The Book Vipers discussion

Thought I'd create a thread for those '100 books you must read' type lists that are so irresistible! Apologies if this one has already been posted but it was new to me...

http://www.listchallengeapp.com/bookl...

As ever, some eclectic choices, but it is generally more sensible than some of these lists I have seen.

I got 39. I am a bit under-read in the modern classics like Life of Pi and Shadow of the Wind. Must try and resolve that in 2014.

I love a good list. This is an interesting one, one of the better ones like you say.

I've read 30 and have 28 on my to read list. Some of them are quite long - big project to read Proust but I may be tempted to give it a go when the children are a bit older.

You can't beat a good list so don't apologise for anything! Only on the app at the moment but will take a look later.

I spend a lot of time looking at the lists on here:

https://www.goodreads.com/list

I've read 56 and have a few on my Kindle to read. The best thing about these lists is that there are always books on them that I haven't read but appeal to me. :D

I got 54. Quite a few of the others are on my to-read list. I suspect that this is an American list as it refers to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (I don't really understand why they changed the title for the US). I'm quite under-read in American classics I think. Lots of good ideas for books to read next, thanks Lisa!

Lizzie wrote: "I got 54. Quite a few of the others are on my to-read list. I suspect that this is an American list as it refers to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (I don't really understand why they changed..."

American publishers felt that American kids would not read a book with the word "philosopher" in the title. Other changes were made to the first book such as "crumpets" became "muffin" but apparently JK put her foot down on the rest of the books.

38 which is more than I thought.

A list and a half from the Guardian:

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2009...

I've got 57 for the first list but I really hated the Naked Lunch. And Shadow of the wind just didn't seem that good when I read it. It was alright, but I wouldn't say it's one of the top 100 books.
The problem with goodreads lists is that often the same book appears in different forms, part of a collection, etc.

I've copied the 1000 books. i'm quite pleased to see Empire of the Sun on it as it's tied for first place in my favourite books ever EVER!

Paul wrote: "A list and a half from the Guardian:

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2009..."

So pleased to see my favourite book on here, The Magus, as it rarely appears on any such lists and it is a fantastic book.

This is another good article by Book Riot. One contributor asks should you throw away you TBR list:
http://bookriot.com/2014/01/27/throw-...

For me it is a no, but I can see some of his reasoning

I did that about a week ago, weeded out all the to be read books, only left 5 unusual books so i won't forget they exist. But I don't own them and may never actually find them.

I'm going to go through my GR tbr list and delete a lot of the books I no longer want to read.

This year I am being a lot more selective with the books I read - more of what I want to read rather then fulfilling reading requirements. Makes quite a lot of sense to me.

Elizabeth wrote: "I'm going to go through my GR tbr list and delete a lot of the books I no longer want to read.

This year I am being a lot more selective with the books I read - more of what I want to read rather..."
I think the problem with my tbr list is that I am constantly adding to it because I read a review or a book is recommend by a friend. By the time I get round to thinking about actually reading it I have forgotten why it is on the list!

Paul wrote: "This is another good article by Book Riot. One contributor asks should you throw away you TBR list:
http://bookriot.com/2014/01/27/throw-...

For me it is a no,..."

Interesting article! I certainly have a TBR pile that does make me feel rather guilty sometimes, although as I get older I'm getting better at putting books down if they're becoming a chore. I certainly agree that reading should be something pleasurable rather than something you do because you feel that you "ought" to have read a certain book. However, I am aware that some of the books that I have found most rewarding to read are those which demanded a bit of work from me and which I probably wouldn't have picked up left to myself. Paradise Lost springs to mind!

A lot of the articles on there are well worth reading

That's funny, I've always been a huge reader but never good at reading what is recommended or required. I don't know how I got an english lit degree. I read hardly anything that I was supposed to.

I've always been wary of book clubs for that reason as I don't want reading forced upon me. However, in going entirely with your whimsy, you do risk being constantly unsatisfied as I think you are possibly less likely to try more challenging books or are more confimed by your prejudices. You are constantly in your comfort zone as it were. I am anyway! It is SO hard to find a really completely enjoyable read.

Through this group and its mumsnet link I've rediscovered a very old love, fantasy and science fiction, so the recent discoveries of Wool, Game of Thrones and Carrion Comfort were all excellent and ones I'd have missed on my own.

How many have people read from this list then:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2009...
I haven't totted them up yet!

That list is fantastic. Guardian 1000 is the only other Goodreads club I'm part of. Very varied fictional reads.
I've been a member since Feb and still haven't got around to adding up how many I've read.

