supergran71 Posted April 7, 2008 Share Posted April 7, 2008 I wont live long enough to read that lot!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted April 7, 2008 Share Posted April 7, 2008 Up till now, I've read (or at least tried to read) 78 and have a further 42 waiting on my shelf. You can check out which ones on my blog HERE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freewheeling Andy Posted April 7, 2008 Share Posted April 7, 2008 This is odd. I know I've read another 10 or so of these recently, and my list now shows 114. What is weird is that way back on about page 3 of this thread I claim to have read 114. I think I must have lost some in the mix somewhere. - Ah, I've just done a check through and it had lost some from that list on P 3, and I'm up to 120. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted April 7, 2008 Share Posted April 7, 2008 O'h my goodness! What horror!!! I thought that I was relatively well read (although I want to read more classics), but you all seem to have read so much more than me..... I wouldn't worry - you aren't alone. I've not read many of them either. I'm also trying to read more classics, but it wouldn't be good if we were all the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danscottgraham Posted April 7, 2008 Share Posted April 7, 2008 I've read a lot of books but few can change your feeling towards life as 'Wild Swans' does by Jung Chang. That was spectacular, but my favorite book of all time would be by Alexandre Dumas, 'The Count Of Monte Cristo' closely followed by any of the John Stienbeck books then 'Crime and Punishment' by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted April 7, 2008 Share Posted April 7, 2008 I've read 50 and have at least 69 more on my TBR pile. Since I first counted about 11 months ago, I've read 22 books Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supergran71 Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 I have just counted the ones I have read from that list and its 13. Long way to go!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate Posted May 30, 2008 Share Posted May 30, 2008 (edited) I found this list on the net and put it on my site. Check it out and let me know what you think. The thread title states what it is. I can't believe how few I've read and how many I've not heard of.. Here is the link: http://www.freewebs.com/katieshideaway/1001books.htm Edited May 30, 2008 by Michelle merged with existing thread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tambo Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 I had a look through and was quite shocked at my low score... 12. I faired considerably better on the BBC Big Read, the nations top 100 books. I had over 30 of them and was feeling quite chuffed with myself. Now I just feel stooooopid. Ah well, by the end of the year I hope to get up to the dizzy heights of 20. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 You see, that's why lists like this annoy me.. Tambo, why are you feeling stupid, just because you've chosen to read different books?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freewheeling Andy Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 It can make you feel stupid (the "Penguin Classics" giveaway made me feel fairly stupid - I was lucky in the book I got, but well over half of them would have been completely unreadable to me). But this list, the 1001 books, I think is a very good one as a list of suggestions of books that it's worth reading. A large percentage of the best books I've ever read are on that list, and the presence of books on the list has on occasion been the thing that's pushed me over the edge to buying them - and almost always they've been worthwhile. Some are rubbish, but very rarely do I feel that it's not been worth my while reading them. Think of it as a pointer to books that you won't feel like you're wasting your time reading, rather than as a challenge to prove how well read you are. (Of course, I could be biased because it might get people to read my favourite books that are now fairly obscure). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 That's fine Andy, I appreciate that it's meant to be a list of books worth taking a look at.. but it's not good if people feel stupid because they haven't read them. We've all individual, after all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freewheeling Andy Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 But if lists of recommended books do that to you then surely the BCF recommended list at the top of this forum would serve the same purpose and have the same reaction. I think people treat these too much like challenges, as the reading equivalent of proving how large your manhood is. It shouldn't be an "I'm better than you because I've read 8 inches of these books, and you've only read 5 inches of them" kind of list. It should be: "I've often thought I should read a book by J G Ballard - which ones are on this list because they're probably the best by him"; or "I'm fascinated by the Balkans - which books on this list are about the Balkans or by Balkan authors, because it's probably going to be the best entry point for me to learn about the literature". Rather than "Look at me! I've read 87 of these and you've only read 62, I've got a bigger willy!