50 Books to Read Before You Die

[Vandalshandle]

I read 100 years of solitude for school, and I didn't bother reading it much, just wrote what I had to write. So I went back to it last year, half way through I was like "stuff this" and stopped reading it. It's not that good.

The Count of Monte Cristo I felt was a very rubbish book too. The plot line isn't great, nothing about it is great.

Robin Hobb's books are so much better, and she doesn't get anywhere near. In her Farseer Trilogy she manages to subtly get the boy and wolf to resemble each other more and more over the course of the books and on into another trilogy, fantastic writing.

Oh, no, how can you say that? I've read The Count of Monte Cristo well over 20 times! Admittedly, that was because I could never understand it and I got mad about that (not having been taught there was someone called Napoleon who did this takeover and then the Hundred Days and all --- never does Dumas ever mention Napoleon by name (doesn't have to, everyone French knew! American girls in the 20th century? Not so much.). Still, it's got something. All those movies: it must have something.

I started to read 100 years, boring, boring -- that "magical realism" stuff is just what you call normal fantasy if the writer lives in South America.

The Help? I do not do oh-the-poor-blacks books. Now they don't have maid jobs. Hope they're happy on welfare instead. I am so not interested. Do you all know that ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL book clubs persistently do all the oh-the-poor-blacks books one right after the other? They only have white women participants, of course. There are a bunch of them: The Help, The Secret Life of Bees, etc., etc. I say no, just no. It's racist against whites, really. They can do that on their own time.

WOW, Circe! can't even post on a literary thread without racist comments? Considered starting your own thread under Race?

Didn't look like a racist comment to me.

Ok, I am out voted. Blacks are happy on welfare now~~~~ (sigh)

Yes, sigh.... you're trying to turn this into what it isn't. Someone says they don't like a type of book and you have to make it political. Sigh.

Well, Frid, it is kind of hard to pretend that someone's stereotyping blacks into "Stephenfechit" , without drawing certain conclusions about their moral and ethical state of mind. Since the issue of "...feel sorry for blacks...": has been raised, I responded likewise, and not wanting to ruin my evening with racist poison, I sign off, knowing that such negativity is harmful to my inner peace.

 

[deannalw]

I've read all of them (well, duh! Who hasn't, a lot of them!!)
Except these:

Color Purple. More blacks-behaving-badly stuff. I saw the TV thing, part of it. Just ---no.
Godfather. That was a BOOK???? Who knew? No Marlon Brando, you had to imagine him??
Delirium. What? Never heard of it.
Age of Innocence. I read Turn of the Screw, more than once, and have seen all the movies. And that's all Henry James gets of me, and that's that.
Norwegian Wood --- sounds foreign. Not of interest.
God of Small Things. Sounds VERRRRY foreign. SERIOUSLY not of interest. Could we go back to things written by, you know, people born speaking English?? Just asking.
Requiem for a Dream. Never heard of it. If I haven't heard of a book by now, that is not a good sign for the book, frankly. This guy needs suggestions, he should come to me. No, maybe not. Sounds PC and he'll have to do that himself.

And you're so modest too.

And didn't know who Napoleon was.

 

[Esmeralda]

No one should tell anyonewhat they should read or need to read. Not adults anyway. In school, the teacher needs to assign a limited number of books and read them as a group because she/he just can't teach every student individually. But for your independent reading, choose your own books and read what pleases you.

Well, these lists are done for other reasons that telling others what to think or what to read. I look at such stuff to see what books I might like to read. I go onto one forum where people talk about books. Some of the books people say are excellent are horrible, others I've really enjoyed. Without this discussion I'd be lost.

Then the title shouldn't be "50 Books to Read Before You Die." It's saying you need to, you should read these books. It should say something like these are classics of English literature, check them out...written as a suggestion, not a directive.

If you take the title seriously, it's more your issue than an issue with the writer.

Words are important. If you are a reader, you should know that.

Based on what the content of the list is in this OP, the title of the list should say, "Here are 50 books I like. I am not anyone special. It is just my opinion. These are just 50 books I think are very good." That would be honest. I am not blaming the OP. I am criticizing the person who wrote the list and the title he gave it.

The list author likely felt his title was no pressure but more interesting and captivating than just... Hey. List of books here.

I clicked on this thread because of the title. I seriously doubt I would have the other way.

Words DO matter

That's the point. It is a title meant to attract, not something of substance.

 

[Circe]

And you're so modest too.

And didn't know who Napoleon was.

They're mostly just standard classics. Not very interesting as a list. If you haven't read nearly all of those, if only in school, what can one really say. Well, that men tend not to be readers, maybe. Assuming you're a man. Most books and magazines are bought by women, of course.

