Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die discussion

K.D. wrote: "
THE WARS
by Timothy Findley

Let's have more Canadians on that list!"

Preach!

I was shocked to find Generation X left out.

Maria wrote: "I don't know why Persuasion by Jane Austen is left out of the list, but Mansfield Park is included. Persuasion is my favorite Austen novel, and in my opinion one of if not her best. Mansfield Park ..."

My thoughts exactly. I was just coming to post almost exactly the same thing. Pride & Prejudice is my favorite, but Persuasion is a close second.

Everything by Jilly Cooper!
The Beach by Alex Garland
Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding
More Ian Flemings and Agatha Christies.

Allison wrote: "Recently finished Wallace Stegner's Angle of Repose and Crossing to Safety, only to find they are not on the list! A found a similar shock in finishing East of Eden. Though I track books read on ..."

Agree with you about "Angle of Repose" and also was surprised about "East of Eden"'s omission though Steinbeck is well presented anyway while Stegner is not! Sad!

Leslie wrote: "I just finished Lorrie Moore'sA Gate at the Stairs. I think it's an important book to have on the list because it casts light on a sense of uncertainty and loss widely felt in post-9/11 America. ..."

It's on the new list.

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

Amalie wrote: "Hannah wrote: "why is there no shakespeare on the list?"

I think they had only focused on prose so that exclude play and poems, too bad though."

Ah, that might explain why a work like Evgenii Onegin is also left out!

BoekenTrol wrote: "....I think they had only focused on prose so that exclude play and poems, too bad though."

Ah, that might explain why a work like Evgenii Onegin is also left out! ..."


Eugene Onegin, described as a novel in verse, IS on the 1001 lists.

Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler won a Pulitzer.

For the person who was surprised that there isn't more Rushdie on the list, if you go to the group bookshelf, there is, unfortunately for me anyway, because I HATE Rushdie, a TON of his stuff on the list. Just when I think I've finally hacked & skimmed my way through another one without gagging, I stumble across ANOTHER one. UGH, there are SO many other books!

I still can't believe that no work of Alfred Bester's is on the list. One of the most influential science fiction writers ever, whom everyone who was anyone in the world of science fiction said was a key influence on them as they wrote for the next forty years. His tone and pacing in his writing are brilliant. The books haven't really aged at all, unlike a lot of 1950s science fiction.

The Demolished Man won the first ever Hugo award, and The Stars My Destination has been near the top of most of the greatest scifi of all time lists for the last 60 years.

I would love to see Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore included in the list. The book is a wonderfully funny, philosophical story about Christ's "missing years", from childhood to 30. It shows how many different influences and religious views helped shape the teachings of Jesus. Not for the close minded!

Kathy wrote: "I would love to see Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore included in the list. The book is a wonderfully funny, philosophical story about Christ's "missi..."

I agree 100%, Kathy. I have had to offer up my copies by request so many times that now I keep two copies in my house at all times -- one for me, and one for the next person who wants to read it. This book never comes back, either the borrower doesn't want to give it up, or (more likely) they've passed it on to the next lucky person. It is bound to be a classic, and is by far the best thing Christopher Moore has ever written, tho' he has many excellent novels to his credit... which is a clue as to just how good Lamb is.

I have to admit that I don't have much respect for the editors of this book. My public library has the 2006 edition, which I've read, but haven't read the remaining. There were LOTS of grammatical errors in the writing. Also, many of the facts were very wrong. I'm sorry that I don't remember the details, but one author (Doris Lessing?) with more than one book on the list was listed as being born in two different countries. The index is atrocious. I think the editors of this book really needed an editor!

Having said that, I am using the book to learn about books I wouldn't otherwise know about. Because of it, I've discovered Muriel Barbery, Peter Carey, Elizabeth Gaskell, Lewis Grassic Gibbon, Knut Hamsun, George Saunders (though he is only on the 2006 edition), Zadie Smith, Ngugi Wa Thiong'o, and Mario Vargas Llosa. Granted, I've also discovered several books that I could have easily died without having read, but it's worth it to find the gems.

Books that I think deserve a place:
Slouching toward Bethlehem, Joan Didion (although she has books beginning with the 2008 edition that I look forward to reading)
Darkness at Noon, Arthur Koestler
West with the Night, Beryl Markham
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Betty Smith
Olive Kitteridge, Elizabeth Strout

I concur wholeheartedly with others who suggested
The Good Earth, Pearl Buck
My Antonia, Willa Cather
The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini
The Book Thief, Markus Zusak

When I was a teenager, I was wholly enamored of Ayn Rand. She has a very solid following of fans. At the same time, there is an equally strong contigent of people who despise her. If I had all the time in the world, I would love to reread The Fountainhead (I preferred it to Atlas Shrugged) just to see if, as an adult, I still really like it. Perhaps I would switch sides. At any rate, I do think she deserves a place on the list as seminal works of philosophical literature. Let's face it, Simone de Beavoir is there, why not Ayn Rand.

