Yesterday, the Times Online published an article -
10 Books Not To Read Before You Die
10. Ulysses - Joyce
9. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
8. For Whom the Bell Tolls - Ernest Hemingway
7. A La Recherche du Temps Perdu - Marcel Proust
6. The Dice Man - Luke Reinhart
5. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Hunter S. Thompson
4. The Beauty Myth - Naomi Wolf
3. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
2. The Iliad - Homer
1. Pride & Prejudice - Jane Austen
Read the article for his reasoning on picking these books.
I've tried to read Ulysses, and never gotten through it. I hated Lord of the Rings the first time around, and loved it every time since. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and War and Peace have been on my TBR list for a very long time, and they'll stay there.
The two books I take issue with are The Iliad and Pride & Prejudice. These are two of my favorite books of all time, and while I know the Times piece was meant more as a joke than anything else, it still rankled me to see these two on the list!
What about you, any thoughts on the list?
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9 comments:
I agree on Pride & Prejudice-I liked that book.
I have Lord of the Rings and haven't read it and I also have War and Peace on my shelf. Odds are, like you, I won't be reading it any time soon. I've heard the Iliad is good but I've never gotten to reading it-maybe I will one day.
What an interesting post, and a funny article. I like Lord of the Rings, so I got a kick out of his reason for not reading it. I wonder how he would rate Moby Dick, which is my ultimate White Whale. I have no desire to read it, yet I feel like I MUST.
I always love these lists! I would disagree with Lord of the Rings (I loved the Tolkien series) and War and Peace - which is probably one of the best books I've ever read (length doesn't make me avoid a book!) and Pride and Prejudice which is beautifully written. But I completely agree with Hemingway's book. I hated that book! BORING! I've yet to read the rest on the list.
I've tried to read three of those and couldn't but I really liked the Lord of the Rings books!
It's tongue in cheek so I can't be too upset, even though there are great books on that list. I would hate the idea that anyone would take it seriously though.
They should be put to death for putting ANY THING by Jane Austen on there.
I love Ulysses, For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Beauty Myth, and Pride & Prejudice.
I think War & Peace is on every list, both TO READ and NOT TO READ. Hmmm....I think NOT TO READ (too long!)
These lists are always fun to read. I would like to add a book to the list: The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Dideon, which in my opinion was anything but magical.
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