Hello! I have just finished flipping through 1001 Books You Must Read Before you die, and I am absolutely astounded at how FEW of them I have read! I mean, I read, on average, 2 - 3 books A WEEK, and I have only read about 20 of the books that they reccomend, at least in their entirety. I have read excerpts or abridged versions of a few more, during English or Lit classes in high school. There were a few that I read at my dad's urging in high school - mostly John Wyndham (The Triffids et. al).
I am almost tempted to shift my focus from the non-fiction stacks to read a few of the "classics"... or at least some of the 1001 books they reccomend! I'm going to have to think about that.
I was sometimes amused, and sometimes shocked, at what made the list, and what didn't in this book! Some are obvious choices, while others seem obscure to me, but I suspect that I have lived in the land of "brain candy" (thanks to my friend Tamara for the term!), otherwise known as the SF/Fantasy and Romance sections of the library for so long that I've somehow managed to avoid reading much of anything that is "classic".
What do you think? If you were picking a book that should be on a list like this, what would you choose? I think I'd add "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" and "Anne of Green Gables", but I will admit that those are two of my favorite books of all time, regardless of their literary merit.
As always, I'd love to see comments!
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