Don't know what to read? Reading lists tend to annoy me, because there already seems to be too many books on my shelves that are waiting to be read. In that sense, I agree with Janet Potter's remark that they are great "if you've just arrived from Mars and have no knowledge of Earth Books." Her own reading list of "28 Books You Should Read if You Want To" is a bit closer to the way most of us function, I think (Janet Potter, February 18, 2014).
Nonetheless, this reading list from the Guardian of 1000 titles has the advantage of being broken down into categories like comedy, crime, love, state of the nation, and includes foreign language books ("1000 novels everyone must read" Guardian, January 23, 2009).
Another way to approach the question is to look at lists of books that have won prizes, such as the Pulitzer (www.pulitzer.org), the Booker (http://www.themanbookerprize.com/timeline), or the Goncourt (http://www.academie-goncourt.fr/?article=1229180726).
Showing posts with label reading lists. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reading lists. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Friday, June 13, 2008
1001 books?
William Grimes wrote an essay for The New York Times, "Volumes to Go before You Die" (May 23, 2008) concerning 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die, compiled by Peter Boxall (Sussex University) with the help of some 105 critics, editors and academics.
The list and surrounding discussion at www.liswtology.com reveal that the notion of canon is perpetually a thorny problem.
Perhaps the best way to respond is to begin your own personal list of 1001? Here's mine for 2008:
1. Geoffrey Hill, The Triumph of Love (1998)
2. Robert Penn Warren, All The King's Men (1946)
3. Saul Bellow, Humboldt's Gift (1975)
4. Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird (1960)
5. Ernest Gaines, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1971)
6. William Faulkner, The Sound and the Fury (1929)
7. John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath (1939)
8. Flannery O'Connor, Wise Blood (1952)
9. Toni Morrison, Beloved (1987)
10. Geoffrey Hill, Speech! Speech! (1999)
11. Charles Péguy, Notre Jeunesse (1910)
12. T.S. Eliot, The Waste Land (1922)
13. Wendy Cope, Making Cocoa for Kingsley Amis (1986)
14. Ezra Pound, The Cantos ( )
15. Jeffrey Wainwright, Selected Poems (1985)
16. Rosanna Warren, Departure (2003)
17. George Herbert, The Temple (1633)
18. Shakespeare, King Lear (1608)
19. Lawrence Ferlinghetti, A Coney Island of the Mind (1958)
(to be continued...)
The list and surrounding discussion at www.liswtology.com reveal that the notion of canon is perpetually a thorny problem.
Perhaps the best way to respond is to begin your own personal list of 1001? Here's mine for 2008:
1. Geoffrey Hill, The Triumph of Love (1998)
2. Robert Penn Warren, All The King's Men (1946)
3. Saul Bellow, Humboldt's Gift (1975)
4. Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird (1960)
5. Ernest Gaines, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1971)
6. William Faulkner, The Sound and the Fury (1929)
7. John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath (1939)
8. Flannery O'Connor, Wise Blood (1952)
9. Toni Morrison, Beloved (1987)
10. Geoffrey Hill, Speech! Speech! (1999)
11. Charles Péguy, Notre Jeunesse (1910)
12. T.S. Eliot, The Waste Land (1922)
13. Wendy Cope, Making Cocoa for Kingsley Amis (1986)
14. Ezra Pound, The Cantos ( )
15. Jeffrey Wainwright, Selected Poems (1985)
16. Rosanna Warren, Departure (2003)
17. George Herbert, The Temple (1633)
18. Shakespeare, King Lear (1608)
19. Lawrence Ferlinghetti, A Coney Island of the Mind (1958)
(to be continued...)
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