Which books remind you most of university -- your own, or university in general -- and/or of campus life, or your/a given university's interaction(s) with the city where it is located?

1

by
4.15 avg rating — 1,052,687 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
2

by
4.05 avg rating — 1,245,519 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
3

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 127,700 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
4

by
4.36 avg rating — 260,296 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
5

by
3.96 avg rating — 241,577 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
6

by
3.90 avg rating — 84,867 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
7

by
3.48 avg rating — 124,770 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
8

by
3.61 avg rating — 38,758 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
9

by
4.13 avg rating — 76,289 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
10

by
3.98 avg rating — 15,235 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
11

by
3.75 avg rating — 32,346 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
12

by
4.17 avg rating — 158,513 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
13

by
3.79 avg rating — 233,286 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
14

by
3.68 avg rating — 994 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
15

by
3.72 avg rating — 52,086 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
16

by
3.63 avg rating — 80,554 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
17

by
4.16 avg rating — 51,610 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
18

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 30,519 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
19

by
3.86 avg rating — 128,289 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
20

by
4.06 avg rating — 73,946 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
21

by
3.92 avg rating — 46,111 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
22

by
3.81 avg rating — 9,310 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
22

by
3.65 avg rating — 64,656 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
24

by
4.28 avg rating — 195,543 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
25

by
4.08 avg rating — 421,148 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
26

by
3.46 avg rating — 28,489 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
27

by
4.19 avg rating — 32,419 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
28

by
3.64 avg rating — 109,331 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
28

by
3.16 avg rating — 1,847 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
30

by
3.74 avg rating — 194,298 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
31

by
3.93 avg rating — 5,976,450 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
32

by
3.99 avg rating — 116,176 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
33

by
3.68 avg rating — 17,461 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
34

by
3.54 avg rating — 30,265 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
35

by
3.42 avg rating — 42,893 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
35

by
3.93 avg rating — 783,141 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
37

by
4.29 avg rating — 168,914 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
38

by
3.53 avg rating — 279,628 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
39

by
3.76 avg rating — 23,035 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
39

by
3.87 avg rating — 29,881 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
41

by
3.94 avg rating — 70 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
42

by
4.08 avg rating — 59,031 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
43

by
3.88 avg rating — 29,190 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
44

by
3.61 avg rating — 2,975 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
45

by
3.60 avg rating — 233,363 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
46

by
4.22 avg rating — 266,232 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
47

by
4.14 avg rating — 17,604 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
48

by
3.84 avg rating — 76,433 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
49

by
3.93 avg rating — 7,050 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
50

by
4.33 avg rating — 3,185 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
51

by
4.08 avg rating — 98,838 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
52

by
4.07 avg rating — 201,362 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
53

by
3.78 avg rating — 91,779 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
54

by
4.25 avg rating — 102,451 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
54

by
3.84 avg rating — 5,823 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
56

by
3.73 avg rating — 9,388 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
57

by
3.79 avg rating — 498,225 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
58

by
4.01 avg rating — 42,455 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
59

by
3.83 avg rating — 16,087 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
60

by
3.47 avg rating — 8,599 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
61

by
4.03 avg rating — 18,192 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
62

by
4.02 avg rating — 560,554 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
63

by
3.63 avg rating — 5,413 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
64

by
4.11 avg rating — 239,777 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
65

by
3.95 avg rating — 11,607 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
66

by
3.97 avg rating — 198,073 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
67

by
3.46 avg rating — 2,863 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
68

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 20,370 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
69

by
3.78 avg rating — 10,270 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
70

by
4.12 avg rating — 221 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
71

by
3.69 avg rating — 332 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
72

by
3.39 avg rating — 462 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
73

by
3.48 avg rating — 962 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
74

by
4.05 avg rating — 37,964 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
74

by
3.97 avg rating — 1,858 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
76

by
3.45 avg rating — 74,947 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
77

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 406,971 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
78

by
3.85 avg rating — 24,613 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
78

by
4.21 avg rating — 65,814 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
80