No, I had NO IDEA for years (at least the first 15 readings, or more) that the Count of Monte Cristo was about the consequences of Napoleon's breakout from Elba, and the plots surrounding that, which Edmond Dantes got caught up in and was consequently imprisoned on the Chateau d'If for 16 years. And I very much doubt ANY young American has figured that out before quite a lot of history reading. It is not obvious: Dumas never talks directly about it at all. He doesn't have to: his novel was in French, written in the early 19th century and the French knew all about that.

The Chateau d'If is real and still on that little island, and you can tour all over it on Google Earth (or in person, it's off Marseilles) and work out just where Dantes jumped off. There really is only one good place. AND -- Monte Cristo is also there. The Island of which the Count is ....well, Count of. He bought it. With a little of the treasure. It is there, near Leghorn, Italy, and it looks exactly like Dumas describes it, since it is only a big rock with some goats on it. I could not work out where the treasure cave was on Google Earth, but I have some ideas. The Count got all the treasure, however, some time ago. The treasure was put there by the priest whose cell he erroneously tunnels into.

 

[frigidweirdo]

Oh, no, how can you say that? I've read The Count of Monte Cristo well over 20 times! Admittedly, that was because I could never understand it and I got mad about that (not having been taught there was someone called Napoleon who did this takeover and then the Hundred Days and all --- never does Dumas ever mention Napoleon by name (doesn't have to, everyone French knew! American girls in the 20th century? Not so much.). Still, it's got something. All those movies: it must have something.

I started to read 100 years, boring, boring -- that "magical realism" stuff is just what you call normal fantasy if the writer lives in South America.

The Help? I do not do oh-the-poor-blacks books. Now they don't have maid jobs. Hope they're happy on welfare instead. I am so not interested. Do you all know that ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL book clubs persistently do all the oh-the-poor-blacks books one right after the other? They only have white women participants, of course. There are a bunch of them: The Help, The Secret Life of Bees, etc., etc. I say no, just no. It's racist against whites, really. They can do that on their own time.

WOW, Circe! can't even post on a literary thread without racist comments? Considered starting your own thread under Race?

Didn't look like a racist comment to me.

Ok, I am out voted. Blacks are happy on welfare now~~~~ (sigh)

Yes, sigh.... you're trying to turn this into what it isn't. Someone says they don't like a type of book and you have to make it political. Sigh.

Well, Frid, it is kind of hard to pretend that someone's stereotyping blacks into "Stephenfechit" , without drawing certain conclusions about their moral and ethical state of mind. Since the issue of "...feel sorry for blacks...": has been raised, I responded likewise, and not wanting to ruin my evening with racist poison, I sign off, knowing that such negativity is harmful to my inner peace.

They basically said they don't like a certain kind of book. But fuck yeah, you read into that whatever you want.

 

[Circe]

Here's a few that needed to be added to the list:

1. Watership Down
2. The Hobbit
3. Lord Of The Rings
4. Harry Potter Books
5. The American Standard Bible
6. Steven King's 'IT'
7. The Twilight Series
8. Invisible Man
9. The Call Of The Wild
10. Moby Dick
11. The Red Badge Of Courage
12. Dr Zhivago
13. Les Miserables
14. The War Of The Worlds
15. Scrooge
16. Shogun
17. Dracula
18. Dune
19. The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes
20. Interview With The Vampire
21. Jaws
22. The Exorcist

Nice. I like your list better. I've read them all except Watership Down (it was huge, a must-read when it came out, so of course I never read that, being ordered to) and the Twilight Series -- I haven't heard of that latter book. Dune! much better as a movie. The Director's Cut, wow. The Hobbit I'm reading in Latin: one of those they can assume people know well enough to use as a pony for studying Latin, like Alice.

 

[Circe]

Beowulf (had to read it in the original Old English....and let's not forget The Canterbury Tales.

Wow!! I can read Chaucer cold, now, but that took decades of practice on early modern English (Shakespeare, Green Man, etc.). It's surprising how one gets better over time with early English.

Beowolf in the original!!! Now, I call that an education. Do you know Tolkien rescued it, there was only one copy left and he popularlized it early in his academic career? So I read, anyway.

I read a dual-language version of the Elder Edda a few years ago. It just wasn't English at all, I thought. And then in the middle of the volume there was one single line that was perfectly clear: "And his queen walked with him." I could read it, it WAS English, it had been English all along. Suddenly the centuries just rattled, falling, all around my head. An intense experience.

 

[deannalw]

And you're so modest too.

And didn't know who Napoleon was.