Regarding the discussion about authors with lots of books on the list: I was very pleased to see the 2008 edition pare down the Euro-centric focus of the first edition. As much as I love Dickens, I really didn't have to read Martin Chuzzlewit. I think that if this list introduces me to a really extraordinary book, I'm going to find out other books by that author on my own. I would much rather leave room for more distinct authors so that I have a wider exposure. Of course, that does mean some beloved books fall off the list. My favorite Dostoevsky is The Brothers Karamozov, and yet that fell off while The Idiot remained. It made me sad to see it go, but at least Dostoevsky remained. At the same time, I thought The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay was one of the best books I've ever read. Yet, it's the only book on the list by Michael Chabon, and it only appeared on the 2008 edition. Not to mention the purpose of this thread--the fact that many wonderful authors are missing altogether.

Harry Potter.
I don't think I need to explain myself.

Seriously folks, Ayn Rand?! I know that she's been somewhat influential As a thinker but great literature? Not even close.

I'm hoping to see The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt on 2014 list!

Bill wrote: "Seriously folks, Ayn Rand?! I know that she's been somewhat influential As a thinker but great literature? Not even close."

Agreed

Vote here: "Books that SHOULD be on the 1001-list but aren't" https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7...

Let's see how long it will take The Book Thief or Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone to claim the first place.

Interesting. The Book Thief has taken a clear lead – and Harry Potter is not even on the list (yet).

Added my suggestions to the list. Though I haven't read any of the books suggested by others. The two French books I added are available in English translation, but I couldn't find out how to change to a different edition from the one on my shelf.

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
The Chosen by Chaim Potok

I just finished Johnny Got His Gun and I was shocked that it wasn't on the list (at least 2006 version, which is the book I have handy). It's a magnificent piece of stream of consciousness writing about how the little guy gets sucked into, chewed up, and spit back out from war.

The Sea Came in at Midnight

I was rather surprised that Fahrenheit 451 wasn't on the list as well. I didn't love it, but it seems to have several things the creators of the list like to crown.

I burned my copy of F 451.

I burned my copy of F 451.

I burned my copy of F 451.

Chaucer - The Canterbury Tales, most definitely and the Odyssey and Iliad. I have a soft spot for Herodotus too, strictly speaking he wasn't a novelist but he was a tremendous gossip...

I just finished an excellent dystopian novel that won the Hugo in 1974, Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang by Kate Wilhelm. Definitely should've been on the list.

(Would've posted this on the dystopian thread - but people were getting cranky over there.)

Me? I don't mind discussion of non-list books – as long as it is clear they are non-list. It is kind stupid when someone ask for a book with property A and B, and the answer is some book with property A and not-B. That does not answer the question.

Also an excellent dystopian novel that should have been on the list: On the Beach. Nevil Shute already have a book on the list, so maybe two was too many. This is probably the best apocalypse book I have ever read and one of a very few five star reads.

There's a lot of books I thought would have made the list but didn't, that I think are great works of literature and also beautifully represent certain social movements, ideologies, and milestones in literary history well, which is the whole point of the list.

-"Story of an African Farm" by Olive Schreiner
-"The Conservationist" by Nadine Gordimer
-"The Charioteer" or "Fire from Heaven" by Mary Renault
- I saw someone else way back mention that since the Watchmen made the list, that "Persepolis" should have as well to represent graphic novels, which I agree with and I think "Fun Home" by Alison Bechdel could have as well.
-"The Blazing World" by Margaret Cavendish.
-"My Antonia" by Willa Cather
-"Mirrors" by Eduardo Galeano
- There is a lot of E.M Forster on the list, and I'm surprised "Maurice" isn't one of them.
- Any of the Chronicles of Narnia books.

Also now realize most of the omissions I would have wanted are from female authors, and I feel those books would have been a good way to add more women to the list who deserved their credit. I know Nadine Gordimer has a few books on there, but honestly, the fact that J.M Coetzee has 10 and Gordimer has, what, 2 (?) is a shame especially considering that I feel "Disgrace" is a terrible ripoff of "The Conservationist" in a lot of ways. Also very sad at the lack of Renault as she is one of my favorite authors of all time and a hallmark of LGBT literature. Also "The Blazing World" is arguably the first science fiction novel, so talk about a literary milestone!

I'm listening to the audiobook of The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck. Why is this not on the list???

Watership Down by Richard Adams!

And Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, and Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk...

