, and Douglas Preston. Westerns Zane Grey, Louis L'Amour, Cormac McCarthy, Larry McMurtry, Charles Portis, Jack Schaefer, and Owen Wister (how can you not have The Virginian on a top 1000 list?). Also, they have Elmore Leonard on their list but not for Hombre - go figure. Plus they have several short stories on the list, not novellas but short stories. Every one of Guy de Maupassant's titles is a short story, and so is every title listed for Edgar Allan Poe, and I don't even know if Johnathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal" qualifies as a short story -- it's more of a satirical article. Now, I don't mind them listing short stories, but then why exclude Anton Chekhov or Raymond Carver. Why exclude famous short stories by authors they included in their list, like -- Hemingway's "The Snows of Kilimanjaro," "Hills Like White Elephants," and "A Clean Well Lighted Place." Or Faulkner's "A Rose For Emily." Or Asimov "Nightfall" and "The Last Question." Or "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut. Plus they are missing a couple of my favorite short stories -- "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson and "Occurance at Owl Creek" by Ambrose Bierce. When it comes down to it, I agree with mjh215, who said lists like these are great as a source to build your own list. They help you find things you might have missed. Lists of books from Cliff Notes, Spark Notes, etc. are pretty good in this regard, as are lists from genre specific websites, and awards lists. Last edited by Daithi; 12-17-2008 at 07:35 PM.

12-17-2008, 10:04 PM	#37
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	The Mobileread 1001 books! Everybody to suggest 100 books hehe... Tallied and list published after 6 months of input. Don't want to tally before then because there will be list editing. Maybe even toss in the 1001 list this thread is about with a weight of 25 votes to start with. Last edited by wayspooled; 12-17-2008 at 10:28 PM.

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12-17-2008, 07:36 PM	#34
lilac_jive Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,870 Karma: 27376 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Pennsylvania Device: PRS-505	Daithi- There are so many comments I could make about your post, but I'll stick with this one: "Rebecca" by du Maurier is on the list. I remember, because I really want to read it. Hrmm, I'm thinking it would be cool to make a new list (using this as a base), have people recommend additional books, then have people vote for their favorites and make a new list

12-17-2008, 08:06 PM	#35
Daithi Publishers are evil! Posts: 2,418 Karma: 36205264 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Rhode Island Device: Various Kindles	Your right Lilac_jive, "Rebecca" is on the list. I must of looked up by Maurier instead of du Maurier, and missed it. My bad.

12-18-2008, 10:01 AM	#43
Daithi Publishers are evil! Posts: 2,418 Karma: 36205264 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Rhode Island Device: Various Kindles	sparrow, My apologies for disparaging To the Lighthouse. I probably should try living by the maxim, "If you can't say something nice then don't say anything at all." It wasn't for me, but I'd certainly have it on my top 1001 list.

12-18-2008, 11:34 AM	#45
lilac_jive Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,870 Karma: 27376 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Pennsylvania Device: PRS-505	Whoever just requested to view this, you should be able to view it without my permission. Unless you want to edit it?