They're mostly just standard classics. Not very interesting as a list. If you haven't read nearly all of those, if only in school, what can one really say. Well, that men tend not to be readers, maybe. Assuming you're a man. Most books and magazines are bought by women, of course.

No, I had NO IDEA for years (at least the first 15 readings, or more) that the Count of Monte Cristo was about the consequences of Napoleon's breakout from Elba, and the plots surrounding that, which Edmond Dantes got caught up in and was consequently imprisoned on the Chateau d'If for 16 years. And I very much doubt ANY young American has figured that out before quite a lot of history reading. It is not obvious: Dumas never talks directly about it at all. He doesn't have to: his novel was in French, written in the early 19th century and the French knew all about that.

The Chateau d'If is real and still on that little island, and you can tour all over it on Google Earth (or in person, it's off Marseilles) and work out just where Dantes jumped off. There really is only one good place. AND -- Monte Cristo is also there. The Island of which the Count is ....well, Count of. He bought it. With a little of the treasure. It is there, near Leghorn, Italy, and it looks exactly like Dumas describes it, since it is only a big rock with some goats on it. I could not work out where the treasure cave was on Google Earth, but I have some ideas. The Count got all the treasure, however, some time ago. The treasure was put there by the priest whose cell he erroneously tunnels into.

To each his own.
I'm female and have been reading and collecting books since I was four or five. It was something very important to my mother and I thank her. But I'm not going to compulsively read a book over and over when I don't understand it. I would discuss it with someone. Fellow reader, teacher, friend, etc

 

[deannalw]

Here's a few that needed to be added to the list:

1. Watership Down
2. The Hobbit
3. Lord Of The Rings
4. Harry Potter Books
5. The American Standard Bible
6. Steven King's 'IT'
7. The Twilight Series
8. Invisible Man
9. The Call Of The Wild
10. Moby Dick
11. The Red Badge Of Courage
12. Dr Zhivago
13. Les Miserables
14. The War Of The Worlds
15. Scrooge
16. Shogun
17. Dracula
18. Dune
19. The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes
20. Interview With The Vampire
21. Jaws
22. The Exorcist

Nice. I like your list better. I've read them all except Watership Down (it was huge, a must-read when it came out, so of course I never read that, being ordered to) and the Twilight Series -- I haven't heard of that latter book. Dune! much better as a movie. The Director's Cut, wow. The Hobbit I'm reading in Latin: one of those they can assume people know well enough to use as a pony for studying Latin, like Alice.

Water ship down isn't huge.

 

[Circe]

The Count of Monte Cristo I felt was a very rubbish book too. The plot line isn't great, nothing about it is great.

Oh, no, it's a great book! Okay, just IMO. The theme is revenge (for the 16 years in prison and a lot else), and he sure does go after it. Pretty much every issue about revenge is treated in the novel: it's a comprehensive survey of revenge. Spoiler: all the same, he pretty much kills them all. Except the women -- it IS a French novel, after all. And old-fashioned.

Based on what the content of the list is in this OP, the title of the list should say, "Here are 50 books I like. I am not anyone special. It is just my opinion. These are just 50 books I think are very good." That would be honest. I am not blaming the OP. I am criticizing the person who wrote the list and the title he gave it.

I doubt these are 50 books he likes. It's just clickbait to get us to click through and through and through and .......

Too many school classics. I don't believe him.

 

[Circe]

To each his own.
I'm female and have been reading and collecting books since I was four or five. It was something very important to my mother and I thank her. But I'm not going to compulsively read a book over and over when I don't understand it. I would discuss it with someone. Fellow reader, teacher, friend, etc

I didn't know what I didn't know. Yes, you are right: turns out it's better to try something different than keeping at the same thing over and over trying to do better the same way. I learned that from the Japanese game "Dark Souls," however, too late for some 23 readings of the Count. There weren't so many books when I was a child, so that was okay --- one had to read something. Now there's a glut.

But yes -- I finally got through the problem of the Count of Monte Cristo after I studied the French Revolution and Napoleon. What a revelation. The letter Edmond delivered for the captain of his ship who fell ill and died communicated that Napoleon planned to land nearby and march to Paris and all help would be appreciated. He did, too --- March 1, 1815, the Hundred Days, ending at Waterloo.

 

[monkrules]

I find Plato's Republic effectively unreadable in its self serving smugness.

You could go to a good book store, and check your library or local university library to find other translations you might feel more comfortable with. Find one you like and go from there. If you're not planning to become an expert on Plato then just find a translation you can read and enjoy.

There are Plato scholars and would-be experts who are snobbish and full of themselves who will say all translations are crap except, of course, the ones they happen to like. Fuck them. Find a translation you enjoy and can understand.