Weirdly, even though the Harry Potter series is the one thing I assume every person has read, I see why it's not on the list. You can't just read Sorcerer's Stone, so they would have to include all seven. The Book Thief should absolutely be on the list. While I'm repping for YA, I must insist upon some John Green. He's not for everyone, I know, but the lack of YA on the list is pretty strange to me, and Green is, in my mind, the king of YA. Personally, I can't stand most modern literature intended for adults. Every book I've read that was published in the 2000s and was meant for adults had an air of "I'm trying to impress you so damn hard with my fancy sentences." I gave up on The Goldfinch like 20 pages in. YA authors aren't trying to impress their readers, because they don't need validation from teenagers. There's a reason why more and more adults are reading books intended for teenagers, so I don't see why Curious Incident and Life of Pi (arguably not even YA in the first place) are the only YA books on the list.

They do put some entire series on the list. Like A Dance to the Music of Time and - I think - The Fellowship of the Ring.

I was also very surprised Wind and the Willows wasn't on the list either. I read it for a course on the history of children's literature, and it has become one of my favorite books. With its literary significance as well as quality, I was expecting to see it listed.

Absent from the '06 list is Issac Bashevis Singer who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

There's a couple of Nobel Winners that are missing

Herta Müller--I have not read her most famous book The Land of Green Plums, but I did read The Appointment--that one could certainly contend

J.M.G. Le Clezio--his Le chercheur d'or (The Prospector) is one of my favorites

Patrick Modiano--I am more ambivalent about Modiano, but I've only read Rue des boutiques obscures (Missing Person). He is, of course, also probably too new of a laureate to be included yet.

I've not read any Mo Yan or Gao Xingjian.

I do think, nobel winners aside, that Horacio Castellanos Moya belongs here--Senselessness was fantastic

Tim wrote: "Absent from the '06 list is Issac Bashevis Singer who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature."


I'm not sure which date he belongs to, but Singer is listed for The Magician of Lublin

Of course everyone feels this way, but a major omission IMO
The Moviegoer by Walker Percy

My picks

The Obscene Bird of Night By Jose Donoso
Birdy by William Wharton- runner up for the Pulitzer prize 1980
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne by Brian Moore

Exodus, Leon Uris
The Slave, Issac Bashevis Singer

Unless I missed him, I don't see any John Gardner on the list either. I've only read Grendel, which I would include on the list, but I know both Nickel Mountain and The Sunlight Dialogues are also well thought of.

Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates doesn't seem to be on the list.

I've thought about adding this to the discussion for some time. If I have already I can't find my 'entry' in this discussion.

Yates work about the death or non-existence of the American Dream is a must read. Brilliant prose and and a dark prescient view of the years that would follow. That it hasn't made this canon continues to surprise me. Or maybe not as it isn't an easy pleasant read. There is a movie.

CD wrote: "Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates doesn't seem to be on the list.

I've thought about adding this to the discussion for some time. If I have already I can't find my '..."

I don't remember who brought it up, but earlier in the discussion there was mention of RR, so you're not alone. I did read it, but it didn't appeal to me as much as it sounds like it did you, although I wouldn't dispute it too much if I saw it on the list. I certainly think it's a better book than a few others that are included.

I concur with various folks on this thread that Ayn Rand ought to be included. I HATED Catcher in the Rye, Lord of the Flies, and Moby Dick, and so did many other people. But till we read a particular book we don't know whether we'll enjoy or hate it, and what we might learn from it or when it might come up in conversations later on. I'd add Atlas Shrugged to the list, I think, since that's Rand's most mature work, and one of the books that has influenced many people, even if they only read it during high school.
I'm also surprised that The Alchemist, by Coelho, is not on the list. Veronika Decides to Die is on there, and The Devil and Mrs. Pym, but those are not as well known as The Alchemist. And My Antonia would have seemed like an obvious choice for the List. Bless Me, Ultima, or Tortuga, both by Rudolfo Anaya, would be good.
I'm working, too, on building up my own list, including some more modern authors, and more women and authors not from the US/UK.

There will never be a definitive list that everyone agrees with and that’s fine. Boxall is a starting point and ideal for avid readers desiring to complement their programs with selections they may have missed or forgone in earlier years.

I enjoyed Lord of the Flies. It depicts the perils of group think in youth, something we’re witnessing in spades in the U.S. And Moby Dick wasn’t too bad, although the storyline was sacrificed for long passages on the whaling industry. But given its setting (a well-known whaling port) it’s understandable why the author included it.

I do concur about Rand. But that’s the beauty of books. You can never read the lot. A yes to Rand means a no elsewhere. And foreknowledge of the situations she’s addressing helps to flesh out the message much more. I don’t know if that was a factor in its omission (or whether the committee didn’t care for her work). But I think that holds true for Russian literature as a whole.