Maybe you remember the list that was floating around a few years ago about the 100 books you should read, or it was the Top 100 Novels or whatever. The point is a list and a couple of variations, made the rounds several years ago. I addressed this in a blog post back in the early days, and it was a fun kind of exercise.
Now Amazon has released its own list of 100 Books To Read In A Lifetime, and I’m not sure how I feel about it. Well, I sort of do. I disagree with the list. Sure, most of the stuff on there fits, but there are a number of great books that are missing. Here is the list, and below I’ve made some notations.
Let’s start at the top. Yes, I think 1984 is a “must read” book. And I never will read A Brief History Of Time. It’s not that I won’t read non-fiction, it’s that I have so many other books to read, fiction and non-fiction, that it is so low on the priority list I’ll never get to it. As for Alice Munro’s entry I’m surprised The Beggar Maid wasn’t chosen.
My wife has read Angela’s Ashes and Are You There God It’s Me Margaret and chances are I’ll never get to those. As for Bel Canto I haven’t read it but heard really good things about another of her books – The Magician’s Assistant. Chances are I’ll read that one. Beloved? No thanks. From what I have read I don’t want to read it (or see the movie). And I have even less interested in reading Born To Run, a non-fiction book about theories on athletes and athletics.
I have read some Hunter S. Thompson, and I didn’t much care for his work. There may be a time when I am ready to try him again, but it won’t be soon. And Great Expectations? Really? I would have chosen A Christmas Story or A Tale Of Two Cities for Dickens. And In Cold Blood is something I just am not interested in so I will most likely never read it.
Lolita is a book I’ll probably never read. I did read The Gift by Nabokov. Does that count? I’ve never read anything by Louise Erdrich but my pick for a “Native American” author would have been Sherman Alexie. I could (and should) write a post about his great work.
And David Sedaris’ book is in the top 100 books? Over so many others that have gained acclaim over the years? I’ve heard little about Middlesex but did hear very good things about Jeffrey Eugenides other book The Virgin Suicides.
Amazon notes Out Of Africa as “remarkable” and I’m not sure that’s the word I would use. I’ve read this and another book of hers and liked the other book better. I think it was short stories and poetry. Silent Spring is noted at “The birth of ecology” but I always thought Thoreau’s Walden held that title.
Team Of Rivals may be a great book but there are so many other great histories about our own country let alone others it seems short sighted to have this one on the list.
I hated both The Catcher In The Rye and The Great Gatsby.
How have I not read The Little Prince yet?
That book on 9/11 is another I’ll never read. And why isn’t The Hobbit included with the entry for The Lord Of The Rings? There are several of Raymond Chandler’s books that I’ve read, I just haven’t gotten to The Long Goodbye yet, but do have a compendium of his works that has it included.
Meals? I don’t care how interesting that is. It’s another one on the list I have no interest in, along with The Power Broker. We have The Poisonwood Bible in the house somewhere along with a few other novels by Kingsolver. I just haven’t gotten to them yet.
Thankfully I read The Right Stuff before Bonfire Of The Vanities. I read Bonfire Of The Vanities and hated it. I vowed never to read another Tom Wolfe novel again. I think this is the subject of another blog post.
Because Doctor Sleep, the sequel, was recently published, I’m betting that’s the reason The Shining is on this list. Otherwise Misery or The Stand should be on this list. As for The Stranger, I have read The Plague and liked it, and actually expected that book to be on this list. I do feel like I should read The Stranger.
The Sun Also Rises is another book I have no interest in. I’ve read a little bit of Hemingway and didn’t like it. He falls into the same category as Faulkner and Salinger. And The THings They Carried may be the “best book on Vietnam” but I’ll never read that either.
Anther book I doubt I’ll ever read is To Kill A Mockingbird. The movie was hard enough to watch. And Unbroken may be a great World War II book, but I think I may have read enough about that war to satisfy me. On the other end of the spectrum I don’t remember if I’ve read Valley Of The Dolls or not. I think I did, but if I haven’t I’ll most likely not read it again as there are so many other books I do want to read.
I bet if this list was created 15 or 20 years ago Jane Smiley and Tom Robbins would be on this list.
Where is 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea? Don Quixote? The Three Musketeers? The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer? The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy? Frankenstein? Moby Dick? The Odyssey? 1,001 Arabian Nights? The Wizard Of Oz? There are so many great books that aren’t on the list. But it is a starting point.
What books do you want your kids to read?
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