 

[jasonnfree]

No Louis L’mour books?

Surprisingly Louis l'amour changed his style in 'The Walking Drum'. A story about medieval Europe. Really good read.

 

[monkrules]

I find Plato's Republic effectively unreadable in its self serving smugness.

And Grapes of Wrath depressed the hell outta me.

Grapes of Wrath is one of my favorite books. I've read it four or five times.

Steinbeck's Cannery Row is also worth reading, imo.

 

[monkrules]

I think the reviewer would say this is an eclectic list. A separate peace was the most boring and monotonous homework assignment ever. Good discussion. If we are going to do children’s books could we get a little science fiction love. Asimov or Bradbury maybe.

I might be inclined to read more of these if the blonde would read them with me.

As a teenager I read Asimov's Foundation Trilogy and loved it. I also read I Robot, which I think was written by Bradbury.

Introducing young people to science fiction is a great way to reinforce their interest in reading, imo.

 

[monkrules]

Congrats to the OP. This turned out to be an interesting thread.

Nice to see everyone talking and sharing rather than beating each other over the head with partisan bullshit.

 

[Esmeralda]

The Count of Monte Cristo I felt was a very rubbish book too. The plot line isn't great, nothing about it is great.

Oh, no, it's a great book! Okay, just IMO. The theme is revenge (for the 16 years in prison and a lot else), and he sure does go after it. Pretty much every issue about revenge is treated in the novel: it's a comprehensive survey of revenge. Spoiler: all the same, he pretty much kills them all. Except the women -- it IS a French novel, after all. And old-fashioned.

Based on what the content of the list is in this OP, the title of the list should say, "Here are 50 books I like. I am not anyone special. It is just my opinion. These are just 50 books I think are very good." That would be honest. I am not blaming the OP. I am criticizing the person who wrote the list and the title he gave it.

I doubt these are 50 books he likes. It's just clickbait to get us to click through and through and through and .......

Too many school classics. I don't believe him.

I didn't write that about the Counte of Monte Cristo. I've never read it.

 

[mudwhistle]

Here's a few that needed to be added to the list:

1. Watership Down
2. The Hobbit
3. Lord Of The Rings
4. Harry Potter Books
5. The American Standard Bible
6. Steven King's 'IT'
7. The Twilight Series
8. Invisible Man
9. The Call Of The Wild
10. Moby Dick
11. The Red Badge Of Courage
12. Dr Zhivago
13. Les Miserables
14. The War Of The Worlds
15. Scrooge
16. Shogun
17. Dracula
18. Dune
19. The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes
20. Interview With The Vampire
21. Jaws
22. The Exorcist

Nice. I like your list better. I've read them all except Watership Down (it was huge, a must-read when it came out, so of course I never read that, being ordered to) and the Twilight Series -- I haven't heard of that latter book. Dune! much better as a movie. The Director's Cut, wow. The Hobbit I'm reading in Latin: one of those they can assume people know well enough to use as a pony for studying Latin, like Alice.

The Hobbit was actually a violent children's book but went completely serious in Lord Of The Rings.

 

[mudwhistle]

Here's a few that needed to be added to the list:

1. Watership Down
2. The Hobbit
3. Lord Of The Rings
4. Harry Potter Books
5. The American Standard Bible
6. Steven King's 'IT'
7. The Twilight Series
8. Invisible Man
9. The Call Of The Wild
10. Moby Dick
11. The Red Badge Of Courage
12. Dr Zhivago
13. Les Miserables
14. The War Of The Worlds
15. Scrooge
16. Shogun
17. Dracula
18. Dune
19. The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes
20. Interview With The Vampire
21. Jaws
22. The Exorcist

Nice. I like your list better. I've read them all except Watership Down (it was huge, a must-read when it came out, so of course I never read that, being ordered to) and the Twilight Series -- I haven't heard of that latter book. Dune! much better as a movie. The Director's Cut, wow. The Hobbit I'm reading in Latin: one of those they can assume people know well enough to use as a pony for studying Latin, like Alice.

Water ship down isn't huge.

It was a very good novel however.
The cartoon that was made of it didn't really do it justice.

 

[longknife]

I've been reading since before I started kindergarten. (actually have some of the very first books I read) Of all, I think the Wizard of Oz books were/are my favorites for writing and descriptiveness.

I've always been hooked on scifi, Asimov, Heinlein, etc high up on my lists.

One of the most amazing authors I've ever come across is Sir Winston Churchill. His book on the History of the English Speaking People is a diamond among historical literature.

No list is perfect as everybody has different favorites.