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

Has anyone else noticed that the people who reviewed the books have some egregious errors in their summaries? Ex. The Moonstone - the moonstone is bequeathed to the girl when her uncle dies; the guide says that it is a wedding present. The Spy who Came in From the Cold - the main character's name is Leamas; the guide calls him Lamas (more than once).

Any other errors you have come across?

I have not read Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace, but many of my friends have and were absolutely floored by how far off the description was in the 1001 Books... book.

I definitely noticed this too! I have the 2008 edition. I forget the specific examples but I will look again and report back. I think I noticed the errors in the Moonstone entry too though.

yeah, but can u really expect them to remember all the details?

I haven't come across errors like that, but I frequently spot printing errors. It's so annoying. I just want to get my highlighter and mark them all up and send them back to the publisher.

I definitely expect it, too! It would be different if it were one guy writing the book (I might cut him some slack), but they are supposed experts. I think they must have raised their hands at the meeting and said, "Yeah, I read that one!" All the while they vaguely remember reading it when they were in 8th grade. I wouldn't rely on my memory of a book I read 3 weeks ago, much less one I read ages ago. Maybe they should have re-read the books. I know I would have.

How about they ask the people of this group to write the reviews from now on? Dead White Guys Lit would be perfect!

@Zee - I want to get my red teacher pen and start marking it up!!

I expect all details to be correct as well. I have only the 2006 version and have noticed summary errors, but have not made a note of them. I think I'll keep track from now on and post them here. I hope everyone else with the books will do the same.

Can anyone tell us if any errors were corrected from version to version?

I am more concerned about authors whose work is published by reputable publishing houses with great editors who err in their stories.
For example, in the novel HUMAN STAIN by Philip Roth- don´t cite me for not entering two ll´s if that be the case, yes, I am lazy and will not double check- there is a farm the protagonist visits. The cows do not have ear tags because it is an organic farm and its owner declines those tags. Well guess what, it is state law that not only does every bovine get TB testing but it must be earmarked as well. The metal ear tag is the cow´s certification of health. Don´t put the tag on a cow and you will be fined big time.

I submit that if the world valued and could afford this level of copyediting and fact-checking, we'd all be back in jobs!

I speak for myself only regarding unemployment, but I've always wanted a job proofreading the world.

A friend of mine has a wonderful group on Facebook called Come Correctly where you can upload marked-up photos of real-world errors. It's hilarious! You can enjoy your own OCD while at the same time poking fun at it.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?...

And as the group says: Commence global edit!

The entry in the book about INFINITE JEST was clearly not written by anyone who had taken the time to actually read the novel. Shame on them.

Tom wrote: "The entry in the book about INFINITE JEST was clearly not written by anyone who had taken the time to actually read the novel. Shame on them."

What a shame. I'm in the middle of it right now. I think IJ was recently included on a list of "Books most people lie about having had read" going around the internet.

Oh Cindy, that's priceless! Thanks for sharing that little tidbit!

The entry on INFINITE JEST claims that, after viewing the film entitled "Infinite Jest" one apparently expires from laughter. That is just completely wrong, and no one who has read the novel even once would have made that error.