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

Oprah posted this list of five books everyone should read at least once:

http://www.oprah.com/obc/omag/obc_oma...

I believe three of them are on the 1001 list. What do people think of the others?

1) Lolita by Nabokov
2) Four Quartets by T.S. Eliot
3) The Wisdom of the Desert: Sayings from the Desert Fathers of the Fourth Century
translated by Thomas Merton
4) Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett
5) Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Interesting list. I wonder why she picked these five books?

There is a blurb saying why each book is so wonderful, prefaced by "The wisest poetry, the most extraordinary prose: five top-shelf books that will blow open your understanding of the world. "

She has a right to her opinion. Each person has his/her own list of five books to read. And no two lists are identical. This will allow endless discussions.

I can't say I usually listen to Oprah for my reading lists...but...that said...

I Love TS Eliot! His Lovesong of J Alfred Prufrock is my favorite poem. I will have to check out his quartets.

Also, Things Fall Apart by Achebe was a wonderful book I thought. Pretty short, but still powerful and a great read.

I'm with you Rob, I can't say that I've read many of "Oprah's Book Club", but I ADORE TS Elliot. We listended to Lovesong of J Alfred Prufrock in a college writing course and loved it. I will also have to check out his Quartets.

Me too Rob, I LOVE Prufrock.

Thank Heaven she held it to five!
Now I can proceed with my own reading.

Oprah actually has someone famous post their top five in each issue of the O magazine. There have been some interesting lists.

I've read Lolita and waiting for Godot. i feel terribly uncultured that I haven't even heard of the others.

It'd be interesting to see some of those other top 5 lists Sarah mentioned.

This is a surprisingly better 5 than I expected. Until now I would not, for a second, imagine Oprah ever recommending Beckett.

I have a lot of the back issues of the O magazine, so as I get to them I can post the person and their list. It may be available on the website too, I'll check that out.

Ok so it's called Books that Made a Difference.

Tea Leoni:

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
By Betty Smith
Lipshitz 6, or Two Angry Blondes
By T. Cooper
A Yellow Raft in Blue Water
By Michael Dorris
The Exception
By Christian Jungersen
American Dreamers: The Wallaces and Reader's Digest, an Insider's Story

Here's the link to this one, the person describes WHY these books are important to them.

http://www.oprah.com/article/omagazin...

If you're on that page, and click on "reading room" in the right column, it takes you to the main page of the reading section of the site. Oprah's magazing is devoted fairly heavily to literature, actually, much more than other magazines.

I am also mad for "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." I first read it in high school at around 15 years old but it remains with me. The imagery is haunting.

Sarah, thanks for the link. It was fun to read.

April, I've never read the book, but I love the title.

Yoby -- I so agree with you! It makes me crazy to hear people dismiss Oprah as "Just" a talk show host. I don't so much watch her show, but I admire her for getting women (and others) to read. I think she's awesome!

Hey now, Across the Universe WAS one of the greatest things ever.

Emily -

Short story here - 14 year old son hated school, authority and just about everything else in the world (the why of that is a long story) School was a constant battle between him and us and his teachers. By his second year in high school he had a GPA of 1.5 and only two credits. His English teacher decided to allow him to read whatever he wanted rather than making him read what he called "trash". Her thought was reading anything was better than reading nothing.

He of course had nothing that he like to read so she introduced him to fantasy and westerns. That was the first step in his rehabilitation. He graduated with his class with a 3.5 GPA, went to college, has a great job in the IT world and is an avid reader. He always has a book in his hand and about 2000 books in his personal collection. He still loves fantasy and westerns but reads all types of literature. He has passed on his love of reading to his two daughters, reads to them all the time. They are 8 and 11 and one of their favorite gifts are BN gift cards.

Teachers and books can make a big difference in a child's life.