I don’t know why Time constructed this list in particular (since 1923? why?), but it’s a very interesting list indeed. (Thanks to Jason for the link.) I’ve only read ten out of 100. And those only because I had fabulous English teachers throughout my life. In fact, at least eight out of ten novels were read between junior and senior high school—and none in college. I think the teachers from my younger years (I can’t recall all their names or else I’d list them here) far exceeded, both in classroom expectations and general excellence, the professors at the college I graduated from. Sad, huh? The main reason I’m blogging about this is so that I don’t lose this list of books… I’m always wondering what to pick up from the library and this is a decent place to start.
**The logic for the list is explained here.
11 Comments
Bethany Nov 18, 2005 3:52 PM
I’ve read only 18…that list makes me feel sort of dumb.
Rebecca Nov 18, 2005 5:15 PM
Actually, the list is what these two guys, smart men I’m certain, believe to be the “best”, so don’t feel dumb at all.
(Plus, if you’re feeling dumb at 18, then it means I’m even dumber at 10 and, well, that’s just something I don’t want to think about too long. Heh.)
kristen Nov 18, 2005 7:02 PM
Hmmm… I’ve read 23, spread between high school, college and for fun reading (with 1 or 2 from jr. high). I am really glad I had to read good novels in college, even in religious studies, history and American studies classes. I don’t think I read a single one of those in an English Lit class at the university level. Actually, several were books my husband shamed me into reading. Is that considered “for fun”?
Andy Nov 18, 2005 8:35 PM
17. Can I count Invisible Man if I read half of it and decided I hated it?
Jeremy Nov 18, 2005 10:01 PM
A big whopping two (2) are cached in my noggin. And yes, before you ask, I was supposed to read more of them in school, but I wanted nothing to do with that; I had better things to do. I suppose I still do. Perhaps, as I age, if I age, I’ll get around to a few more. Of course, at this rate, I’ll only have a sum total of eight ingested by the time I’m 140. And who really expects to live much longer than that?
charity Nov 19, 2005 8:59 AM
9. I’d have 10, but Invisible Man fell into the same category as it does for Andy and I can’t Remember if I ever read Catcher in the Rye or not. Actually, a lot of them I counted were those I read in an african-american lit class I took in college.
Haley Nov 19, 2005 9:35 PM
17, which considering that I somehow earned a degree in English, is pretty sad. What if I just have no interest in reading Lord of the Flies or Animal Farm? I have no idea how I got out of reading those at some point in my education, but I don’t feel like I’m much worse off for it.
sarah Nov 21, 2005 4:29 PM
8. this makes me want to read more than i have time for right now…there are a bunch on that list that are ones that i’ve always felt i should read, but some other book-of-the-moment has jumped out at me instead, so i never get to them.
andrew Nov 22, 2005 1:23 PM
i swear these lists guilt us into reading more books! i’ve read 12 from the list and i read at least 6 or 7 of them inside of one summer month when i made a determined effort to feel edumacated and ‘smrt’. since then i can’t seem to get past gibson’s neuromancer and philip dick’s psychosomatic novels. look for philip dick’s ‘a scanner darkly’ coming to theaters in 2006!
Andy Nov 24, 2005 9:14 AM
I was thinking about it last night and I’ve decided to not feel guilty about having not read the vast majority of them. I went back through the list and am only interested (to some degree) in reading about 6 of the ones I haven’t read. Why should I feel guilty about not meeting their standards? Bring on Robert Ludlum!
RT Nov 24, 2005 4:21 PM
Agreed, Andy. Really there should be no guilt involved at all. Recently I was torn about returning a library book that I felt I *should* read but didn’t. And Renae, that wise woman, said something to the tune of, “Life is too short to read something you don’t want to read.” Amen, sistah.