Paul wrote: "How many have people read from this list then:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2009...
I haven't totted them up yet!"

Just read that list, does that count?

if only...

What makes a good list? When there's a lot of books you have read on it!?!!

I tend to find 'must read' lists annoying (probably because often as not I've not read many on them, ha ha ha) and it tends to puts me off the books too, it's as if they are snobby books.

I have book issues!!

I know what you mean, especially when the author of a list insists that you life will not be complete until you have read all of them!

I tend to use them as a guideline or a framework. I for example have a list here which are from the Samuel Johnson Non Fiction prize. There are no all of them from the long lists but just the ones I want to read.

I find lists very useful when it comes to genres of books, some lists on here have some quite obscure books that I never knew about.

My favourite list on here is the drunken masters one.

You need to see a psychologist for your book issues Anna!
I quite like book lists to use a guideline too....and also because I'm nosy! People can be snobby about books though, in the same way as people can be snobby about other people's taste in music, so I can see why they are not for everyone though. Make your own list and tell people they haven't lived if they haven't read your books. :D

I love the book lists where I have read a lot of them. Makes me feel superior for once in my life. Haha

I love a good book list.

I'm adding a shelf for the 1000 books, I've read 80-90 of them (I lost count part way through, then when adding them realised I'd read some and just not remembered the titles). There are a lot on there I am really looking forward to reading, and only a few that don't really interest me.

The down side is that when I've added them all, my "to-read" list will stand at over 2000 books.

Ha ha ha, that made me laugh. I think that's the reason I haven't had the G1000 list. It just gets too daunting!!! :)

Charlotte wrote: "I love a good book list.

I'm adding a shelf for the 1000 books, I've read 80-90 of them (I lost count part way through, then when adding them realised I'd read some and just not remembered the ti..."

Welcome to my world!

There are lots of the lists on Listopia Charlotte:

https://www.goodreads.com/search?utf8...

But then I would have to add more to my list!! Husband has worked out at my current pace it'll take me 10 years to complete my current list. I need a reading holiday...

You have a pretty hefty to read list there Paul!!

And I haven't added all the books on my shelves at home yet...

Books on shelves at home don't count.

if they did I'd have to own up to having a serious problem :)

Phew!

For all those that love a good book list, this is the 100 books to read in a lifetime:

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/browse.htm...

Woohoo. I have read 16 of them.

I have read 21, and 16 on my TBR. A a dozen or so that I will never read...

Weird things, lists. Enid Blyton twice? Dan Brown also twice? No George Eliot and not a single Bronte? Not to mention Virginia Woolf, Hilary Mantel, AS Byatt, Julian Barnes, Salman Rushdie and so many other fantastic writers...

I've read 46, mainly because I read lots of CS Lewis/Tolkien/Lewis Carroll etc as a child. Still a few on there that I'd like to read, but I'll be giving Dan Brown a miss.

I'm going through that list adding in the books I've read so I can feel smug for a nanosecond about what I've read!!

I've read 46 of them as well. - of Paul's. 51 from Lisa's.

I've read 68. A number of the others are on my To Read list

I've thrown out my TBR list. I read 10-20 books at any given time. I just finish one then pick another one up. I'm always surprised that people have them.

Lisa wrote: "Thought I'd create a thread for those '100 books you must read' type lists that are so irresistible! Apologies if this one has already been posted but it was new to me...

http://www.listchallengea..."

Good list - I've read 15 of those. A sad, small number. I make myself feel better since I know I have a lot of those waiting to be read on the TBR pile :) I didn't get into classics until the past few years.

Paul wrote: "This is another good article by Book Riot. One contributor asks should you throw away you TBR list:
http://bookriot.com/2014/01/27/throw-...

For me it is a no,..."

Well, to me the key of this article is "If it's causing you stress..." Mine doesn't. It would drive my bonkers knowing I had literally hundreds of books on my shelf and not tracking what I'm planning to read. I find the organization of my TBR pile a great incentive, something which takes pressure off and tends to help reading burnout. But everyone is different, and you're right that this is a good article with valid points.

Welcome to the group Erin.

A lot on my list are speculative, and other are definitely to read. I.e. library books

Paul wrote: "Welcome to the group Erin.

A lot on my list are speculative, and other are definitely to read. I.e. library books"

Thank you - happy to be here :)

The Telegraph have published their 100 novels everyone should read:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/bo...

Read all those last week.