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 31,987 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
81

by
3.66 avg rating — 31,355 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
82

by
3.44 avg rating — 3,065 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
82

by
3.73 avg rating — 223 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
84

by
4.20 avg rating — 30,732 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
84

by
3.54 avg rating — 961 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
86

by
4.01 avg rating — 59,221 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
87

by
4.01 avg rating — 598,299 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
88

by
3.77 avg rating — 324 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
89

by
3.68 avg rating — 4,085 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
90

by
3.61 avg rating — 13,394 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
91

by
3.78 avg rating — 3,721 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
92

by
3.64 avg rating — 3,450 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
93

by
3.79 avg rating — 19,147 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
94

by
4.13 avg rating — 532 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
95

by
3.63 avg rating — 4,255 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
96

by
3.57 avg rating — 1,531 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
97

by
3.83 avg rating — 86,702 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
98

by
3.94 avg rating — 27,287 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
99

by
3.75 avg rating — 67 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
99

by
3.94 avg rating — 118 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
156 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) 546 books
365 friends
Ricki 5243 books
1477 friends
Susanna - Censored by GoodReads 3388 books
851 friends
Kathleen 2865 books
174 friends
Lobstergirl 5843 books
157 friends
Ray 1693 books
37 friends
Bryan 387 books
16 friends
Thom 6022 books
293 friends

More voters…


Comments Showing 1-19 of 19 (19 new)

dateUp arrow    newest »

message 1: by Lobstergirl (new)

Lobstergirl Great idea for a list. I feel like there are hundreds we're missing.


Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) There must be! So many great places of learning ... there's no way they didn't leave their imprint on the cities where they're located -- and on literature, of course. And it's not just the likes of Harvard and Yale, or Oxbridge and the Sorbonne for that matter!

And then: I certainly don't want to flaunt anything, but I've purposely listed a few books by teachers who have particularly impacted me, because I can't think of university without thinking of these teachers as well. God knows not every prof is a "born" (or even a halfway decent) teacher, but undoubtedly some of them are -- and some are impressive personalities into the bargain, though I'd rather have a great teacher than an impressive personality for a prof -- and their universities are the richer for them as well. For purposes of this list, that's really all that should matter. If you can't think of university without remembering a given person (and that person happens to have published something), that's really all it takes for their name to belong on this list ...


message 3: by Thom (new)

Thom Dunn Themis-Athena wrote: "There must be! So many great places of learning ... there's no way they didn't leave their imprint on the cities where they're located -- and on literature, of course. And it's not just the likes..."

I have put two classics of the English Public School, the ramp up to the gentile British education (which in my case I have not got).

Wish I could think of more like Smiley's "Moo", expositions of the middle-American cow college.


Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) FWIW, I've started creating a series of lists for individual universities:

Oxford University: http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/21...
Cambridge University: http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/21...
Cornell University: http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/21...
Iowa Writers' Workshop: http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/21...
Università di Bologna: http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/21...
Bonn University: http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/21...

More to come in due course. If anybody feels like pitching in, though, by all means go ahead!


message 5: by Lobstergirl (new)

Lobstergirl I just noticed this one for Scripps College Faculty and Alums:

http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/21...


message 6: by Lobstergirl (new)

Lobstergirl And there's University of Chicago Law School - Faculty:
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/34...

and Univ. of Chicago alumni:
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/21...


Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) Oh yes, cool -- thanks for mentioning those!


message 8: by Cheyenne (new)

Cheyenne Just thought I would add Starter for Ten because it is very funny and a great read


Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) This Girl Loves Books wrote: "Just thought I would add Starter for Ten because it is very funny and a great read"

I'm not familiar with it, but if it reminds you of university, by all means go ahead! (There's a tab up top next to "all votes" -- using that tab, everybody can add books to a list.)


message 10: by Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) (last edited Dec 07, 2012 07:05AM) (new)

Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) Lobstergirl wrote: "And there's University of Chicago Law School - Faculty:
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/34...

and Univ. of Chicago alumni:
http..."


There's a new one for St. Louis University alumni and facultiy as well:
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/28...

And Taft alumni:
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/17...


message 11: by Lobstergirl (new)

Lobstergirl A Separate Peace is set at a high school. Is the list limited to post high school education?


Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) Definitely post-high school only (and sorry for the belated reply). Removed.


message 13: by Lobstergirl (new)

Lobstergirl Is nonfiction allowed?


message 14: by Lobstergirl (new)

Lobstergirl Othello takes place on a campus?


message 15: by Liam (new)

Liam Ostermann This is supposed to about 'campus' or college/university, definitely third level education not secondary or high school books - I thought it was supposed to be novels there are a lot of non fiction books here, but can anyone explain why any of the following are on this list:

William Shakespeare, Othello
Chaim Potok, The Chosen
Margaret Edison, Wit
Henryk Sienkiewicz, Quo Vadis
Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises
David Foster Wallace, The Broom of the System
Heather McDonald, The Diversity Dilemma
Soren Kierkegaard, Fear and Trembling
Edith Wharton, The Age of Innocence
Richard Farina, Been Down So Long it Looks like Up to Me
Albert Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus and other Essays
E M Forster, The Longest Journey
Toni Morrison, Beloved
Evelyn Waugh, Handful of Dust
Bernhard Schlink, The Reader
F Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
Julian Barnes, A Sense of an Ending
Terry Pratchett, Equal Rites
David Foster Wallace, Infinite Jest
Frantz Fanon, Wretched if the Earth
Wallace Stegner, Crossing to Safety
P G Wodehouse, the Inevitable Jeeves
Thomas Hardy, Return of the Native
Paul Kalanithi, When Breath Becomes Air
David Foster Wallace, a supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again: Essays and Arguments
Lea Wait, Shadows at the Fair

The following novels listed are all novels associated with high school or its equivalent in the UK or elsewhere:

Alan Bennett, The History Boys
Larry McMurtry, The Last Picture Show
Joan Lindsay, Picnic at Hanging Rock
Curtis Shittenfeld, Prep
Kate Lowe, The Furies
R F Delderfield, To Serve Them all My Days
Lev Grossman, The Magicians
James Hinton. goodbye Mr Chips
N H Kleinbaun, Dead Poets Society
David Lodge, Changing Places
Corinne Sullivan, Indecent
Thomas Hughes, Tom Brown's Schooldays
John Knowles, A Separate Peace

This selection is only from the first 200 books listed and is probably not exhaustive as I grew bored as the extent of wrongly listed books became apparent.

What is the point of starting these lists if you aren't going to monitor or keep track of items posted? I stopped at item 198 because I thought these might have been posted first and thus you would expect the originators or monitors of the list to have been taking an interest!? Maybe some of these books were posted as a joke to see if anyone would notice!? Is there any way that one can suggest to Goodreads that they delegate a list because it is total crap?! Maybe nobody cares? Does anybody care?

There is nothing wrong with a list of books relating to university experiences or fiction set there or histories of university in the abstract or in particular institutions. But this list does not help anyone interested in those subjects to find relevant books. It just wastes vast amount of time.


message 16: by Chrissy (new)

Chrissy Changing Places and The Magicians both take place at college/university level places, not high school.


message 17: by Liam (new)

Liam Ostermann Chrissy wrote: "Changing Places and The Magicians both take place at college/university level places, not high school."

I admit that I confused David Lodge's book with 'Vice Versa' very careless and stupid of me. I still wonder about 'The Magicians' as it is about a high school senior who goes to Magician college - which is surely stretching the meaning of a campus/university novel to its limit? In Ireland and the UK the word 'college' is regularly attached to secondary schools (12-18 years) though I can not say for sure what Mr. Grossman meant by the appellation.

Even conceding that these errors it doesn't really change the bulk of my complaint which no one has bothered to respond to - so I am very grateful for your response.


message 18: by Lobstergirl (new)

Lobstergirl Lobstergirl wrote: "Othello takes place on a campus?"

I removed Othello but I don't have time to remove others which are wrongly on the list.


message 19: by Liam (new)

Liam Ostermann Lobstergirl wrote: "Lobstergirl wrote: "Othello takes place on a campus?"

I removed Othello but I don't have time to remove others which are wrongly on the list."


I don't intend to make work for anyone - I am just amazed that anyone added them to a list of campus novels!


back to top