Books we are supposed to read

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Buckeye

Well-known Member
I found several lists about the "Top 100" books we should all read. I didn't try to actually count how many I've read, but certainly less than 1/4th of them. And, at 75, extensive reading just doesn't work for me anymore.

Must read classics
How many have your read?
 

Approx. 1/4 of them and all but The Godfather were read when I was in public school.

As I’ve gotten older my vision and my short attention span have taken the enjoyment out of reading.

The last series of mind candy fiction that I enjoyed were Philip R. Craig’s Martha’s Vineyard mysteries. If you read them try to read them in order and try to buy them used.
 
raybar said:
Almost all fiction. Doesn't anyone read about science, technology, history, art . . .

I have read 39 of which I'm certain, and possibly several more but I may be remembering movies instead of books.
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There are other lists for non-fiction.

I've read about half of the books on the fiction list. Some of the selections seem a bit arbitrary. And you're right there are a couple of nonfiction books on the list.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2...st-nonfiction-books-of-all-time-the-full-list
 
Buckeye said:
I went thru the list again and came up with 15 1/2 (haven't made it thru Moby Dick yet, but it's only been 3 years since I started it...)

Call me Ishmael.
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Never got through Moby Dick either. There are a few others on the list that I never finished. And the list is missing many greats, including Madame Bovary, The Scarlet Letter, The Red and the Black, A Farewell to Arms, Sister Carrie, The Education of Henry Adams, The Age of Innocence, and many many others now that I think of it.
 
A Room with a View, Howards End, The House of Mirth, A Handful of Dust, Cry the Beloved Country...maybe I'll put my own list together.

One great non-fiction book is called What it Takes, by Richard Ben Cramer. It's the story of the six candidates for the 1988 Presidential election.
 
I think I've read 57 of them, but I might just think I remember a few of them because I've seen the Masterpiece mini-series version. I didn't even know there was a, "Lark Rise To Candleford" book and I've watched the entire 40 episodes three times. Does that count? LOL
JimBob1952 said:
A Room with a View, Howards End, The House of Mirth, A Handful of Dust, Cry the Beloved Country...maybe I'll put my own list together.
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Absolutely, all five or them. Edith Wharton and E.M. Forster are two of my favorites writers. I hadn't read Cry the Beloved Country until last year when my book club read it, so glad I didn't miss it.
 
Buckeye said:
I found several lists about the "Top 100" books we should all read. I didn't try to actually count how many I've read, but certainly less than 1/4th of them. And, at 75, extensive reading just doesn't work for me anymore.

Must read classics
How many have your read?
Click to expand...
I probably read 6, and saw the movie version of another six. I used to speed read textbooks in college but like to slow read pleasure books.

I read all day, mostly online, my reading is slow...I like to absorb every morsel, every nuance of the printed word.
 
Buckeye said:
I found several lists about the "Top 100" books we should all read. I didn't try to actually count how many I've read, but certainly less than 1/4th of them. And, at 75, extensive reading just doesn't work for me anymore.

Must read classics
How many have your read?
Click to expand...
I couldn't keep count b/c I kept getting sidetracked reading the blurbs of the ones I haven't yet read! lol But great list, gives me a launching point for visits to our local library (which tends heavily toward Danielle Steele and John Grisham, etc)

Of the first page I looked it, faves such as Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion and Middlemarch were there. I've always loved and identified with Dorothea Brooks of Middlemarch
 
I have read about 37 of those novels. Problem with it is that it only has a handful from Third World writers. Very possibly, the greatest novel I ever read was Shimazaki Toson's The Broken Commandment. Japanese writers have created some of the finest fiction in literary history. Other great novels include, The Tale of Genji, Rashomon, and a humorous story called I Am A Cat.

My all time fave novel is The Last Puritan by American writer & philosopher George Santayana. This belongs in everyone's Top 100.
 
I have read some of them, but most don't tickle my fancy. I just counted them: 24. I do not like Lord of the Rings or Alice in Wonderland. I do not like sad books. My dog's registered name is from Alice in Wonderland, though -- X's Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast.
 
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Some wag once commented that a classic was a book that no one wanted to read, but everyone wanted to have read. Having read many classics required in school including those from a college course on the English novel, I now seek to cheapen myself with the entertainment value from science fiction and horror... 🚀🙀
 
I loved Somerset Maugham's masterpiece Of Human Bondage and still have his complete short stories gathering dust in the bookshelf, he was the master of human emotions IMO.
 
OK, I am torn about this list. I have been an avid reader since I learned how. But to be told what we SHOULD read in our lifetime seems a bit snobbish. I think I have read one or two books on that list....but still consider myself well-read, by my own standards. I have probably read thousands of books in my life time. And do not fell less well read because I did not read most of those on this list.
 
Marie5656 said:
OK, I am torn about this list. I have been an avid reader since I learned how. But to be told what we SHOULD read in our lifetime seems a bit snobbish. I think I have read one or two books on that list....but still consider myself well-read, by my own standards. I have probably read thousands of books in my life time. And do not fell less well read because I did not read most of those on this list.
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Certainly, this list, and any other like it, is totally arbitrary. I didn't post the list to be judgmental. I just thought it would be fun.
 
Aunt Bea said:
Approx. 1/4 of them and all but The Godfather were read when I was in public school.

As I’ve gotten older my vision and my short attention span have taken the enjoyment out of reading.

The last series of mind candy fiction that I enjoyed were Philip R. Craig’s Martha’s Vineyard mysteries. If you read them try to read them in order and try to buy them used.
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I enjoyed Craig's the Martha's Vineyard series and you're right, regarding the "read them in order" comment. Haven't had to resort to buying them as Martha's Vineyard being nearby, most of our local libraries have the "series" in their stacks.
 

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