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

Elizajane wrote: "Some books on the List were originally written in poetic form but are not (always) translated that way. The Lusiads (possibly from the Dutch version of the list) and Eugene Onegin (definitely on the English version) were long poems -- an epic poem, in the former case."

The most recent English translation of Os Lusíadas kept the original poetic form. I have a copy myself- I'm Portuguese so I've read the poem in the original more than once- but have never actually read the whole translation myself.

I think it was included because if you are to have any Portuguese lit, you have to. It is absolutely central to the canon.

More than any particular work or even author being omitted, it is the lack of representation of entire demographics that I find most stunning.

I don't think there is a single Palestinian author. Israeli, yes, but not Palestinian. All the Oceanian authors are white. No native Americans. As I mentioned before, no Portuguese speaking Africa.

And yet you get a lot white, usually English speaking authors, who have virtually all of their works included. Skip one Philip Roth, skip a Dickens, skip a Ian McEwan, and you can include authors from the above mentioned demographics while still keeping PLENTY of books by Roth etc. You'd be losing three books from authors that have many titles on the list already and expanding the scope and diversity considerably.

Nocturnalux wrote: "Elizajane wrote: "Some books on the List were originally written in poetic form but are not (always) translated that way. The Lusiads (possibly from the Dutch version of the list) and Eugene Onegin..."

I completely agree with you. They added quite a few authors in the 2008 versions but there are still great omissions. They could add a lot more new authors with each addition.

Btw there is one author, Louise Erdrich, who is at least part Native American. The editors probably considered this as enough diversity.

The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux

I thought it was on the list but it's not.

I finished Stoner by John Williams and started reading The Aeneid by Virgil. I was surprised that neither of them is on the list. But Paulo Coelho is? That's not right.

Part of the problem is the confusing of "Highly Recommended Reads" with "Must Reads". I consider many book on the list to be highly recommended reads, not Must Reads.

Linda_G wrote: "Part of the problem is the confusing of "Highly Recommended Reads" with "Must Reads". I consider many book on the list to be highly recommended reads, not Must Reads."

I *totally* agree. There are so many books on this list that are unnecessary and don't get me started on the fact that there are often *8* books by one author on the list. No wonder it's a list of 1000 books, if every book in someone's catalog is included.

I'm sure there are a lot of newer books that could be included but I can't think of any I'd call "you *must* read this before you die", just "highly recommended (by me)" and I tend to dislike popular books.

If Baum, Adams and Tolkein are listed, there should be something by Roald Dahl. Maybe not "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" but he has some amazing short stories. I'd include Switch Bitch or Skin and Other Stories

I also enjoy Walter Tevis so I'd like to see The Queen's Gambit, Mockingbird or The Man Who Fell to Earth

Two of my favorites that wouldn't be considered classics, but totally fit with some of the books already in the list are The Bad Seed and The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane

I just finished My Antonia by Willa Cather (it was fantastic) and could have sworn it was on the list. Nope! It's on the 500 Great Books by Women list however. I would have missed out if I'd skipped it. that said, now I'm excited to read the Cather book that IS on the list....

I could easily make a case for including Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward.

The Martian or the Kite Runner

My Antonia by Willa Cather. A great book about frontier life during the turn of the century. Surprised honestly by the lack of anything by such a notable author as Willa Cather, unless I overlooked them.

Daniel wrote: "My Antonia by Willa Cather. A great book about frontier life during the turn of the century. Surprised honestly by the lack of anything by such a notable author as Willa Cather, unless I overlooked..."

Carter's The Professor's House is on the list.

Mia wrote: "Daniel wrote: "My Antonia by Willa Cather. A great book about frontier life during the turn of the century. Surprised honestly by the lack of anything by such a notable author as Willa Cather, unle..."

Ah, ok. At least something of hers made the cut. Still, since this list obviously doesn't limit the amount of works by a single author, My Antonia is a classic that deserves a spot on the list as well. I enjoyed it so much that I'm giving it to a close friend as a Christmas present. I think she'll appreciate the beautiful prose and characterization as much as I did. Really looking forward to reading more of Cather's work in the future including The Professor's House.

Hemingway's sequel to "A Farewell to Arms", the followup up book "Hello to Legs."

The Exorcist