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 (Of course, I could be biased because it might get people to read my favourite books that are now fairly obscure). Ooh, which book is that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freewheeling Andy Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 Oh, there are loads on there. Things like Broken April by Ismael Kadare, or The Bridge Over The Drina by Ivo Andric, or the one I'm currently reading which is fantastic, Independent People by Halldor Laxness, or High Rise by JG Ballard, or At-Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O'Brien, or The Leopard by Giuseppe di Lampedusa. And slightly less obscure ones like The Good Soldier Schweijk by Jaroslav Hasek, or If This Is A Man by Primo Levi. I'd probably say at least 7 or 8 of my favourite ten books of all time are in that list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 But if lists of recommended books do that to you then surely the BCF recommended list at the top of this forum would serve the same purpose and have the same reaction. That is kind of a 'if you can't beat 'em, join em'' thing, but it's more that I'm interested to see what the range of people on here come up with. From what I've seen so far, everyone is coming up with lots of different ideas. I think people treat these too much like challenges, as the reading equivalent of proving how large your manhood is. It shouldn't be an "I'm better than you because I've read 8 inches of these books, and you've only read 5 inches of them" kind of list. I guess that's what I'm getting at.. it's fine to have a list of 'recommended' books, but this is telling you that they're books that you should read, and it does get taken as a challenge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbain Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 I have a copy of this book and it does have some good suggestions. I have only read 22 of the books recommended . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tambo Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 You see, that's why lists like this annoy me.. Tambo, why are you feeling stupid, just because you've chosen to read different books?! I don't really feel stupid. I just found it amusing that I have read 30% of one list and 1% of another. Stephen King, JK Rowling, Rohald Dahl and Terry Pratchett seem to have made the difference. To be fair to the 1,001 list, there are a great number there that I would like to read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ii Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 Of course it can be argued that there are some books you should read as a part of being a civilized educated person. I don't claim to be the authority on what those are, or even saying who is such an authority, but you must agree that knowing who Shakespeare was and whether Tolstoy was a writer, composer or politician goes to "general knowledge". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TashaG Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 I have this book and have read only a small number of the 1001. I don't feel that I have to read them, but it is a great bit of inspiration if I cannot choose what to read next or am feeling stuck within a genre and in need of change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 (edited) I revisited the list recently and 1001 books was just too many, especially with so many authors and titles that I have never heard of. So I went through it and cut it back to only authors I had ever heard of, and only one title per author. That got it down to 'only' 300 books, but let me tell ya, 300 titles in one list is still a huge looking list! Bottom line, I've read 123 through all my years of reading, which is 41% against my short list. And still reading -- Harlot's Ghost by Norman Mailer most recently, and not on the list. Edited August 13, 2008 by Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nursenblack Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 I've only read 18 books from that list and some are my favorites. Not a great number, but I guess that's okay. I have heard of a lot from that list and have seen movie versions of many of them (does that count? ). I don't really see myself consciously attempting to read more of them for the sake of "the list" itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 I don't really see myself consciously attempting to read more of them for the sake of "the list" itself. Right! I regard even the short list as no more than suggestions for books I might want to read sometime. There seem to be so many other books off the list that attract me and that I read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freewheeling Andy Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 Of course it can be argued that there are some books you should read as a part of being a civilized educated person. I don't claim to be the authority on what those are, or even saying who is such an authority, but you must agree that knowing who Shakespeare was and whether Tolstoy was a writer, composer or politician goes to "general knowledge". There's at least one book on the list that I think everyone should read, and that's Primo Levi's "If This Is A Man". The rest should just be suggestions, but If This Is A Man is possibly the best, most humane, most shocking, horrific, brilliant non-fiction book of the lot. I don't think I could recommend it highly enough. Not because it makes you seem civilised and well read. But because reading it will make you a more deeply informed person. I really should start a thread on it when I'm not so tired. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jue xxx Posted January 18, 2010 Share Posted January 18, 2010 I printed out the 1001 list ages ago, and have managed to resist buying this book for so long, but I finally caved in today and ordered it from Amazon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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