I think this list suffers from not knowing whether it wants to be a bestseller list of things you should read in order to keep up your end of a conversation (Harry Potter and the Bible are in this category I think) or a list of great literature. It is also omits everything outside the US. More inline....
On 8/18/08, Jerry Barnes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee > > Great book. If you haven't read this one, add it to your list. > Interestingly enough, this book was popular reading in communist countries > because of how it pointed the racial inequities of the USA I agree that it is an important piece of literature but isn't it almost a cliche? > The Bible > > I enjoy reading the Bible, especially the historical books like Acts, 1st > and 2nd Chronicles, etc. They are even more interesting when you have other > historical documents to compare it to. top 10 bestseller :) > The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by JRR Tolkien I love this book and have read it and most of the supporting material (dwarfish grammar, simarillion) many many times. > 1984 by George Orwell > > Another one of my favorite books. A book for our times :) > > A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens > > I have it, but have not read it. It is on my medium list. Sentimental crap :) Read it to know what people are talking about but don't take it too seriously. > Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte > > Never read it. Probably never will. > > Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen > > Never read it. Probably never will. I read both of these when I was about 10. Important books but hmm not sure they say anything outside of their social context.... > All Quite on the Western Front by E M Remarque > > Never read it. Could be interesting though. Have this but have not read it. Consider that it might belong on a list of classics > His Dark Materials Trilogy by Phillip Pullman > > Read it. It was okay. Can't say I agree with its placement on the list. Ya, right. Have nto read, don't intend to. > > Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks > > I know nothing about this book. me either > The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck > > Never read it. It is on my long list. A good example of 20th century American literature. The Jungle might be a better example in the same genre. > > The Lord of the Flies by William Golding > > Good book. Not sure if I have read this. Consider it a possible > > The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon > > I know nothing about this book. me either > Tess of the D'urbevilles by Thomas Hardy > > Never read it. Probably never will. not sure if I covered this in my 19th-century period. SO how memorable can it be? > Winnie the Pooh by AA Milne > > Very enjoyable. I'll buy that > Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte > > Never read it. Probably never will. well if you like dark gothic romances.... I can't relate, personally. > The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graham > > Haven't read this one. I have it and may work my way to it one day It's a gentle little book, but I loved it well when I was younger and yes I think it does belong > Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell this book is on the list because of the movie > Great Expectations by Charles Dickens > > Haven't read this. I read it. I think Hard Times is a better example of his work. > The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger > > Never read it. Probably never will. whatever, Isn't this part of the chick-lit trend in books about so and so's wife? > > The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold > > Never read it. Probably never will. I've heard goog things about this. > The Prophet by Khalil Gibran > > Never read it. Probably never will. mmm not sure. A lot of people rave about this book. Have not read it. > > David Copperfield by Charles Dickens > > Third Dickens book on the list. Haven't read this one either. whatever :) more sentimental crap > The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho > > Never read it. Probably never will. don't know > > The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov > > Never read it. Probably never will don't know .. > > Life of Pi by Yann Martel > > I have actually heard of this book and I want to read it (My educational > background is in mathematics and I enjoy reading books like this.). don't know > > Middlemarch by George Eliot > > Never read it. Probably never will. agreed. > > The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver > > Never read it. Probably never will. agreed. > > A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess > > Haven't read it but I probably will at some point. Now this book is definitely a classic with something important to say. > A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzenhitsyn > > Never read it. Probably never will. tedious book that probably belongs because of its historical place. > Books I would add: > > The Great Gatsby - The great American Novel. I've read it, and do not understand its appeal. Superficial book abotu superficial people. > The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Wonderfully irreverent. Yes. I'd add Long Dark Teatime of the Soul, possibly my favorite book ever. > Dune - The depth of this book is incredible. I agree > Ender's Game - If you haven't read this, do yourself a favor and pick it > up. It is sci-fi in theme, but there is so much more to it. This is a great book, read it when it was published in a magazine. > The Godfather - better than the movie. bla, ok. Ok story, > The Bourne Identity - The prototype for today's spy thriller. ::eyeroll:: > Snow Crash - Hard to describe this book. no information > The Hound of the Baskervilles - Or another suitable Sherlock Holmes novel. +1 > Foundation - I periodically reread the first three. Don't like the latter > novels that much. these are worth the read > Hucklberry Finn or Tom Sawyer. seems like these are important mainly because most people have read them. I'd add: Beowolf King Lear The Plague - Albert Camus. A wonderful statement of what it is to be human. Cry the Beloved Country -- Alan Paton. Apartheid seen from inside. The Handmaiden's Tale -- Margaret Atwood. Too true. The Joy Luck club - Amy Tan. Haunting. Devil in a Blue Dress - Walter Mosely Downbelow Station - C. H. Cherryh Watership Down Nine Princes in Amber - Roger Zelazny Darkness at Noon Diary of Anne Frank The Republic -- "I not only use all the brains that I have, but all that I can borrow." Woodrow Wilson ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Adobe® ColdFusion® 8 software 8 is the most important and dramatic release to date Get the Free Trial http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;203748912;27390454;j Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Community/message.cfm/messageid:266192 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.5
